Cruel Devils

by Mae Doyle

  Tears sting my eyes and I try to push him away, but he doesn’t let me go until I can taste my own blood. It’s sharp and bright in my mouth and the smell of it fills my nose, making me think of my parents.

  Fuck.

  Fucking Luca.

  This time, when I push him away, he steps back, laughing. My blood is on his mouth, and there’s a smear of it on his chin. Covering my mouth with my hand, I feel the blood gently oozing from the bite on my lip. It stings, but worse than that, it smells like it did in my house when my parents were murdered.

  “I told you that I wanted some of her blood,” Luca says, turning to the other devils. He has a grin on his face and runs his hands through his perfect hair, making his jawline pop and his muscles flex. “I’m just not going to wear it in a pussy necklace like you are, Asher. She tastes delicious.”

  He turns back to me, his eyes dark as he looks at me. Afraid, I take a step back. My mouth throbs in time with my core. I don’t want him to touch me, but I want to be kissed like that again. I want what I know he’d be thrilled to give me, hell, what they’d all be thrilled to give me, but there’s no way that I can let that happen.

  “You taste good, huh?” Asher takes a step towards me. “I bet that I can think of a part of you that tastes even better than your blood, Kiera. You want to give me a go?”

  No. There’s a voice in my head screaming at me that I need to get out of here, but my feet won’t listen. I feel completely stuck in place, even though I want to leave. My muscles are on fire and begging me to run, especially when I see the look on Asher’s face.

  Hell, the look on all of their faces. They’re like a pack of wild animals and there’s finally blood in the water. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to walk away from this. I’m not sure if they’re going to let me.

  “I hate you.” I throw the words at Luca, but they all know that they’re meant for all four of them. “I hate all of you, and you’re going to get what you deserve, I promise you that. When everything falls apart for the four of you, I’m going to be there watching. Fuck, I’m going to be the one who lit the match and burns down your palace, do you understand?”

  Parker barks out a laugh. “Oh yeah, white trash? And how in the hell do you think that you’re not only going to survive here, but also make it out in one piece while we don’t? What’s the magic trick that you have up your sleeve?” He reaches out and grabs my shirt, ripping it so that the sleeve tears away.

  “Nothing. She has nothing up her sleeve.” It’s Caspian, and I can’t help the surprise on my face as he strolls towards us. Just like the other devils, he can’t take his eyes off of me. “And I bet that under her skirt she has a nothing little dried-up cunt. What do you think, Kiera? Is it dry and dusty from not ever being used? Because I know that we’re happy to help you out with that.”

  My jaw drops open when he says this. Caspian, the one devil who I thought may have a conscious, is talking to me like the other devils. Why would he do this, when he’s the only one who’s been nice to me in the past?

  Before I can say or do anything, Asher slips a finger into my mouth and swirls it around my tongue. I gag, stepping back, and he slips his finger out and then sucks it. “She’s plenty wet in there, Caspian, if you’re looking for somewhere to sink your dick. I know what hold I’d prefer, but hey, any port in a storm, right?”

  They all laugh, and my skin crawls. I have to get out of here. Without thinking about what I’m doing, I kick off my heels and turn, starting to run away from them. I’m heading in the wrong direction from the dorm, and they’re all faster than me, but it’s my only chance of getting away.

  If they decide to chase me, I’m fucked.

  If they decide to wait for me, I’m fucked.

  I’d rather take my chances making a run for it.

  Chapter 18

  There are so many things that I need to think about, but there’s no way that I’m going to let myself slow down enough to go there.

  Like the fact that I’m just an heir. The fact that everyone at the school wants me gone. How Sophia promised me that she was still on my side.

  That kiss.

  Yep, that’s something that I’m definitely not going to think about, not for a long time, until I’m old and gray, even though I’m pretty sure that no guy is ever going to kiss me like that again. Like I was the only thing holding him to the earth and the only thing that allowed him to breathe.

  It was hot, no doubt about it, but my lip still aches form where he shoved his teeth through my thin skin and made me bleed. I keep touching it, which isn’t helping with the pain, but now that I’m heading to the locker room, I need to leave it alone.

  I don’t want to get these chemicals into the cut.

  The good thing about Meyer’s Grove is that the entire lacrosse team easts dinner together before games. The great thing about Meyer’s Grove is that the school is so trusting and all of the students like each other enough that nobody thinks about shutting the locker room. Nobody thinks that anyone would dare to do anything to hurt the team.

  The players are all practically gods at Meyer’s Grove, but I’m going to bring the devils down a few notches.

  The room is deathly silent when I peek my head in, but it smells. Wrinkling my nose, I carefully close the door behind me and make my way along the lines of gym bags and gear to find what I’m looking for. I’m pretty sure that the devils are going to keep all of their things together, and I’m not surprised when I’m right.

  Four gym bags clustered together. Four pairs of shoes, four uniforms. And just enough homemade powder to make them all wish that they were dead when it’s all said and done.

  I took special care when making my powder to make sure that it looked and smelled like talcum powder. Even now, taking a small sniff, I’m not sure that I can tell much of a difference between this and the powder the boys will use to keep themselves dry during the game.

  Quickly, I sprinkle it into their shoes and clothes, taking special care to get it into their shorts. Caspian’s shoes are last, and I hesitate, then remember what he said to me in the quad. I thought he was the nice one, but it turns out that he’s just as bad as the rest of them. He just hides it better.

  “Take that, assholes,” I mutter when I’m done, then I slip the container back into my backpack and turn to leave. Before I can reach the door, though, it swings open, and I freeze.

  I know that voice.

  “It’s right in here, coach, just hang on a moment,” Asher says before striding into the locker room. His eyes fall on me immediately and he raises an eyebrow. “And to what do I owe this pleasure, white trash? What in the world could you possibly be doing in here before our big game? If it’s not a good luck blowie, then I’m not interested.”

  When I don’t answer or move, he scoffs and walks to his backpack, throwing it open and digging around for something. Triumphantly, he pulls out a piece of paper and crosses the room to the door. “Don’t move,” he warns me before leaning out of the door and giving it to his coach.

  Watching and listening to him, I feel panic start to rise in my chest. This was stupid. Now that he’s seen me in here, there’s no way that he won’t be able to put two and two together. It’ll be obvious that I’m the one who fucked up their uniforms. My hands start to sweat and I wipe them on my skirt, still keeping my eyes on Asher.

  When he finally turns around and shuts the door behind him, I swallow hard. Now I’ve done it. Now I’m really fucked.

  “What the hell are you doing in here, Kiera? You come by to give me a private good luck kiss?” He advances towards me, and even though I know that I should hold my own and stand still, I can’t help but back up until I’m pressed up against the lockers.

  He chuckles and stops right in front of me before reaching out and tucking my hair behind my ear. This reminds me that he’s still wearing a necklace with my hair in it, and I shiver. At the same time, though, part of me wants him. Part of me wants him to kiss me.

&nbs
p; I’ve wanted it since I saw him the first day I came to Meyer’s Grove. Never in my life have I seen anyone as attractive as the devils, and now, caught alone with him in the locker room, I know that I’m not going to be able to ignore how I feel.

  “I got turned around.” It’s a bold lie, and we both know it, but I’m almost halfway relieved to see that he’s going to play along.

  “Did you now?” He murmurs, running his thumb down my cheek. His touch makes me suck in a breath and I have to close my eyes to clear my head and keep from feeling dizzy. It feels electric, having him touch me like this, and it’s almost impossible for me to stay clear-headed right now.

  “Mmhmm. My guides on my first day here kinda sucked, so I’ve just been doing a little exploring on my own. No big deal.” I try to slip past him, hoping to make it out the door without him stopping me, but he can immediately tell what I’m doing, and he grabs my wrist, holding me in place.

  “Well, maybe your guides were a little bit hasty.” His voice is deep and gravely, and the very sound of it makes my stomach twist and my core heat. I feel a throbbing between my legs that’s becoming all too familiar when I’m around any of the devils. “What do you say that I show you some one-on-one attention right now and give you a tour?”

  “A tour of what?” I shouldn’t engage. I shouldn’t be talking to him like this or thinking about what it would be like to have his lips on mine. At the very least, I should be trying to talk my way out of here or making a run for it. If he finds the empty bottle in my backpack, then I’m screwed.

  “Me.” Before I know what he’s doing, Asher has me pinned up against the lockers, his body pressing into mine, his hands caught in my hair. I shift under him, a lock digging into my back, but I can’t scoot away. He’s all muscle and sinew, his one focus right now keeping me in place and taking pleasure from me, and there’s not a damn thing that I can do about it.

  Even if I could? I don’t know that I would do anything about it. He’s intoxicating, and his mouth is hungry, forcing mine open and searching me.

  I moan into his mouth, and he forks his hand through my hair, fisting it and pulling my head to the side. Gasping, I tilt my head, leaving my neck exposed. His hot open-mouthed kisses up and down my neck are like fire and send shooting sparks through my body.

  My knees would be getting weak, but he has me so tightly pressed up against the locker that he’s the one supporting me, so it doesn’t matter if I get tired. I’m not going anywhere.

  God help me, I kiss him back, reaching up and looping my hands around his neck. He smells faintly of cologne and sweat, and my heart races as I gently rest on hand on his chest.

  “You know, Kiera,” he says, pulling back for a moment, “you don’t taste half-bad for being white trash. Luca told me that you were a little tart but still delicious, and I just had to know for myself. You don’t mind, do you?”

  His lips are a little swollen from kissing me so hard, and I immediately reach up and touch mine. They’re aching, throbbing with the pressure from him.

  Fuck him.

  “I hate you.” My voice is so quiet that even if there were other people in the locker room, they wouldn’t be able to hear me. It’s for him, and him alone to hear, and he bursts into a grin. Fuck, he’s hot, his hair mussed up from kissing me and his cheeks a little bright with spots of color.

  “You love me, Kiera. You don’t know what you’d do without someone like me here at Meyer’s Grove to keep you on your toes. God, you don’t want your life to be boring, do you? Because I don’t think that I can stop now. I thought that I wanted you to leave, and I still do, but if you want to just let me fuck you one time first, that would be great.”

  He slams his hand into the locker by my head and I flinch from the sound, making him laugh.

  “Sweet little white trash,” he murmurs, slipping a hand up under my shirt. “You ever let anyone touch your delicious tits, or am I going to be the first?”

  “No!” I cry out, slamming my hands into his chest to try to push him off. He’s bigger than me, though, and determined to get what he wants, and his hand keeps creeping higher. When he swipes his thumb across my nipple, it springs to attention, the lace from my bra dragging across it and sending a shockwave through my body.

  “Looks like someone doesn’t really know what she wants, but I’ll be happy to show you.” Asher tugs the hem of my shirt like he’s going to rip it off of me, but before he can, the locker room door swings open and the rest of the lacrosse team strolls in.

  They’ve all been at dinner, and now it’s time for them to come get dressed for the game. I freeze, my hands still on Asher’s chest, my eyes searching their team for a friendly face.

  Yeah, like I’m going to find any of them here. I’m sure that the devils have the entire lacrosse team turned against me, and I can immediately tell by the look on the player’s faces that I’m not wrong.

  Shit.

  “What’s going on in here?” A loud booming voice cuts through the chatter of the boys and silences them. It’s the coach. I can tell from the way that all of the guys respond. My hands fall from Asher’s chest, but he doesn’t move from where he has me pinned up against the lockers.

  “Just a little good luck from a lacrosse fan, sir,” he calls out before giving me a gentle pinch on the arm and turning around. “She’s leaving now, though, so don’t worry. No more distractions before the game, although I don’t think that you can blame me for indulging in this one.” I exhale for the first time since he slammed his hand onto the locker by my head and move to try to leave, but the coach stops me.

  “Kiera Lampley?” He’s frowning, like even saying my name is enough to make him sick, and I nod. “Why the hell are you doing in here distracting one of my players? He knows the rules, but maybe you don’t?”

  I don’t know any rules, but when I look back at Asher’s face, I can tell immediately that he knows what the coach is talking about, and that he’s pissed.

  And worried. It’s an expression that I’ve never seen on his face before, and I like it.

  “Sir, it was an accident. I didn’t even know that she was in here, and I was trying to get her to leave.” He sounds a little panicked, but manages to keep his voice calm.

  I have a feeling that I should pipe up and tell the coach that that’s what happened, but then I realize that we don’t look like I was just leaving. My hair is messed up, as is Asher’s, and my lips still feel hot and red, like someone who was just kissed.

  The coach must be thinking the same thing, because he frowns at the two of us. “I don’t allow girls in the locker room, Mr. Reed, but there’s something else that I don’t allow in here.” Turning around to face the rest of the team, he raises his voice. “Who knows what the other thing is that’s not welcome in my locker room or on the field?”

  “Liars!” The team shouts back as one, and I get a distinct cult vibe from them.

  “Liars.” The coach’s voice is quieter now as he looks at the two of us. “I don’t allow liars to play, do I, Mr. Reed?”

  Asher looks pale. In fact, he looks like someone who’s about to be sick, and I can’t blame him. I have a very good feeling about where this is going and how it’s going to end, and it doesn’t end well for him. Maybe me, if I’m lucky. If I can sneak out of here without the coach paying me much attention.

  “You’re benched, Asher. I’m sorry to say it, because we need you on the field tonight, but you can play again next week. Grab your bag, grab the girl, and get out of here.” The coach crosses his arms across his chest and I watch as the other three devils frown. There’s going to be hell to pay for this, and I know exactly who they’re going to turn on.

  The rage coming off of Asher is almost palatable, and as soon as he has his gym bag in his hand, he brushes past me to the door, but the coach steps in front of him to stop him. “The girl,” he says simple, and Asher turns around to face me.

  Holy hell. His gorgeous features are twisted into ones of rage. I’ve never
seen anyone look this angry before, especially not when they’re looking at me. I fucked up, big time, and he’s not about to let me forget it anytime soon, I can tell.

  “Kiera. Now,” he barks out at me, and obediently, I walk towards him. Even though I want to get out of there and get away from everyone, leaving there with Asher isn’t what I had in mind.

  The locker room door slams shut behind us and he turns to me, growling. This time, though, I don’t make the mistake of backing up against the wall. There’s no way that I’m going to let him pin me in place again.

  “You were up to something shady as fuck, weren’t you, Kiera? What was it? Tell me now before I make your life even more miserable for you.”

  Now, if you give me a board game or a word problem, I’m usually pretty good at figuring out how I can solve it, but right now I honestly don’t see a way out.

  Swallowing hard, I tap my foot on the floor, trying to buy myself some time. Asher’s still holding his gym back in one hand, the other hanging loosely at his side. I know how strong he is. I know that he could pin me up against the wall right here, right now, and there wouldn’t be anything that I could do about it.

  A thrill runs through me.

  Okay. The coach hates liars and can obviously spot them from a mile away, but I have to hope that Asher doesn’t have the same talent as his coach or I am really and truly fucked. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to look up into his eyes. They’re stormy and dark, and I have to focus to keep from getting lost in them.

  “I didn’t get lost,” I tell him. “That was a lie.” His expression softens a little, and I hope that this may work. If I can admit to one thing and then lie about another, he may not see the lie coming. “I’m just confused. Out in the quad with you four…” I let my voice trail off.

  God, I hope he picks up on what I’m insinuating, because I can’t handle the thought of telling him that I want him. He raises an eyebrow and all of my hope that I have him fooled disappears.