CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DOM
It never ceased to amaze me what kind of conditions people would put up with for a good party. Even with the snow coming down and a severe weather warning issued by the local news station, the graveyard was still packed.
Rebel had insisted that we go ahead with our annual Valentine’s Day party. The day didn’t mean all that much to me. It was simply another excuse to get drunk, high, and fucked.
Dozens of small patio lanterns hung from the trees to light up the night. Others had been placed on crumbling headstones. Three fire pits had been placed around the graveyard to offer a place for people to warm up. Once the alcohol took hold, most people wouldn’t even notice the chill.
That was my plan anyway. Knowing better than to arrive sober, I’d done some pre-party drinking at home. Feeling slightly buzzed, I hung out near the church with Auryn. The other guys were already glued to their significant others.
“Motherfucker, it’s cold.” Auryn rubbed his hands together before trying to warm them with his breath.
At least he’d dressed for the weather in a winter coat. Most of the partygoers were bundled up in winter attire along with gloves and scarves. There were a few morons like me wearing only hoodies. The occasional drunk person wearing even less than that.
“You just need more to drink.” I nodded to the plastic cup in the snow at his feet. “Hurry up and finish that.”
He glanced at my hoodie with a frown. “How are you not freezing your ass off?”
I shrugged. “I did a few tequila shots before leaving the house.”
Auryn scanned the party, checking out the women. “Maybe I just need to get laid. Always a solid way to warm up.”
“I suppose that’s one way of doing it. You could also find someone to throw hands with. Nothing like a good fight to get the blood pumping.” I nodded to where two guys were already throwing punches at one another in the designated fight area beyond the headstones.
Auryn studied them for a moment before shaking his head. “I like to think of myself as a lover, not a fighter. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I prefer to keep this pretty face intact.”
He smirked, giving a little toss of his head that made a lock of platinum blonde fall over his forehead. I shook my head, having no reply. There was nothing I could say to pop a hole in this man’s ego.
“Oh shit,” he said, staring across the graveyard. “Speaking of throwing hands tonight, Dom, your nemesis has arrived.”
Following his stare, I spotted Noah and Damon making their way through the crowd. “What the fuck are they doing here? They know they’re not welcome at our parties anymore.”
Auryn snatched up his cup from the ground, draining the contents in one swallow. “There’s only one reason Noah would be here, and you and I both know what that is.”
Tearing my gaze away from Noah before he caught me staring, I glared at Auryn. “Don’t make me punch you.”
He raised a hand in surrender. “Don’t take your shit out on me. We all know there’s something going on between you guys. Maybe it’s none of my business. Maybe it’s something you need to deal with. Whatever you decide to do, I’ve always got your back.”
If he knew that a few days ago Noah had jerked me off outside his house, Auryn would’ve probably had something else to say about it. The very sight of Noah pissed me off. How dare he come here after something like that? Clearly he wanted my attention. Well, he got it.
Finishing off my drink, I tossed the plastic cup in the snow and stalked over to where Noah and Damon stood. They each held a bottle of something, drinking and laughing with a few other people. I didn’t give a shit about any of it.
As if he sensed my approach, Noah glanced up. His expression was hard to read. Strangely calm and neutral. I pushed my way between the people he stood with, giving him a shove that sent him flailing backwards.
“Either you’re a goddamn idiot or you have balls of steel. What the hell are you doing here?” I gave Noah another shove. When Damon took a step toward me as if to intervene, I whirled around, raising a fist. “Back the fuck off right now. This isn’t about you. But it could be.”
“It’s cool, Damon.” Noah waved him off. “I’ve got this.”
“You need to leave before I do something that will land my ass in prison with all these witnesses.” Unable to hold myself back, I got dangerously close, right up in Noah’s face.
He stood there, unfazed, giving me very little reaction. “We’re only here to party, Dom. No harm intended.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” I snarled. “What do you really want, Noah? Why are you here?”
The corner of his upper lip curved ever so slightly into a subtle smirk. “What do you want me to say? That I came to piss you off? That I knew you would react like this? Maybe I just wanted to see you again. I can’t stop thinking about that noise you made when I—”
My fist slammed into his face before I knew what I was doing. Even though everyone around us was engaged in their own conversation, aside from Damon who stood a few feet away watching, I couldn’t allow Noah to finish that sentence.
He burst into laughter, swiping a hand over his lip to check for blood. “Someone is touchy tonight. Don’t tell me that’s the first time a guy jerked you off.”
I punched him again, this time knocking him into a worn headstone. Noah caught himself before falling to the snow covered ground.
“One more word,” I warned. “And you’ll become a missing person.”
Noah placed the bottle he held onto the headstone. He pointed to the fight zone where the two guys fighting now competed for a cash prize. Money they had both put on the line. “Since you want to fight so badly, let’s fight. If I beat you, I get to stay. If you win, Damon and I will leave.”
Through clenched teeth, I said, “Fine, but I can’t be held responsible for what I’m about to do to you.”
Since Noah didn’t seem capable of showing fear, he bravely stepped closer, his voice low so only I heard him.
“Maybe if you gave in to your obvious need to get fucked, you wouldn’t be such an uptight asshole all the time.
I get the feeling you’re a top. Works for me.
I’ll happily take that thick cock of yours, dark prince. ”
Said appendage betrayed me by growing hard in response to his words. Goddammit.
“Don’t fucking call me that.” I shoved away from him, putting as much distance between us as possible while striding over to the fight zone.
Noah ambled along behind me, taking his sweet time. He was smart enough to give me some space. Sitting on a headstone finishing his drink while we waited for the current fight to end.
Why the hell did he have to go and put such a visual in my head?
The thought of pinning Noah beneath me and fucking him until he begged made my cock strain against my jeans.
He practically asked for it. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to hold back.
There was no denying that a part of me wanted it.
I wished that I didn’t. Why did it have to be him? Anyone but him.
When it was our turn to fight, I stepped into the center of the fight zone. Already feeling flushed, I pulled off my hoodie, tossing it onto a headstone. Noah shed the jacket and hoodie he’d been wearing. We both stood there in T-shirts and jeans facing one another.
The smart thing to do would have been to have a neutral third party monitor the fight. Calling the winner when it became obvious. I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted to hurt him.
Noah raised both hands in invitation. “Come on then, Dom. Let’s go.”
He waited for me to make the first move. Even though people began to gather to watch the fight, I had eyes only for him. When it became clear Noah wasn’t going to make a move until I did, I tackled him.
The impact flung him back into one of the headstones that bordered the fight area. He grunted as the breath whooshed out of him. That didn’t stop him from fighting back.
“You know,” he said between ragged breaths. “This would be a lot more enjoyable if we just fucked instead.”
He followed that up with a punch that clipped me hard on the chin. A second one thrust me back, allowing him to push away from the headstone. There was an exchange of blows that had us both swinging steadily. A flurry of activity and aggression.
I felt the warm, wet trickle of blood from my nose. That only angered me further. I wasn’t satisfied until Noah bled too. When an especially powerful punch split open his eyebrow, I found genuine joy in the blood that ran down the side of his face to drip onto the snow.
“It really doesn’t have to be this way you know,” he said, chest heaving as he blocked another hit.
“It really does.” Sticking my foot between his ankles, I tripped him.
As Noah went down, he grabbed onto me, taking me down with him. We struggled for control. Managing to get the upper hand, he pinned me beneath him. Even though I lay in the icy cold snow, my body flushed with heat. Having Noah on top of me messed with my head.
He fucking knew it too. Smirking down into my face, he said, “I can feel how hard you are for me, naughty boy. Is it the violence that gets you off? Or is it me?”
The people that watched couldn’t hear him, but that didn’t matter. My temper wouldn’t be contained.
I responded with a headbutt that momentarily stunned him. Giving me the chance to roll him off me. Something sinister had been unleashed inside me. Something that was ready to kill Noah here and now.
We beat the hell out of one another. I got to the point where I was sure the fight wouldn’t end until one of us was dead. We were both bleeding, bruised, and barely on our feet when Rebel finally stepped in.
He and Casper grabbed me, dragging me away. Damon stopped Noah from continuing the fight.
“Time to cool it, Dom,” Rebel said. “This has gone far enough.”
I struggled to break free, but the two of them held tight, refusing to let go. “I need to finish this.”
“It’s finished.” Rebel’s tone was hard, leaving no room for argument. “No more. Not tonight.”
The two of them forced me toward the church. I knew they meant business when Casper grabbed me by the back of the neck, painfully digging his fingers into my skin. I stopped resisting, letting them herd me along.
I didn’t care what they said. This was far from over.