by Eden O'Neill
All three of the girls shimmied into my room, making me groan when they pulled me to my feet.
“This isn’t an option.” Hales framed my body with the dress. “We’re going to do your hair, then you’re going out. You’ve been studying way too much.”
Again how the tides had turned, my messy bun ripped down, then fluffed out. With a tug, they got my hoodie off, but when they went for my bed shorts, a now permanent fixture in my wardrobe as of late, I drew the line. I ripped the dress from Hales. “Thanks. I can dress myself.”
Snickering, they all shook me before I scooted them out of the room and took a look at this dress they’d managed to round up for me. Seriously, half the club would be looking at my goods tonight, but maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
At least, Knight wouldn’t be there.
He wasn’t here now so they obviously hadn’t invited him and his crew to come along, and what if they were? I was a free woman and could do whatever the fuck I wanted. Especially when it came to him.
I took the moments to get dressed, taking extra care with my hair and make up before putting my best fuck-me pumps on, then scooted out the door with my friends. Hales was the only one of us who had brought a car to college, so we took it and headed downtown to the best underage club. They allowed all ages there, of course, but this was the best one we could get into and was where I’d actually met Bryce that night.
Swallowing at the memory of that, I opened my purse, swiping my lips with an extra coat of gloss before heading inside with my friends. Keisha got us right up to the bouncer and with a few words was able to get us in front of the line and right inside. She was good like that, despite being such a nerd like all my roommates were. She was a smart and beautiful nerd like the rest of them, all three of them easily getting what they wanted if they cared about such things. Funny enough, I wasn’t the one who fit in now, more so keeping to myself. A few evenings in with Knight and his lot and my friends were tossing all inhibition, being bold, and we were noticed the minute the strobe lights hit our eyes.
Guys circled us left and right, but we danced together, Hales tugging my hand while the others danced around and beside us. I was a bit stiff, but with some probing they got me to let go and laugh a little, tugging my arms and making me dance. Spinning, I danced around Sophie, grabbing Keisha in too, and it was so much fun to just let loose and be a freshman again. I’d started the year so carefree, so different now, and I hated that.
“Oh, gosh. It’s Knight!”
Absolute dread as Hales tugged my arm to face that direction, Knight and his crew in VIP. They all sat at a high-top table, gratefully across the room, with Knight in the center of the group. A king in his castle, Knight had a girl I recognized under his arm, Melrose he’d introduced to me that night at the frat.
I idly wondered if they were fucking, but since none of that mattered to me anymore, I took Haley’s hand and danced with her. She frowned. “You don’t wanna say hi?”
I could imagine she had more of a relationship with him than I had. After all, he had been helping her with her homework that day. Honestly, I thought he’d been bullshitting me, the guy an obviously complete manwhore. He had women dripping off him all the time and had the audacity to say the shit he had about me.
“I’m okay,” I told her, then frowned myself. “But you’re free to.”
He hadn’t seen any of us yet, his attention divided with his arm wrapped around another girl. Currently, said girl nuzzled his neck, that arrogant grin on his face as he drew off a beer. His buddies clinked their own bottles as they congregated around him, with their own girls and own set of privilege. The entire display caused me to roll my eyes, and though Haley looked a little deflated to see him busy, she had come back to me.
“Maybe later,” she said, then cupped her hand around my ear. “Wanna get some drinks?”
I wasn’t thirsty quite yet, but since she and the others appeared to be when they came over too, I told them they could go. I was, on the other hand, in need of a good freshening up already, so I decided to do that while they went to the bar. I think I was in the bathroom for all of a second before I was ready to come back out, a girl’s face over the toilet. She ralphed her lungs out to kingdom come, so after a quick fluff of my hair, I was right back out on the dance floor. I didn’t see my friends right away so I decided to head to the bar.
“Can I get you something?”
The bartender yelled for my attention and waving him off, I rested my elbows back on the bar. I spotted Keisha and Sophie out there, drinks in their hands. I waved to them for their attention, but they weren’t seeing me, deep in the pit. I started to go that way too before I found Hales. She was in the pit, but she wasn’t with them.
Knight had her, by the hand as she spoke to him. He was no longer in VIP, a towering mountain in his denim jeans and dark jacket. He was obviously fluid with that girl Melrose because he now loomed largely above my roommate, grinning at something she said, and when his eyes lifted, I froze.
He stared at me, stared at me full on while he brought my roommate into a dance. Before, he’d just been talking to her, but at the present, dancing seemed to be his main priority when he took her close and grabbed her hips. She fell into him easily, of course, tucking her little body up against him, and with a spin, he had her ass against his crotch, his long wingspan falling around her. He enveloped her, hugging her close with a simmer in his eyes only reserved for me.
I burned as I watched him, the fury matching what I had before the evening he’d once again embarrassed me. He’d done that right in front of his grandpa, making it even worse and twisting the dagger in a way only he could. He knew how to hurt me and the exact ways in which to do it. The only difference between us was I’d never been able to figure out how to gain the upper hand. Outside side of my “mouth” as he said, I merely annoyed him.
His fingers laced with Haley’s, when his nose brushed her neck, I’d had enough. I turned to the bar, steaming, and when I got the attention of a guy holding a beer, I smiled at him.
He smiled right back at me, a nice looking guy, blond with blue eyes. He raised his beer to me and tapping the bar, I came over to him.
His grin widened. “Can I buy you a drink?”
My eyes shifted to the dance floor, but not long before I was taking the man’s beer and sucking it back. His eyes twitched wide as I downed his drink, that shit strong and foul tasting as fuck since I didn’t really drink. I mean, I was underage and usually only had like wine coolers at parties.
Chuckling, the guy touched the bar for another beer, and once he got it, he clinked to me. “You want something else?”
I wanted to dance and work off all this restless energy, and when I put the empty bottle on the counter, I tugged at his shirt. “How about we dance?”
He readily accepted the offer, a guy, and after getting a few good swallows of his beer, he threw an entirely too heavy arm around me and guided us off to the dance floor. I made sure we were right in the center, right in the middle of the action, and though I’d lost sight of my friends, lost sight of Knight and my friend I didn’t care. Something told me he would be watching.
He always did.
This guy grabbed my hands, raising them up before tucking me into his side. He put a hand on my hip, grinding on my ass, and I didn’t particularly fancy that but didn’t tell him to stop. He hugged me to him close, pulling me in front of him by the hips, and I ground my own ass into him, his package instantly getting hard. He formed his hands around my hips, but only just touched them before he let go, his heat backing off me. Since it came close right back, I closed my eyes as his hands drifted down my hips.
He hugged them, hugged them tight as he pushed himself up against me again. Tones of peppermint and warm heat drifted off him, twisting my tummy up as all that reminded me of someone else.
Behind my own lids, I envisioned that someone else, his hands and big arms coming around me, holding me close. The guy behind me brushed h
is nose against my ear, his teeth skidding, then tugging my earlobe into his mouth.
“What are you doing, little dove?”
I froze, the hands in front of me doing the same, going tighter as they braced me to a hard body. My eyes fell open. “Knight…”
He said nothing, though I knew it was him, his hands swaying my body. So hard, he tucked his cock right between my ass cheeks, and I simmered, swallowing hard. He pressed a hand right against my mound, forcing my ass into him more. “I know what game you’re playing, dove, and it won’t work.”
“What game?”
“This?” His knuckles dragged across my shoulder, his finger hooking my sequin strap and pulling it down. He breathed heat over it. “Trying to make me jealous.”
But the fact that he’d noticed let me know he was, the fact that another guy had been dancing with me but suddenly wasn’t even more. I had made him jealous. I’d played his game and won.
So why was I the one melting under his hands? Why was I the one burning as his teeth pinched at my dress strap? This game was turning dirty, the devil’s dark corruption.
I wanted to tell him to stop, to scream at him and punch him right in his gorgeous face for all the cruel and evil ways he’d tortured me in the past. I wanted to hurt him, not turn him on, which clearly this all was.
His mighty arms enveloped my body as he’d done with Hales before, and even though I had no idea where she was now, his attention obviously had never been there. He’d been trying to make me jealous, it definitely working.
“So now what are we going to do about it?” His hand covered my throat, squeezing and making my pussy lips burn. His chuckle was thick. “Because if I had my way I’d be deep inside you right now for trying to mess with me.”
I shuddered imagining that, and instinctually, my ass hugged his dick. It froze him this time, his other hand guiding my hip away.
“Dangerous, dove,” he warned, so much grit and arousal in his voice. He groaned. “You don’t wanna know what will happen if you keep doing that.”
I did it again, pushing back his hand and making him brush against me. He grunted in my ear, the heat completely simmering off him.
“One more time,” he threatened again, his hands reaching and gripping both my wrists. “Don’t test me.”
So serious, I turned back to look him in the eyes. The madness there teetered that line of control, his dark hair curling wildly over his eyes. This was probably incredibly stupid and definitely foolish, but I also know he wouldn’t see it coming.
I hadn’t until my lips met his.
He stiffened again as I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, tasted him and made him taste me, and groaning, his hand gripped my cheek, tugging me close and kissing me back.
He couldn’t stop once he started, his tongue delving into my mouth, and I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted him close.
I wanted him completely.
His hand fell to my neck as our lips parted, and when his grip encased my throat this time, his thumb brushed down my windpipe. “Come back to frat just after three tonight,” he said, wetting his lips. “We finish this there.”
Chapter Fifteen
Greer
I had to have lost my mind because not only had I decided to take a ride share back to the frat house later that night, but I asked Haley about it. She’d not only not been surprised by the invite, after all Knight had kissed me on the dance floor, but then asked me what had taken so long. Apparently, both she and the other girls had picked up on some “tension” between Knight and me, but since I’d told her I wasn’t with him that day at lunch she’d gone for it.
She’d even apologized if she potentially stepped on my toes.
All of this was so goddamn wrong it wasn’t even funny. Knight Reed was a monster. Knight Reed was arrogant, but still, I found myself back at the very place he’d tossed my ass out of not days before. The frat house had been completely quiet at 3 AM, no parties or anything, and I didn’t know how I felt about that. I didn’t know how I felt about being there at all. I just knew Knight had challenged me again.
And for whatever reason, I wanted to be up to it.
My heart raced as I stood outside on the frat house’s porch, the place like a cabin in the woods but mansion-sized. It was beautiful, completely surrounded by nature and wildlife. The guys had their own little abyss out here not far from campus, and the door opened before I could even knock. Knight stood in the door frame, waiting for me in a long sweater and slouchy sweats that cuffed at his ankles, his feet bare on the wood floor. I didn’t know when he’d left the club. Maybe way after me. Maybe not, but he’d had enough time to shower. Hair freshly washed, he worked a towel through it, his hair glistening and sleek like a panther’s fur when he dropped the towel over his broad shoulders. He grinned. “You didn’t stand me up.”
More of his games, a clear challenge on that dance floor tonight. He’d wanted me to back down, but it had been me to kiss him. I did it because I wanted to.
I just didn’t understand why.
It was him and his draw, always this attraction between us. It frightened me and was the reason I was standing here tonight.
Knight widened the door, and though I dipped under it, I kept my personal space.
“Did I have an option?” I asked, turning around, and he pulled the towel off his shoulders. Tossing it on an empty section of the frat’s couch, he pinched his fingers out, tugging me closer by the jacket.
“You always have a choice, little dove,” he said, easing my jacket off my shoulder. “Now stay awhile.”
I breathed harshly as he slid the jacket down my shoulders. Still in my dress from earlier tonight, it glistened even in the low lit room.
“Fuck.” His groan heated his eyes, the jacket in his hands only moments. He hooked it on a coat rack before tugging me with him, his hand in mine as he escorted me to the kitchen. We got inside, and he flicked on the light, the kitchen large and easily sized to occupy a dozen men. Since that was the case I was sure most days that made sense.
“You want something to drink?” he asked me, his hand leaving mine. He opened the fridge. “We have soda. Milk?”
I watched him as he chose for me, both options in front of me. I honestly didn’t want either, too nervous. I’d never done any of this before, whatever we were doing. I pointed to the two liter and he got something together for me in a clear glass.
“Everyone in bed?” I asked, the place too quiet. Made me even more nervous. Knight returned with a glass of milk for himself, guzzling it down, and the entire display made him all too hot. Especially when he dragged a finger across a slight milk mustache.
He noticed me watching his lips, his perfect mouth as he cleared it from the milk. He smirked. “Whole house is empty. Cleaning crew comes once a month and completely wipes down the place. We all usually stay with friends or some shit until they give us the okay to come back.”
Hence, the 3 AM invite.
Holy fuck.
Knight came over to me, and my heart flipped, all of this a mistake. This was going way past games or even beyond the physical. This was deeper, emotional and raw at least on my part. I was feeling something for him. I felt something for him as stupid as it may be, and it was stupid. This had to be all just a game for him.
And how fucking good he was at it.
His finger curled, brushing my neck, and my heart basically imploded beneath my rib cage. His hand cuffed my neck, and I knew he could feel my pulse. I heard it, so loud and deep in my head. I wet my lips. “What are you going to do?”
An honest question, and I wanted some fucking honesty. I needed to know his intent, if this was all just a game still.
If he wanted to hurt me again.
He could so easily shatter me and rip me a part. It was in that moment I realized how much power he actually had, his finger running along my throat now.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked, my flesh on fire as he dragged his finger down to my chest.
He outlined the top of my breasts, my breath in-taking. “You’re the one who came here tonight.”
Because he asked me. I sat up. “I don’t know.”
Fingers played along the top of my dress, that shimmer glistening against his digits. He had me stand up, his finger tipping my chin. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, pulling me close and bunching the back of my dress in his hand. “Do you want me to kiss you? I can do that. Touch you… well, I can fucking do that too. Tell me what you want. Your call.”
It’d never been my call. Ever…
But apparently, it was tonight.
I trembled, trying not to fall apart completely in his hands. “Kiss…”
The word was so soft I barely heard it, meek and definitely not me.
His smile coy, Knight angled his body, meeting me halfway as he hovered over my lips. “Kiss you? That’s what you want?”
He’d heard me, but before I could tell him no and change my mind, his hand grappled the back of my neck. He kissed me, hard and weakened my knees to the point I slammed my hand on the kitchen island, panting around his taste as his tongue probed and tasted mine.
A slow and gritted, “Fuck,” fell into my mouth, his lips devouring me whole. His fist wound around my hair, tight and pulling deep at my scalp. I gasped, opening my mouth more for him, and he didn’t stop until I couldn’t breathe.
His teeth dragged my bottom lip down, his finger pinching it. “I want you upstairs. In my room. On my fucking bed.”
The very prospect had me trembling, but not in ways I believed not that long ago. Our entire relationship previous to this moment had been built on nothing but fear and his sick games. It’d never been this, me actually wanting him. No…
Me fucking needing him.
“Where is it?” I found myself asking. I was drenched between my legs.
His eyes heated as he leaned in, his head jerking toward the door. He let me walk but he hovered close, his hands on my hips as he moved me through his house. On the second floor, he opened a bedroom already heated and lit by a fireplace, a beautiful bed with fine silks and drapery all around it. It was lovely and totally not Knight.
