Shit.
My mind’s running in circles.
He smirked?
What was that supposed to mean? I back away from the door as if I’m allergic to it. I rush down the corridor. Jared’s looking at me with a confused expression. How am I supposed to react to Xeres when he sees me later?
Maybe I should shake it off. Meet his eyes and say, Hey, Xeres, had fun? Looked like you were having fun. I mean, why didn’t you let Bella work your Popsicle? Bella sure knows how to work one. She’s probably a master at it and all that, and has worked with a gazillion Popsicles in her many lifetimes. You’d enjoy it. Don’t look at me like that. Please go away.
And now I’m just babbling stupid things in my head.
I haven’t even passed by a few doors when I someone grabs my hand. I yelp as a drifting sensation rushes past me. A fraction of a second later, I’m backed against a wall by Xeres. He phases with me down the corridor. He tugs me through a door, hurting my wrist, but for some reason I go along limply. We’re in a bedroom I’ve never seen, probably belonging to Club Belladonna, and he’s got me cornered.
I’m staring into his smoky eyes. His hair’s disheveled. He smells of sex. I don’t know if he went to third base with Bella, but it sure looks like he might have.
And he’s still wearing that stupid smirk.
“Didn’t realize you were a Peeping Tom,” he says. His voice is low and husky. It caresses my skin.
My breathing shallows. I can’t think properly when he’s this close. His hard-on presses against my thigh. The way he looks at me is filled with both cockiness and an intensity that makes my heart race.
“S-sorry I interrupted.”
“Don’t be,” he says, grabbing my waist. “I needed an excuse to get away from Bella anyway.”
My eyes run from his lips to his jaw. There’s some stubble there. It looks rough. Suddenly I’m thinking about how he might treat me in bed. Xeres isn’t the type to go slow. He fucks, like Sylver promised. I wonder how much it’ll hurt while feeling good—
I reel my thoughts back in. If I let that happen, then I wouldn’t be sane. It’s obvious they’re just using me and Jared. I’m the puppet, and they’re holding the strings. I should cut those strings. They’re terrible beings and…
…and so attractive.
His eyes narrow. “Why do you have Sylver’s scent all over you?”
I’m tugged back to what happened in the alleyway. I realize that I haven’t gotten over what happened. I deprived myself of release, and I’m still sensitive to touch.
“What about… What about Bella? She’s…”
He kisses me. My eyes grow wide. I resist at first, but his masculine scent makes me giddy, and there’s no turning away Xeres. He slips into my mouth. His tongue searches for dominance, fighting with mine. He’s spice and salt and everything wrong, but I need more.
I think I hear myself whimper. That’s not like me.
I’m not like me when I hang out with these three.
“Shit,” he says, pulling back. His hand travels down my arm, the tips of his fingers lightly grazing my skin. “You’re so beautiful.”
I should stop him.
I should.
But I don’t. My heart’s racing and excitement pounds through me. He pulls back the hem of my jeans and slips into the fabric. There, he finds my center. He forces his fingers in. One at first, then two. He’s spreading me apart.
“Oh, fuck,” I say, holding on to him for dear life. I’m bucking my hips between his fingers and the wall, rocking back and forth as every movement, every graze lights a fire in my veins. I try to clench my thighs together, but he’s pushing them wide open, so that I’m easy for the taking. It’s too much to bear, especially with what just happened with Sylver.
I dare to look at him, and he’s still wearing that shit-eating grin. His eyes are hooded, and he’s breathy. That’s when I realize that I’m affecting him, too, and that sends a whirl of excitement through me. Looking at him like this makes me want to punch him, but I also don’t want him to stop doing whatever he is with his fingers. I’m moaning and I don’t care. I’m an instrument he’s playing, but it’s still not enough.
I push myself from the wall. He’s grabbed one of my legs and propped it up.
It’s a dirty establishment, in a room where filth happens, and here I am, betraying my own resolve. I think I’ll need a long shower after this, to wash away the filth. But it’s a good kind of filth—the kind that feels good and makes me cry out Xeres’s name in pleasure.
“Bella wanted me,” he rasps. “But all I could think about was you. She bored me. Bella never bores.” He’s staring straight at me, piercing me with his gaze. “What is it about you, kitty cat?”
My climax nears.
That’s when Xeres stops.
“No,” I say. “P-pl—” I stifle myself before my plea escapes me. I promised to not let myself fall to temptation. I can’t beg them, not if I want to salvage whatever is left of my dignity. Even though there’s little left after what Xeres just did to me.
“Not until you say you’re mine. Make a contract with me, Val.” His grin widens.
This again? I’m about to tear my hair out in frustration and tell him to go fuck himself when I remember what Sylver did. “No.”
He takes my hand and places it on his chest, tucking it beneath his black shirt. He drags my hand down his body. His body is hard beneath my fingertips. Nothing but sinewy muscle that I long to run my lips over.
“It’s easy,” he says. “Just agree to my one simple request.” His looks at my lips. “Then I fuck you until you forget who you are. You’ll only know me and what I can do to you.”
My stomach tightens. If somebody doesn’t help me get rid of all this wound-up sexual tension by the end of the day, I’m afraid I might just explode. I reach down, wanting to finish what Xeres started, but he tightens his grip around my wrist and fastens it against the wall.
He leans closer, until I can feel his breath on my lips. “Tell me you’ll make a bargain with me. Be mine. I won’t fuck you until you do. Not until you say yes.”
The door clicks open. My stomach lurches, and Xeres and I look at the entrance. Vickal stands in the doorway. His lips are turned down, and there’s a deep frown cutting his brow in two.
“Bella’s not happy,” Vickal says. “She’s raging. I can taste her anger in the air.” His gaze drops to where Xeres is touching me. An unspoken challenge rings between them. My lips part as air rushes out my lungs. I’m the piece of meat between these two predators, and they’re not going to leave me whole.
I push Xeres away. His body’s heavy and he’s too strong for me to make him budge, but he gets the message and backs off.
Xeres rolls his neck, as if he’s readying for a fight.
“You should have given in to Bella’s whims,” Vickal says.
Xeres tips his chin up. “She’s not my type.”
Vickal studies me. Is he aware of how he’s looking at me? Like he’s about to eat me up? My stomach churns. Heat continues to bloom on my face, and the need never leaves. I can’t stand this constant torture. I run my tongue over my lower lip, and Vickal’s gaze flicks there immediately.
He tears his eyes away to regard Xeres. “At this rate, Bella isn’t going to help us.”
“Find something else to exchange with her, then,” Xeres says.
“I’m searching for leads. We’ll need to give her something other than our cocks.”
“Good. ’Cause I’m not one to whore myself out.”
Xeres’s scent continues to make me giddy. I imagine myself reaching up and running my fingers through his now-disheveled hair. What sound would he make when I trace the edges of his hard jaw with my lips? Would I be able to drive him mad the same way he does to me?
And that’s when a foreign part of me awakens.
They’ve been the ones holding the cards because they’ve been making the first moves. I’m taking all their hits lying down. That’s why I have no bargaining power.
They want to make me beg, grovel, and cry for them. But life only rewards those who dare to take.
I’ve been driven to the edge, teetering there. I shouldn’t be trying to balance myself there. I need to let myself fall and allow the winds to carry me.
Xeres is still talking to Vickal. I force Xeres to face me, and this time, I take the first kiss.
“What—” he says, before my lips capture his. I’m not shy about what I want. I tug at his shirt, eager to have it off, and nudge him toward the bed. He whispers my name. His expression turns primal with need. It sends a thrill through me.
I reach down and pull his cock out. I lower, running kisses down his chiseled stomach as I do. There’s a light tug at my hair. I look up to study his face. He’s wearing a mask of uncertainty. He’s wondering if he should let me, but I don’t give him time to wonder. He’s hard and waiting.
I take him in my mouth. I make a messy job of it. It’s been a while since I’ve given anybody head, so I’m not exactly the most practiced at it. Still, he’s grunting and seems to like what I’m doing.
All the while, Vickal watches from the doorway.
“Fuck. Fuuuck, Val.” Xeres grabs a fistful of my hair and shoves himself down my throat. I almost gag, but I hold my breath and take it. He tastes bittersweet, just like this whole experience. I think I’m losing my mind. What possessed me to do this? I play with my folds. I’m wet and ready, but nobody’s giving it to me, and it’s driving me crazy. I use that fervor to work over Xeres.
That’s when I hear Vickal mutter a curse. His footsteps sound beside me. I don’t look at him. I’m focused on Xeres.
I almost gasp, but Xeres’s length stifles it. Vickal tugs my jeans down. Heat crawls to my cheeks, but I ignore it.
“I don’t share,” Xeres says from above me. A growl rumbles from his throat.
“You’ll have to this time, you selfish bastard,” Vickal replies. Seconds later, his mouth is between my legs. Xeres slips from my mouth and a moan escapes me. White-hot, blinding pleasure overtakes me.
“Stop, stop,” I tell Vickal. It’s strange to ask him to stop when I’ve been wanting this, but he’s too good with his tongue and I can’t take the intensity. The fucker keeps his mouth latched on my center. “Pleeeease,” I finally say.
“You’re so fucking beautiful when you beg,” Xeres says. He’s strokes my hair. It’s almost tender, but what Vickal’s doing to my core is nothing of the sort. It’s rough and unforgiving. Xeres abruptly grabs my hair and shoves his cock in my face. I open my lips and swallow him. I’m wet, and he is too—it’s a slippery mess, but the best kind.
“Shit,” Xeres says. He doesn’t let my hair go. He pumps his cock through my lips, rushing toward his release, while Vickal’s working over me. He pinches my clit between his fingers. My cry is muffled.
The knot of tension Sylver gave me earlier continues to tighten, gathering. I hate myself but am loving this so very much.
My orgasm rips through me. My moan is muffled against Xeres’s length. That’s when Xeres releases his tension, too, and the bitter taste of his cum hits the back of my throat. “Fuck, Vickal,” Xeres says, pumping his hips. “She feels so fucking good.”
Vickal moans into my center, sending vibrations through me.
Soon after, the tremors settle.
Vickal’s wiping his mouth and Xeres is zipping himself up, even though the bulge in his pants doesn’t subside, just like Sylver’s.
“Next time,” Vickal says, “I get her mouth.”
Xeres tightens his jaw. “There won’t be a next time. I don’t share.”
A growl rips from Vickal. Xeres pulls me up and kisses me again. It’s a show of ownership, like he’s trying to prove something to Vickal.
But I don’t want to belong to any of them. This shouldn’t even be happening.
I pry myself away. My mind’s running in circles, and my heart’s trying to keep up with it. My hands are clammy.
What did I just do?
I thought, somehow, that taking the initiative might give me power. I imagined them worshipping me after, letting me call the shots, but my stupid idealizations blew up in my face. Xeres isn’t begging. Vickal’s focused on Xeres. And I’m cast aside in the unspoken battle between them, reduced to an object they’re fighting over.
I feel dirty.
“I… I have to go,” I say, tugging my pants up. My words don’t mean much. I’m not allowed to keep much distance from them anyway. But I can’t look at them. Not right now. The release settles in, letting clarity creep into my thoughts, but my center is still throbbing.
That… that felt too good.
Too dangerous.
I slip out of the room, trying to steady my quaking emotions by tightening my hands into fists. It doesn’t work.