Kings of Quarantine: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  I headed to my closet and pulled out two pairs of sweatpants and two hoodies, stuffing them inside the bag before moving back out to find Saint in the living room.

  “I’m gonna go and get our girl,” I announced as I walked into the room.

  Saint was nowhere to be seen so I took the curving staircase up to his bedroom on the balcony.

  I could hear the shower running in his en-suite so I headed through to it, tapping the control panel on the wall to quiet Mozart for a minute.

  “I said, I’m going out to get our girl,” I called over the sound of running water as I stood by the open door.

  “You worried about her?” Saint called back with a dismissive snort.

  “I think a little thing like her won’t last the night out in that storm and I wanna play with my new toy tomorrow, not discover she died from exposure before I even got a chance to try her out,” I replied in a voice that didn’t broker options.

  “Fine. Go get her, make sure she’s not dead and tell her I expect her to be waiting outside The Temple at six am,” he replied.

  “You don’t even finish your workout until half seven,” I replied, wondering how drunk he was.

  “I said I want her waiting at six, I didn’t say I’d be ready for her then,” he replied darkly.

  “Fine. Catch you later.” I whacked Mozart back up to full blast so he could have his power shower or jerk off over the brass section, or whatever the fuck got him so hyped about this shit, and left him to it.

  I hooked the bag over my shoulder, not bothering with a coat, instead just heading back out into the storm with my chest bare so that I could get a taste of the pain we’d given Tatum for the last four hours.

  A shiver danced along my skin and I was drenched through within ten minutes of leaving The Temple. We really were assholes.

  I smirked to myself as I upped my pace, taking the paths through the forest as I headed for Sycamore Beach where the sacred stone stood.

  My heart was thrashing with excitement as the thunder tumbled overhead and I closed in on the pale rock which stood out even in the dark.

  I slowed as I approached it, frowning as I failed to spot Tatum anywhere.

  Anger licked along my spine as I frowned at the space around the rock, wondering if she’d even stayed out here at all or if she was really so deluded that she thought she could get away with disobeying us.

  What part of us owning her was failing to compute?

  I whirled around, meaning to march all the way to her fucking dorm and show her exactly what happened if she was disobedient when my gaze snagged on her where she was taking shelter beneath a tree at the edge of the beach.

  I released a breath to calm the monster which was pacing beneath my skin and stalked towards her.

  She was sitting on the ground, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Her long hair was plastered to her, covering her face as she bowed her head into the small shelter her body could offer.

  I stalked towards her, the sand shifting beneath my feet before I came to a halt standing over her.

  “Get up, baby,” I growled.

  Shivers wracked her body as she lifted her head with aching slowness to look up at me. Water clung to her lashes, dripping like tears beneath those big blue eyes. Hell, there were probably real tears mixed in there too.

  Her lips parted, but no words came out and for a moment I wondered if we’d broken her so soon. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work. She was supposed to keep bouncing back, fighting, denying us, driving us all crazy as fuck. At least that was what I wanted from this. Saint probably did want her broken and Blake just wanted to punish her for his grief.

  “Come on, baby,” I said, offering her my hand, my tone almost touching on soft. I was a damn guardian angel right now, come to rescue her from the dark. Those assholes just got drunk and would have left her out here, but not me.

  She hesitated for a long moment before extending a trembling hand to me.

  I reached for her, her ice cold fingers completely enveloped in mind. I couldn’t say I remembered holding hands with a girl before now. And this wasn’t how it tended to look in the movies either. Usually there were goofy smiles and blushes and feelings. But here I was, the monster who’d done this to her, standing in the rain and offering to let her live like it was some great act of kindness. Unfortunately for her, kindness didn’t come into it. I was just being practical. What was the point in owning a girl if I didn’t look after her too? She was mine now. Which meant I wouldn’t let bad things happen to her. At least not bad things like dying. And she could rest safe knowing that no fucker in this school would so much as look at her, let alone hurt her unless it was one of us.

  I pulled her to her feet and she fell against my chest as her frozen legs failed to hold her up.

  “I got you,” I promised, catching her beneath her thighs and sweeping her into my arms. I swear to all that was holy, this really was like one of those movies. Didn’t they always go running to each other in a storm? I mean, I’d taken a casually paced stroll and she’d just waited beneath a tree, but aside from that, this shit was the same. Fucking poetic.

  She curled against me, freezing fingers pressing to my skin and I found I didn’t mind that at all. Sure, she was just using me for my body heat, but I was still the hero in this. And I couldn’t say I’d ever played any part aside from the villain before this moment.

  I walked quickly, heading up the long path which circled the campus as I took the most direct route to the Cypress Gym.

  Monroe had gotten me a key cut sophomore year after he realised it was safer to trust me with access to a punching bag at all times than to risk me using the other students’ faces whenever I lost my shit. Which was incredibly often.

  Tatum stayed silent aside from the chattering of her teeth as we ascended the hill and I carried her all the way to the gym with the rain still hammering down. I managed to hook the key from my bag as we arrived and I unlocked the building before carrying her inside and locking it again to make sure we weren’t disturbed.

  The scent of chlorine assaulted me as I walked down the dark corridors towards the pool.

  Tatum peeled herself away from my chest as she looked around with a frown.

  “W-why are we here?” she asked and I was pleased to hear her voice.

  “Gotta warm you up,” I said. “And I thought it would be nice for us to get better acquainted. Seeing as you’re mine now and all.”

  She didn’t dignify that with a response, but I felt her posture tighten at my words. Better get used to it, baby.

  I knocked open the door to the pool room and the low, blue lights they left on in here overnight filled the space.

  Tatum was still shivering in my arms, but it was already less than it had been.

  I skirted the pool and headed for the hot tub and sauna on the far side of it. They shut the sauna down overnight so it was gonna have to be the tub.

  I set her down on the tiles beside the huge round tub and casually flipped the lid off of it. I hit it a little too hard and the damn thing fell into the pool beyond it. But never mind, that was someone else’s problem now.

  “Do you need me to undress you too?” I asked, cocking a head at our girl as she shivered in her homemade puddle.

  “No. You can just go,” she said firmly, folding her arms over her chest and pushing out those lips like that might make me more likely to leave.

  “Naw, I’m good here,” I replied, bathing in the hatred that flared in her eyes. There she was. That wild thing I’d spotted the first time I’d laid eyes on her. “Take your clothes off and get in the tub.”

  She scowled at me and I stalked forward to stand over her, making her tip her head back to look up at me.

  “I thought the deal was no sex?” she demanded.

  I coughed out a laugh at the balls on her. “No worries, baby, I like my women hot, not cold. We can keep our underwear on if you think you can’t contain yourself if we skinny
dip.”

  “We?” She arched an eyebrow at me and I offered her a taunting grin as I kicked my socks and shoes off before dropping my sweatpants and getting into the hot water.

  It felt fucking amazing and I’d only been out in that storm for fifteen minutes. She was going to come when she got in here. No question.

  I moved to the far side of the ten seater tub, setting the bubbles running and sank down onto one of the seats, resting my arms on the backs of the chairs either side of me as I waited for her.

  Tatum was still sitting in her puddle and I blew out a breath as I fought against my anger.

  “Look, I get that you’re all cold and shit,” I said. “But you agreed to our terms. We give the orders, you get the fuck on with it. Eagerly. Though in all honesty, I’m down with you speaking your mind just as much as you like to me. Call me any and every name under the sun, I thrive on that shit. But...” I levelled her with my darkest look and was satisfied when she recoiled a little. “Don’t. Keep. Me. Waiting.”

  I beckoned to her and though her eyes flared with fury, she shrugged out of her blazer then quickly pulled the tie and shirt off. If it had been a strip show it would have been a pretty shit one, but I had to admit the end result was worth a second look as she finally stood and pushed her skirt down her thighs before stalking towards me in her lacy black underwear.

  She was shooting me daggers, but frankly that only made her look hotter.

  Tatum dropped into the hot water, a shiver visibly rushing along her skin as she suppressed a groan of relief. I had this shit locked down. Seriously, Blake and Saint were never getting a puppy. They had no fucking idea how to look after another living thing.

  “Are you satisfied now, asshole?” she hissed and I offered her a wide smile.

  “Perfectly.”

  She didn’t seem to think that deserved a response and instead sank right down into the hot water until she was completely submerged.

  I waited way longer than a full minute for her to emerge again and I surveyed her with interest as she blinked the water from her lashes and drew in a deep breath.

  The bubbles fell still as the timer on them ran out and I was gifted a view of her near naked body through the clear water. I couldn’t deny that I wanted her. There was something seriously fuckable about that girl and it wasn’t just her looks either. She had the kind of smart mouth that made me want to silence it and the kind of wilful spirit that had me imagining up all kinds of ways I’d like to tie her up and punish her.

  “All warmed up?” I asked, my voice rough around the edges as my slightly drunken brain got all excitable.

  “I’m frozen through, douchebag,” she snarled, clearly taking my permission for insults seriously and I had to say I liked that.

  “I could warm you up real good,” I offered, eyeing her hungrily for a moment as I wondered if she’d take the bait.

  “How?” she asked, mistrust in her big blue eyes.

  “Just spread your legs and say the word,” I growled because I was an asshole and I could.

  Her thighs clamped together like she thought I’d force them apart, but I’d never take a girl by force. That wasn’t my style. Yeah, I wanted to dominate her, own her body and make her ache in every possible way. But I wanted her screams to be those of pleasure and to hear her begging for every inch I gave.

  “Don’t worry, rich girl,” I said, my gaze skimming over her perfectly fuckable curves dismissively. I loved that I could wear my mask so tightly. No fucker ever got a read on what I was thinking unless I let them. Not even Saint. “I don’t hunger for uptight pussy. You’re not even half wild enough for me.”

  “I’m wilder than you could ever imagine, you self-obsessed fuckboy,” she snarled and I wondered if she was hoping to make me hard with that statement or if it was just a pleasant side effect.

  “Don’t give it to me softly, baby, go all in,” I dared her.

  Her lips pouted with uncertainty and I reached out to start the bubbles up again.

  “Come on, don’t pull any punches, tell me exactly what you think of me,” I challenged.

  My armour was platinum-made and my insides were dead and empty anyway, so I wasn’t worried about getting my feelings hurt, but I was interested in what my new pet thought of me as an owner.

  “Honestly?” she asked, sensing a trap.

  “Give it to me. Every deep, dark, sordid thought you’ve had about me and the conclusions you’ve come to.”

  She licked her lips like she was savouring the taste of those words and I watched her unblinkingly, captivated by this creature I now owned and wondering if she might just continue to surprise me.

  “Well, on first impression, I would have assumed that you were some kind of low rent gang banger from the shittier side of town,” she began, eyeing me for a long moment to check I wasn’t going to lose my shit and I arched an eyebrow at her as I waited for her to get to the good bit. “You wear everything with a superior kind of I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude, but that’s actually the complete opposite of your feelings. Everything about the way you look and dress actually screams look at me, especially considering the company you keep and the money you have. You dress and act the part of a delinquent, choosing the role of the dangerous bad boy but when push comes to shove, you’re just riding through life on your multimillion dollar trust fund. You may act like you’re so dark and dangerous and empty on the inside, but the only reason you’re empty is because you’ve had everything in life so fucking easy that it just got plain old boring. And now you’ve been wearing that empty, dark, mask for so long that you don’t even know how to take it off anymore and you’re not sure who you are without it, or if you’re even anyone at all. Which I’d wager you aren’t.”

  Silence hung following her words and I looked into her big blue eyes as I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from reacting to her words, from trying to rebuke them or refuse them or showing her that they’d held even the smallest drop of truth. And who gave a shit if they had? So what if she could tell I was empty inside? It wasn’t like I tried to hide it.

  I let her stiffen up as she waited to see if I’d flip on her for several seconds before I finally barked a laugh.

  “Not quite, baby, but keep on guessing for next time. One or two of those potshots got close to the mark even if you didn’t score a bullseye,” I teased, as I pushed her words from my skull and pointedly forgot about them.

  Tatum bit her lip on a reply, her gaze sliding over my features for a long moment before she accepted that I wasn’t gonna lose my shit.

  “Do I get to do you now?” I asked.

  “Do I actually get a say?” she ground out.

  “Sure you do, baby, this is just a conversation between…well I would say a bitch and her owner but I feel like you might take offence.”

  “Fuck you,” she hissed.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think you could take the heat, rich girl.”

  “Fine. Let’s hear it then, if you think you know so fucking much about me,” she said, folding her arms and pushing her tits up in the process.

  I made no attempt to hide where my gaze had landed and she snarled as she sank further beneath the bubbles to cut off my view of the goods.

  I rubbed a thumb over the corner of my mouth to hide my smirk at her reaction and decided to keep playing this game. There weren’t many people who could actually hold my attention for this long and I was beginning to wonder how much longer she’d stay interesting.

  “Let’s see then…” I dragged my eyes over her and grinned as I began. “You grew up well off but not with the kind of money most of the kids here had so you’re used to a good enough quality of life, but not so good that you’re an entitled brat. Mommy ditched out on you early on so you spent your formative years looking up to Daddy who was a few screws loose of the whole package if we’re to believe the newspaper articles about him. I also read about all of the different labs your daddy was employed in all over the country which means you mov
ed from place to place a lot. That explains why you make friends easily but keep your emotions out of it. With a single male role model, you learned the way to talk to men better than women and as you grew into that body – which is fucking sensational by the way – you figured out that you were pretty much the complete cock charming package. That meant that in the last few years, you’ve worked over several guys, taking just enough from them to satisfy you without giving much back in return so that when you up and leave there’s no wounds to worry about healing. It also explains why you’re going to be so damn hard to break in. You’ve grown a thick skin and you know how to shield yourself just as well as you understand how to dust yourself off after a kicking and come back fighting. How did I do?”

  “You missed the part where I was trained in kickboxing and advanced self-defence,” she said cockily. “And despite all of those showy muscles you’re so proud of, I’m pretty sure I could put you on your ass one on one.”

  I gave her an honest to fuck, real smile. No smirking, no taunting, no bullshit at all. The kind of smile no one but Blake or Saint had earned from me in years. “Well, fuck, baby,” I purred. “That sounds like a date.”

  “In your dreams, mutt,” she snapped.

  I laughed at that and ran my tongue over my bottom lip, remembering the paint on my flesh as I tasted it. I dragged a thumb across my jaw and glanced at it as it came away red. Tatum followed the movement with an assessing expression.

  “I can’t believe you all painted yourselves up like a bunch of fucking make-believe playing kids,” she growled, her tongue getting real loose now that she realised I didn’t mind it.

  “Scared you good though, didn’t we?” I taunted.

  Tatum pursed her lips, her gaze slipping over the paint on my body like she was searching for an answer in it.

  “Why?” she asked in a low voice. “I get why you all hate me. I just don’t get why you want me to be yours? Is it just so that you can humiliate me? Destroy me? What?” Her voice broke on that last word and I decided to give her what she wanted. At least in part.