Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Adeline
“Tell Eli who you were talking to, Adeline,” Cyrus says, his fingers moving between my legs as he runs his finger over my slit.
“Sam. I was talking to Sam,” I tell him before gasping as his fingers slide between my lips, plunging into my wet heat, making me gasp.
He moves them in and out slowly, and I am shocked by how wet I am, arousal flooding me as he moves them in and out of me, making me moan.
“What did Sam want?” Eli asks, still gripping my chin, my face heating at my reaction to them while Cyrus keeps up his slow torture of moving his fingers in and out.
I shake my head, pressing my lips together when I feel his fingers leave me before his hand comes down on my ass again, making me cry out and flinch.
Eli’s grip tightens, forcing me to meet his gaze as he watches my face, which is streaked with tears. Cyrus’s hand moving over the slap makes me shiver from the intense burning sensation.
“What did Sam want?” Eli repeats, but I glare at him, and Eli nods to Cyrus, his hand coming down on the back of my thighs, this time making me buck and choke on my sob.
“Answer, Addie. It will get worse if you don’t,” Cyrus says, his hand soothing the sting once again before I feel it move to the apex of my legs as he shoves his fingers in me again, wriggling them inside me, making me gasp.
“So wet, so tight,” Cyrus says, plunging them in deeper, making me moan loudly. “Are you going to answer?”
I shake my head, pressing my lips together, losing myself in the feel of his fingers deep inside me before they suddenly disappear again, my arousal spilling onto my thighs as he runs his fingers between my cheeks and over my ass again.
I wriggle as they trace the welts on my ass.
I feel his hand rise off my skin before coming down on my ass, making me whimper and buck.
“Please, no more,” I sob, my eyes watering as my skin stings with an intensity I am not used to.
“Answer, and it will stop,” Eli says before brushing my hair from my face as my head hangs. He grips my face, pressing his lips against mine.
“Tell me, Addie,” he whispers against my lips.
I shake my head, and I feel Cyrus’s hand move.
I try to remove myself from his lap, but it is no use, like I am being held in place with a vise.
His hand comes down again with so much force that I bite my tongue to stop myself from screaming, a strangled noise leaving my lips as I slump against him.
“To meet him at the pier,” I cry out, not wanting to endure anymore.
“Good girl,” Eli says, letting my chin go.
“Please, no more,” I tell them.
“No more, Addie,” Cyrus says, dipping his fingers inside me.
He curls them, hitting that sweet spot inside me I can never reach as he speeds up his movements, my stomach tightening, and I feel my walls clench his fingers, my skin heating up when he suddenly pulls them out of me and pulls my skirt back down just before I come.
I huff at being tortured and then teased like that.
He pulls me up, and I glare at him. He chuckles, gripping my chin.
“Next time, don’t lie, and I will finish what I started,” he says, pecking my lips.
I get up, moving toward the door wanting to escape them.
“Oh, and Addie? I hope you told him no because you won’t be leaving our sight,” Eli says behind me as I reach for the door handle.
I nod, walking out and closing the door behind me.
I all but run from the room and them. Sitting at my desk, I try to ignore the throbbing between my legs, pressing my thighs together under the desk.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Who gets turned on by such vile acts?
I see an email pop up on my computer screen, and a smile curls on my lips.
Sneaky, sneaky… Sam has to know they are keeping tabs on my phone, and I doubt they will check my email.
Opening the email, I read it.
Tried ringing your phone, and Eli answered. End pier at midnight. I have some things I need to tell you. Love, Sam.
Love, Sam? Wonder what’s got into him. He never writes stuff like that; he is acting weird.
It makes me nervous but also excites me.
I have always liked Sam, even though I never admitted it for the most part of our arrangement.
Being with him is easy and comes naturally.
Is he only just realizing that now or is something else going on with him?
I have so many questions. Like, how does he know what my mark means? Come to think of it, how well do I really know him? No, that is a ridiculous thought to have. Sam has been there for me for years; I know I can trust him even if he is hiding something. So, I reply.
No, meet at fields near my house. They know about the pier. See you at midnight x
I quickly delete the email before removing it from my recycling bin as well, just to be sure.
I get out of everything just in time to see Eli step out of Cyrus’s office. He looks over at me, and I feel my face heat at what happened in the room. He smirks before walking into his office. When lunchtime comes, I get up from my seat, intending to go see if Bella is having lunch soon.
Just as I walk toward the elevator, both of their office doors open.
“Where are you going?” asks Cyrus.
“To see Bella,” I answer, annoyed that I need permission to do anything. I am a grown-ass woman, yet I need to get their approval for everything, and they order me around like a child.
“Go, don’t be too long. And Cyrus goes with you,” Eli says.
“I was planning to, with or without your permission. Fuck, stop being so controlling. You interfere in my life enough as it is, and I don’t need a babysitter.
” My voice rises higher than I intend. Eli growls, stepping out of his office completely and walking toward me, or should I say stalking?
The vibes coming off him make a shiver run up my spine.
He stops in front of me, glaring down at me, and I realize his hands are trembling with anger. I watch his jaw clench and unclench.
“We just don’t want you to get hurt, Addie. Why do you feel the need to keep fighting us with everything?” he says, his words laced with his anger.
I don’t know where my sudden anger from earlier has come from, but now it has vanished with him standing this close.
“I’m sorry. Can I go or not?”
“Yes, but lose the attitude. But, as I said, Cyrus is going with you.”
“I don’t have an attitude, but you accusing me of having one will give me a goddamn attitude,” I snap back.
Geez, there it is again, that strange bubbling in my veins, when I realize it isn’t my anger but his? My brows furrow, and I look toward Cyrus; he is watching from where he is leaning in the doorway. I go back to my desk, flopping down in my seat.
“Are you going with Cyrus, or are you staying now?” Eli says, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration before sighing loudly.
I say nothing, instead looking at my computer screen.
“You deal with her, Cyrus. She is driving me nuts,” he says before walking into his office and slamming the door.
Cyrus walks over, sitting on the edge of my desk between my legs.
“You two feed off each other’s emotions. You getting angry makes him get angry and vice versa.”
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t have to be so controlling. I just want my life back,” I tell him, folding my arms across my chest and glaring at him.
Cyrus raises an eyebrow at me. “That’s not going to happen. Until you realize that, Addie, things are just going to get harder for you. We only want what’s best for you.”
“Yeah, well, you have a funny way of showing it when you’re trying to make me leave my family.”
“Once the mate bond kicks in, you will understand.”
I roll my eyes at their invisible bond. “And why would that make me understand?”
“Because you will feel the same way we feel about you. You will understand why we won’t leave without you.”
“Looks like you’re staying then because bond or mates, whatever it is, it won’t make me change my mind about leaving my family.”
Cyrus growls, and goosebumps rise on my arms before he grips my chin.
“Would you like a repeat of earlier?” he asks.
Arousal floods me at his words, making me remember how turned on it’s made me, the throb between my legs returning, and I press my legs together. His eyes dart down, and his lips tug up slyly.
“And you think the bond won’t work on you? That we have no effect on you?” He leans closer, so close, his lips brush mine as he speaks.
“Yet I can smell your arousal, smell how much you want me to touch you,” he whispers against my lips before I feel his tongue trace across my bottom lip, and he sucks it into his mouth, making me moan softly.
I jerk back at my reaction to him. He chuckles before getting up and walking back to his office.
I shake my head, trying to get rid of the strange sensation that’s just rolled over me, my body feeling foreign to me.
As the day draws to a close, I sit spinning in my chair, when Cyrus and Eli suddenly walk out.
“Finally. I am so bloody bored,” I tell them, standing up.
“We still have a few more hours,” Eli says, and I stop.
“I’m joking, Addie. We are going home,” he says, holding his hand out to me.
I grab it, tingles running up the inside of my arm.
“Wait, are we going back to my place?”
“It’s up to you. I am happy anywhere,” Cyrus says.
“I want to go check on my mom and see if she knows what’s going on with Taylor.”
“Then your place it is then,” Eli says just as the elevator doors open.
I step inside and press the button before taking my shoes off. My feet are killing me.
Eli drops Cyrus and me off before leaving to get a change of clothes. Walking inside, my mother is reading while Maya is sitting on the floor drawing on her sketch pad.
“Any news?”
“They are holding her till they can get her before a judge,” my mother says.
“Did she try to ring you?”
“Not yet, but she will when she can get bail. Did you see Ethan’s house burned down? He, along with eight others, died. Said a meth lab blew up,” my mother says, clearly forgetting that I have already told my sister about it this morning.
“Yeah, seen it on the news last night before I left.”
“Feel terrible for his parents. He used to be a good kid.”
“Used to be, mom,” I tell her.
“A life is a life no matter the dislike for their life choices, Addie,” my mother says.
I turn to look at Cyrus, who is suddenly unusually quiet.
“Oh, Cyrus dear, lovely to see you. Didn’t see you there. You were so quiet.”
“Just listening. Hungry? I will order pizza,” he says, and Maya looks up excitedly.
“Cheese pizza?”
“Whatever pizza you like, Maya,” he says, giving her a wink.
“Sure, I don’t feel like cooking anyway,” my mother says, hopping up and going to the kitchen. She grabs a bottle of wine and some glasses.
“Drink, Cyrus?”
“No, I’m good,” he says, taking his phone out.
“Addie?” my mother asks, holding the wine bottle up.
“No, ma, not tonight,” I tell her.
“Since when do you turn down a drink? Very well, more for me,” she says, and I chuckle.
Eli returns, carrying three pizzas. We watch a few family movies, relaxing in comfortable silence. I put Maya to bed at 8PM, tucking her in. My mother puts herself to bed, a little tipsy, making me laugh as she staggers to her room.
“What time do you start tomorrow?” I ask her.
“Seven,” she calls back.
“I will wake you,” I call to her, and she hums back.
“Are you both staying tonight?” I ask, and they nod.
I get up, and they follow me to my bedroom. Grabbing some clothes, I walk to the bathroom and turn on the shower. I shower quickly before hopping out and grabbing some towels. Walking into the room, I see Eli only wearing shorts.
“Showered before coming back.”
I nod, but Cyrus grabs one of the towels from me, pecking me on the cheek before walking toward the bathroom. I wait for Eli to turn around, only he doesn’t. Instead, he watches me with a smirk on his gorgeous face before he raises an eyebrow at me.
“Are you going to get dressed?”
“Can you turn around?” I ask.
“No, I have a good view,” he says.
I roll my eyes before grabbing an oversized shirt and pulling it over my towel. I then slip my panties underneath the towel and pull them up. I remove the towel, and Eli seems annoyed.
“We will see you, eventually.”
“You already saw my ass. You are not seeing anything else,” I tell him.
“We’ll see,” Eli says, pulling the blanket back.
I climb in next to him, remaining on the edge of the bed, so I don’t have to climb over them when I sneak out later. Cyrus comes in after a few minutes, climbing over me and dropping between Eli and me. I reach up, flicking off the lamp before rolling onto my back.
“Did you do something to Ethan?” I ask.
Neither of them says anything, and I roll over, facing Cyrus. I can just make out his face from the hallway light we have left on for Maya seeping into the room.
“You did, didn’t you?”
“Does that upset you?” Cyrus asks.
“Not really. Actually, I hate what they did to my sister. Though, she made her choices. For someone who claims to love her, he enabled it,” I say, wondering if that makes me a bad person for not caring he is dead.
Cyrus nods. “Go to sleep, Addie,” he says, and I close my eyes, rolling back to face the bedroom door.
I wait for them to fall asleep. I wait longer till it is 11:40PM before quietly hopping out of bed. Cyrus rolls over while I stand frozen on the spot to see if he will wake.
I throw on some pants and grab my jumper before walking downstairs. Every noise and creak under my feet make me hold my breath, wondering if they have heard it.
Getting to the front door, I quickly open it before gently pulling it shut behind me. The soccer fields are at the end of my street, backing onto the wetlands. The ground feels cold under my feet as I walk across my neighbors’ dew-covered lawns.
I see Sam’s car at the end of the street, but he isn’t inside it. So, I head for the grandstands. Sam is sitting on one of the benches.