Chapter 16
Sixteen
Damien
Ideserve a gold medal for my good behavior last night.
I must say, I didn’t think I could manage it.
But I did. Oh, I did. And it paid off big-time.
Killien is nothing but sweet this morning.
I woke up to him still sleeping soundly next to me.
He had even wrapped both of his arms around my shoulders, and was holding me so tightly that I struggled to break free.
Not that I wanted to, really. The boner I woke up with was tempting me to do inappropriate things, so I had to.
There’s no erasing the smile from my face.
Not when Killien sits close to me on the sofa, like he hasn’t in a while.
His thigh is pressed against mine, and his elbow rests on my waist as he scrolls through his phone.
We’re watching the news, looking out for any new information on his little killing rampage.
Now that I’ve had time to process it and calm down, I’m actually quite proud of my brother.
I didn’t know he had it in him. I’ve seen him fight before, but that was always to defend me, and he never hurt his opponents more than enough to make them back off—for the most part.
This is a new side of him I’m very eager to explore.
I wanna test him, push him to his limits.
It’s a whole new level of sexual fantasy that scratches a very particular and scary itch in my brain.
Anyway, there is no news about the gruesome murders in the alleyway. The police have cleaned up the scene and taken everything. They have no leads at the moment. No security cameras, no witnesses, no obvious motivation behind the carnage, other than violence for the sake of violence.
Oh, how I wish I could have seen it happen . . .
Killien has just told me everything about how it went.
It must have been such a beautiful display of vampire power.
I’m getting horny just from thinking about his hands all bloody and his fangs ripping someone’s throat out.
Fuck, that would be the hottest thing ever.
We need to go hunting and do more shit like that together. We’ll be unstoppable.
At least Killien had been calm and collected enough to sneak away from the scene without leaving any clues.
He’d said he’d broken into an apartment to use the shower and steal some clothes, which is why he smelled like goddamn chamomile shampoo.
That seriously eased my mind, because I was worried he’d ended up picking a human lover, and showering in her—or his?
—house. I feel much better about the whole thing now.
“Have you talked to Jacob?” he asks.
“No.” Why does he have to bring him up? I still wanna punch Jacob’s pretty face for the things he said.
“Maybe you should call him . . .”
“Why? He disrespected you, Killi. He should be fucking apologizing.”
“He was just trying to protect you, Damien. You’re his boyfriend.” The way Killien says that makes me cringe.
“Am I?” I laugh. It’s a serious question, because I’ve never discussed it with Jacob. And, also . . . The only boyfriend I want is sitting right next to me.
Killien drops his phone on the sofa beside us and looks at me, utterly confused.
His fingers slowly tangle with the loose threads of grey fabric on the armrest. He’s so cute, I could eat his face.
Seriously, he has no business being so handsome.
His ginger hair and brown eyes are pure perfection to me.
The freckles on the bridge of his nose have faded over time, but I can still tell they’re there. I have always loved them.
“What?” I laugh again, spinning one of my lip rings with my tongue.
Fuck, I wanna kiss him.
“Aren’t you two . . . dating?”
“I guess? Honestly, I don’t know.”
“He sounds pretty serious when he talks about you, though . . .” There’s a strange spark in Killien’s eyes. Is he jealous? Because that’s what I want.
“Well, if he thinks so seriously about me, he should fucking apologize.”
Killien’s phone buzzes a few times, and he turns away to look at it.
He picks it up and starts typing, but he keeps the device at a considerable distance from me.
Is he chatting with someone he doesn’t want me to know about?
Maybe Owen? I resist the urge to snap the phone out of his hand. I hate it when he hides shit from me.
I don’t have much time to think about that, though, because my phone starts buzzing too. It’s a call from Jacob. I stare at the screen for a few seconds before picking up. Should I even? I’m gonna be really pissed if he doesn’t apologize for the shit he said.
“Hello?” I say, rolling my eyes as I wait for Jacob to speak.
“Hi, honey . . .”
“Yes?” I look at Killien, who seems busy with his iPhone, a half smile on his lips.
Who the fuck is he texting?
“Can you please come over? We should talk,” Jacob says.
“Only if you apologize for the shit you said to my brother,” I snap, getting Killien’s attention too. The rage in my voice makes it sound shaky. I didn’t even know I was still so pissed. But it’s logical, isn’t it? He messed with my ginger angel. That’s a big no-no in my book.
“Uh—” Jacob sighs. “Yeah, I shouldn’t have said that . . . I was too stressed, I’m sorry. Let him know that I didn’t mean it.”
I smile, still letting the rage run through my veins like poison. “You’re gonna have to make it up to me.”
“I will, if you come see me.” Jacob’s tone is playful, and I find myself unable to resist it.
The memory of our encounter last night slides through my mind and clouds my thoughts.
I place my feet on top of the battered coffee table, crossing them at the ankles.
Of course, it wobbles and almost collapses on itself.
I’m not that heavy, but it seems like me falling over it the other night was too much for it to take.
Damn, I hate this place.
Killien looks at me as if he’s expecting something, but soon gets distracted by his phone again. I really need to figure out who he’s chatting with. The little smile on his face makes me raging jealous.
“Fine, I’ll be there soon,” I say to Jacob, while I try to peek at Killien’s phone.
“See you later, honey.” Jacob hangs up, and I’m still trying to see what Killien is so busy with.
I lean closer to my brother, but he pulls his phone away and raises an eyebrow at me.
The sexy smirk on his lips makes my entire body respond to him like iron to a magnet.
I can’t stay away, I can’t resist the urge to place a hand on the back of his neck.
And he just stares at me, doing nothing.
I almost pull him closer, but the fear of being rejected stops me. I wanna taste his lips. Desperately.
“Who are you texting?” My question throws him off a bit, especially because I press harder on the back of his neck.
“Um . . .” Killien blushes, just a little bit. “It seems like Owen got my number from Jacob.”
I nod and fake a smile for him. I don’t like Owen at all; there’s something wrong with the way he looks at my brother. If golden boy puts a finger on Killien, I’m gonna destroy him. I swear. But I’m not saying that, of course. I can keep my cool. For now.
I let my hand slide down Killien’s back and get off the sofa. “I’m gonna get changed. Will you drop me at Jacob’s, or should I take the car?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll drop you off.” His eyes follow me as I walk out of the living room, but I don’t look back.
My blood is fizzing with jealousy and rage, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
It’s not like I can keep Killien away from Owen, after all.
He can do whatever he wants. Interfering now would only push him away again.
How could I possibly tell my brother not to see Owen, when I’m about to go to Jacob?
He better have something good to distract me from this mess.
Jacob is tidying up his apartment while I sit at the dining table.
The glass surface is cold under my fingertips as I tap it impatiently, watching him clean the matching coffee table and rearrange the ashtray and books on top of it.
I’m still expecting a proper apology, but he hasn’t said much yet.
The tension in his shoulders tells me that he’s either nervous or upset.
But it’s okay; I’ll help him relax. That’s one thing we can do for each other.
“So?” I switch to playing with the pencil attached to his iPad, rolling it between my fingers. “Why did you ask me to come over?”
He stops in his tracks to look at me over his shoulder, one of the small black pillows he’s arranging on the sectional frozen in his hands.
His brown eyes seem to darken. If he wants a fight, I’m up for it.
My pocketknife is always with me, just in case.
I can win, I’m sure. We’ll end up fucking anyway—I’m not going back home otherwise.
“What happened last night wasn’t okay,” Jacob says, before returning to his task.
I get the feeling that he’s pretending to tidy up to keep his hands busy.
The living room is perfectly clean already; no traces of the cigarettes from last night remain on the ashtray, and the tiled floor is already shiny and smelling of some fresh cleaning product.
“No, it definitely wasn’t.” I drop the pencil on the glass and lean back on the leather chair, it doesn’t creak or feel like it’s going to collapse like the ones at our home. “The way you threatened Killien is unacceptable.”
Jacob huffs, shoving the pillow on the sectional before stomping towards me.
He’s pissed. How fucking hot. I hope he hits me, so I can retaliate with a good old stab in the gut.
It’s not like we can kill each other with a little violence, right?
That train of thoughts startles me a little bit.
And yet, I can’t help but let my deranged smile out.
“Is that really your main concern?” he asks as he leans forward and glares angrily at me, pressing his hands against the pristine surface of the table. His face is close enough to mine that I can feel his hot and sweet breath.
“Yes.” My grin widens. “You might not know it, but I used to get in trouble all the time. Between the bullies in my middle school years and the amount of mischief I got up to later on, I had Killien saving my ass every single day. Not to mention the amount of crap that happened in my recent sugar baby years . . .” He flinches ever so slightly at my last words, clenching his jaw and huffing out through his nose.
“My brother stood by me through it all, no matter the consequences. Now it’s my turn. ”
“You’re not worried that they’ll catch him?”
“They won’t, Jacob.” I lean closer to his lips, almost brushing against them. The leather upholstery of the chair makes a little noise as it rubs against my studded belt. “Nothing will happen. It’s fine.”
The tension in his shoulders is obvious as he resists the temptation to kiss me, heat emanating from his body in waves.
Fuck, I want him. It’s almost like I’ve forgotten why I was so angry in the first place.
That’s the thing about me, my brain becomes useless as soon as I see the chance for sex and violence.
They both excite me way more than they should.
“You seem very confident, honey,” he hisses.
Oh, he’s enraged. I want him to get real rough on me. I’m craving it.
I brush the tip of my nose against his, just to tease him a bit more. “Of course I am.”
Jacob takes a deep breath, but doesn’t speak.
The closeness to his scent is giving me the chills.
All I can think about is the way he made me come last night.
I want more of that. I want to lose myself in that frenzy again.
It blew my mind, quite literally. The silence drags on for what seems like forever, until I can’t take it anymore.
“Are you gonna fuck me or what?” I ask, staring into his dark eyes. They burn with desire and anger alike, which tells me that I’m gonna have a lot of fun. Rough, bloody fun. Exactly what I need.
One of Jacob’s hands wraps around my neck, pushing me back into the chair, the tan leather sticking to my arms and the back of my neck.
I hiss at the beautiful pain as my eyes light up.
I can’t control how my body reacts to the thrill of violence; it turns me on like throwing gasoline at a roaring fire.
But it’s not just me, is it? Jacob’s eyes flicker a few times, as if he’s trying to fight it back.
“Is that what you came here for?” he asks, pressing harder on my throat.
“Yeah.” My grin widens even further. What’s the point of lying?
“Did you like it that much, honey? It’s been just a few hours and you’re already begging for more?” Jacob’s voice is almost a purr as his fingers press deeper into the sides of my neck.
“I loved it, yes. I want more,” I whisper, out of breath from the way he’s choking me.
Jacob yanks me out of the chair, pushing the entire dining set to the side as he does so. I guess having a tidy apartment wasn’t so important, after all. His grip on my neck tightens as he drags me to his bedroom. I groan, letting him boss me around like I’m featherlight.
I really love it when I’m treated like this. I want it hard, I want it rough, and I want it to hurt. Now more than ever before. As Jacob drops me on the bed, I can’t help but chuckle at how easy it was to get what I wanted from him. I might have him wrapped around my little finger already.