by Leia Thorne
“Tell me about the auditorium,” I whisper to her.
Her eyebrows draw together, her features conveying her uncertainty. This is all still very new for my little St. James. I dip my hand between us and rub along the seam of her pants, confirming this is what I want. “Tell me every detail,” I whisper.
Those soft brown eyes go half-mast, and she reveals how she attempted to seduce and dominate Rush. That turns me on more than anything; I wish I could’ve witnessed Remi coming into her own, doing a sexy striptease. Not that it takes much to seduce Rush—but this is a side of her I haven’t yet encountered, and I’m curious.
As Palmer reenters the room, I stand with Remi in my arms, her legs latched around my hips. “Maybe we’ll take this to the bedroom,” I declare.
“Gage…” Palmer whines.
I sigh and set Remi’s feet to the floor. “Where do you want us?”
As Palmer orders us into a circle, I check out her ass. She’s already shucked her clothing, wearing nothing but fuck-me-red panties and a bra. Her long dark hair graces the middle of her back as she hurriedly stretches out a length of rope.
She snaps it taut. “I get to pick the teams,” she says, eyeing each of us in turn. Then she selects Emry, binding a section of rope around his wrist. The other end she ties to Sawyer’s wrist. “I’ll be right back,” she says.
With a pert smile, Palmer points to Rush. “Over there.” She puts him beside Remi.
I meet Sawyer’s eyes, and she shrugs a shoulder. So this is Palmer’s way of restoring balance. Regardless of Sawyer’s attempts to correct things between them, Palmer needs to make it a point that she and Sawyer be together. I wasn’t the only one to suffer the rejection when Sawyer kissed Remi.
I want to smile, it’s so childlike. Palmer has always been the most innocent minded. She’s bat-shit crazy sometimes—but she’s pure in her intentions.
As Palmer ties a link of rope to my and Remi’s wrists, I send her a wink. My gaze shoots up to watch Rush as Palmer does the same to him.
Rush cocks his head and turns my way. “Heads or tails? Want to flip for it?”
Palmer slaps his arm. “Don’t be crass.”
I square my shoulders. “Ladies’ choice,” I say.
This all-too familiar power struggle has to stop. Now.
History cannot repeat itself.
Rush became too attached to Lesley, and that caused conflict in the group when she didn’t reciprocate his feelings. You’d think people would learn from their mistakes. But here Rush is, following in his same steps all over again.
“Play nice, boys,” Palmer says, giving us both a sultry smile before she skips over to her team of Emry and Sawyer.
I dip down and give Remi a kiss. “You okay?”
She nods quickly. “I’m fine.”
Good girl.
Now, to make sure she comes so hard she’ll never second guess me again.
Palmer dims the lights and turns on her playlist. “For the new one in the bunch—” she winks at Remi “—the rule is, the ropes have to be connected to everyone at all times. You can tie it to any body part, move it around, but if one person is ever without it, they lose and don’t get to finish.”
Emry chuckles. “Does that ever happen, Palm?”
She hushes him. “Quiet, Ems. Or I’ll make sure you only get to watch me and my girl.”
Her girl. Yeah, Palmer is still feeling a little jaded. But again, she’s more like a wounded kitten. No real worry of backlash from her.
Palmer claps her hands. “Begin, lovers!”
There’s a moment of hesitation where Remi looks at me, before Rush takes the lead. “Looks like you’re getting on those knees after all,” he says, and makes a motion for her to drop to the floor.
She laughs anxiously. “How are we supposed to do this with clothes on and not unlinking the rope?”
“That’s the challenge.” I take my glasses off and set them aside, then I untie the rope from her wrist and relocate it to her ankle. While I pull down her pants, Rush removes her shirt and bra.
The dim lighting and pulsing music makes the transition less awkward, and once all clothing is effectively shed, Remi rises to her feet, Rush there to claim her mouth.
The sight of Rush’s lips on Remi’s provokes me, a strange discomfort grabs my chest. He’s deliberately trying to test me, or lay some macho claim to prove his dominance after our altercation earlier—but that’s not what’s disturbing.
Rush may’ve been right when he called me out before, stating I was never this way with Lesley. Remi is no less important than Lesley was and yet, somehow, the stakes feel higher.
Still, there’s some primitive part of me that wants to yank her away and pummel his fucking face.
Before it comes to that, I wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her shoulder. “Get on your knees,” I order her.
This time, Remi doesn’t question the directive. Her large dark eyes search my face as she lowers herself to the floor in front of me. With a delicate grasp, she takes my cock in her mouth. She sensually circles her tongue around the head before her warm mouth surrounds me.
Rush locks eyes with me. Knowing when he’s beat, he shrugs. “I want to eat that pussy anyway.”
He maneuvers Remi into position, her knees parted wide. “Sit on my face, baby.”
I feel the moment he affects her, her teeth lightly scrape my shaft. I dig my hand into her hair as my gaze travels to the scene off to my right. Damn, Palmer isn’t holding back. She has Sawyer spread on the floor and is licking her pussy, while Emry takes her from behind.
Sawyer touches her beautiful tits, her features drawn together in arousal. I’m torn between throwing Remi down on the floor and fucking her madly, or storming over to Sawyer to finally take what’s mine.
Instead, I grip Remi’s hair and thrust into her hot mouth. She moans against my cock as she works her hips atop Rush’s face. I’ve played this game before, so I have one length of rope tied to my wrist that stretches out to wrap around Remi’s waist. The other end secured to Rush’s wrist. Not that I give a damn about the rope; that’s for Palmer’s sake, for her game. I have half a mind to bind Remi’s wrists together and bend her over so I can push inside her puckered, virgin hole.
That thought makes my dick hard as a rock, and I hear Remi’s slight gag. I’ve thrust too deeply and start to back out. As Sawyer’s back arches off the floor, I decide this torture needs to end.
I tug at Remi’s hair to back her away, then bend down and grasp her trim waist. I order Rush to sit on the sofa as I position Remi over the seat, propping her ass up toward me.
My hand wanders over her bare back, my fingertips reverently tracing the cross tattoo, the swirl design, the white scars overlaying her skin. Her body reads like a timeline, her pain on display. It’s arousing.
As she takes Rush’s cock into her mouth, his gaze catches mine. “I’m not finishing like this,” he says to me. “I’m taking that ass.”
I seat my cock at her pussy lips. “Only after me.” I drive into her, loving the way she bucks at the force. I grab her ass cheek, bracing my other hand on the small of her back, as I thrust into her. Rush has her hair in his clenched fist, shoving his dick into her mouth as her soft moans vibrate against him.
Trying to ignore the arousing sounds of Sawyer behind me, I sweep my finger over Remi’s cunt and then lube her puckered asshole. That’s all the warning I give before I ease the tip of my finger in.
“Ah…shit…” Rush exclaims. “Teeth. Teeth.”
Remi holds up a hand. “Sorry.”
He leans over and kisses her softly. “It’s all right. Here, let me play with those titties.”
Rush helps get her loosened up more, as I work her loose on my end. One thing about the guy, he’s all about the teamwork. As she relaxes, I push in deeper, my cock fucking her pussy at a steady pace as my finger eases farther inside.
“I’m fucking your ass, Remi,” I say, giving it a couple hard pumps be
fore I pull out. “Are you ready? Because my cock is begging for that sweet hole.”
“Yes,” she says. “Oh, my god.”
I smile at that. “Here’s the deal. Say yellow if you need us to pause. Give you a breather. Red if you want us to stop. Got it?”
She nods. Then, as Rush slides off the sofa, he brings Remi on top of him. I let him enter her first. She gets comfortable, undulating her hips as she rides him, and I stroke myself to her rhythm.
I move the rope higher up her waist before I give her back a firm push, placing her chest-to-chest with Rush. He pushes up inside her a few times, getting prepared. When I tap my cock to her asshole, she flinches.
“Try to relax,” I say. “Lots of pressure, a little pain, then the hardest come you will ever experience.”
Hand clamped to her hips, I brace the head at the hole, then sink just the tip inside. Her whole body tenses.
“Breathe,” Rush encourages her.
When I feel her muscles go lax again, I push harder, and fuck me, she swallows my shaft.
“Oh fuck…” Rush says and groans hard. “That pussy just got super tight.”
I have to halt for a moment; she feels so good I’m shaking. I breathe out, breathe in, working the tantric sex exercises to calm my craving. I’m one short thread away from snapping and ravishing her ass.
Rush doesn’t have as much patience, and I feel him thrust up inside her. “Damn, girl. You’re going to make me come if you keep clenching like that.”
Her heavy breaths float over the music as she starts to swivel her hips. “I can’t…oh god. How does this feel so good?”
That’s all the permission I need. I latch on to her hips and push in deeper. I have to bite my lip to hold back from pounding against her, she feels that damn good. I lose all sense of the others around us, solely focused on her and taking this moment to extreme heights.
Whatever reservations Remi had when she first joined the Broken Saints have been stripped away. She’s being reborn; branded by lust. Every inhibition seared away by the fire licking her skin. She throws her head back as Rush tweaks her nipples, sexy as hell.
I reach around and slip my finger over her clit. I’m not sure how much stimulation her little body can tolerate, but I’m going to push the limits.
Her back arcs against me as she flattens her palms on Rush’s chest, her moans coming louder and mingling with indecipherable words; I can’t tell if she’s begging to stop or for more—maybe a mix of both. There’s no doubt this girl knows what she wants, though. I’m awestruck, completely enraptured in her awakening.
Rush curses profusely beneath her, his eyes clamped together tightly as he tries to hold back. “I need this girl to come soon before I fill her pussy… Ah fuck…”
I take that as a challenge. I’m not far off either, her ass doing dirty, devious things to my cock as her muscles clench around me. I work her clit faster, feeling the moment her whole body braces.
I thrust deeply and hold myself there as Remi circles her arm around the back of my neck. She grinds down hard against us, her hips undulating and her back arched, so sexy I have to sink my teeth into her shoulder to keep from coming with her.
“Oh shit…” Rush hoists her up by her hips just in time. He groans loudly as he slides his cock between her pussy lips and shoots a load on his flexed stomach.
Her wetness drenches my fingers as I finish stroking her clit, her body bucking with the last wave of her orgasm. Before I make the mistake of losing my shit, I pull out and grab my cock. I shoot across her back, my come painting that beautiful cross, as I pump my cock furiously. I bury my mouth in the crook of her neck to stifle the harsh groan.
“Fuck me,” Rush says, damn near breathless.
“Holy hell…” Remi’s body wilts, falling against Rush in an exhausted but satisfied heap. “I have no words.”
I fall back on my heels, chest heaving as I gain composure once again. When my head is clear, I look over at the others, noticing that their attention has been aimed on us this whole time.
Palmer springs to her knees. “I want to be next.”
I can’t help it; I laugh. Driving a hand through my drenched hair, I rise to my feet. Sawyer’s gaze trails after me as I reach for my shirt. She’s sitting on the sofa, cool, collected, her long legs crossed. But there’s a heated ember in her green eyes that fucking wants to sear me.
Once I’m dressed, I scoop Remi into my arms and cart her to the bathroom.
“Where am I going?” she asks.
“Palmer,” I shout. “Come draw Remi a bath.” I deposit Remi on the marble floor. “Make sure to soak your muscles for a while. I’ll have Palmer put some girly salt shit in there to help.”
Her smile is wan but easy. “That was…intense,” she says.
I prop my palms against the wall, my own muscles aching from exertion. “But it was perfect,” I say, peeking over at her. “You’re perfect.”
A flush touches her cheeks. I clasp the back of her neck and place a tender kiss to her forehead before Palmer enters.
I was looking for the undercurrents in the group, and I found the shift. Remi has more power than she realizes—than she needs to realize. Mrs. de Pont may have stumbled onto this by luck or by chance, but there’s a born leader buried in Remi.
I can cultivate it, or I can choose to destroy it. That solely depends on Remi.
Chapter 12
Sawyer
The crisp evening breeze touches my skin, a gust from the lake, bringing a brackish scent to the penthouse balcony. I revel in it and my warring emotions for a moment, just allowing myself to feel.
Over the years, no matter what adversity, despite change, one thing has always remained true: I held sway over Gage Astor.
It was a truth I could depend on.
Until this moment.
I can’t be entirely sure what transpired during Palmer’s rope game, the same way I’m not sure what happened between them on the yacht—but what I witnessed just now opened a hollowness inside my chest that…frightens me.
I feel the loss of control. It’s such a tangible defeat, as if the proof of it is being carved around my heart. And here’s another truth: an Astor without a dominating Van Doren to steer their course is a reckless force. Just ask my mother. That’s the only reason she’s marrying Gage’s father—to maintain that control and secure the success of her firm.
Remi has become a danger. No, a threat. I’ve seen the change in her also this past week. The shy act is getting tiring. I watched her take charge inside like a fucking pro. I’ve seen her grace the hallways at the academy with a sharp and determined willfulness that Palmer could never obtain.
Is Gage really falling for her…or is it all an act, part of his scheme? Whom is playing whom here?
As if my internal battle beckons him, I hear Gage’s footsteps cross the balcony. The glass door slides shut.
I pull my robe tighter around my body against the cool breeze.
“So it’s the silent treatment?” he says.
I keep my gaze on the sunset over the horizon. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
His strong presence presses against my awareness, and I force myself not to look over as he places his hands on the railing along either side of my waist. “Sawyer…” He says my name like an entreaty, and I shut my eyes against the need in his voice. “Why do you have to be so difficult?”
I grip the metal railing.
Do you love him?
Roland’s question drifts back, as if the breeze mocks me. There’s no answer for that question; I don’t believe in love. It’s a childish fantasy girls are fed…and some never grow out of. The reality of the situation is that I need Gage.
He’s been my touchstone since we were kids. He’s been a part of me on some level through the years, and my future is hinged on our relationship; whether we remain a constant or drift a part.
Then there is the brutal truth of my attraction to him. Denying myself a physical relati
onship with him has made us forbidden. The temptation to give in and touch the fire grows fiercer every day.
He nuzzles his face in my hair. “You’re too distant from me. We’ve never been further apart… Talk to me,” he pleads.
I lift my chin, forcing bravado. “Is it just a game with her?” I ask. “Or is it more serious? Are you falling for her?”
“Come on,” he says, incredulous.
“I want the truth, Gage.”
“She’s a weak substitution for the real thing,” he says, as he trails his fingers over the nape of my neck. “Only because I can’t have you.”
But that’s not true and he knows it. There’s something about her—something vital—that’s drawing him to Remi. I have to know what it is.
“I need to go,” I say, trying to escape his embrace.
“Not yet. Don’t leave.” His arms surround me, holding me close to the railing.
I should feel trapped, but there’s a part of me that wants Gage to finally close the distance between us—just take me wholly and completely and end the madness. Then, the power struggle would finally be over.
“Tonight is Rush’s last game,” he says, shocking me.
“What? Why?”
“He’s going to join crew. Which will work much better in his favor with Harvard. So—” Gage rests his chin on my shoulder, forcing closeness “—we should all go to his final game tonight. A proper sendoff.”
I huff derisively. “Are you including me in this decision? Oh wait, no. You’re informing me of what you’ve already decided.” I shake my head. “You don’t need me there. I have other plans, anyway.”
“Such as?” He presses up against me. “Masters, maybe? How are things going on that front, by the way?”
I release a heavy breath. “Roland doesn’t know anything, Gage. As usual, you’re paranoid over nothing.”
He feathers his fingers through my hair, brushing it from my shoulder. “Are you sure you tried your hardest to work the truth from him?”
“Roland…just feels guilty. Like we all do. He’s taking it out on you. That’s all. You have nothing to worry about.” I glance over my shoulder. “Did you punch him?”
