He stops us in our tracks as he reaches out to me, grabbing me by the shoulders and turns me to face him. “Look, Scar, I’m not gonna ask why you did it or damn you for doing it. Was it fucked up, yeah, but you already knew that. You don’t owe me a reason or anything but let me just tell you that you ain’t fooling me. Drake may think he knows you better than any one of us, but he’s wrong. You and I, Scar, we’re one in the same. Two kids cut from the same dependent, undeserving cloth. Drake, he’s grown up without a mother or father figure, he’s used to being alone and he’ll get over it, sure. He always does. But you and I, we’re worse off. We were fucked by someone we swore we’d save. Dependent on a person who wanted nothing to do with us yet who was supposed to care. Undeserving of their affection.” He moves closer to me placing a hand on my chin. “Whatever the reason for pushing him away is, you just need to ask yourself one thing. Is it worth it? Worth throwing away one of the only real relationships you’ve ever had?”
I look away from him not being able to hide my emotions, but he tilts my chin back to meet his gaze. He looks at me attentively, understanding my inner struggle.
“Yeah, Kai, it’s worth every damn thing.”
Later that night after deciding it’s best if I avoid Drake and give him space to deal, I stay in my room instead of joining the rest of the group for dinner at the dining hall. Jade suggested we order pizza and stay in, but I don’t want them to avoid Drake and Ruby because of me. They need friends here more than I do, and besides, they were a family before us. I kick off my sneakers and change into a pair of stretchy leggings and a white tank top, grab a water bottle and bag of chips from the pantry and decide to call it a night.
Just as I’m about to lay on my bed, I hear a loud knock coming from the front door of our quarter. Maybe it’s Jade and Stella, they must have forgotten their keys. I walk out into the hallway and up to the front door opening it, but not expecting to find Ace standing on the other side looking like a fucking sex god in tight jeans and a black V-neck shirt. His hair is dripping wet, like he’s just gotten out of the shower, his eyes a dark blue so intense I can’t stare directly into them without losing myself in their depths.
“Hey there, Horseman,” I say in a hushed tone.
He comes in without saying a word and grabs me by the neck bringing my lips to his. Instantly our lips connect and dance with such an intense passion, like nothing I’ve ever felt. This magnetic pull between us, a force unknown to nature and so captivating that I can’t fight against it. His hands move down and cup my ass pulling me into him as his thick cock rubs against me. He releases my ass and reaches a hand around in between my thighs rubbing his fingers against my wetness through the thin material of my leggings. He bites my lip slowly causing a moan to escape me as his fingers continue to rub against me.
“You. Are. Mine. Red,” he says between breaths. “Don’t you ever for a second doubt that.”
“Yes,” I moan softly into his mouth as he devours me.
He reaches down to my ass again and lifts me. I jump, wrapping my legs around his waist, as he leads us down the hall and into my bedroom, slamming the door behind us. He carries me over to the bed tossing me on it violently. I bounce on the mattress nearly slamming into the headboard, and I am about to give him hell for manhandling me when I see the glazed look in his eyes. The fierce possessiveness is paralyzing, and all my insides melt, turning to mush before him. He reaches to the back of his neck reaching for his shirt and in one quick motion pulls it off. I nearly come in my leggings then and there with just one look at his naked torso.
His muscles are practically glowing in the darkness of my room as the small gleam of light comes in from the outside reflecting off of him. He reaches down to undo the button of his jeans pulling his boxers down with them. A cocky smirk appears on his face as he stands there in all his naked glory, his cock already hard for me. He slowly walks toward the edge of the bed climbing on it and crawling like a predator about to devour his prey. Me, I’m the prey. Yes, take me. I swallow hard as he reaches the end of my feet and in one effortless movement pulls my legs toward him, my head falling back against the pillow with a thump. He reaches up and pulls my leggings and thong off, caressing me and running his hands up my thighs. I arch my back off the mattress, the intensity of him already too much and I hear him growl. He fucking growls like a starved animal. I look back to him, staring into his eyes and he mouths for me to take off my shirt. I do as he says, taking it off along with my bra, my nipples hard and pointing directly at him.
“All of this is mine, Red,” he whispers seductively as he runs his tongue all over me, licking, sucking, and biting every inch of my heated flesh. “You are mine, Red.”
“Yes,” I moan as he takes my nipple in his mouth, biting and tugging it.
He stops, turning his attention to my face, looking deep into my eyes, past the blockade I put up around everyone else.
“I mean it. I want you to be mine. Only mine. Officially mine.”
I sit stunned at his declaration. Is he asking me to be his, his girlfriend? I lift a brow in confusion, and he smirks slightly chuckling.
“Scarlett Steele, I want you to be my girlfriend.”
I stare at him dumbfounded by his words, not finding any of my own to reply. I simply look to him, nodding my head slowly and he takes that as my answer, gripping my waist and in one swift movement he thrusts into me. I yelp at the vicious force of him spreading me, but it only seems to excite him as he intensifies his thrusts. He continues his movement bringing me to the edge of ecstasy time and time again until finally my body convulses, my core tightening around him.
He lays next to me pulling my body to his, my head falling atop his heaving chest. My cheek lays against his heart, and the pulsing of his blood coursing through it is like a sweet serenade to my ears.
“Where have you been all my life?” he mutters softly against my temple. “If I’d have known you existed, that you were out there,” he pauses, inhaling a deep breath. “I’d have led a different life. One where I’d be worthy of you.”
I lift my head slightly turning to look him in the eye. His cocky smirk from earlier is gone, and in its place is a solemn frown.
“You call me angel. You worship me like I’m some innocent deity. We’re more alike than you think. I fell into temptation, and look where it has brought me, straight into your arms.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he says, a solemn look in his eyes.
“It’s the worst. With you I lose sight of who I am, something I swore I’d never do. I watched my mother become someone I didn’t recognize when she met Chaz, Jade’s father. And when he left, she lost it. I mean she was always psychotic, but it’s as if the last string that was holding together her sanity, snapped.”
“But I’d never leave you,” he says, and I start laughing uncontrollably. His brows crease, and his frown deepens.
“You’ve done so, time and time again. Every time he calls, you drop everything and follow his orders. You always will. As long as he’s around, there is nothing we can do.”
I lift up slightly, resting my hands on his chest, my fingers tracing over the eagle on his heart. “Why an eagle?” I ask, quietly.
“Eagles are powerful and fierce predators. They represent leadership, authority, and the divine. They are creatures who soar through wind, walk on land, and swim in waters. They’re unstoppable.”
“Why not a horse? You seem to be quite fond of those,” I say, chuckling softly, and it gets me a smile. A full ear to ear, toothy grin, that shows off those adorable dimples.
“That one’s on my back,” he says shifting slightly, showing me the stallion that covers half of his back. It is beautiful and majestic, every detail perfectly inked on his skin making it look real.
“I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before.”
“Well you’re the one who is usually on your back while I thrust into you or riding me while I’m on my back
,” he says, and I shove him almost knocking him off the bed. “Hey what was that for?” he says, laughing softly.
“It has wings?” I ask, getting a view of the entirety of his back.
“It’s a god like horse, hence the wings.”
“You mean a Pegasus?”
“What?” he asks confused.
“A horse with wings is called a Pegasus. Hercules, Greek mythology. He is seen as pure, and majestic, but he was also a servant of Zeus. How fitting,” I say, and instantly his frown is back.
He moves over me, caging me on the bed.
“I am a servant to you.” He lowers his lips to my neck, kissing, and licking me softly. “I will worship only you, serve only you and this irresistible body of yours.”
He continues licking his way down my chest, leaving softly kisses against my abdomen. My back curves off the bed, bringing me closer to his mouth. He moves forward taking my lips in a tantalizing kiss, before flipping us so were laying side by side, his forehead resting against mine.
We lay here together, naked, in this intimate position, for what feels like hours until he finally speaks.
“We’ll make it official tomorrow night at the party Bass is having at his parents’ house. It’s Beck’s birthday. I’ll pick you up at eight,” he adds, as if explaining the reasoning behind yet another party. I feel like I’ve gone to a party every weekend since arriving here, it’s exhausting.
I simply nod against his chest, a small tear threatening to come out. Only I don’t know why it sheds. Is it happiness, laying here with this boy who makes me feel things I didn’t think capable? Sadness, for the boy I hurt, who will surely hate me when he finds out I not only left him, but I found a replacement just as quick? Or fear for what’s to come? I promised Jade I’d use Ace to get to the bottom of her father’s and my mother’s vanishing. I promised to help her find Roman, and it looks like using Ace to do so is the only plausible answer. It’s my only option and it’s what I’m determined to do. I only hope I don’t lose myself in the process.
TWENTY–SEVEN
SCARLETT
After Ace left last night, I took a long, steaming shower in hopes of washing away all the shame and disgust I felt for my sins. I’ve lost count of them now, feeling like every move I make is one of betrayal, or evil. Ace and I were civil in class today, but we still haven’t shown “his followers” that we’re officially an item. That is planned for later tonight at Beckett’s birthday bash at the Silver’s estate. I can imagine the buzz that revelation will bring.
“So, you going tonight?” asks Jade as she steps into my room, of course without knocking. She’s wearing black jeans and a white tube top, with a black faux leather jacket, and her hair pulled up into a high pony, looking every inch like a sexy biker vixen. She walks over to the end of my bed plopping down on the comforter.
“Ace wants us to make things official tonight,” I say with a fake smile. I turn back around to the mirror and apply a thick coat of my favorite deep red lip color, two shades darker than Jade’s. I run my fingers through my hair softly combing out the loose waves of my towel dried hair. I’m wearing one of my nicest pairs of black jeans that are purposefully torn at the knees and an iconic Rolling Stones cropped T-Shirt I found at a thrift shop years ago. You can see the evident wear and tear, but it remains one of my favorite finds.
“So, you did it?” she asks, sounding slightly baffled.
“Can you stop acting so fucking surprised?” I sneer. “You’re the one who stated I needed to finally end things with Drake for good. The one who said I needed to start dating Ace. So, don’t act so damn confused that I did just that.”
“Chill out, Scar, I’m not the one who suggested you sleep with him in the first place,” she snaps back, and I can see she instantly regrets it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“You’re right. This is all my own doing.”
She walks over to me and wraps her arms around my waist tucking her chin in the space between my neck and shoulder. “Neither one of us chose this dreadful life we were dealt. We’re both to suffer at the hand of our parents’ sins. Bound to make their same mistakes, to fall victim to their same awful choices. All because of what? The simple fact that we were born, when neither of them wanted us. We both know what it feels like to be unwanted, unloved. So, when someone comes around showing even the slightest interest, it’s impossible to walk away.”
I look into her clear jade eyes through the mirror as they watch me intently, and I see the lost little girl that lost her mother. The scared little girl who hid behind her bed the night her father was taken, the night she first was dealt the toxic abuse at the hand of my mother. The helpless child who hid behind me the day Agent Servite came and threatened us in our home. The tortured young girl who sat on the couch across from me, when Agent Servite once again took us from our home at the Grayson’s. I reach down and take her hands that are still wrapped around my waist, in mine.
“We are not the product of their sins. We’re the retribution for them,” I say softly.
Her eyes widen, a small grin appearing on her beautiful face.
“Then it’s up to us to seek our own justice, enact our own vengeance. We need to be their reckoning,” Jade says, her smile widening.
We head over to Stella’s room once I’m ready and we’ve both calmed our nerves from our heart-to-heart conversation. Tonight is surely going to be a disaster, so I need to wear my mask of indifference in order to pull it off. I’m hoping Drake won’t be in attendance, but as a student of the academy, his invite is secured. The kings might not acknowledge all their followers, but they do make sure they’re taken care of; this means wherever they go, their people follow. As we enter, Stella’s standing in front of her mirror applying her makeup, but as she hears us approach, she quickly turns around startled.
“Shit, you scared me,” she cries, and we both start laughing.
“Wow, Silver, why so nervous?” asks Jade, walking over to her.
“Nothing, just I’ve never been really good at doing my makeup so I um,” she pauses, and I notice a thick, uneven wing on her right lid.
“You need some help?”
She nods, and I walk over grabbing a wipe from her dresser. She closes her eyes and I clean off the thick line, taking her liner and drawing two perfectly symmetrical wings. I grab an eyeshadow palette with neutral colors and do a light smokey eye, while Jade hands me the red lip color she wears, and I apply it to Stella’s pouty lips.
“There we go, now you’re one of us,” I say, referring to our go-to grunge look.
She opens her eyes turning to the mirror and gasps as she looks at her reflection. “Wow, I look…”
“Hot, sexy, scandalous,” says Jade, winking at her.
“Like someone else,” she answers softly.
“You look beautiful, Stella. You are beautiful, you just need to embrace it,” I say, and she blushes slightly as she turns to grab her purse.
“Okay, we ready to go?” she asks, and both Jade and I stare at her confused.
“Wait, you’re not seriously thinking of wearing that?” says Jade, pointing to Stella’s ensemble. She’s wearing a long, terribly unflattering, cream colored dress.
“What? It’s comfy,” she says, and we both start laughing, shaking our heads.
“Oh no, no, no. You are not leaving this house looking like you belong in a mental asylum,” I say, and she gasps again causing us to laugh harder.
“I have just the outfit,” says Jade, turning to me. “I’ll be right back. Scar, you’re in charge of her hair and accessories.”
I nod, heading over to my room and grabbing a pair of silver hoops and a black choker necklace. When I come back, I sit Stella on her desk chair, and secure her hair into a high ponytail, light auburn curls dangling down her back. Jade comes back carrying a pair of her high-waist, faux leather leggings and a long-sleeved cropped black top.
“Yeah, no way I am wearing that,�
� Stella says, standing and backing away.
“Um, yes way you are wearing this and you’re going to rock the shit out of it. Now put it on or I’ll do it for you,” Jade orders.
Stella looks to us questioningly at her, but gives in, moving into her closet to change. After a couple minutes she walks out looking like the sexy vixen she’s destined to be.
“Oh yes, Malachi is going to lose it when he sees you in that outfit.”
Stella turns bright red at Jade’s remark. “I’m not… that’s not why… I mean he won’t…”
“Ignore her, Stella. Any guy would love you in this outfit or in the one you were wearing before. It’s not about that. It’s about you realizing that just because you dress this way and embrace your sexuality and that banging body, it doesn’t make you a slut,” I tell her.
“It’s just Kinsley, Carrington, all of them. They get to me. I don’t want to let them, but I can’t help it.”
“Stella, look at me, those two are just jealous. Not just jealous of your beauty, which is way more than they could ever hope to have, but that you are kind, smart, caring. You are liked, loved, capable of feeling. That’s something no matter how hard they try, they will never accomplish. You’re beautiful on the outside and on the inside. They may have managed to perfect their exteriors, but inside they’re rotten, bitter, and just downright ugly,” I say, as the three of us head out.
TWENTY–EIGHT
SCARLETT
We arrive at Silver’s residence at a quarter to eight and the party is already in full swing. Stella’s uncle Stephan and his wife Eliza, who is Beckett’s mom, are away for the weekend, leaving the mansion under Sebastian’s control. Which means this party is going to be unlike any of the ones I’ve attended thus far. Stella mentioned Bass had rented out more than fifty kegs, a whole taco food truck, as well as an In N Out Burger truck, and surprise entertainment. All to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of the eldest of the Four Horsemen, Beckett Masters.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 26
