Encircle (Colosseum University: Thorwald Crest Book 3)

by Flynn Eire

  I blinked at him a few moments before sighing and letting my head fall to his chest. “You talk so pretty when you finally open that mouth of yours and are honest.”

  “Are you nuts? Those are not pretty words, Foster!”

  “No, they’re not eloquent, but they’re pretty to me because they speak volumes about how much you like me.”

  “Okay, drunk guy hearing sweet words when it’s really vile and violent needs to go to sleep—alone.” Pierce tried to move me off of him, but I wrapped myself around him.

  “No, it’s my turn to get what I want when I want it. I’m raping you tonight, so you will sit here and enjoy my revenge!” I wanted to die the moment I blurted that out. For one, I no longer thought he raped me—though others had, so saying that was in horrible taste. Secondly, well… There were so many things wrong with that statement a list wasn’t really necessary. “That came out wrong.”

  “I figured. You would never hurt someone or violate them,” he muttered, his big hand rubbing my back. We were quiet a few minutes, and simply being there, lying on him and smelling him while listening to his heart beat, got me so wound up I thought I might blow and embarrass myself even more. “Do you really want revenge?”

  “Huh?” I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I barely registered what he said. I sat up and blinked down at both of the Pierces I was seeing. “Wow, I am drunk. How did that happen?”

  “Lots of fruity drinks Arlo made for you that you gulped right down.”

  I giggled. “They were tasty.” Then his words sank in. “No, I don’t want revenge. I want to stop feeling like the victim and helpless. I want to take charge and—well, I’m not sure, but I know I want action at my lead right now and not be tucked into bed like some kid you’re blowing off.”

  Pierce sighed and rubbed the heels of his hands in his eyes. “I’m not blowing you off. I’m trying not to blow you, Foster. I love you. I want you. I would let you do anything and everything you wanted to me because I’m so yours—but you’re drunk, and that’s taking advantage of you, and I can’t do that ever again, so please, please stop this test because I don’t know how much longer I can control myself.”

  “I’m not testing you.” I gave him a funny look, and slowly he lowered his hands. I saw the confusion there, and I realized he thought I was making him jump through another hoop to earn my forgiveness. “I said it earlier when I was sober that I wanted to kiss you all night.”

  “Glad it’s not a test. I’m still not going to take advantage of the man I love when he’s drunk.”

  I gave a loud and frustrated sigh. “That’s why I said I wanted to take advantage of you!” I finally decided the full and honest truth was the best because this sort of dancing around wasn’t getting us anywhere. “I’m not trying to bully you. I hate bullies. I—I’m horny. It’s the first time I’ve been horny since everything happened. I’m scared it might be my only time, and I don’t want to let this chance slip by even if it’s because I’m boozed up enough to admit what I want.”

  “Okay, so what do you want? Be specific,” he worried, staring up at me with such surprise I wondered if I told him I knew where Atlantis was located he’d be less surprised.

  “Kiss you and, well, keep my clothes on, and definitely not go as far as sex, so I guess I’m not molesting you much, but I feel almost itchy, and being on you like this—I like it, so if we could keep doing that I—”

  Pierce sat up and grabbed my head, pulling me to his lips. I melted against him as his tongue pushed into my mouth. Then his other moved to my hip, and he guided me to rub against him, totally like a kitty in heat. The friction was beautiful. The softness of the suit—which I sported without undergarments—in contrast to his hard abs did miraculous things to my cock.

  When I couldn’t breathe anymore, I yanked my lips away from his and buried my face in his neck, fisting and pulling on his hair as I moved faster. “I got you, Foster. Let go. I got you.”

  “Pierce, oh fuck, Pierce, this is what I always wanted,” I moaned and then bit his earlobe as I came, trying to keep myself from screaming because, well… That would be bad. When my body spent itself, I collapsed against him as if my bones consisted of jelly.

  And then it was like a bad non-porno porno where everything faded to black.

  * * * *

  Heat woke me. Lots of heat. Like my back was on fire kind of heat.

  I blinked awake and realized it was more than that. The hard wall of flesh behind me, strong bands wrapped around me and breath at my neck… And just like that I was wide awake.

  In more ways than one.

  Right, Pierce. I threatened to molest him last night. I bit back a groan. I was such a drunk idiot that the embarrassment factor couldn’t even register on the scale.

  “Mmm, baby, such a sexy fucking kitty,” Pierce moaned as he pulled me closer. “Gonna feed you my cream all night. In your mouth. In your ass. All over you until you can’t even stand it.”

  And just like that, I no longer was the biggest idiot in the room. I even smiled as I also was overcome with that itchy, turned on feeling. But when his hand moved down, I didn’t stop him or wake him up. When had Pierce gotten so good at all of this? Even last night he’d been the man with moves.

  Hadn’t he said he’d only ever been with me?

  “Come for me again, sexy. I want to lick up your cum this time,” he muttered as his hand rubbed my groin. Even in his sleep he knew where my cock was in the outfit and moved his hand at the perfect speed and pressure. It felt so good that I rubbed my ass against his hard on in my haze, and within minutes I was biting my lip hard enough to bleed to keep in my screams.

  When I came down from my lust, I realized the outfit was itchy… Not only had I been. The dried cum inside, well, was dried and gross. I slid out of his arms and grabbed my shower stuff. I wasn’t sure how to wash this thing, but I definitely didn’t want to ask Gwen.

  And as luck would have it, that was exactly who I bumped into on my way to the laundry room. He blinked at me a moment, biting back a laugh as he dried his hair with a towel, another wrapped around his hips. “Cold water. Woolite. Hand wash cycle. Hang dry.”

  He kept walking past me and didn’t say anything else. Was I that easy to read? I glanced down and saw the wet spot clearly visible through the orange parts of the material. I felt my face heat and made a mental note to thank him later for not making the situation worse for me.

  And probably I would be his model too… That would keep his continued silence.

  But I’m the photographer of the crest. How can I take the pictures and be in them? I thought about that as I hurried and stuck the outfit in the washer, wrapping my bath towel around my waist. Then after setting the load to the right specifications, I raced to shower. I had my answer by the time I finished up.

  Only to bump into someone else that brought my embarrassment right back.

  “So, I woke alone, hard, and with a damp hand,” Pierce muttered, his massive arms crossed over his naked chest as he stared at his feet. “Please tell me I didn’t do something bad in my sleep. I promised to be good to you.”

  I cleared my throat and walked towards him. “It wasn’t anything I didn’t want.” Then when I was in front of him and he could see me, I crooked my finger for him to lean down. I gave him a quick kiss and pressed my lips to his ear. “But you are a dirty, dirty boy who talks in his sleep about what he wants to do to me. Or it had better have been me and not some other sexy fucking kitty you’re going to feed your cream to in the ass and mouth.”

  “No, no, I dreamed of you,” he confirmed, his voice cracking again. “Please just shoot me, okay?”

  “How about you forgive my embarrassing moments last night and I forgive yours?”

  “Done.”

  I was glad he immediately agreed, and the stress left my body. However, I could feel how excited he currently was, as it pressed into my hip. It emboldened me in a way I hadn’t thought possible. “And maybe I’ll try tasting that cr
eam later if you’re good.”

  His face flushed so fast as he bolted upright that I couldn’t help but laugh as I hurried out of the bathroom. Oh, this was fun. I’d never had this kind of fun before.

  I could get used to this kind of fun.

  “Good morning, stingy birthday boy,” Spyros grumbled as he shuffled to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure what he meant, and he must have seen that on my expression. He rolled his eyes. “No one can have cake until your taste buds aren’t drunk and you miss out on it? Who says that at their party?”

  “A dickhead,” I groaned, right back to being embarrassed.

  Which seemed to amuse Spyros. Dick.

  I hurried to get dressed and added something to do before what I already had planned to do. As I rushed out my door, I saw Pierce entering the hall from the bathroom—dripping wet and nummy. I blew him a kiss, still not sure how I felt about everything to do with that, and kept going.

  I took in a deep breath before raising a hand to knock at the door I’d never been near before and about shit my pants to even think of doing this. I hoped Diego wouldn’t be pissed when he found out about it.

  I didn’t think he’d mind. Maybe? Probably for not talking it over first.

  “Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?” With that I quickly knocked.

  Kisten answered the door and smiled when he saw me. “Hey, birthday boy, killer party last night!” Then he frowned. “Um, sorry I was a dick and ran my mouth about your gown yesterday. I really didn’t understand what was going on. I thought it had something to do with the arrival of those guys and whatever’s going on there and I got pissed.”

  “It’s cool. I knew it wasn’t going to be a day of everyone getting on board, but I tuned it all out fairly well, so we’re all good.” Kisten and I had spoken a few times, always getting along as “little guys” as he referred to us, but not really hanging out much. “So, you got time to have breakfast with me? I want to run an idea past you—and I say ‘idea’ lightly, as it came to me in the shower and I really don’t have any specifics down yet.”

  “Color me intrigued. Sure, let me get my bag.” He darted back inside and reappeared moments later. “Doyle flew out to a photoshoot this morning, so I could use any and all distractions.”

  This might be the best timing ever then because Doyle watches over Kisten like a hawk… Or jealous lover, so talking to him alone is rare. Once in the cafeteria, I found my cakes were being stored in the fridge, and Kisten helped me get them out so everyone who’d been at the party could have some now.

  Better late than never.

  “Score! Cake for breakfast and first dibs too. I get to cut my own piece,” Kisten gushed, hurrying to put it on his plate, taking small pieces of each.

  “I wish I was like you,” I blurted without even thinking. When he shot me a funny look, I knew I had to explain. “You’re always happy. You’re like the brightest personality around.”

  “I didn’t used to be,” he chuckled, a darkness to it. “I really didn’t. It’s Doyle. He might be selfish, fairly spoiled, and demanding, but he’s my selfish, fairly spoiled, and demanding man. Plus, he spoils me rotten in all areas, if you get my drift.” He took a big bite of the first cake and twitched his lips. “I do hate being separate from him all the time because of the shoots. His manager’s a bastard and not only works for his dad but is always trying to ‘catch’ Doyle in a scandal to use over him.”

  “Right, and it’s all something he instigated or set up. I hate those types.” I shivered, thinking about the teacher in high school I’d gone to for help who had acted like he was going to help me but instead became the ringleader of my abuse. “I really hate those types.”

  “Me too. Bullies should die.”

  Wow, didn’t we go to a negative place fast? I cleared my throat and set down my cake. “So, I had this idea. I don’t know if you overheard what Gwen was saying about the outfits he planned or—”

  “Those kitty pajamas were so cute! Doyle was eyeing them up, and I know he would love it if I wore that. Plus, it looked much softer than some of the cosplay outfits and lingerie he asks me to wear for him.” Kisten dropped his plate to the table after realizing what he’d admitted, his face turning bright red.

  “Hey, I’m not one to judge,” I giggled, reaching over and patting his hand. “It actually makes me more hopeful for my pitch. I can’t model and take pictures, and since I’m a photographer…” I trailed off, letting him fill in the blanks.

  Kisten glanced from me to himself back to me. “We’re the same build. I would be the perfect substitute.”

  “Yes, but hear me out because I know you’re busy with your own studies and art.”

  “Yes, but even I need breaks and more than I take. I might not be able to stand there for hours like when I sketch someone, but if Gwen makes things to my measurements, I can sure try it on and take pictures.”

  “Wow, this was so much easier than I thought,” I breathed, a thrill shooting through me. “I was thinking you too because you might be a real model then, and there would be a reason for you to go on shoots with Doyle, or at least you were someone in the industry, not just a friend from school everyone looked at funny. And I know we have a PR company so we could handle that, though I guess Doyle has people, but they work for his dad right now, right?”

  “Umm, we’re now getting into stuff I’m not sure if I’m supposed to talk about.” Kisten squirmed in his seat a bit, and I understood that feeling.

  “Me too actually. I’m not involved with all the details. I’m just the photographer. They tell me they need shots for this or that and I take them. Well, I bring in income with Spyros when we fix up my pictures and load them onto stock sites.”

  “You’re more talented than you make yourself sound,” Kisten muttered, his cheeks heating up. “I saw your concept proposal for the art and cultures fair coming up. Those test shots are really amazing.” He cleared his throat and glanced around, leaning in. “I wouldn’t mind being part of it. We couldn’t tell Doyle until it was over because he’d freak if he thought I was posing naked, as if I would do porn shots. It’s art. I guess his opinion is biased given how long he’s been modeling.”

  I smiled. It made me feel good that someone majorly talented like Kisten liked my idea. It was slightly out there, and mostly for the private collections of paranormals—though if any human got their hands on the photos, they would assume they were digitally altered, which had been in the background for the idea. There was a staggering lack of paranormal-ish photos on stock sites that didn’t look like crap.

  I mean, what kind of self-respecting vampires would have yellow teeth? And why did they always have yellow teeth in the photos? Did these make-up artists not think that a vampire would know how to use a toothbrush or some whitening strips? Blood wasn’t any more staining than I’d heard coffee was.

  But my idea for the art and cultures fair the school put on every year for parents, prospective students, and the alum was to take a series of shots as different people shifted. Capture not man nor beast but the war inside of all of us trapped and trying to come out.

  Hey, it had to have an artsy meaning if it was to be picked, not simply because I thought the shots would be wicked.

  Gwen ended up joining us moments later, giving me a wink as he sat down. Not that I thought he would, but there was no time to tease me once he caught on to what we were plotting. Diego joined us next, drawn in by the excitement as he always was… Mostly because he wanted to see what he could do to help. People outside our crest didn’t know him in that light, but we all did. To us he wasn’t just our crest leader but our savior as well.

  Kisten then called over Tucker—his crest’s legal guy—and the conversation really started picking up.

  “You know Doyle won’t like this,” Tucker interjected, focusing on Kisten but then glancing at Diego as if trying to surmise what my crest leader was up to.

  “Too bad,” Kisten snapped, his pout lip coming out. “He
can get a taste of what I have to deal with all the time. There’s tons of half-naked pictures of him out there that women and men drool all over. Plus, all the fans hanging on him any chance they get, and seriously, he’s bi. I’m not—”

  “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re in a tough spot as his partner,” Tucker interrupted, looking less than comfortable with the turn of the conversation. “From a crest standpoint, we don’t have the infrastructure in place to support this type of project, so for now on a trial basis, I’ll give the consent to move forward with using the Thorwald PR company and the project as Doyle’s right hand. I would ask that you bring Aaryn onto the project, as this would be a good learning experience for him.”

  “Oh, Aaryn, yeah. That would be good. I know he’s trying really hard to start up that charity I wanted, and I don’t think it’s going well. I feel bad, it’s like I dumped all of this on him, but that’s what Doyle wanted and he—” Kisten shut his mouth closed.

  “I hear you,” Tucker agreed.

  I felt bad they were worried, so I shot a look over at Diego. He was already focused on me, probably knowing how I would feel about this, smiling. “It’s your project. The PR company’s launched, so we’re letting all our behind-the-scenes stuff out of the bag one at a time. I’ll tell Brysen this is the focus this week if you want.”

  “Right. This is the perfect time anyone sees since tonight’s the night,” I agreed, nodding. “Okay, yeah, I’ll invite them and take pictures this time. Brysen will know how best to go forward with the letting out part.”

  “You really, really are an interesting guy,” Kisten muttered, glancing me over with confused eyes.

  “Normal is boring.” I shrugged, and he let it go.

  Gwen was stoked about his new ideas and the potential for it all to go somewhere. I bounced around more than normal because I loved our covert night of good deeds. I knew Major wouldn’t fail in getting all the supplies we needed, but still, once classes were over, meals were done, and the kitchen closed down, I was raring to go.

  “I don’t get it. You’re a secret baker?” Kisten whispered, him and Aaryn following after me. “Why are we meeting in the kitchen?”