Текст книги "Fear You"

Автор книги: B. B. Reid

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Chapter Twenty-Six

Keiran

August 17th

Dear Diary,

I wouldn’t dare speak the words aloud. Not even to Willow, and yet I’m having trouble admitting them to you even.

Today, I experienced the strangest feeling of my life. Fear has evolved into something much scarier.

Something much more potent and dangerous. One school year had ended and now another begins.

I missed him. How pathetic is that? To miss someone who hated me more than he cared to breathe.

But that wasn’t it, was it? It was what I felt when I saw him again.

* * *

“What the hell!”

It was the middle of the night when I was woken up. Screaming erupted soon after, and I immediately jumped up from the couch where I’d fallen asleep.

I scrubbed a hand down my face before trudging up the stairs to see what was causing all the ruckus. I definitely knew who, but the what was unknown.

All the lights upstairs were now on, and when I reached the landing, I saw my uncle and Keenan standing in the guest bedroom doorway.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, you’re little girlfriend is screaming down the house,” Keenan snapped.

Coming home did nothing to ease our relationship. He refused to talk to me, but when he did, it was always a sarcastic retort. Wrong or not, I was growing tired of it. How many times could I apologize?

I pushed past them to enter the bedroom. Diana was standing in the middle of the room slapping at her skin. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I was growing fed up with her. She had undoubtedly overstayed her welcome, but until I was able to bring Mario in, I had to deal with her. Yesterday, when I saw her exit the store with Monroe and wearing a conspiratorial grin, I felt the urge to strangle her. I knew she said something to her when Monroe emerged from the store as pale as a ghost. She spotted my car as soon she left the store, and though she couldn’t see me through the dark tint, her glare was just as powerful. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Diana brought my attention back to her when she started running her hands furiously through her hair and running in place while shrieking and groaning. I rushed to her and grabbed at her hands and when I did, I noticed all the tiny jumping spots. Her entire body looked as if it was infested with them. Some of them jumped onto me, and I released her quickly nearly causing her to fall backward.

Why the hell was she covered in fleas?

“Why are you covered in fleas?” I asked, repeating my question out loud. This would have been funny if it weren’t late and if I wasn’t annoyed by her very existence.

“You tell me,” she screamed. “It’s your house!”

“Calm down,” I ordered.

“No! This is gross. You don’t even have pets!” She ran from the room to what I assumed was the bathroom.

I looked back at John and Keenan, who still watched on silently. I walked over to the bed whose sheets were crumpled. I could see even more fleas jumping about the sheets.

“Did you do this?” I asked Keenan. Diana was right. We didn’t have pets, and with the amount of fleas present, I knew they had to have been planted.

“And why would I?”

I watched him before figuring he was telling the truth. Even though he didn’t care for Diana any more than I did, he was on bed rest. If not him, then who?

Another shriek sounded from the bath and I took a deep breath before leaving the bedroom. I pushed open the bathroom door without knocking. If she were naked, then she would just have to deal. She had been trying to get into my bed non-stop for the past three months anyway.

“What is it now?”

The curtains were ripped back, and she nearly fell out of the shower in her haste. She held a bottle of shampoo in her hand where more fleas jumped about. There were even more on her face and hair. She was crying hysterically. I cursed and grabbed a towel to cover up her naked body.

“Keiran, what is going on? Why are there fleas in my house?” John asked, speaking for the first time.

“I don’t know, but they had to be planted.”

“Who did you have over here?”

“No one.” I wracked my brain but continued to come up empty. Between school, basketball practice, and gathering as much evidence as possible, I had barely been home.

“Keenan?” John asked.

“No—” he started, and then stopped as a smile spread across his face. He shook his head and then burst out laughing. It came out strangled due to his condition, and while I wanted to order him to stop, I knew he wouldn’t listen. Sometimes I think he wanted to die.

“Oh, this is rich. You really picked a winner.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Lake came to visit me today.”

“She did what?”

“She came by. We watched movies, and she left, but when she got here, she said she had to use the bathroom, so she came up here.”

I tamped down my jealousy over her visiting my brother to concentrate on the pressing issue at hand. “And she didn’t use the guest bathroom downstairs why?”

“The shrieking bimbo covered in fleas might be my first guess.”

“Son of a bitch…”

* * *

I had one thought when I arrived at school the next morning. A thorough inspection of the house revealed that the little bitch had not only infested Diana’s room with fleas, but mine as well. We spent the entire night attempting to clean Diana and control the infestation until an exterminator could be called.

For whatever reason, Monroe liked to get to school ahead of everyone else. I never knew exactly why, but my guess would be to avoid me in the hallways. It worked to my advantage now.

The only hiccup would be if Willow were with her. I knew they carpooled together every day.

I scoured the entire place for her, starting with the library, but when I couldn’t find her, I grew even more agitated.

If her car weren’t outside, I would have given up, but I knew she was here. Luck was apparently on my side because, when I rounded the corner, I caught her coming out of the bathroom minus Willow.

By the time she spotted me, it was too late. I was on her. I dragged her to the nearest classroom, and she surprisingly followed without a fight.

When I turned to lock us inside, I caught the smirk on her face.

“You mind telling me what the hell you were doing in my house yesterday?”

“I was visiting a friend—not that it’s any of your business.”

“But you weren’t just visiting a friend, were you?”

“Keiran, what are you getting at?”

“That little stunt you pulled is going to cost you.”

“I have no interest in your mind games.” She spun around quickly, her hair flying around her shoulders, and I caught a whiff of her intoxicating scent. It set me off.

I bent low and lifted her to my shoulder, ignoring her struggles as I carried her across the room to the teacher’s desk. It was large enough and the perfect height for what I had in mind.

“Put me down!”

I did as she demanded but spun her around to bend her over the desk. The ruler sitting in a coffee mug near the edge of the desk caught my eye. I grabbed it and tested the strength of it against my palm. She tensed each time the ruler hit my skin.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” She tried to stand up, but I placed a firm hand on the back of her neck.

“Let me go you—ah!” The ruler slapped against her jean clad ass, cutting off whatever she was about to hurl at me, and I wished more than anything I could see it redden.

“Lucky for you, I didn’t sleep in my bed last night or else I would make this ten times worse for you.”

“Go to hell and take your little slut bucket with you!”

I dropped the ruler next to her head and released her neck but planted myself behind her to keep her in place. “What are you doing to me?” She didn’t bother to answer sensing I didn’t really need one. “I can’t even punish you properly.”

“Then let me go!”

“Tell me why you did what you did?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation. “

“And why is that?”

“Because you don’t get to ignore me for two months, flaunt your new girlfriend in my face, and then demand answers from me.”

“What did she say to you?”

“Let me go or I’ll start screaming.”

“Scream. No one is here—better yet… why don’t I give you a reason to scream? I know just the way to shut you up.”

My hands traveled to the front of her pants and unbuttoned them slowly. I waited for a protest, but none came, so I ventured further. Her pants were lowered and my hands were in her panties, all before I could count to three.

She was already wet, but I couldn’t resist teasing her with my fingers. I found the little nub and teased her there. Her legs shifted apart slightly, and I didn’t miss the way her back arched, pushing her pussy into my hand. I decided to take it a little further and slipped a finger inside her. Her little moan was all the encouragement I needed.

Another finger and she was moving against me, fucking my fingers.

I don’t remember lowering my own jeans, but when I was forced to stop pleasuring her, she looked back at me with anger and lust in her eyes.

My hand dug into my wallet for a rubber while I held her gaze. I moved slowly giving her time to say no.

She didn’t.

I grabbed her hair in my fist and yanked her head up to kiss her hard as fuck as I rammed into her from behind. She screamed against my lips and jumped up to her toes.

“Keiran—”

“Shut the fuck up. I gave you the chance to talk.” I forced her torso flat on the desk and leaned over her back. My hand held onto her hair as I shoved my cock into her mercilessly. I watched her beautiful features transform as the desk rocked under our movements.

I slid deeper and kissed the sweat droplets forming on her back. Her eyes were closed, and her face drawn tight with concentration as she tried not to let my will take over her as it always did when I was deep inside her.

I struggled with the same issue though I was better at hiding it than she was. The way her tight pussy owned me every single time…

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lake

Oh. My. God.

It was the only thought I could process.

I knew he would find out that it was me who planted the fleas, but I didn’t expect him to react so… passionately.

I needed him like I needed my next breath, but if I continued let Keiran have his way every time, he would ruin us both. I needed to take control. Somehow.

My opportunity came when he withdrew from my body unexpectedly. I looked back to see him sit in the chair before yanking me into his lap. “Ride me.”

I was able to hide my surprise that he was placing me in control and did as he ordered. Keiran was many things, but submissive he wasn’t. I knew just how to take control.

I lifted and sunk down on him, finding my rhythm until I was riding him the way I knew he liked. He taught me well during those six weeks, so I knew what I was about to do would send him over the edge.

He watched me carefully through half-lidded eyes, and as I quickened my pace, little by little, I clamped my inner muscles around his cock. By the time he realized what I was up to, it was too late. My pussy held him with a vice-like grip.

His hands banded around my hips to stop me, but he was already coming by the time he lifted me off his cock.

I forced his orgasm from him, taking control. His eyes darkened as he watched the triumph in my own.

“Get the fuck off of me.”

His darkening gaze froze me over, and I hid the familiar shiver of fear by obliging him, but I couldn’t let it rest there. I had a point to make.

“What’s wrong?” I cocked my head to the side while I studied him. “Are you feeling used… or just thoroughly fucked? I’ve got to say it worked out for both of us…”

I made a show of looking down at the evidence of his release glistening on his muscled abs. When I let my gaze travel back up to his face, I smirked, mimicking the look he often gave me after he made me beg to come.

He shot up from the chair, and I quickly stepped back thinking he would make a grab for me, but he only bent down to rip his jeans back up his thighs. His jaw clenched and unclenched, and I knew I had struck a nerve.

“It’s funny how you are doing everything in your power to fight me, but every time I touch you, you spread your legs faster than a whore for a five dollar bill.”

It was a good thing he was concentrating on buttoning his jeans correctly, or he would have seen me flinch before I was able to recover.

“If you could get your rocks off while hating me, then I figured I could give it a try. Two really can play that game.”

“Do you want to know why I’ve ignored you?”

“I know why.”

“It’s not because of Diana,” he said impatiently.

“Okay, then… Why?”

“The day we fought, I didn’t leave you. I slept in my car outside your house, and the next morning, your aunt found me.”

I knew this would be bad without hearing the rest of the story. “She told you to stay away from me, didn’t she?” When he nodded, I felt my knees weaken.

“What else did she say?”

“She asked me about Mario.”

I don’t know how long I stood there gaping at Keiran, but it must have been a while because he took my elbow and sat me in the chair we’d just finished having sex in.

“But how could she know Mario?”

He shrugged and said, “I asked, but she wouldn’t say. I got the feeling it was personal.”

“It’s impossible. How could she possibly know him?”

“I don’t know, but it isn’t for a lack of trying. My only guess is the PI she hired has been doing some major digging. The news article you said she read maybe prompted her to keep tabs on me.”

“She forbade me to see you,” I confessed. He didn’t look surprised, but given what he had just told me, it wasn’t expected.

Before he could respond, the sound of cars arriving pulled our attention away from each other. “We need to talk later.”

I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t see what else we have to talk about. I want nothing to do with you.”

“Tough,” he growled. “You once again managed to suck me back into your web. Deal.”

The first bell rang, and Keiran made his escape before I could muster up a big fuck you.

* * *

It took a moment for me to connect the day to the large amounts of heart shaped chocolates and flowers being exchanged throughout the day.

Valentine’s Day.

It was also Keiran’s nineteenth birthday.

For some reason, I felt guilty for not remembering, but it wasn’t as if we were on good terms. I owed nothing to him.

After dropping Willow off, I went home with a sore body and a heavy heart.

So much for romance.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Keiran

Immediately after school, I plotted and planned for the night. Once I had everything in place, I made my way over to her. There was a slim chance she would give me the time of day willingly, but I was prepared for that, too.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as soon as she opened the door with a bored expression. “I told you I didn’t want to see you.” I fought the smile that tugged at my lips. The rapidly beating pulse in her neck and the way she squeezed her thighs together told me she was feeling anything but indifferent to my presence.

“I’m here for the scenery,” I said, letting my eyes trail up and down her form. She wore those tiny pink shorts of hers with the stupid fucking teddy bears. I hated them because they made her long legs look so damn hot and those dancing teddy bears were mocking me. They got to be where I wanted to be… wrapped around her legs and digging deep.

“Why are you wearing a tie?”

The tie was Dash’s idea, and I took his word for it being the charmer he is.

“Shut up. You coming with me or not?” Why the fuck are you asking her? My demon on my shoulder snapped and hissed at me. I was tempted to drag her out of her house and lock her away where no one would ever find us like the caveman she always accused me of being.

“Not.” She moved to close the door, but I quickly kicked my foot out to stop it from shutting. “Move it or lose it,” she growled.

So cute. Her growl was nothing compared to my roar, and she knew it, but I couldn’t blame her for trying.

“Stop your shit, and go throw on a dress or whatever will give me easy access, and get your ass out here.”

I bit the inside of my cheek when she unexpectedly stomped her foot down on mine and then kicked me in the shin. “Fuck!” I jumped back and tried my best not to cry like a bitch. “Monroe—” I started forward to grab her but was cut off by the hard barrier placed in front of me.

Did she just slam the door in my face?

Game on.

I typed out a quick text and made myself comfortable against the railing on her front porch. I didn’t have to wait long. She flew out the same door she had slammed in my face moments ago and charged straight into my space.

Her chest heaved with her labored breaths as she murdered me with her eyes. “Where do you get off, Masters?” she growled.

Masters? Cute. So she wanted to be tough? I pushed my chest into hers and moved her back the few paces I needed to have her pinned against the door. “I haven’t but I plan to.”

“You come off any more like a pig and you might start to smell like one. Go—” My hand was around her throat before she could finish her statement. I quickly bit her lip, not caring about how rough I treated her. “Keiran…”

Her words trailed off when I tipped her head back to expose her neck to me. I spread hard nips all over her neck, being sure to leave a mark. “Keiran, stop,” she moaned and pulled me closer.

“No,” I growled against her neck. “I fucking missed you. I missed this. I missed tasting you.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” she whined with lust in her voice.

“Open the door, baby. Let me in, or I swear I’m going to fuck you hard right here for all the neighbors to see.”

“Oh, God.” The door opened quickly, and I had to anchor her to me to keep us from falling inside. I stole her lips in a kiss finally while I backed her through the door. I kicked the door shut and picked her up, carrying her through the hall and into the living room where I set her on her feet. It was as far as I needed to go for what I needed to do. “I’m not supposed to be doing this. I’m not supposed to give in to you.”

“You already have. Many times. What’s one more?”

“My life,” she whispered desperately while looking up at me.

“Not this time.” I sealed my vow with a kiss that threatened to steal my soul and hers. Fuck. What was she doing to me? I wasn’t supposed to care about hearts and minds and vows—much less admit I had either.

“Why are you here, Keiran? Seriously.” She pulled away from me to hug herself around her waist and fuck if I didn’t feel jealous of her arms.

“It’s Valentine’s day.”

“And? You don’t care about that stuff. You have no reason to.”

“But something tells me you do and every reason I have is standing right in front of me.”

“So what? This is supposed to be your grand gesture?”

“If dinner and a fucking movie are what you call a grand gesture, then I guess so,” I snapped. The more time she spent staring at me with a hard, distant look in her eyes, the more my confidence began to fade. The thought of her rejecting me irritated me—not that I could blame her if she did. This tug of war game between her and I had gone on for far too long.

“If this is your way of getting me into bed again, let me just warn you that you aren’t heading in the right direction.”

“Fuck.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “I’m not used to this. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”

She walked up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and whispered, “You can start my asking me to dinner properly.”

“Properly, huh? How would I do that?”

“You could say… ‘Lake will you go out with me?’”

“But I already know you will.”

Her arms left my neck before she turned around and headed for the stairs. “I’ll see you around. You can let yourself out.”

I felt the move before I could rethink and swept her up in my arms. “Don’t test my fucking patience.”

I bound up the stairs and headed straight for her bedroom where I dumped her on her bed.

I dropped my bag and quickly pulled out a long box. Her expression was fierce but still so damn cute as she shot daggers at me. I actually felt nervous when I extended it to her. She looked from it to me, but still didn’t move to take it.

“Don’t be a pain in my ass. Take the box. There is nothing in there that can hurt you.”

“Are you asking me to trust you?”

I realized I had no right to ask it of her, but I didn’t realize until recently just how much I needed it. “Yes.”

Her eyes watched mine for signs of insincerity while I held her gaze openly. I saw the decision in her eyes a split second before she slowly took the box from my grasp. Her fingers peeled back the box while I watched on silently. The paper was discarded, and when she saw what was inside, she stilled.

“Shoes? You got me shoes?” I hid the smile that tugged at my lips from the sound of disbelief and the look of disappointment. I had no clue what she would have hoped was inside, but I did know one thing now… she wanted more.

“Do you like them?”

“Yes. They are beautiful, but why all the fussing and threatening for shoes?”  The suede heels were nude in color with a white heel that was just the right height. The top of the shoes fastened into perfect bows.

“I want you to wear them for me on our date tonight.”

“Back to that, are we?”

I took a deep breath and released it. “One way or another you are going on this date with me, so tell me what I need to do to make it okay with you?”

Her annoyed expression transformed into interest as she seemed to mull it over. When a sly grin appeared, I felt the stirrings of dread. I always seemed to forget this wasn’t the same girl I tortured mercilessly in the hallways of our school.

“Is this my glass slipper?”

“If I say yes, will you go out with me?”

“You could ask me—”

“I did—”

“On your knees.”

The gleam in her eye told me she found it funny, but I knew she was serious. She wanted me to beg.

Like hell I would beg.

But I knew another way to make her agree.

I sunk to my knees without argument while holding her gaze. She wore a satisfied smirk that quickly disappeared when I gripped her around her hips and yanked her forward.

For once, she didn’t talk. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she stared down at me. Desire mingled with nervousness in her eyes, and I could tell she wanted what was about to happen. It’s been way too fucking long.

“Keiran, wait—”

“No, baby. You wanted me to beg, right?” I pulled down her shorts. My hands were already ripping away her panties by the time they fell to her ankles. “Then let me beg.”

I nearly salivated at the sight of her bare pussy. I couldn’t wait another second and wasn’t about to. I gripped her left leg behind her knee and settled it on my shoulder while holding her gaze. She gripped my shoulders with her small hands, and I relaxed when I realized she wasn’t going to push me away.

My mouth descended early, and at the first swipe of my tongue, I felt her shiver and had to grip her tighter to keep her from falling. Her breathing was already heavy and deep, and as I continued to taste her, it became uneven. Her nails dug into my shoulders painfully, but it only spurred me to take more from her.

By the time she came, I was ready to skip the dinner reservations and eat her all night.

* * *

The drive was silent, and I had a hard time containing my drool. I managed to convince Lake to go to dinner after I made her come twice.

After I was done, she so very sweetly whispered over her labored breathing, “Happy Birthday” and then silently started to dress.

I found myself feeling happy it was my birthday for the first time ever. She was dressed in a pale pink and cream strapless dress that hugged her torso and flirted loosely around her legs.

The restaurant I took her to was one reluctantly recommended to me by Sheldon when I called her. It took a lot of convincing and bribing, but I managed to enlist her help setting up the night.

It might have been my birthday, but the night was for her. One way or another, I would win her over.

We arrived at the modern yet upscale restaurant, and then we were seated immediately. I could tell she had something on her mind and waited until after we placed our order to ask.

“What’s wrong?”

“If I said nothing, would you believe me?”

“There’s a slim to none chance.”

“I’m not sure I want to do this with you. We’ve attempted to be friends in the past and it only ended badly, particularly for me.”

“And that was our first mistake. We aren’t meant to be friends, Lake.”

“I don’t know if I can trust you enough to be more than enemies.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Talk.”

“Talk?” I repeated and then it dawned on me what she meant.  Lake—”

“It’s what I want. Take it or leave it.”

I didn’t think this was a conversation to have over dinner, but I knew she wouldn’t back down. “What do you want to know?”

“I want to know what happened to you. Everything. You can start from the beginning if that helps.”

“I don’t know the beginning. Not the one that counts. I only know what John told me, which wasn’t much.”

“What was your first memory?”

“Starving. Learning what it meant and what it felt like.”

“What was it like?”

“Painful. Never ending… Adaptable.”

“Adaptable?” How could starving be adaptable?

“After a while, the hunger pains become little more than a nuisance. You learn how to push it to the back of your mind, or so I thought. I did any and everything they asked just for a little more table scraps.”

“That is a horrible memory.”

“It’s just one of many and not all that bad compared to the rest.”

“Tell me more,” she urged.

“Why?” My voice sounded strained to my own ears.

“I want to know what could make an eight-year-old boy push a complete stranger off the monkey bars.”

My fingers stabbed through my hair before pulling tightly. “Like what?”

“I want to know about Quentin. How did he end up here?”

“I thought he was dead. One day he just disappeared, and because I wasn’t allowed to ask questions, I assumed the worse.”

“So where was he?”

“Mario somehow smuggled him out before my father had me taken from the compound. I didn’t know why at first.”

“But now you do?”

“Yes, but it’s not my story to tell.” The hard look I gave her let her know not to push.

“So when you were returned to your family, he came with you?”

“Mario was pretty insistent on it. It made me wonder but he never talked about it, and I never asked. It’s been years since I ever spoke about any of it with Q. I think he wanted to forget, and I was happy to oblige him.”

“But not you… why didn’t you want to forget?”

“Growing up as a slave isn’t something that’s easily forgettable. It was my life. The only one I knew and had. Would you be so quick to give it up?”

“You were afraid you wouldn’t belong. You didn’t want to get attached to a new life just to have it ripped away from you.”

“You’re starting to sound like a psychologist.”

“You can’t hide from me by being a dick Keiran. Not anymore.” We stared at each other for the longest time, silently communicating what neither of us was willing to say out loud.

“This window of opportunity is closing fast.” I was on edge. I didn't like exposure and Lake was skillful at splaying me open.

“I want to know more about Lily.” She crossed her arms and sat back with a hard stare.

“I told you about Lily.”

“Was she your first kill?”

“No. I was damaged long before she came along. She gave me my name.”

“Your name?”

I only nodded while I silently choked on her memory. “My mother named me Gabriel. Keiran was her brother’s name. I was sold when I was an infant, so naturally, I didn't know my birth name. Not until I met my mother.”

“That’s heavy,” she breathed out. “So who was your first kill?”

“Imagine a nameless, faceless person bound and laid out in front of you. Then someone places a knife, or whatever the implement of torture is for the day, in your hand and tells you every place to strike and when to kill. Now imagine you’re only eight years old.”

I blinked against the memories and shook my head. I fell into a trance as I relived my past.

“At eight years old, instead of learning to read I was learning to be a sadistic psychopath. It was practice, mental preparation for the future. I didn’t know until I was older why they chose kids so young.”

“Why?”

“They are easily corrupted. You can mold them however you want. They believe whatever you want them too. When I became of age, I would have been stronger and mentally capable of carrying out the jobs they needed.” I rubbed his chin and said as an afterthought, “It’s clever really.”

She didn’t hesitate to correct him. “It’s sick, Keiran.”

“That too.”

“So, what then?”

“I was corrupted. I was so far gone that nothing about it bothered me anymore. That lasted until Lily showed up. I’d hear many things from the other kids about their life with their parents, but I never bothered to get close to any of them. I either shut them out or shut them up, but Lily…

She fought everyone including me. She never let me ignore her and then she made me want to protect her, so I did. She was changing me. I was beginning to hesitate when I would train and punish the other kids for table scraps, didn’t seem like it was worth it anymore. It didn’t make sense until Mario drove away, leaving me with my uncle.

“What made sense?”

“That if it weren’t for Mario and my father’s greed, I never would have made it. Even after she died.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would have died, Lake. Lily was dead and no longer an influence, but she was already in my head. She was light and my conscious. I wouldn’t have been able to train and eventually they would have killed me.”