Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
Ivy
As I walk through Spine Ridge University’s main building after my classes are all done, Aspen hails me and drags me into the friends group.
“Finally, I found you. Where’ve you been?” Aspen asks. “Thought you’d ghosted on me.”
“Sorry, I got carried away with … work.” I chuckle. “But you can PM me anytime.”
I hold up my phone and show her my profiles.
“Oh, I’m gonna add you,” Xavier says as he butts in. “Never hurts to add another lady.” He makes click-clacking noises with his tongue.
Aspen grumbles with embarrassment. “Jesus, Xav.”
“What? A man’s got needs.”
“I thought you had the hots for Sunny—”
He smashes his hand in front of my mouth, shushing me. “Don’t. Don’t ever say that out loud again.”
I make a face when he finally removes his hand. “Okay, sorry.”
“Ignore him. She does the same,” Aspen says, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, she’s not ignoring me. We just haven’t … talked. At all. Yet.” He shrugs.
“Wait, not even once?” I snort. “Wow.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Y’all think you’re so funny.”
“Bye, Xav,” Aspen yells as he leaves. “He’s been pissy since the family dinner. Don’t worry about him.”
“Family dinner?”
“Yeah.” She pulls up some photos and holds them up for me to see, and my eyes nearly bulge out of my head.
“That’s your family?” I mutter.
“Yup, all nine of us. My mom’s got a polyamorous relationship with three guys. To us, it’s normal. We’re just half siblings, but we love each other to death.”
“Oh, interesting … Max said the same thing about his family.”
She nods. “It’s a theme, for sure.”
But in the photo she’s holding, Silas’s deadly eyes are all I can look at. Even when he’s with his family, he has the same stone-cold face, as though he has zero feelings, not for anyone or his surroundings.
But that pink unicorn shirt he’s wearing in the picture … that’s all the proof I need to know I wasn’t seeing ghosts the other night when I thought I’d seen them kill a man in cold blood.
“Except Silas. He can suck a bag of dicks for all I care,” Aspen says, tucking her phone away again.
“You two don’t get along?” I ask.
Couldn’t hurt to get more information.
She shakes her head. “We’re like the opposite of two peas in a pod. I’m happy; he’s insane. I like college; he wants to avoid it at all cost. I’m friends with Mavis; he thinks she’s weird. I like hearts and flowers and butterflies and the sun.” She shows me the unicorn slapped on her chest. “And he likes death.”
He definitely likes death, and that unicorn shirt she’s wearing sure seems familiar.
Suddenly, her eyes zoom in on something while her pupils dilate, and it immediately makes me turn around.
Levi Torres just entered the hallway, swagger on point as he casually tosses his bag over his shoulder and dumps a freshly smoked cigarette into the bin, then runs his fingers through his short, smoky hair.
“No, don’t look!” Aspen hisses, and she grasps my shoulders and turns me back around again.
I snigger into the palm of my hand.
“Well anyway, gotta run,” she swiftly says. “Class is starting. See you later, okay?”
“See ya!” I say, but she’s already run off.
Whatever that is about, I’m not going to mess with it. I have enough shit to deal with on my own.
Heath suddenly passes by me, his mischievous eyes briefly connecting with mine, and the air runs thick with both tension and intense heat as I’m reminded of the last time we saw each other … when he had his thick cock down my throat in the forest.
I clear my throat.
“Done any late-night biking these last few days, thief?” he suddenly asks. “You might want to cover your tracks next time.” He glares at me over his shoulders before walking off.
And my whole skin erupts into goose bumps right there on the spot as the realization slowly dawns on me.
Heath knows it was me who watched them kill.
Heath
Hours later
I take a quick lunch break between my classes at the Skull and Serpent Society house because I don’t like the taste of the food in the cafeteria. Four more sushi rolls lie in the fridge, and my mouth already waters at the sight of them.
I snatch them out and place them on a plate, then sit down on the couch and munch down on them. I don’t even need soy sauce; they’re that delicious. These might even cure my depression one day.
“Are you eating my lunch again?”
I nearly choke on the fish as I lean up right when Elliot Fletcher walks in.
“No, it’s fine, go ahead, I’m not hurt or anything,” he says, waving it off.
“Sorry. Didn’t know it was yours.”
“Yeah, you did.” He laughs it off. “But you don’t care.”
I shrug. “I was hungry.”
“Just say you want me to bring some for you next time I visit Dad’s restaurant.”
“Bring me some next time, please,” I say immediately, then shove more sushi down my throat. “It’s delicious.”
“I know.” He opens the fridge and takes out a sandwich instead. “This yours?”
I shake my head.
“Then I guess we’re both stealing food today.” He snorts and falls down on the couch next to me. “Have you talked to Max lately?”
I take another bite. “Yeah, why?”
“Does he seem … off to you?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. He just doesn’t talk to me anymore the way he used to.”
“Dude, it’s been like what … a week?”
He shoves me with his elbow. “C’mon, I’m serious. Even a week for us is a long time.” He sighs. “He normally tells me everything.”
“Maybe he’s just working through some stuff and needs some time to think,” I reply.
I’m not going to tell Elliot what we’ve been doing with that girl Ivy. He’d probably try to shank me on the spot just for involving his brother. He’s a soft soul, except when it comes to protecting his family.
“He’s fine,” I add. “Don’t worry.”
“Okay. If you say so,” he says.
Suddenly, the front door slams shut, and we both abruptly stop eating as two bloodied legs appear in view. Elliot’s sandwich drops onto his jeans as Silas walks in with his body caked in blood. He just walks past us without even looking and drops a bag on the floor near the stairs.
“Holy shit …” Elliot mutters.
I immediately put down my sushi and walk out to gape at him as he saunters up the stairs.
“What happened to him?” Elliot asks behind me. “Should we even ask?”
“I don’t know. Stay here. I’ll deal with it.”
He raises his hands. “Okay, sounds fine by me.”
Silas is already upstairs, so I follow his red footsteps and find him standing in front of his bed, dripping blood onto the small carpet. His hands are curled into fists, his eyes monstrously cold.
I swallow. “You okay?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Are you hurt?”
He shakes his head, the blood still rolling down the palm of his hands.
“You killed again, didn’t you?” I ask.
His eyes twitch as they connect with mine, a wicked smile appearing on his face. “I couldn’t help myself.”
I sigh out loud. “Go shower. I’ll clean the weapons and tell everyone to leave the premises so we can deal with this.” He begins unbuttoning his shirt, so I turn and leave, but I grab the door on my way out. “Did anyone see you?”
“No. I made sure of it.”
I doubt that, considering how he came in, but whatever. We’ll spin a good story for those who saw him.
“And the body?” I ask.
“Gone. Incinerated.” The smirk on his face widens. “Fucking ashes in the woods,” he replies, letting the shirt fall to the ground.
I shake my head. Even now, he can’t stop himself from killing literally anything and everything that walks. Something must’ve ticked him off, but he’ll never tell me what.
“Fine. Whatever. You do whatever you want as long as I don’t have to deal with your mess.”
“Ivy will be here soon,” he says as he walks to his own bathroom, leaving a bloodied trail. “She’ll clean my mess for me.”
Ivy
I’m standing in front of the Skull and Serpent Society house, wondering why I’m even back here again. Not that I have a choice in the matter. Silas made that much clear.
Well, at least this way I can pay off the debt without being killed in the process. And I wonder if he’s going to pay me again for the effort.
I blow out a breath and approach the door, but when I knock, it’s already open.
That’s odd.
I go inside and close it behind me.
“Hello?”
No one replies.
Has everyone left?
I softly tiptoe around, but there doesn’t appear to be anyone inside the building, not in the kitchen, the common room, or the hallways, so I head upstairs instead. The boards creak under my feet as I approach the only light coming from down the hallway … Silas’s room.
My heart beats in my throat as I push open his door.
No one is inside.
Where is he?
In the middle of the room sits a bucket filled with soap and that same damn brush again that still makes me heat when I look at it.
I walk inside and take a deep breath before I look around the room to see where the dirt is at that he wants me to clean up so badly. If this is even a cleaning job at all. Because as far as I’m concerned, he just wants to use me as a glorified whore.
But when I pick up the wet brush from the bucket and rise, my eyes fall upon a thick, red stain in the carpet near his bed. I get closer for a good look, bending over to touch it.
Blood.
The brush drops from my hand.
He didn’t hide the crime.
He wanted me to find it so I would see what he’s capable of. As a warning and a threat.
If I don’t do what he says and clean up after his mess … it’ll be me next.
I swallow and dip the brush into the bucket, rubbing it over the bloodied mark again and again. Sweat slowly builds up on my back as I get to work, rubbing the blood out of the carpet, adding more soap, and brushing it again. When it’s turned more pinkish than red, I lift the carpet and roll it over to get to work on the stain on the floor. But there’s a whole set of droplets—no a path—that leads all the way to the bathroom. Footsteps.
With my brush, I follow the path, cleaning up the footsteps until they’re erased from existence, and when I get to the bathroom, the door appears to be cracked open. My eyes find the small slit, and I can’t help but look inside. Steam has filled the room, and I can barely see anything, except the figure standing underneath the shower, his black tipped hair with white roots dropping rivulets of water … and blood.
Not just tiny amounts.
Bucket loads.
All while he’s rubbing his own muscular body with his hands, washing off the blood. And even though I shouldn’t be gawking like this, I still can’t avert my eyes as I come to a stand in front of the door, peeking at Silas. He’s got tattoos all over his body, like a snake that crosses his left shoulder and shoulder blade, and a very intricate pattern that runs from his side all the way down his thigh. Each inch of his body is tight, muscular but lean, and even though he’s not as tall as the other boys, I’m pretty sure he could win a fight with any of them just with his muscles alone.
His hands slowly move down his body, and when he grips his big dick, I do a double take. Even though the blood is still caked on his skin, he begins to jerk off with closed eyes, almost as if he’s fantasizing about something. Or someone.
I swallow away the lump in my throat.
Suddenly, something covers my mouth, and I squeal, but the sound doesn’t exit my throat.
“Shhh … Don’t make a sound.” It’s Heath. “Don’t want him to hear you while you’re a voyeur to his filth, right?”
Fuck.
My whole face heats up as he slowly takes his hand off my mouth. “I wasn’t—”
He grips my throat instead. “Yes, you were. But I don’t mind. The question is … does he?”
I try to suck in the oxygen, but it’s impossible.
“You’ve got a nasty habit of sneaking up on people …” he whispers into my ear, body pressed up against mine. “So I thought I’d return the favor.”
“Why?” I manage to squeak out.
His other hand snakes up my sides and dips into my skirt, and I shudder in place.
“Because I’ve seen the effect he has on you … I can feel your body quaking just from looking at Silas play with himself,” he murmurs, diving between my legs until he finds that sweet spot. “I can feel your wetness.”
He rolls his fingers around my slit, and I struggle not to collapse against the door.
Why … why do these fingers feel so familiar?
“Stay still,” Heath whispers as his fingers slowly loosen from around my throat. “Don’t fucking move.”
I can feel him invade me, inch by inch until my whimpers come out in short gasps.
Good God, how does he do this so well right from the get-go? It’s like he’s an expert … not just at pussy, but with mine specifically.
“You think he’s the only one who knows how to play a girl like you?” He licks the rim of my ear, a dangerous grin forming against my skin. “I’m the worst kind of player you could ever meet.”
“But I came here to clean, didn’t I?” I reply, trying to change the subject.
“You came here because you were told. Because you’re our fucking toy, and we can do with you what we want.”
“Fuck y—”
“No,” he interrupts. “You watched us last night, so you can do it again, right?”
My eyes widen.
“You think I didn’t know it was you? I know Max let you go.” He flicks my most sensitive spot until I’m all hot and heady. “How he came into your apartment and kissed you.” He dips inside again. “How you fucked him on the couch.” Another one of his fingers is added. “How you let him come inside you.”
He thrusts in so hard I see stars.
“How?” I ask.
He smirks against my ear. “You think I don’t know how to make Max talk?”
My heart hurts.
Max promised me he wouldn’t tell. I trusted him.
“But Silas doesn’t know,” he says. “And if you want me to keep your little dirty secret, you will be a good little slut for me and take these fingers deep.”
He pushes even farther, coaxing out the goose bumps with each plunge, and my eyes nearly roll into the back of my head.
“No.” He grips my cheeks, forcing my head to stay up. “Keep your eyes on him.”
“But I—”
“What do you see?”
The slit in the door is only large enough for one person to peek through, and I’m trying to focus, but it’s hard with two fingers rolling around inside me, coaxing out the wetness.
“He’s covered in blood,” I say.
“And?”
I bite my lip watching Silas grip his length while moaning. “He’s jerking off.”
His fingers curl and find my G-spot, and I nearly moan right there and then, but he silences me with his other hand.
Silas still hasn’t seen us. Yet.
“Why do you think that is?”
He takes his hand off my mouth, and I say, “He’s turned on by blood?”
Heath’s lips hover over my neck, making me shiver with both need and hatred for how good he makes it feel.
“Murder.”
My eyes widen.
He gets turned on by killing someone?
“That’s it, watch him do it. Watch him play with himself while he fantasizes about death.”
I’m helpless to stop the onslaught of lust coursing through my veins.
This is insane. Silas is a murderer who gets off on fantasizing about his next victim.
Could it be me?
I shudder in place and clutch the doorjamb, desperate not to give in, but Heath’s fingers undeniably dominate all my senses.
“Yes, that’s it. Give me your goddamn orgasm,” he whispers, pushing his body and hard-on up against me.
“Fuck,” I murmur, unable to focus on both his fingers and Silas, whose pierced tip is dripping with pre-cum.
Heath circles my clit with his thumb and presses on my G-spot, but it’s his whisper into my ear that ends me. “Now.”
I moan out loud, unable to contain the wave of ecstasy that floods my body as I writhe in his arms.
Heath holds me tight as the orgasm rolls through, his shaft bobbing up and down against my ass, encouraged by his victory, and fuck me, I’m almost about ready to drop down for him and let him do whatever he wants to me.
Until Silas’s piercing green eyes suddenly find mine.
“Oh fuck.”