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

by Caroline Peckham

  I sighed irritably, pushing myself to my feet as I headed down the corridor to the store room so that I could go and tell her to get the fuck out.

  I pulled the door open and the princess gasped as I strode into the storage space, passing nets of basketballs, stacks of cones, racks of baseball bats and lacrosse sticks until I reached her.

  “Explain,” I demanded in a hard tone.

  The princess bit into that full bottom lip of hers, fiddling with the knot she’d tied in the hem of her black dress and tugging the whole thing down an inch, drawing my gaze to the tanned skin of her full breasts for a moment. My attention snapped back to her blue eyes instantly. I might have been horny as fuck tonight, but that didn’t mean I was going to be letting my eyes wander to a student. Especially not a rude little brat like her.

  To make matters worse, her gaze shifted down my bare chest too and she looked for a moment too long for it to be a cursory glance.

  “I, umm…I’m just washing a few of the guys’ jerseys for them,” she said, batting her eyelashes innocently.

  “Cut the innocent act, Rivers,” I growled at her. “I don’t know who you manage to fool with that shit, but I know trouble when I see it and everything about you screams trouble.”

  Her long, blonde hair was tied in pigtails as if she’d been working the innocent angle all day and the sigh that escaped her told me she wasn’t done, despite my warning. But I was the kind of kid who had pulled the girls’ pigtails at school then dragged them behind the bike shed for a make out session, so she’d gone for the wrong look to get away with anything around me.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I was just finishing up though, I promise to be gone in five more minutes, if you’d just-”

  I strode around her, nudging her aside so that I could look down into the soapy water where three jerseys had been submerged. She was up to something alright.

  I hooked the closest jersey out, holding it wide so that the name Memphis was visible in dark green against the white background. Except it wasn’t a white background: it was pink.

  “Last chance to give me the truth. If you’re meant to be doing such a great job of cleaning these jerseys then explain to me exactly why you’re attempting to ruin them?”

  Tatum’s lips popped open in a perfect little O as her gaze flickered uncertainly. “Whoops…I must have accidentally dropped my lipstick in there, somehow…”

  “Mmmhmm.” I reached forward to drain the water from the basin and hooked the other two jerseys out so that I could see the names on the back of them too. Roscoe and Bowman. “Well you’ve either got a death wish or you seriously think you’re clever enough to get away with this shit.”

  “I-”

  “Let’s cut the bullshit, I’ll be having the truth from you one way or another. And just so you know, lipstick isn’t gonna be much of a problem for laundry to remove so this master plan of yours sucks ass. It will literally do nothing to those boys aside from aim their anger at you.”

  Tatum’s jaw was locked tight and it was clear she had no intention of saying anything else. I released a frustrated sigh.

  “My office, now.” I pointed her towards the door and she strode away from me, swaying her hips in a way that forced me to look at her ass in the short black dress she’d chosen to wear.

  For the love of fuck, why did she have to come strutting around here tonight of all nights?

  Tatum headed to my office and I took a detour to toss the jerseys in the laundry shoot. By the time the Night Keepers saw them again they’d be as good as new and Tatum Rivers could thank me for saving her ass. Though I got the feeling that wasn’t what was about to happen.

  I headed into my office and fell still as I entered, finding her in my chair, slowly spinning it around in a circle.

  “What are you doing?” I growled.

  “You said to come and wait here,” she replied, that innocent bullshit act right back in place. “I didn’t know how long you’d be and I’m tired.”

  I closed in on her slowly as she remained sitting in my chair. There was something going on here. Something she was trying to distract me from.

  I flattened my palms on the desk and leaned forward slowly, my gaze roaming over her features as I tried to pick out what she was trying to hide.

  “Why were you in there with the Night Keepers’ jerseys?” I asked in a low tone.

  Her lips parted on a lie and my scowl deepened as I forced her to reconsider. Tatum blew out a breath, fingering one of the pigtails as she made the right choice and offered me the truth instead.

  “Blake told me to wash them.”

  “Why? We have laundry service, there’s no need for anyone to be hand washing anything. And if you were doing him some great favour then why were you making such a fucking mess of it?”

  A frown furrowed her brow and something hopeless flared in her eyes for a moment before she hid it away again.

  “I thought you were friendly with those boys?” I asked slowly, watching her reaction carefully. She wrinkled her nose at that suggestion and I frowned because she’d definitely been pitch side during practice, cheering their names like she was hoping to be their latest groupie.

  “Look, I’m not asking you for your input in my social life, okay?” she said. “It was just a joke, a terrible one apparently. If you’re going to punish me for it, can we just get on with that? Why don’t you just give me detention with you tomorrow, and we can call it quits?” She’d spent her last one with me running laps of the sports hall until she damn near busted a lung so I had no idea why she’d be looking for another one, but it made me even surer she was trying to hide something.

  “What the fuck makes you think you can dictate your own punishments?” I snarled.

  “Well, I’m sitting in the teacher’s chair so I thought that gave me some authority,” she deadpanned.

  A breath of surprised laughter escaped me and her lips twitched too. “You’re a real piece of work, Rivers.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  “Tatum?!” Saint Memphis’s voice echoed down the corridor outside and the colour drained from her face in a heartbeat. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

  “Don’t tell him I’m here,” she gasped, dropping beneath my desk without waiting for me to agree.

  Fuck that.

  I rounded my desk and glared down at her as she curled into the gap beneath it and looked up at me with a plea in her eyes.

  “Get out of there,” I snarled.

  “Please, just tell him you sent me back to my dorm,” she hissed.

  “Tatum! Where the fuck are you?” Saint yelled, the anger in his tone clear that time.

  I glanced between the girl hiding beneath my desk and the open door which led to the corridor where Saint was hunting for her. I didn’t know what the hell was going on here, but I did know that if given a choice between throwing Tatum to the wolves and fucking up Saint Memphis’s plans, there really wasn’t much choice to be made.

  “You’ll be giving me the full truth of this when he’s gone,” I growled in a low voice as I dropped into my chair and rolled it forward to conceal her.

  I left my legs wide and she huddled in the space between my thighs as I made an effort not to think about how close her face was to my dick right now. Honestly, it was like the fucking universe was conspiring to get me fired tonight or something.

  “Memphis!” I bellowed. “What the fuck are you doing roaming my corridors and screaming at the top of your lungs?”

  Heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor and a moment later Saint himself shadowed my door. Seriously, the kid was huge, all three of the Night Keepers were. They were thick with muscle and nearly as tall as me which at six foot four was saying something. I didn’t know if they were given protein shakes instead of breastmilk as babies or if drinking from solid gold chalices their whole lives were the reason for it but whatever it was, these boys had become men before their time. And they had the anger of men in them too.

 
“Sorry, sir,” Saint said, somehow making sorry sound a lot like fuck you. “I left something here earlier, I was just looking for it.”

  “What?” I demanded as if I hadn’t heard him calling Tatum’s name.

  “Just my shiny new toy,” he said with a shrug, but his eyes lit like he was high on something and I didn’t think for a moment he’d been taking narcotics.

  “And why were you calling out for Rivers?”

  A small, cruel smile pulled at his lips and I was suddenly glad I’d hidden her from him. I had no reason to feel protective over the girl but Saint and his friends were vultures and if they decided to circle someone, you could bet your ass they’d keep on pecking at the carcass until there wasn’t a single scrap of flesh left.

  “I caught her trying to wash your football jersey in the store cupboard,” I said in a flat tone. “I informed her that we had a perfectly serviceable laundry service and told her to get the fuck out. A message I’m happy to extend to you too.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, his gaze narrowing like there was some issue with my story.

  Tatum shifted beneath the desk, her shoulder brushing against my knee and my heart leapt at the idea of him catching her under there. Which was a joke really. I was the teacher and he was the student, but there was something about this whole situation that had my blood humming. It felt good to be doing something I shouldn’t. Even something as minor as this. I was so caught up in rules and regulations all the damn time, that I hardly ever got to just have fun.

  “Problem?” I asked him, arching a brow.

  “It’s just…we were waiting outside for her, so she can’t have left,” Saint said, his gaze narrowing suspiciously.

  “What do you want me to say, Memphis?” I asked with a sigh. “I caught your little friend here making a nuisance of herself and I told her to fuck off. About as clearly as I’m telling you to fuck off right now. So unless you’re looking to come back here for detention tomorrow, I’m gonna suggest you hightail it out of here.”

  “Fine. I guess I’ll just call her then.” Saint reached into his pocket for his phone and I damn near leapt out of my skin as Tatum’s hand landed on my thigh and she squeezed in warning.

  “Why are you standing there to make this call?” I snarled at Saint as his eyes narrowed. It took me a moment to realise what he was looking at and he hit call on his cellphone half a second before the bright pink monstrosity Tatum had left on my desk started ringing with the name King of the Fuckwits flashing up on the screen.

  I contained my amusement at that as I picked the phone up and tossed it in my top drawer.

  “Looks like she was in here after all,” Saint said, assessing me carefully as he cut the call again.

  “I found that out by the pitch,” I said in a bored voice. “Unless you think I’ve got her on her knees beneath my desk?”

  I arched a brow at him as I dared him to keep pushing me.

  “No offence, sir, but my girl wouldn’t suck your cock for all the money in the world.”

  “Watch your tone with me, Saint,” I growled. “Don’t forget I’m your teacher.”

  “I didn’t mean any offence,” he said, raising his hands innocently. “Only that she knows exactly who she belongs to and she isn’t stupid enough to go near anyone else.”

  “What do you mean who she belongs to?”

  Saint offered me a taunting smile and moved closer to the desk with his hand held out. “I can take her phone back for her,” he said, ignoring my question.

  “If Miss Rivers would like her cellphone back she can come and claim it herself. I won’t tell you to fuck off one more time.”

  He glared at me and I glared right back, ignoring the fact that he was using his position above me to try and intimidate me. The day I was intimidated by the King of the Fuckwits would be a pathetic day indeed.

  Eventually, Saint nodded and backed off. “Okay, well if she shows up around here then send her my way, would you?”

  “I’m not your message boy, why don’t you get Bowman or one of your little followers to track her down if you’re so desperate to see her?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll have the whole school hunting before long. We’ll find her.” He smirked at me before heading out of the door and closing it behind him.

  Tatum sighed in relief and moved to climb out from beneath the desk but I rolled my chair forward, shushing her as I glanced at the CCTV and spotted Memphis lurking in the corridor right outside the door.

  My new position closer to her meant that I could feel her shoulders brushing the inside of my thighs and her breath fluttered over my hand which lay in my lap. Why the fuck did Memphis have to mention the idea of her sucking my cock? I wasn’t blind, Tatum Rivers was an exceptionally attractive girl, but I was her teacher and I absolutely refused to look at her that way. But with her down there between my thighs, the mental image kept creeping in and the adrenaline rush I was riding from hiding her from him was making me feel reckless. Couple that with the fact that I’d been feeling the ache in my blue balls tonight anyway and I was finding myself in a damn compromising position.

  Memphis finally gave up and strolled away, heading out of the building and I rolled my chair back, casting a frown at Tatum as she crawled out from beneath the desk.

  “Thank you,” she breathed and I caught the glimmer of fear in her eyes before she locked it down. “I just don’t want to deal with that asshole right now.”

  “That asshole is rarely alone in his tormenting games. You wanna tell me what he meant when he said you belong to him?”

  “I…” Those big blue eyes widened and for a moment all of the bullshit she liked to give off was gone and she was looking at me like maybe there was a chance I might actually be more than just another asshole. It made me wonder how many people she’d had in her life who she could even rely on. And with everything that had come out in the news about her father, I was willing to bet she didn’t have a whole lot of people to ask now.

  “Sit down,” I urged in a tone much softer than I usually used, offering her my chair again.

  Tatum glanced at it then shook her head, making a move to dart past me.

  I reached out and caught her waist, my fingers slipping across the soft material of her dress as I pushed her back and made her perch on the desk before me.

  Her breath caught as she looked up at me, her hands landing on my forearms like she was going to push me off. But she didn’t. And for a beat too long, I didn’t release her either, the feeling of her body beneath my hands drawing me in.

  I swallowed against the inclination to stay there and released her, placing my hands on the wooden desk either side of her instead, boxing her in and holding her captive as we remained like that, eye to eye.

  “Tell me,” I growled, no room for negotiation.

  “They…the Night Keepers are angry at me for the things the newspapers are saying about my dad,” she breathed eventually.

  “You don’t believe he did it?” I asked.

  She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes along with a hint of doubt. “I know him, I love him, I can’t believe he’d do something so awful, so…” A sob escaped her as a tear fell and my thumb swiped over her cheek to catch it before it could drop between us.

  Tatum looked at me like she knew I shouldn’t have touched her like that and like she was hoping I might do it again. I seriously need to take this down a notch.

  “If they’re bullying you because of-”

  “They aren’t bullying me,” she replied in a quiet voice, blinking to still the tears before they could turn into a flood.

  “Then what? If you don’t want me to take it any further than this room then I swear I won’t. But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

  She only hesitated for another moment but I could tell that her walls were crumbling. She needed to tell someone what was happening and I was the lucky fucker who’d landed on the job.

  “The Night Keepers took me down to that old rock wi
th the carvings at Sycamore Beach,” she whispered, like the words alone might summon the demons who haunted her. “And they threatened me, threatened my friends, promised to do all kinds of unspeakable things to me. Unless…”

  “Unless what?” I growled.

  My grip on the edge of the desk was punishing and I could feel myself losing control as I waited for the words to leave her mouth. Because I could already see it. See how Saint and his asshole friends had done something to her just like his father had done something to me. Something so big that it changed everything, ruined everything and yet so small to them that all they did was laugh about it if they even thought of it at all.

  “They made me promise to be theirs, mind body and soul,” she breathed, her gaze never shifting from mine.

  “Be theirs? How? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, not liking the sound of that at all.

  “I belong to them. I have to do anything they say, everything they say.”

  “Are they forcing you to have sex with them?” I growled, gripping the desk so hard I was surprised the fucking thing didn’t break. If it was true, I’d hunt the three of them down myself right now and show them all the ways that you could use a baseball bat outside of the field.

  “Not that,” she said quickly. “But everything else. I have to do things like hand feed them and wash their football jerseys…”

  I ground my teeth as I fought my temper back under control, shoving away from the desk as I paced away from her and pushing a hand through my dark blonde hair as I stalked back and forth a few times.

  Tatum watched me, her gaze burning me as I prowled like a mountain lion, but I couldn’t help it. The anger that resided in me because of my lot in life, the injustice, the hopelessness, the endless thirst for vengeance that had damn near consumed me more than once was rising up to drown me. I needed a minute. Just a minute.

  I finally blew out a breath and turned back to her.

  “Fucking with their football jerseys was a dumb move,” I said finally and she pouted as the walls slammed back down behind her eyes.

  “Great. Thanks. I’m so glad I shared my problem with you.” She turned and stalked towards the door but I caught her as she yanked it open and knocked it closed again, leaning an arm against it above her head to hold it shut as I looked down at her.