Yes, he might have a penchant for my blood now, but that was just a teeny side effect.
“I must say,” Bram spoke, looking quite comfortable in the chair, despite his chains, “I didn’t think you’d agree. I am probably the worst of the lot.” He flashed me a half-smile, and it sent my heart racing.
“You are,” I relented, inching closer to him. My eyes closed, and just like that, I could picture what the house looked like. Not this house, but my ex’s. How tall the flames had got. How the air smelled of burnt wood and cinders. “Do you want to know a secret, Bram?” It wasn’t so much of a secret since Lucien knew, but the others didn’t know. Not yet.
He leaned forward in his chair, his wrists tugging at the chains. “What secrets does Little Miss Perfect have?”
Confessing my sins to Bram was not what I wanted to do. He was no priest; the very opposite, actually. There would be no forgiveness, no repentance. Absolution was nothing but a word here, and I knew telling him probably wouldn’t change anything.
Or maybe it would.
The least I could do was try.
Chapter Nineteen – Koda
I wanted to scream, to throw Felice from the room for her own safety. Agreeing to Bram, being alone with Bram, it was one of the most foolish things she could’ve ever done. Bram would kill her. These chains? He could break free of them. His strength was damned near inhuman.
Why did everyone always underestimate Bram’s power?
Bram waited for Felice to speak with bated breath, neither of us knowing what she was about to say. I could never have expected her lips to part and her voice to say, “You’re not the only killer in the room.”
What… I couldn’t even finish, couldn’t say anything.
Bram was able to take it in stride, unsurprisingly. “You?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows. Our eyebrows. Ugh, this whole body-sharing thing was terrible, truly. “I don’t believe you.”
“Why?” she asked, cocking her head in the defiant way that riled Bram up. I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins, but I could do nothing to stop it. I was a passenger inside Bram, and in spite of how much I fought for control, he gave me none. “Because I don’t act like a psychopath like you?”
Bram chuckled. “You seem too pretty to get your hands dirty.” Pretty was an understatement. Bram thought she was beautiful, as did I.
“Do you want to know how I did it?” Felice moved to sit before him, crossing her legs beneath the skirt of her dress. Bram noticed the bandage on her wrist, as did I. Had to deal with Payne, since he was up and walking around.
Bram didn’t like that, but I did. It meant Felice really did belong here, with us. It gave me hope that this—whatever she was attempting to do here—would work, and I would be able to feel the air in my lungs once again without living vicariously through Bram.
“I poured gas in my boyfriend’s house, while he and his parents were sleeping,” Felice spoke, her voice hypnotic. “I lit a match, and then I threw it. I watched the whole thing go up in flames, heard their screams in the night. I know I should feel guilty, but I don’t. That fire was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and if given the chance, I know I’d do it again.”
My thoughts vanished as I watched her through Bram’s eyes. She was serious. She was wholly serious, which made me wonder if she was more like Bram than I knew. To kill and not feel remorse…how?
Bram’s heart beat wildly in his chest, and he inched to sit at the edge of the seat, his feet less than a foot away from hers. “You…” he whispered. “I didn’t expect that from you, Felice.” His blood pumped faster now, for a different reason.
“What did you expect?” she asked. “Rainbows and butterflies? No, Bram, I belong here, with you, just as much as the others. I know hurting others is what you get enjoyment out of, but you can’t hurt them again.”
Bram’s gaze dropped to her chest, those round breasts snug in that dress. “What about you? Can I hurt you? I see someone else already has.” Referencing the bandage on her wrist, which she immediately blushed at.
“That wasn’t…I did this to myself, for Payne.”
“So you hurt yourself for him,” Bram mumbled. “I did wonder how his head miraculously reattached to his body.” Memories of cutting away at him flashed, and I did my best to ignore them, but when Bram thought about something, I was subjected to it just as much as he was. “But my question stands.”
Hurting her is off the table, I told him.
The thought of hurting her makes me hard, Koda. I’m going to do it whether you approve or not, Bram said in his head. Your cock will get hard too, so you’ll reap the benefits as well. It’s a win-win for everybody.
Not Felice.
Oh, Felice will learn to enjoy herself while she screams.
“You want to hurt me?” she echoed, sounding faint. Also excited a bit.
“Always.”
Felice glanced over her shoulder, at the closed library doors. “How bad?”
“I don’t know yet. I won’t put anything off the table.” Bram smirked.
She returned her gaze to us, her cheeks flushed. “You can’t kill me. Other than that…I guess I’m open to it, as long as you’ll let Koda out.”
If I could’ve shouted sense into her, I would have a long time ago. But, I had to remind myself, Felice wasn’t the pure innocent I’d thought she was.
“But,” she went on, “I want you to let Koda out first.”
Bram didn’t like that. Rage rumbled in his chest as he asked, “And why the fuck would I do that?”
“Goodwill. How am I supposed to believe that you’ll let Koda out after doing what you want with me? You and Koda need to learn to share, but if you refuse, if you don’t want to play nice, as you put it, we will find a way to lock you back inside forever.”
The man sharing my body didn’t appreciate threats, but I could tell he was slightly turned on by the confidence in her voice. After all, not many people could look Bram in the eyes and sound so calm.
“You really think you could lock me away forever?” Bram mused, his fingers curling into fists. Being locked away was truly what Bram feared most; Felice had been right.
“I brought Payne back,” she said. “I’m sure there’s a way.”
Bram let out a growl, lunging from his position on the chair. He had her pinned to the ground, Felice on her back, a chain drawn around her throat. She flinched a bit, but she didn’t struggle. She either knew it was pointless, or she hoped to reason with him.
That’s where she would come up lacking. No one could reason with Bram. I should know—I’d tried my whole life.
“I don’t like threats,” he hissed, leaning his nose against hers. The chains were taut on her neck just enough to stifle her breath. Bram couldn’t straddle her due to the chains around his ankles, so he simply laid on top of her, putting all of his weight on her.
Felice’s lips parted. “It wasn’t a threat.” Her amber eyes stared up at Bram, and I felt his rage simmering, slowly morphing into something else.
Something worse.
If Bram was a murderous fiend on a good day, how could he possibly be as a lover? Not good. I struggled to take the reins, to lessen the weight behind the chains against her neck, but I couldn’t.
“Bold of you to assume a promise like that isn’t a threat,” Bram whispered. He smiled a cruel, harsh grin as he lifted the chain off her neck, only to move it in one swift movement behind her head. The chain now held onto the bottom of her skull, forcing her neck off the ground and closer to him. “Bolder of you to assume we’re alike simply because blood is on both our hands.”
Felice said nothing.
“And, of course, it was downright stupid of you to believe these chains could stop me,” Bram hissed, pressing his nose against her cheek so hard it had to be painful. His mouth brushed the side of hers with every word, “Listen.”
The chain behind her head pulled taut, and Felice was forced to listen to the links giving way to Bram�
��s strength. In the basement, things had been dark. He’d felt weak. But now? Now it was his turn to show Grimmstead just how strong he was, and he would start by taking Felice.
That’s what he wanted to do, but the moment the middlemost chain link behind her head snapped apart, giving him free rein with his hands, I whispered, If you hurt her, we’ll both go back in the basement. Back to where we started. Is that really what you want, Bram? Don’t you want to see if, maybe, Felice’s suggestion might work? Maybe we could both be happy.
Happiness is an illusion.
Happiness is real, you just need the patience to let it grow.
Bram’s back shuddered, his hands now lying flat on the floor beside Felice’s head. “You know I could kill you,” he whispered.
“You like being in control,” she said. “It’s why you don’t want to let Koda come out.” Felice then did something she’d probably regret in a few moments: she brought a hand to Bram’s face, stroking the side of it like some kind of long lost lover.
I felt his chest growl, and he grabbed the hand, snatching it off his face, his thumb digging into the bandage beneath the sleeve and making Felice wince. “You know nothing about me,” he spat. “You spin your words and act like you do, but you don’t. No one but Koda understands—” He slammed the hand back down, holding it there by her wrist.
Felice’s eyebrows drew together, the corners of her mouth frowning. She bit back whatever pain she felt to say, “Then help me understand.”
His other hand shot to her neck, fingers curling around it easily. “You can’t.”
I couldn’t imagine the pain she was in. With her wrist and her neck currently being viced, she had to be feeling it. With how tightly Bram gripped her neck, she’d probably lose consciousness soon. And then…then it would all be over. Then Bram could do anything to her he wanted, and she wouldn’t scream—and I wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Her free hand went to grip the wrist currently choking her, and I felt Bram’s fingers loosen just a bit around her neck. Enough that she was able to speak, “Maybe not, but I want to try.” And then she did something that stunned Bram and me.
Felice moved her free hand to the back of Bram’s head, bringing it down to hers, where her lips were parted and waiting.
A kiss should’ve been just a kiss, but it wasn’t. It was so much more. Her mouth molded against Bram’s, soft and supple, the opposite of everything he was. Fire seemed to emanate from her, flowing into Bram, into me. I lost all thought processes as I focused on how amazing those lips felt.
Bram immediately wanted to pull away, for only he could instigate—as he had in the library that day, when he’d caught me at my weakest and tried to sneak through—but the moment Felice ran her tongue over his bottom lip, his willpower weakened. His shoulders relaxed and his hips pressed into hers. It was the damnedest thing, but he started to kiss her back, losing himself in her, in that tempting mouth and the hand now gripping the back of his head and tangling in his hair.
The hand holding her neck loosened, the one attached to her injured wrist letting go completely. Bram was so lost in her, putting his all into the kiss, that he lowered his inner walls, too.
It was wrong of me, but I couldn’t help it. I used their embrace to worm my way in, to push myself to the forefront, and I didn’t stop until it was too late for Bram. Until he now sat in the back and I was the one kissing her.
When our lips parted, her eyelids fluttered open. I stared down at her, my mouth agape. Felice was some kind of miracle. Even if she wasn’t an innocent, she was just what I needed. What Bram needed too, apparently.
Felice studied my face, the hand in my hair slowly moving to once again cup my cheek. “Koda,” she whispered, the word a prayer on her lips.
“Yes,” I said, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. When she matched my smile, I couldn’t help but feel a flurry of butterflies in my stomach. It felt almost strange to be in control again.
You fucking bastard, Bram hissed in my head. It was my turn.
No, I told him, lowering my lips to hers again, this time being the one who initiated the kiss. It’s mine.
Her lips on mine were like magic. Everything I ever needed, bundled up into one person, one mouth that could bring me out even when I was locked so far back in my own head. Felice meant so much more to me than she knew.
I hesitated to think it, but she clearly meant something to Bram as well. That might mean we’re in for a rough ride, he and I, both of us wanting her, needing her, craving her. This internal tug of war would not end anytime soon.
Chapter Twenty – Felice
Koda was back. Koda was back and kissing me like I was his world. I wasn’t going to push him away, the farthest from it, but I couldn’t help but feel as if the timebomb had started to tick. Bram would resurface. If I wanted to get them on a schedule, they would have to learn how to see eye to eye.
Muffled voices rose to my ears, coming from the hall, where the others were. “No, I know I heard chains breaking.” That sounded like Payne’s voice, firm and demanding.
“I didn’t hear anything.” Lucien’s voice.
“My senses are better than yours—” Payne must’ve pushed through everyone else, for the next moment he burst into the library, looking like he wanted to kill. The others were right behind him.
Koda quickly lifted his lips off mine, giving the guys a smile. “Uh, hi. It’s me. Not Bram.” The way he spoke, the way his green eyes danced with life—no one could mistake him for Bram. It was literally like dealing with a whole different person.
Lucien, having forgotten his tiff with Payne, stormed over, grabbed Koda by the shoulders and hauled him off me. Koda sported a slight erection, which I definitely noticed, but it was easy to overlook when Lucien was glowering at him. “How do we know you’re not Bram playing tricks?” He shook Koda’s shoulders, and Koda was a deer in headlights.
“It’s Koda, not Bram,” I said, resisting my urge to touch my neck and my wrist, both of which Bram hadn’t been too kind to. My wrist felt like it was bleeding again, which I had to take care of.
Ian and Dagen were at my side, both of them touching my back. Ian was the one who spoke, “Are you all right? Did he hurt you? I’m not a man who gets into fights, but for you, minx, I would fight everyone.”
Minx. I had no idea why Ian thought that was the perfect nickname for me, but I was past the point of correcting him. Or trying to, anyways.
Payne moved to stand before me, his grey, silvery eyes rimmed in red as his gaze fell to my wrist. Could he smell the wound? Did he know it had opened? “Are you—”
“Fine,” I said, “I’m fine. I just need to clean up a bit.” After telling the guys I’d be right back—because we all had to sit down and discuss exactly how we were going to go about this. How Koda and Bram could possibly work out their differences, not to mention how Bram could avoid giving in to his murderous tendencies.
With pep in my step, I hurried to my room. I had a stash of bandages in the cupboard in the bathroom, and I grabbed one before peeling off the bandage that was already on. Just as I suspected, the wound had reopened. Granted, it hadn’t fully shut yet, but any small interruption in its healing would only prolong the wound.
Although, I supposed I’d have this wound for a while, if I continued to feed Payne my blood.
Just about to wipe off the fresh blood, I paused, staring at the open wound. My wrist looked so beat up, so broken. I had teeth marks around the bleeding line; I’d gone right over the same injury that I’d given myself when I first fed Payne. Payne biting into me was not something I wanted to feel again anytime soon.
The blood oozed, a dark red color. My thoughts dissipated as I stared down at it, an inexplicable feeling in my gut. Time passed me by, nothing but a blur, and it took me quite a while to snap out of it, to blink and regain myself.
I washed the wound and covered it in a fresh bandage, tugging the sleeve of my dress down over it. The white bandage stil
l peeked through, but most of it was covered. After meeting my eyes in the mirror, I left the bathroom…
And then I immediately stopped.
The window to my right did not shed any bits of daylight inside. No setting sun, no colorful sky or clouds. Only darkness, an eternal blackness that I felt drawn to. What in the world…wasn’t it early evening a little bit ago? Surely I didn’t spend that long staring at my blood; there was no way I could’ve lost that much time.
Besides, the guys would’ve come for me if I was gone for that long, wouldn’t they? Lucien was so big on eating dinner together. I knew it in my gut: something wasn’t right here.
A meow caused me to jump. Midnight sat on my bed, watching me with his yellow, slit eyes.
“Oh, God,” I breathed out, feeling my heart beating wildly in my chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. What are you doing here?”
Midnight meowed again, this time louder, and then he got to all fours and leaped off my bed, prowling into the hallway. Every few moments he’d look over his shoulder, as if expecting me to follow.
A cool air enveloped me, wrapping me in some kind of invisible embrace. Deep down, I knew I had to follow that cat. The guys, the weird time-jump, could wait. The cat was my main concern right now.
Midnight kept up a steady pace as he trotted down the long hall. I couldn’t say why I felt the instinctive urge to follow him, but I had to. I knew I had to. Like someone whispering over my shoulder, forcing me to do it, I had no choice in the matter.
The cat turned to head downstairs, landing on his paws as he jumped off the bottom steps and onto the first floor. He immediately turned, heading past Lucien’s office and the room with the red velvet chair. The Desire Room, was as good of a name as any for it.
I trailed after him, not hearing any other sounds in the house. The guys were nowhere to be found. It was just me and Midnight, and the cool air that seemed to follow me anywhere I went. Where Midnight took me, I shouldn’t be surprised.
Grimmstead Academy: Submission Page 21
