Caught in the Trap: A Reverse Harem Academy Bully Romance (Mafia Lords of Knightswood Academy Book 1)

by Ivy Clyde

  “They were. I loved her too and she knew it but she was blindly loyal to Dimitri. I gave her a chance to run away with me but she refused, accepting her fate. She would rather die at his hands than leave to save her own life.” He suddenly punched the wall by the window.

  I yelped, jumping back at his abrupt aggression. “Andrei!” I shouted, running over to him. A bloody smear was left on the wall as he turned to face me. Taking his hand in mine, I looked at his bloodied knuckles. “Why?” I asked in a broken voice. “Why do you have to keep hurting yourself?” My heart broke as I held his shaking hand, remembering his pain, understanding it more than ever before.

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly, putting a gentle hand over my head. I looked up at him and saw the tears filling his eyes but he didn’t shed a single drop. Moving his arm around, he pulled me against him for a hug. I should have been the one to console him but oddly, he was the one soothing me.

  “This isn’t the only crime to be committed by the Volkov family,” said Andrei. His body tightened against mine. Stepping away, I looked into his hardened gaze. “They sent their men to attack my family, killed my parents and uncle and tortured Egor to such an extent, he lost himself completely. They broke my family and snatched every person I ever loved.”

  “Why would they do that?” I asked despite the lethal look in his eyes. “I can understand about Maria. She stole from the brotherhood and they don’t take lightly to thieves in their ranks but what motive could they have to kill your entire family?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps, they want a bigger piece of the pie by eliminating us.”

  “But why now?” I asked, remembering Nikolai’s words. He thought someone else was pulling the strings from behind closed curtains, pitching the Romanoffs against the Volkovs. Waves of cold fury seemed to radiate from Andrei as I became aware of his angry glare.

  “How much do you know about the Volkovs?” he demanded. “I just told you what they did to the girl they brought up and you still think they can’t be vicious enough to do the same thing to my family?”

  “I know nothing,” I said. “But if these families have been doing business for a long time without killing each other, I just want to know what would prompt them to do so now. You grew up with Dimitri. Do you really think he would come after you in such a cruel way?”

  Andrei’s face was a mask of fury.

  I took a step away from him as my heartbeat sped up. Perhaps, it was better to hear his side of things rather than putting in my personal opinion on the matter. Too late now, I thought as Andrei strode toward me and grabbed my wrist in a painful grip.

  “You still think Dimitri has any shred of humanity left in him?” he demanded, pulling me after him as he crossed the room and marched outside into the corridor.

  Armed men lined the hallway. There were none in this part of the house last night.

  He dragged me behind him while I took in the surroundings. Even this early in the day, Romanoff Manor was dark and foreboding. The hallways had no windows or opening to let in natural light. It was suffocating and cold, starkly different to Ivanov Mansion which was styled in a modern contemporary style with plenty of open spaces to let in sunlight and fresh air, giving amazing views of the hills that surrounded it.

  Andrei led me down a staircase and onto a lower floor.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked, not liking the way he was dragging me around like a sack. I tried to pull my wrist out of his grip but he held on too tightly for me to break free.

  Opening a door at the end of the corridor, he pushed me in.

  Stumbling forward, I came to a halt. Before me, a man sat on the edge of a bed, his back toward me. The smells of medicines and antiseptics filled the air of the darkened room.

  “Egor,” said Andrei, walking past me. “I have brought someone to see you.”

  The man didn’t turn around. He continued to sit in the same position, ignoring us.

  Andrei beckoned me toward him.

  I walked forward, moving to stand beside him and before the man.

  It was Egor but just a mere shell of what he’d been before. He was just as handsome as Andrei but now, his cheeks were hollowed out. Thick stubble covered his chin and a haunted look glazed over his eyes. He still hadn’t acknowledged our presence.

  “Brother,” said Andrei softly, kneeling before him.

  Egor stared at him and slowly his gaze moved toward me. A sudden shriek escaped him as he lunged at me. His bony fingers dug into my shoulders as he shook me and screamed Maria’s name.

  “Stop appearing before me or I will kill you!” he shouted, spraying my face with spit. His black eyes were lit up with malice and a hatred that turned my heart cold.

  “Let her go, Egor,” said Andrei, forcing his brother back and away from me. “She is not Maria. That’s Skye, a friend of mine.”

  Egor’s head whirled around to him. “Who is Skye?”

  Andrei gestured toward me. “She may look like Maria but she is a completely different person.”

  Egor nodded his head animatedly, looking like a child who desperately wanted to believe Andrei. “As long as you can see her too, she is not a ghost,” he muttered, still moving his head up and down. Andrei helped him back on the bed.

  “Do you see what they did to him?” asked Andrei, pointing to the man on the bed. “He was supposed to be the one to lead this family’s business. Everyone feared him. Look what they reduced him to.” Pulling me closer, he turned his attention to Egor. “Who did this to you, Brother?”

  “It was the Volkovs. It was the Volkovs.” Egor chanted as he rocked backward and forward, his eyes darting toward the door from time to time. He looked scared out of his mind as he continued saying the same thing over and over again. Spit dribbled down his chin and he looked absolutely crazy.

  Andrei looked toward me. “Do you believe me now?”

  I gave a small nod, unsure how to tell him his brother sounded insane. Even if he chanted that chorus, it could mean something else entirely.

  Moving forward, Andrei soothed his brother with gentle words and pulled a blanket over him. Egor closed his eyes, his mouth still moving in that silent chant.

  I walked out of the door to wait for Andrei in the hallway. Parts of the puzzle were finally coming to materialize in my mind. It was because of Egor’s mad chanting that Andrei believed in the involvement of the Volkovs in his family’s assassination. If it was really them, why did they leave Andrei alive? Next, I thought of the time Dimitri was running for his life in the alleyways of my old neighborhood, clutching a gunshot at his side. He claimed that Andrei had sent his men after him. Andrei denied the charge completely, insisting it wasn’t him.

  I began believing in Nikolai’s theory. There was definitely someone behind the scene who was playing the two families, pitching them against one another.

  Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to meet my cold-faced employer and tell him about what I’d found out. It wasn’t just out of my loyalty to him but to attempt to bring out the truth. Andrei was hurting. He had to know the truth before something worse happened to both him and Dimitri.

  25

  Christian

  The sun had already set, casting a dull reddish glow on the impressive Ivanov Mansion as well as the hills surrounding it. My car was close to the gates when a bike appeared in the distance, speeding toward me. Parking the vehicle under the shade of a tree that had its branches spreading out over the tall walls, I waited to see who it was. No ordinary individual would have made it this far without security escorting them.

  The bike came to a stop beside the tall gates of the mansion. The rider sat still and a moment later, I noticed the figure clambering down from behind him.

  “There you are, little birdie,” I whispered under my breath, watching Skye step away from the bike. The rider dismounted and took off his helmet, revealing his face to me. My jaw tightened when I realized it was Andrei Romanoff. Without a word, he moved closer to Skye and helped take off her helm
et while she stood there without flinching.

  A surge of anger shot through me. She barely knew him and yet, she was letting him touch her so intimately. They seemed to be talking but I couldn’t hear the words. A moment later, he pulled her into a hug. She stayed still, letting the bastard embrace her like he was her boyfriend or lover.

  “Damn it!” I hissed under my breath, realizing that could be the reason why she was letting him paw all over her. Skye had left the academy yesterday afternoon and hadn’t returned back here all night. She was only showing up now, still in her uniform.

  Fury coursed through my veins. While it was her job to get close to both Andrei Romanoff and Dimitri Volkov, she didn’t have to get that close. I scoffed at myself, knowing it was bullshit. Uncle wanted her to get exactly that close with them, hoping she could uncover their deepest thoughts on the situation at hand.

  I shouldn’t be angry, I told myself despite the ringing in my ears. I had tried to stay away from her, keep her untainted from my touch or life, but the emotions surging through me made me want to catch hold of her and devour her so no one else could have her.

  I’d wanted Skye since the moment I saw her. The fear and desire I saw in her blue eyes each time we were together was like a drug to me. I craved the feel of her soft body against me, wanted to mark every inch of her body with my teeth so every guy at that godforsaken academy would know she belonged to me.

  “But I can’t,” I hissed, fisting my hands tightly. “I fucking shouldn’t.” Skye was supposed to be nothing but a pawn in my uncle’s game. Getting involved with her would only bring trouble.

  Even as I counted the logical reasons to stay away from her, my body and mind reacted on their own. My anger wouldn’t calm down.

  Romanoff put his helmet back over his head and watched Skye getting escorted by two men through the gates. Once the bars closed behind her, he reversed the direction of his bike and tore off down the road.

  I exhaled a long breath and stepped on the gas to reach the gates. Good thing Skye had the brains not to invite biker boy inside the mansion.

  Once the men patrolling the area saw me, they moved apart and had the gates opened to give me entry. I drove inside, staying far behind the vehicle taking Skye inside the perimeter of the Ivanov estate.

  A minute later, the guards dropped her close to the wing with the garden. Her sick mother was kept in the cottage nearby. I stopped the car and got out, staying quiet and keeping to the shadows so she wouldn’t see me.

  There were no guards in this part of the grounds. Skye’s gait became more nonchalant as the men drove away, leaving her at the edge of the garden. She made a beeline to the house where her mother was staying.

  I waited, watching the house.

  Skye hadn’t picked up any of my calls. My uncle’s men lost track of her since yesterday afternoon when she suddenly left the academy. The news was disconcerting to both me and Uncle. Skye was always in danger from the people who were stirring trouble for all three ruling mafia families. She still didn’t understand that fact, only focusing on the danger that came from spying on Andrei and Dimitri.

  My mind swung back to thinking of her with Andrei for an entire night. What had they been doing that she missed all my calls? Her phone went completely off since this morning. Was she that occupied she didn’t even look at her phone?

  The answer was before me even if she didn’t confirm it. Skye let Andrei touch her. They were suddenly too intimate when they barely spoke to each other at school. It didn’t take a genius to guess they’d been sleeping together.

  The thought only made my veins pulse with rage. The fact that a wimp like Andrei got to touch her first infuriated me. I’d been the one to mark her first. The stupid girl should have known what it meant.

  I kicked at the foot of a nearby tree. The thought of her with another man was driving me insane. I have to know to be sure, I decided, making my way inside the mansion. While she spoke to her mother, I would wait for in her room, ready to welcome back my lost little bird.

  Reaching her room, I took a seat on the couch, leaving the lights off. Moonbeams fell through the open windows, illuminating the silhouettes of the furniture. Skye hadn’t done much personalization here. Naïve as she was, she hadn’t been stupid enough to think of this place as her home.

  She arrived about half an hour later.

  Opening the door, she stepped inside, her hands fumbling to find the light switch. Once it came on, she walked inside and closed the door behind, still unaware of my presence. Without casting a glance in my direction, she dropped her satchel on the floor and began loosening the buttons of her shirt.

  I cleared my throat and watched her jump with a squeak. She whirled around, her sky-blue eyes wide with fright.

  “Christian,” she whispered breathlessly. She was still panting and if I cared to listen closely enough, I could probably hear her heart beating hard. She swallowed. “You scared me. What are you doing here?”

  “Where have you been?” I asked in return.

  “I stayed over at Andrei’s place yesterday,” she said. I could sense the discomfort swirling inside her as she hesitatingly met my cold gaze.

  “Did you let him in your pants?”

  Guilt spread through her expression as she looked away again. “It’s really none of your business,” she mumbled.

  Not my business? I was on my feet in a flash and pushed her against the wall by the couch.

  A whimper escaped her as she looked up at me with wide, fearful eyes. Her lips parted slightly as her gaze dropped down to my mouth.

  A smirk lifted the corner of my lips. She was always like this. Afraid of me and desiring me in the same breath. At the very least, her night with Romanoff hadn’t changed that about her.

  I stepped closer, invading her space. She ducked sideways to get away but I slammed my hand on the wall beside her, blocking her. I leaned into her and felt her shrink against the wall. Her blue eyes stared into mine.

  “What do you want?” She raised her chin despite the fear swirling in her eyes.

  She’d forgotten to button up her shirt, revealing her bra-clad breasts to me. The bra was a regular white cotton but the sight of her swelling, heaving breasts were enough to light a fire inside me. “Why don’t you tell me what happened yesterday?” I asked, slowly widening the gap in her shirt.

  “Andrei and I hung out,” she blurted. “He took me to a racecourse in the mountains and we met Dimitri there too.” Her breathing went erratic as I let a finger trail down the column her neck until it reached her cleavage.

  “What happened after that?”

  She stared at me, lips parted but no words came out.

  “You let him fuck you,” I said.

  Her single nod was enough to bring back my fury.

  “Did you like it?” I asked, saying the words slowly.

  “I…I don’t know.”

  Liar, I thought. The way she’d stood still and accepted Andrei’s embraces was enough to tell me she’d liked him. Closing my eyes, I leaned into her, inhaling deeply. The smell of her poisoned me, this floral note with a touch of rosemary, making me forget everything but the simmering heat coursing through my body.

  Something shifted inside me and I felt my hands move forward to cup her face in my huge hands. A change came over her too. The fear disappeared from her eyes and now she was looking up at me with a thirsty expression.

  “Did you decide to be his girlfriend?” I asked.

  “We didn’t really talk about it,” she blurted. “And no, I never decided to be his girlfriend.”

  I tilted her face up to me. “So, you haven’t chosen him yet.”

  She shook her head, her eyes fluttering closed. I didn’t have to cage her against the wall anymore. Skye stood there willingly, urging me to kiss her. I felt my resolve to stay away from her crumble. The need to make her mine was stronger than any logic my mind could come up with.

  My hand moved to cup the back of her slender neck as I leaned
in and closed the distance between our lips. She opened her mouth to me willingly, letting me slide my tongue in. Her taste was intoxicating, urging me to probe in deeper while my arms encircled her waist and pulled her against me. The feel of her body against mine sent shivers of heat shooting to my groin and I felt myself grow harder.

  My mouth moved down to her chin and the column of her neck. The soft, sensitive skin always allured me and it was a struggle to just keep kissing her there and not bite into it.

  Skye’s body shuddered against mine. The soft moans escaping her left no room for any doubt. She definitely liked what I was doing to her. She wasn’t bound to Andrei so tightly that she couldn’t see herself being with me.

  “Maybe we should stop here,” she said, looking up at me.

  “Did you tell Andrei to stop last night?”

  Her silence and hesitation was all the answer I needed. Anger simmered alongside my aching need for her. I pushed her against the wall roughly, crowding her with my body.

  “You don’t want me anymore?” I demanded as she uselessly tried to shove me away.

  “It’s not like that,” she said, glaring up at me. “You’re the one who never goes further than this.” The challenge in her voice surprised me. She had no idea who or what she was playing with.

  My hand pushed up the hem of her skirt. She gasped, feeling my hand on her skin as I reached higher to cup her between the thighs. Her lips parted in a moan as my thumb slid over the front of her panties to tease her. I was sure she could feel the roughness of my fingers through the thin cotton as I rubbed her harder.

  Her breathing came in harsh pants, fueling my own need to get inside her. My hardened cock was stuck painfully in the confines of my boxers and was trying to force its way out. My hips thrust forward, hitting Skye in the stomach.

  She let her hand stray down to reach the crotch of my jeans. “Oh,” she whispered, feeling the rock-hard lump there. Her gaze dragged up to meet mine. I quickened my stroking, making her eyes flutter closed again. Her lips opened in a silent moan.