A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Elite of Eden Falls Prep Book 4)

by Isabella Starling

  My Reign is nothing but a pawn to that woman. And I know sooner or later she'll use him to her advantage. If we're lucky, that's when we're going to catch her.

  "I brought you some tea."

  I don't even look away from the window as Dex sets a steaming cup on a marble coaster on the nightstand. I don't answer him, but I still feel his lingering presence. He's waiting for something, eager for some words of encouragement, perhaps for me to tell him things aren't quite so bad. That we'll make it through this. But will we?

  "Take a sip of tea," Dex goes on. "It's chamomile. Good for anxiety."

  "Fuck that," I mutter.

  "Pandora." His tone is stricter now. "It'll help."

  "Help? You think it will help?" I snarl at him, throwing the duvet covers back. My maternity belly is gone now, but it only hurts more to see that, knowing I never got the gift of motherhood, not without my son.

  "Pandora," Dex speaks in calming, soft tones. "I'm just trying to help."

  "And yet you haven't helped at all," I hiss. "The baby's not here, is he? And Lily Anna is not in jail where she belongs."

  "We're working on that."

  "Not very successfully." I know I'm being snarky, but I can't help it. I'm sick and tired of this hopeless, fruitless search for my son. I'm sick of everything.

  "Damn it, Pandora," Dex grunts. "I'm doing my fucking best here, what more do you want?"

  "I want my baby back!" I grab the mug of tea off the nightstand in a fit of rage and toss it at the wall. Steaming liquid sloshes all over the wall and the mug breaks into pieces when it hits the floor. We both stare in disbelief at what I've just done. I would never act this way with Dexter before. I wouldn't dare. But he won't do anything about it now. He just wants to protect me... or does he?

  With two quick steps he reaches me, climbs on the bed and cages my body beneath his.

  "I've had enough of you, you fucking brat," he hisses. His breath is cold and minty against my cheek and I struggle beneath him, trying to get away. "You think you can act this way and not get punished?"

  "But I-"

  He interrupts me with a slap on my right cheek. I'm so shocked I can't even respond, so I just stare at him in disbelief.

  "Shut up," he demands. "Shut up already, and get ahold of yourself, Pandora. If you don't, I'll do it for you."

  He pulls the duvet covers off me and suddenly I'm exposed in nothing but a flimsy nightie. But that's not enough for my bully. He pulls the short dress up, revealing my body, and I squeal in protest. I feel vulnerable, ugly. I don't want him looking at me like this. I'm useless now. I can't even fuck him, not with the pain I've been experiencing every day, both in my mind and in my body.

  "Don't look at me," I attempt to scream, but it comes out as a sob. I realize I'm moments away from crying again, and I feel shame burning my cheeks, reddening them. "Please don't look at me, Dex..."

  "Why wouldn't I?" He grabs my hands by the wrists and holds them above my head. "I can look at you all I want... You're my property, aren't you?"

  I don't answer, and I stop struggling too, quickly realizing he's too strong for me. I refuse to answer him. I'm not giving into Dexter Booth's demands ever again.

  But my body betrays me. I'm trembling, and I know he'll notice soon enough. My center is flooding with eager neediness, but I can't let Dexter notice it. I have to hide it at all costs. He's only going to use it to his advantage if he does notice, and I'm not ready for this, not ready to give him more.

  "You've been a little nightmare, Pandora," he tells me calmly. "I know you're hurting, toy. But don't you think I'm hurting too? I lost so much. Lily Anna killed my parents. My best friend. And now she took someone else. Why won't you let me mourn with you?"

  "We shouldn't be mourning," I hiss, unable to stop myself. "We should be bringing Reign home. Doing everything in our power to get him back."

  "Don't you think I'm doing that already?" His forehead creases as he prevents me from moving. "God, you're being a little nightmare, toy. All I've done is try to make you better. Why won't you get better for me?"

  Something about that simple question resonates with me. My body shakes, my lips trembling as I whisper, "I can't. I don't know how."

  "Then let me show you," Dex grunts. "Let me teach you... I can make you better, Pandora. You just have to let me..."

  I become helpless then. My body stops resisting, lying there uselessly as he begins to kiss a line down my neck. His fingers grab onto the fabric of my nightie, and with a strong rip, he splits it down the middle, exposing my naked body.

  "Look how beautiful you are," he mutters. "My toy..."

  I close my eyes tightly, telling myself I'm not enjoying what he's doing to me. But it's a lie, and we both know it. My body shakes beneath his and I realize I'm eager for more of his cruel touch. But I'd never admit it to Dexter. I can't let him in on my weaknesses. I need to keep up pretenses.

  But with the way he's kissing me, it quickly becomes apparent that's going to be near impossible to do.

  "Please," I whisper when he kisses my belly. It feels amazing, but the loss of Reign is still fresh on my mind. I feel like I have no right to enjoy this.

  "What do you want, pretty toy?" Dex mutters in my ear. "You want me to keep kissing you?"

  I shut my eyes tightly and find myself nodding. Yes, I want it. I want everything and anything that will get my mind off my awful reality. The mess that is my life.

  He moves his mouth over my abdomen to my exposed center. His lips linger over my hip bone, carefully, slowly kissing a line over my pussy. I haven't shaved in ages, and my pussy is covered in silky, light brown hairs. But he pays it no mind. He continues kissing me. It feels as if he's making love to me with his mouth. I don't know Dexter Booth like this. Gentle, almost sweet. I don't think he does, either.

  "Please, Dex," I whisper. "Make me feel better. I want to feel better."

  My hands find their way into his hair and I tangle my fingers in the dark strands, holding him where I need him most. Dex takes the hint. He's incredibly gentle, careful like I've never known him to be. He kisses my pussy in frustraing circles, never quite reaching my sex that buzzes with expectation. I want so much more, but I let him pick the pace, let him decide how much I can have and when.

  When his lips finally wrap around my clit, I'm a moment away from having an orgasm. I haven't had one in months. The one I forced out of my body when I was staying with Mother, thinking about Dex, barely counts now that I have the real thing. I want to cry, because I realize then this is what I want. Dexter Booth is the one for me. No matter how cruel, twisted and evil he can be, this is what I need, what I crave. I want him to have control of me as much as I want to fight him for it.

  And with that realization, I give in to him. I buck my hips and he buries his face between my legs, expertly licking, flicking, teasing me until I'm a moaning, desperate little mess. I want nothing more than to come, but I force myself not to beg for it. To go at Dex's pace and allow him to decide when I get it.

  "You taste so fucking good," he mutters from between my legs. "My toy... Fucking mine. Say it."

  "Yours." The word falls from my lips easily, committing my body and soul to my bully. I'm finally at the point where I've accepted it. Dexter Booth is my Master. What a cruel twist of fate this is.

  Despite my eagerness to give up control, I'm getting closer and closer to the edge, and I know I'm going to start begging for a release soon. I can't stop myself. I just want some relief, a moment to forget about the mess that is my life.

  "Please," I whisper. "Please, Dex, let me have it."

  "You want to come?" he grunts against my body, licking me with agonizingly slow motions. "Tell me you want to come, toy."

  "Please, Dexter, I've waited for so long... Don't I deserve it? Please!"

  "What you deserve is to be teased and brought to the edge over and over again," he mutters. He spreads my pussy open with his fingers and I moan when the cool air hits my exposed center. He'
s barely even touching me and I'm so close already. How fucking embarrassing. "I wonder if you can come like this, toy..."

  "No," I beg. "Please, I need more."

  I struggle beneath him but it's useless. He's too strong. The only way I'll have an orgasm now is if he decides to give it to me.

  "I can't fuck you," he muses. "You're too sensitive from the operation. I'll just have to think of something else."

  He flicks my clit and I cry out, making him laugh as I dissolve into a myriad of pleases.

  "Please," I cry out again. "Don't torture me, Dex! Let me have it..."

  "I wonder how close you are. How little I'd have to do to make you break..." He gets up from the bed and I cry out in protest, but he ignores me. He grabs an unused makeup brush from my vanity and returns, and my eyes widen when he begins to run the soft bristles over my pussy.

  It's torture.

  Absolute torture.

  And I fucking love it.

  It doesn't take long for me to start begging again, and Dex continues his torturous treatment, brushing me excruciatingly slowly and stopping the moment I get too close.

  He seems to sense I won't be able to take it for much longer though, and he hesitates for a moment, brush poised above my clit.

  "Beg me," he says. It's an order, not a question, and I swallow thickly, allowing my inner slut to come out as I begin to plead for a release I didn't even know I wanted.

  "Please, Dexter." My voice is small and frail. It's so embarrassing, and yet my neediness won't allow me to feel embarrassed. I'm too close for that. "Please, just one, please, I need it so bad... Let your toy come, Dex, please, I'll do anything."

  "Anything?" he repeats, brushing my clit in circles that make my eyes roll back. "You'll even try to be happy for me?"

  "Anything," I repeat desperately. "Anything, Dex, please!"

  "Swear," he grunts.

  "I swear!" I'm practically screaming now, painfully close to an orgasm and unable to resist my desperation anymore. "Please, Dex, I swear, let me, let me, let me!"

  He removes the brush and his mouth comes back. He sucks my clit so hard I think I'm going to faint from the sensation alone. The orgasm bubbles inside me, threatening to spill over the edge.

  "You can't, can you?" he smirks from between my legs. "You need permission like a good little toy..."

  "Give it to me," I plead. "Permission, please, let me, fuck Dexter, please!"

  He laughs at me and continues to torture me with his tongue. He brings me to the brink of insanity. If he won't let me come now, I'm going to start sobbing. But just as I'm about to beg again, the magic words drop.

  "Come for me, fucktoy."

  I come apart for the first time in months, relishing in the sweet submission I can only experience with the boy who hates me. I scream out my release and it echoes in the empty Manor. I let him have it all, and I don't hold anything back as I allow my body to convulse with the release I've been holding back for so long.

  Dex doesn't stop until my screams turn into soft little cries. That's when he pulls me into his arms. I probably look like a mess, but I'm past the point of caring. He takes care of me, and I let him. Firm, strong hands smooth my hair. A dark but soothing whisper tells me to rest, and he holds me as I drift to the first real sleep in a week.

  14

  Dexter

  Pandora is slowly coming back. As hard as life has been these past few weeks, my toy is doing her best to please me by returning to her former state. But we've made no progress on the search for Lily Anna and Reign, and with every day that passes without good news, I see my toy give up a little more.

  I've done everything in my power to make things better. To keep her busy. But she's a mother now, a mother without a baby, without a purpose. I can tell she's suffering and what hurts most is knowing I can't do anything to change that.

  That day, the doorbell rings through the Manor. Pandora looks up from her book in the bed we share.

  "Who's that?"

  "No idea," I mutter, picking myself up from the bed. I button my shirt and I tell her I'll be back.

  I go downstairs where Anders has already let in our visitor. My expression darkens when my eyes meet Emilian Oakes'.

  "What are you doing here?" I bark at him. "We don't meet here. We meet in your office downtown. This is my home and you aren't welcome here."

  We've met every other day to discuss the fruitless search for Lily Anna, but it was always in Oakes' office in Eden Falls.

  "I came to talk to you," Emilian mutters. "Discuss some matters at hand. It couldn't wait. And don't be so ungrateful, Booth. I'm doing this for your benefit. Can we go to your office?"

  I glare at him. I don't like the sight of him in my house, but I can't exactly kick him out either. After all, he's the one funding the search for Lily Anna and Reign.

  "Fine, let's go." I lead the way up the stairs and into the office. Oakes takes a seat in front of my desk and I take the chair behind it, glaring at him. "Please tell me you have some good news about Lily Anna. Have you found her? Have you found Reign? Have you made any fucking progress at all?"

  "No." He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, probably expecting me to lose it again. But I stay calm, though my nails dig into the palms of my hands with anger. That fucking bitch is still on the loose. "I came here to speak to you about something else, actually."

  "More bad news?"

  "No." He keeps shifting his position, which tells me he's nervous. Fucking good. "I... I wanted to tell you I'm giving you a dowry. If you still intend to marry Pandora, that is."

  Pandora and I haven't discussed our plans at all, but Oakes doesn't need to know that. So I just stare him right in the eye and smirk as I say, "How mighty generous of you. Now that you've taken everything from me, you're going to give me some bullshit excuse for a wedding present?"

  "I'm giving you your company back, Dexter," Oakes hisses, rendering me speechless. "And the house, and some other assets."

  I do my best to keep my cool, watching the man with narrowed eyes. "I'm assuming there's a price I'll have to pay for all this."

  He laughs. "Consider it a gift from me."

  "Getting a guilty conscience now that you're getting older?"

  "Maybe I've mistreated you a few times..." He shrugs.

  "And you think giving me shit will make up for all the crap you did?" I grunt. I still remember the hits of the whip against my tender skin. Those are scars I'll bear for a lifetime, and they aren't just physical. "It'll take a lot more than that to fix your mistakes, old man."

  "I know." For once, Oakes actually manages to look remorseful. "That's why I'm doing something else, to hopefully ease Pandora back into Eden Falls."

  "And what might that be?"

  The man's hands form fists and I stare at him as he struggles with his answer.

  "I'm giving you Minnie," he finally mutters, every word seemingly harder to get out than the last. He rushes to finish the speech before I even get the chance to reply. "Not forever. Just for a while, until Pandora feels better."

  "Isn't that nice," I mutter sarcastically. "Well, she'll be better off with us than she ever could be with you. When is she arriving?"

  "Kelley will drive her over tonight." Oakes watches me with a scornful expression on his handsome but worry-lined face. "You could at least pretend to be grateful, Booth."

  "To you?" I chuckle. "I'm not grateful at all, old man. You're the one who got us into this whole mess. If you weren't such a sick pervert, maybe Lily Anna wouldn't have to hide at all."

  "Don't forget I'm the one who brought Pandora to Eden Falls," he hisses. "I'm the reason you're together now."

  "No," I say resolutely, getting up from my seat and signaling this is the end of our conversation as I button up my blazer. "I'm the reason we're together. Because she loves me, you fucking dick."

  He gets up too, not bothering with a reply because he probably knows I'm right.

  Pandora appears in the doorway then. She's wearing
a thin white dress that sweeps the floor, her expression wary as it meets her father's.

  "What are you doing here?" she asks.

  "Your father just dropped by with a nice surprise," I reply easily. "Minnie will be coming to live with us for a while."

  "Minnie?" Her eyes light up. It's the first genuine excitement I've seen from her, and it pleases me Oakes has made the decision to allow Minnie to stay with us. "Oh, that's wonderful..."

  "Make Kelley bring her here now," I tell Oakes, and he nods, surprised by Pandora's excited reaction. I knew Minnie and Pandora were close, but I never realized the maid's daughter was the only ally my toy has in this town. She needs her. Having Minnie at Booth Manor will be good for Pandora. "We don't want to wait any longer than necessary. I'll have Anders prepare a room for her."

  "Fine," Oakes hisses. It's the best reaction I can hope to get out of the old man. He hates getting ordered around, just like I do. I was meant to give orders, not fucking follow them. "She'll be here soon."

  Pandora and I walk her father out. She surprises me by helping Anders get Minnie's room ready, genuinely excited by seeing her old friend again. We even speak about hiring some more help soon to help the butler around the house.

  I tell Pandora what her father has decided, and she seems relieved by the news. Even though I don't want to show it, I am, too. If it weren't for Emilian's decision, I'd be kicked out of the Manor and left penniless. And I can't risk that. Not now, when I still need to find Lily Anna and Reign.

  Just like always, the thought of them makes my heart and head hurt. I force myself to stay busy with the preparations for Minnie's arrival. But it's all a poor excuse. I know all our thoughts are with the baby, not here, in Eden Falls. And even though I'm more determined than ever to find Lily Anna and our son, I also feel like we're looking for two needles in a haystack. She's just gone, without a fucking trace.

  I'm getting frustrated, so I'm grateful for the distraction of the doorbell. Pandora practically races downstairs to greet Minnie.

  The blonde girl looks different than I remember her. She was always quiet but happy despite everything going on in her life. But today, her shoulders are slumped. Minnie looks defeated, and it instantly deflates Pandora as well. Still, the two girls seem excited to be in each other's company.