Twenty-Five
Bianca
I refused to talk to Vincent, so we sat in my dorm watching TV while I painted my nails black.
“B, come on. Don’t be like this.”
I answered by turning the TV up louder so Damon Salvatore was all I could hear.
“Damnit,” Vincent sighed, grabbing the remote from me and turning the TV off. “I hate you like this. I thought we were getting along.”
I placed the nail polish beside the red rose Dominic had given me the night he’d come over.
That night was a rarity, so it seemed. He’d definitely done his best to humiliate me since then.
I was a laughingstock at school. Even Hail looked as happy as a pig in shit as I ate my lunch on all fours like a fucking animal.
“B, baby,” he said, tugging me back onto the bed when I made to get up.
The term of endearment made my heart flutter, but then I remembered what a bunch of assholes I was dealing with, and I quickly tamed the wild butterflies.
“Stop.” He wrapped his arms around me and brought me closer as I lay on my back looking up at him. “Dom can be a dick. We all can. You need to understand that if Ivanov thinks you have it better with us, he’ll come for you. Right now, he’s enjoying watching you suffer.”
“I’m not an animal,” I said softly.
“I know you’re not.”
“Dominic treated me like shit. He went too far, and you didn’t do anything to stop it.
You fed me from your hand. Fucking Levin poured water onto my tray and made me lap it up.
” I swallowed, trying to push the laughter of the other students out of my head.
“I came here to escape David. I came here hoping to find information about my father. All I’ve done though is try to stay alive.
I don’t deserve this shit.” My voice finally cracked.
“And then Dominic spanked me and fingered me in front of you. I’ve never felt like such trash before.
I know I don’t come from money or anything, but I’m a human too.
I’m not worthless like you all think I am. ”
I wiped quickly at my eyes as Vincent frowned down at me. “I’m not. I just want my dad back and for my mom to be normal again. I want my life back. I’m treated like a piece of shit because you guys hate David, but I’m not a D’Angelou. I hate him. I fucking hate him.”
Vincent was quiet as I poured everything out for him.
“I feel like I’m in this hellish nightmare I can’t escape from. If I’m not saddled to one psycho, I’m stuck with another. I’m screaming for help, but no one hears me.” I braved a glance at him.
The frown was still on his face. His brows crinkled as he studied me. I wanted to tear these fuckers up. I had to be clever about it though because God knew they were.
“I’m not a bad girl, Vinny. I’m really not.” I used a nickname I made up on a whim to sweeten the deal.
“I know you’re not, baby,” he murmured, his hand moving to rest over my abdomen, his fingers skimming along the slit of skin peeking out from beneath my white button-down. “What can I do?”
“Help me. Really help me. I want my dad back. I need information that can help me find him. His name is Nathan Walker. He owned a small accounting business. It wasn’t much, but it paid our bills. Please, Vinny. Help me.”
“OK. I’ll see what I can do,” he said, dragging his fingers gently along the top of my skirt. “I have a lot of contacts. I’ll put some feelers out to see what I can find out. What else do you want?”
“I don’t know.” I reached for his hand and locked eyes with him. “Maybe you could give me what Dominic wouldn’t.”
He let out a soft sigh, allowing me to shift his hand between my legs.
“Please?”
“Fuck,” he growled. “Baby B, you know I can’t. You’re being punished—”
“I swear I won’t tell,” I said, reaching out and cradling his face.
He closed his eyes and breathed out.
“It’ll be our dirty little secret .”
“And if you tell on me?” he asked, searching my face for signs of my deception. “Dom would kill me for giving in to you.”
“I won’t,” I swore, knowing damn well I would when the time came.
War was a messy business, and I had to fight in the dirtiest ways I could. They were all going to pay.
I wasn’t this girl, or at least I hadn’t been before this shit show, but now it was a game of survival. If I didn’t make a damn move, they’d bury me in a shallow grave and forget my name. I wasn’t going down without taking them with me. I could be a petty bitch too.
“I want to come, Vinny,” I pleaded softly. “Please. I want it so much I can’t think straight. I swear I’ll be a good girl all night.”
“Just a night?” He chuckled softly.
I nodded, biting my bottom lip again. I was laying it on thick.
“What if I don’t want a good girl? What if I want a really bad girl ?”
“Then let me come.” I reached out and forced all my bravery to the surface and pressed my lips to his.
He froze for a split second before he pushed me away without kissing me back.
“I can’t fucking believe I’m going to say this, but no. We can’t do that. Believe me, I want to. But you’re in trouble. Maybe when you’re not, we can.”
“You let Dominic run everything, don’t you?”
“He’s the boss most of the time, but we make a lot of decisions together because we’re a team.”
“But he’s in charge.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I guess he is.”
Damn . I thought he’d continue to deny it so I could tear at the seam of the group hierarchy. How the hell was I supposed to get through to tear them apart?
“But just so you know,” he said softly, reaching out to tilt my chin up.
“I can fuck you whenever I want, just not when you’re in trouble.
So be a good girl, and I’ll give you what you want next time.
” His dark eyes flared with need, making my breath catch, as he leaned in, his lips a fraction of space from my own.
I swallowed hard. A knock sounded on my door. Vincent stilled over me for just a moment before he was on his feet, his serious face back on.
“Fix yourself,” he grunted.
I had no idea what he was talking about. Sure, I was flushed and flustered, but I was fine past that.
Another knock.
I fluffed my hair and looked wide-eyed to Vincent whose hand was on the doorknob. His dark-eyed gaze skirted over me, a tiny smirk on his face, before he spun and opened the door.
“Hey,” Aubrey called. “S-Sorry. I was just checking on Bianca. I haven’t seen her today. I-I didn’t know she had company.”
“B, your little friend is at the door.” Vincent opened the door wider, allowing Aubrey to step in.
She did so, casting him a quick, nervous look over her shoulder.
“Hey,” I said, shifting awkwardly on the bed and running my fingers through my hair.
“I heard you come into your room. I’ve been worried about you,” she said, glancing at Vincent who stood by the now closed door, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
“Oh. Yeah.” I swallowed and stared at Vincent who lifted his eyebrows at me. “Just been busy.”
Aubrey studied us for a moment before she nodded. “What’s got you so busy? How are you with. . . everything?”
“Not good,” I muttered.
“B,” Vincent warned.
I ground my teeth and forced a smile on my face. “But better now that Hail is a thing of the past.”
“I’m happy you got away from him.” Her eyes widened, and she cast a quick flick of her eyes to Vincent who couldn’t see her movements.
I nodded at her, and she reached out and squeezed my hand.
“I’m just across the hall if you want to talk. I’d like to hang out more at school.”
“Me too,” I said, really meaning it. I liked Aubrey. As far as Bolten students went, she was one of the kinder ones, and I thought of her as my closest friend.
“I was really pissed the other day when they made you eat off the floor. I thought you might be mad at me that I couldn’t stick up for you—”
“That’s enough. Aubrey, I’m sure you’ll be at the party tonight over at the dip?” Vincent took her by the arm and led her back to the door.
“Yeah, I’m going with Lyssa and Emy—”
“Great. We’ll see you there.” He gave her a nudge out the door and closed it before she could say anything and stalked back to me as I got to my feet.
“Aubrey is the only friend I have here—”
“Shh.” He silenced me by pressing his finger to my lips. “Go get ready. Dom wants you in the red dress.”
“Fuck Dom, and fuck you.” I pushed his finger away and glared at him.
He let out a soft laugh. “I love our love/hate relationship, B, but what did we just talk about? Something about you being a good girl? You blow so hot and cold. I just don’t know what to make of you.”
I gave him the finger and hauled the dress out of the box before stomping to my bathroom and slamming the door behind me.
I showered quickly and busied myself with getting ready.
The dress was so soft and light against my body, it felt like I wasn’t wearing anything.
Of course, it was so low-cut it left little to the imagination.
I had the girls pushed to the ceiling and prayed I didn’t need to bend over because my ass would surely hang out.
I had no clue where the dip was Vincent talked about, but in a dress like this, it wasn’t like I could put on a pair of sneakers and rush out of the room.
With my hair curled in soft waves down my back and my makeup on, I stepped out to find Vincent lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling. He looked over at me, and a wide smile graced his handsome face as he stood up and came to me.
“Fuck, you look hot.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“I bought you something.”
I raised my brows at him, my bad mood still in full force.
“I got it that day you spilled your coffee.”
“ You spilled my coffee,” I muttered.
He smirked down at me and unearthed a velvet box from inside his uniform jacket and held it out for me.
“Why are you giving me this? I’m your deal. Your captive. Surely, captives don’t get gifts from their captors.”
“You know damn well you’re more than that, B,” he said softly, brushing a curl away from my face. “If we didn’t care about you, we would’ve left you to Ivanov.”
“Right. That’s why Dominic bargained for my virginity, to keep me safe,” I said.
Vincent sighed. “Just open the damn box.”
I took the box from him and opened it to find a silver crown with diamonds encrusted on it dangling from a silver chain.
“A king’s girl should always show who she belongs to. Do you like it?” Confident Vincent Valentino actually sounded nervous.
I nodded. “It’s pretty.”
“May I?”
I handed the box back to him and spun so he could latch it on me. His warm fingers brushed my skin a moment later as I faced the long mirror in my room, watching as he fastened the hook for me after brushing my hair aside.
I closed my eyes when his warm lips met the sensitive flesh of my neck and his arms wound around my waist.
“I could eat you up, baby B,” he said softly, sending a torrent of goosebumps skittering across my skin. He pressed another kiss to my neck and breathed out. “Come on. I need to stop by my place and change.”
He stepped away from me. I went to my closet and pulled out a pair of knee-high black boots and slid them on.
“Perfect,” he appraised, taking my hand and leading me from the room as I grabbed my phone. He locked the door behind us and walked beside me, not touching me.
“Where’s the dip?” I asked as we made it outside.
“It’s a place in the woods, a ravine. An old house sits in it.
We fixed the place up when we got here, so it’s a decent party spot.
It’s considered neutral grounds for kings and lords too, so be aware you may see Ivanov and his crew.
It’s the one place where we put our differences aside and just relax. ”
“So you’re all friends there?”
“Fuck no. We just try to keep that shit to campus and life. The dip is a place to let go. It’s a safe space, so to speak.”
I didn’t bother asking more questions. I didn’t even want to go. I just wanted to lie in bed and watch TV without some asshole forcing himself on me.
But I needed to put these lords and kings in their places, so a party in the middle of the woods was where I’d start.