“Sounds like we both have grade-A dads.”
“Probably better that mine left me alone, for the most part. Would rather have that than the dick you had to deal with.”
“Yeah…it wasn’t the best situation,” I said, downplaying the severity. I didn’t need to get into the verbal abuse or the beatings. Definitely too soon for that crap. “Hey, you wanna get high?”
Aiden chuckled. “Yeah, I’d love to.”
I hopped up and headed to my room. I figured I’d grab the shit from my nightstand and head back, but Aiden followed me, and I didn’t have a reason to stop him.
“Not as clean as the rest of the place,” I warned him as I went for the nightstand drawer where I kept my stash. I retrieved my bottle and vape.
“Is that how you do it?” Aiden asked.
“Oh, I guess I should have mentioned I use THC oil. That okay?”
“Just used to smoking weed but could be fun to try.”
“You’re trying a lot of new things at this school, aren’t you?” I said, giving him shit. “But trust me, it’s good. Hole and One will swing by just to mooch off my shit.”
“Well, if all the knights are doing it, you can count me in,” he joked before I got us going. I slipped onto the bed and took a hit, then passed it to Aiden as he sat down beside me.
We enjoyed my stash some before Aiden said, “Oh, this stuff’s good.”
“Get it from a friend in California. We hook up occasionally when he’s in town. He went here for two years, then transferred to UCLA. Comes back to visit his family for holidays and stuff.”
“So you mess around a lot outside of Sy?”
I glared at him, and he corrected himself. “Sorry. I meant to say King.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t report you,” I teased. “Relax. It’s not as hard as it seems with the rules. King doesn’t give a shit what we do on our own time, which is why we use protection and keep on top of our STI tests. Hell, One and Hole mess around plenty just with each other, along with a whole slew of guys at school.”
“So how long have you been a knight?”
“Going on our third year. Met him freshman year. I was all confidence and so fucking sure I wasn’t going to fall for whatever game King was into. I saw a lot of myself in you when you first came in. But he has a way of breaking down barriers, doesn’t he?”
“He does, for sure. So do you mind if I ask what made you decide you wanted to be a knight?”
“Probably the same thing that made you decide you wanted this. King is…charismatic. And the stuff we do in that bedroom… Where else are you going to find shit like that in this middle-of-nowhere college town?”
“Right?”
“It’s exciting. Makes you feel alive for a minute, you know?”
I could tell by Aiden’s nod that he felt the same way.
“In my opinion,” I continued, “we have to be a little fucked up to end up with King. We’re not like other people. We’re not looking for something normal. We’re looking for some magic in the dark world.”
“Yes, we are,” but as he said it, he was looking right at me.
I avoided his gaze, hoping he would never see the battle scars, the reasons that led to my being there—trying to pry Dad off Mom. Trying to fight him back, but never being strong enough and just getting my ass kicked. Lying to the doctor yet again about how I’d broken my arm.
“Shit, I guess this is really kicking in already,” I said to bring myself back to the present. I took another hit.
“Oh, is that a cousin? A brother?” I was surprised by Aiden’s comment, but then followed his gaze to the nightstand, where I kept a framed picture of Taylor and me at Disney World.
I wanted to jump up and pull it away, hide it in a fucking drawer. Kind of wished I’d thought about that before inviting Aiden over, but I wasn’t used to having company, especially not in my room.
“Sore subject?” Aiden asked, his eyes wide.
“Am I that fucking transparent?”
He didn’t respond. Maybe he was trying to gauge how comfortable I was with talking more about it.
“On the right, that’s my brother. Was. We lost him in a car crash when he was seventeen.”
“I’m so sorry.”
I bit my tongue as pressure swelled in my chest. “All good. It’s been years since that happened. He was everything to me, and to my parents.”
“Meaning…?”
Goddamn Aiden for pushing, yet some part of me wanted to share it—not just with anyone, but with him specifically.
“Meaning, Dad wasn’t exactly thrilled to be left with the dumb queer.”
“You got a scholarship here.”
“Yeah, and if I’d been Taylor, I’d have gotten one to MIT, like he did. Guy was a fucking genius. Compared to him, nothing I ever did was all that impressive to either of my parents.”
“You seem plenty impressive,” Aiden said. “Now that I know this…Stupid Two, is that because…”
“No, King didn’t know any of that before he gave me the name. Just that good at reading people, I guess.”
“Well, you’re far from stupid. Although, first impression, I have to confess, you came across as kind of a blockhead.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Damn, he was fucking charming.
“I like you, Aiden. You’ve got a lot of something in you…fight…stubbornness.”
“You don’t seem to lack any of that yourself.”
“Wish I had a little more. Feel like you held out a little longer. Maybe that’s why you’re the boss. Kind of crazy that I can laugh about that now, because when King first said your nickname, I was pissed. Of course I’d be the one who ended up Stupid Two.”
“If you don’t like it—”
“But that’s just it. I do like it. A lot. There’s something about it when he calls me that, the way he says it and wants me so bad, it’s like I’m choosing it. Reclaiming it, even? Some sort of fucked-up therapy for me, maybe?”
“Yeah, I get that. Feel kind of the same. But for me, no one’s ever really treated me like a boss before. Kind of just been…whatever, in life. Worked to blend in and stay out of the way. No one tries to hurt you if you blend in.”
Aiden was confused if he thought a hot, intriguing motherfucker like him blended in anywhere.
He added, “He has a way of making a guy feel special.”
“Yes, he does. But you are special, Aiden.”
I’d clearly caught him by surprise as his brows tugged closer. I shook my head. “Sorry, high and saying stupid shit.”
Aiden crawled toward me, and I wondered what the hell he was doing. “Yeah, saying stupid shit, and I guess I’m realizing stupid shit too.”
“What?”
“I forgot how fucking horny I get when I’m high.”
His lips crashed against mine as he pushed me back against the headboard, and it was hard to keep my hands off him. Between our chat, the alcohol, and the pot, I knew it was fucking over for me.
I rolled on top of him, getting lost in how good it felt to taste his mouth, feel his tongue against mine.
“Condoms…?” he finally managed to say, as a slight question, which made me laugh, and I knew I was laughing because of the pot.
I scrambled for the nightstand, trying to act slick but fumbling when my journal fell out.
“Biochem notebook in your drawer?” Aiden teased, I assumed referring to one of the textbooks he’d seen for my chemical engineering degree.
I laughed. “That’s my journal, asshat. This is what happens when I try to be slick.”
“Ooh, so cute watching a man call his diary a journal,” he joked. “But journaling? Really? I’m learning so much tonight about sexy, mysterious Two.”
I leaned off the bed and picked it up, setting it on the nightstand before grabbing a condom and tearing it from the others.
“My condom, so I think that should mean I get to be the one to fuck you,” I said.
“Then next ti
me, I guess I’ll have to bring my own condoms.”
I rolled my head back, enjoying a laugh.
Oh, Aiden.
Aiden, Aiden, Aiden.
I couldn’t get enough of that name.
12
Boss
I doodled in my notebook as Mr. Finner droned on about Edmund Spenser.
Ever since I’d joined the ranks of the knights, every other aspect of my life seemed so fucking boring. My time at school or work, or even worse, when I had to chat with Mom or Dad on the phone, agitated me.
I just needed another fix. Another hit.
To think, I’d met King back in August, and we were going on April.
As King and Ryan had assured me, King’s more violent needs were a rarity. Typically, it was the fun orgies we’d started out with, and even when it got rough, it was nothing like the introduction I’d received.
Despite how disturbing those needs could be, something about them was healing…freeing. Yet at the same time, the delicious sensations it roused, the moments of excitement, were fleeting, the guilt and pain returning all too soon, not to mention the memories.
But more than the time I shared with the knights, I found myself looking forward to something else…someone else.
I kept eyeing the clock until class was finally over.
Thank fuck.
Although, I still had two classes left for the day.
As soon as I stepped out of the classroom, I noticed Ryan heading down the hall. What the fuck was he doing?
I started to call to him, but he was already spinning around, heading back toward me, our gazes meeting.
Holy shit. Was he pacing, waiting for my class to end? And why did I hope that had been the case?
A bright smile lit up his face, and I was sure mine mirrored his own.
Since that night after the house party, when we’d gotten high and fucked around, we’d started spending a lot of time together. Not as knights, but as Aiden and Ryan.
“Hey, man. Swing by to see me?” I teased as I approached him.
“More than you realize.” He hooked an arm around me and guided me down the hall.
“Wait. You seriously were over here to see me?”
“Well, not just see you.” He led me to the stairwell, and we headed to the lower level floor, where he ushered me into the men’s restroom, into a stall.
I eyed him curiously, wondering where this was all leading.
But as soon as his lips pressed against mine, I had a feeling I knew what he’d come for.
Our mouths smacked as he slid a hand under my shirt, probing at my abs.
The sounds of running water, air dryers, and squeaking stall doors echoed through the restroom as we made out. The knights hadn’t been asked over to King’s place the past weekend, but Ryan and I fucked around at his place…again and again and again, vaping and watching movies in between fuck sessions.
When he finally pulled back, he confessed, “Just needed another taste.”
He reached into his back pocket, retrieving the familiar gold wrapper. “Uh-uh,” I said, fetching my own out of my pocket.
“Oh, thinking you were getting lucky today, did you?” Ryan asked.
“Keeping them handy on me now to make sure I have one to fuck my naughty Ryan.”
He snickered as he unfastened his belt, practically throwing his pants to the floor, and turning around for me.
I pulled out a packet of lube as well, holding it in my mouth as I readied the condom.
“You have no idea how badly I’ve needed this,” Ryan said as I opened the lube and poured some onto my fingers. I offered some for his hole before lathering it across the condom and starting my way inside.
Unlike previous times when we’d played around, that hole was ready to welcome me in.
Another stall door swung open, and a faucet switched on as I pushed in.
Ryan pressed his hand against the side of the stall as he stifled a moan. I found my way deeper within him before grabbing hold of his cheeks and pushing them apart.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered as I fucked his hole.
He looked over his shoulder, bending down, pushing that ass out more for me as I leaned in and kissed him. He leaned back slightly, his mouth hanging open. I took it as an invitation, spitting into it. He licked and sucked before spitting back into mine, and I swallowed it so fucking eagerly.
A growl pushed past his lips, and I reached into the back pocket of his pants and took out the condom he’d displayed before. As we panted together, I passed it to him. He hurried to put it on as I kicked off my shoes and stepped out of my jeans. I offered him the packet of lube, which he took and spread around his thick cock.
I started to turn, but he set his hand on my shoulder and ushered me back around, then stooped down and slid his arms around my thighs, hoisting me into the air and pushing me back against the stall wall.
I relaxed against it. The way he was looking at me, I knew how this was going to go down, and I was loving every second of it.
The hustle and bustle from the restroom had slowed, everyone was surely off to get to their next classes…where I should have been, but I didn’t give a shit if I missed economics.
I could feel Ryan lining his cock up, sliding through the crack, right into my hole, like the fucking sexpert he was. He took his time, his face tense, so fucking serious, as though my hole was the most important thing in his world in that moment.
As much as I wanted to kiss him, I wanted to stare at his pretty face too, appreciate it in all its beauty as he gazed at me with those sparkling blue irises.
Pushing in steadily, he leaned forward and licked up my lips, then kissed me.
The pressure escalated quickly. “Ah, ah,” I whispered.
“You okay?” he asked, his tone laced with concern.
“God, you’d think I’d be more used to it by now.”
“Well, it’s not exactly the easiest position,” he said with a snicker, but I could tell by the strain in his voice that it wasn’t exactly effortless for him to hold me up like that.
He pulled out slightly until I was ready, and when I told him, “Okay, okay, give it to me,” he pushed in more, and I felt him sliding against my prostate.
“Oh fuck.”
He pulled back, checking my expression.
“Trying to see what I look like when you hit the spot?”
He grinned and shook his head. “Pretty sure I’ve already memorized that, Aiden, but admittedly, I do enjoy watching.”
I laughed as he pushed a little farther in. “God, oh…yes.”
My body twitched in his hold as I rolled my head along the wall.
“Call me a pretty little faggot,” I told him.
I worried he’d judge me, that he wouldn’t understand, but he’d already seen my darkest desires with King, so if anyone would understand, it was him.
“You want me to come like this, Pretty Little Faggot?”
My face flushed with heat as my cock grew painfully hard. I gripped the shaft and jerked as he continued thrusting.
He kissed me, his tongue a frenzy in my mouth as we struggled to kiss and maintain our breath.
“Give it to me,” I begged.
“Come for me first, Pretty Little Faggot.”
Again, my face flushed with heat, but I felt all full of excitement—empowered, in a way, because of how I was in control of something that had been taken from me at one time.
I exploded across my abs as Ryan fucked me hard…so fucking hard, and I felt that sensitivity in me before he pushed his weight against me, gasping for air as he climaxed inside me. Owned my ass.
Standing in that restroom stall, pinned together, we clung to each other as he kept me against the wall. I knew he wouldn’t be able to hold me there for much longer, but damned if I wanted to pull away or do anything other than rest in that moment forever.
I couldn’t stop glowing.
I was still thinking about the way we’d played around in the r
estroom stall, even at the party Ryan and I were attending. We met up with Hole and One—the knights scouting the party out before their king’s arrival. King sent a group text before he arrived, which gave Hole time to order shots.
We had our usual party routine down to a science—a brief outing before we’d head back to King’s and strip down, kneel, and worship our King as he saw fit for the remainder of the night.
Of course, in the back of my mind, each time we went over, I wondered if that would be the night we took things further…or worse, too far. But until the moment came, I could have fun with my new crew. In my time with the guys, I’d learned how much King loved to dance, and Hole and One shared this interest. While Ryan and I could get into it for a while, neither of us could keep it going for hours the way they could, so we would head to the nearest corner and drink, chatting up some of our friends from school.
A girl from my Brit Lit class stopped me and talked to Ryan and me for a bit before he took my drink and headed off to the bar in the adjoining room for refills. As my classmate was pulled away by her friends, I headed into the next room, where I noticed a guy, even taller than Ryan, with short black hair and the kind of tee that left little to the imagination. Damn, the guy had some shoulders on him.
Shoulders sidled up to Ryan alongside the bar and kissed him on the cheek, stopping me in my tracks. Ryan turned, appearing surprised by the guy at his side.
A friend? An ex? Someone else he was fooling around with?
No, surely he didn’t have enough time or energy, considering how much we’d been fucking recently. But it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Why did I have a knot forming in my gut? What right did I have to be jealous? If I could share him with the other knights, I should be fine sharing him with anyone else.
Yet for some reason, that wasn’t true.
It was different when we shared with the knights. What we needed there wasn’t the same as what I needed from Ryan, what only he could give me.
King of Liars Page 9
