Chapter 17
THAT WAS DEFINITELY HER
Killian
The color drained from Lexi’s face, and her eyes bugged out of her head as if she’d seen a ghost. Hell, even those lips I’d just been devouring turned white.
“It was you?” she repeated, her trembling hand lifting to her mouth.
“What are you talking about?” Not trusting myself to get closer, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against my closet door, trying not to inhale her scent. It still clung to me even after I shed my shirt.
The sting of her scratches down my stomach still had my blood boiling, but not in anger. Like a sick fuck, I enjoyed the pain.
“At… at the party.” Her hand slid from her mouth to her chest. “In that small room. That was you.”
As her words sank in, my entire world tilted on its axis, nearly knocking me off my feet.
I’d saved that girl from Bass only so I could wreck her myself.
That skin-tight red dress, those curves, her vibrant blue eyes framed in a butterfly mask, those flowing auburn strands I imagined grabbing while I railed her from behind—they all belonged to Lexi Vega.
My arms dropped from my chest like dead weight.
No. No way in hell. I would’ve known.
When I kissed her a few minutes ago, she didn’t seem the same...
That wasn’t her.
I’d prove it.
I marched toward her, grabbed her arms, and shoved her against my dresser, barely registering knocking over a bottle of cologne and a picture frame.
“Killian! What are you—”
There was only one way to know for sure.
My mouth branded to Lexi’s, and I forced my tongue inside, even as she fought me. Her breath hitched. That same soft, shaky inhale I remembered from the night of the masquerade.
My stomach dropped.
Yeah, it was definitely her.
Her fists pummeled my chest, but the lazy, feeble hits barely registered. She didn’t want me to stop. Not really. That was clear in the way she kissed me back.
Sure enough, that sweet, fruity flavor was the same as my mystery girl’s too. And so was the delicate vanilla fragrance coating her skin.
Cheap perfume, my ass. This was probably her soap or lotion. Lexi didn’t wear perfume. She just smelled good enough to eat. And I wanted to spread her open and taste her on my tongue.
Unable to control myself, I lifted Lexi and dropped her onto my dresser, sending items toppling to the ground. Normally, the need to retrieve everything and set them in their rightful spots would have consumed me, regardless of what I was in the middle of.
I couldn’t care less about perfect order now, not while I had my hands on Lexi’s thighs, fitting myself between them.
How did I not notice the similarities? How could I have been so stupid not to recognize the girl I’d loved most in my life?
The answer was simple: I wasn’t that stupid. Some small part of my subconscious must have known it was Lexi.
She scraped her nails down my back again, and a low growl vibrated my throat at the waves of pleasure traveling to my dick.
No other girl made me this hard. Ever. They usually bored me to death with their incessant need to please.
They dropped to their knees or spread their legs at the snap of my fingers.
Not Red. She fought like a wild animal. And it only riled the beast inside me.
Proving me right, she bit the hell out of my lip. The coppery tang of blood spilled between us, and I sucked on her tongue before pulling away.
“That was definitely you.” I licked the blood off my mouth as she watched, her legs clenching around my hips in response, her body wanting to pull me back in despite the fire in her eyes.
No one made me lose control like this.
No one but her.
At the thought, rage collided with lust, and I shoved off her, my nostrils flaring as the room spun.
The girl I’d been fantasizing about for the last few weeks was the same girl that stomped all over my heart.
That broke me. As the anger won, I snatched a serpent statue and threw it against the wall.
“Fuck!” Sharp pieces of glass scattered across the dark hardwoods, and Lexi’s gasp only added fuel to the fire. I snatched the lamp off my bedside table, ripped the cord out of the wall, and threw it across the room.
“Killian, stop!”
When Lexi tried to jump off my dresser, I forced myself between her legs again, those blue eyes widening. Not only was she the mystery girl I almost fucked, but she was also the one sneaking around after my psychotic stepbrother had one of his “accidents”.
Like a deadly blade, cold fear sliced through the scarlet haze drowning me. If Bass knew she’d been there that night...
She wouldn’t survive it.
“What did you see at the party?” The words burst from my gritted teeth.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
I leaned into her, the artery in her neck wildly throbbing. “What did you hear?”
Her gaze flicked to the side. “Nothing. I swear.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Red. You’re doing that thing with your lip.” I gripped her jaw to keep her from turning away and her eyes flew to mine. “I know you heard something, and if the wrong person finds out, you won’t be graduating from Stonewall University.”
Her mouth dropped. “Are you threatening to ruin my scholarship?”
My manic laugh echoed over our heavy breathing.
“Your scholarship will be the least of your problems.” That fear for her intensified, unwilling to be smothered, and my expression softened, incrementally, as I released her jaw.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with here.
This is not just a fraternity, not entirely.
Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong will result in a much greater loss than your scholarship. ”
“Well, then, it’s a damned good thing I didn’t hear anything that night.” A dark smile crossed her lips as she lifted her chin. “Except for the desperation in your voice when you tried to fuck me.”
That’s my Red. Pissing me off to divert my attention from her lies.
My hand slid around her throat, my thumb brushing over the pulse still racing beneath her skin as I bent toward her ear.
“Your pussy was drenched that night, just like I know it is now. I could fuck you against this dresser, and you’d beg me to do it again.
” I sucked her earlobe, and her whimper sent a bolt of desire straight through my bloodstream.
“But I would rather be celibate for the rest of my life than slum it with you.”
“Get off me,” she hissed, attempting to shove me away. “I’m leaving.”
I drew back, rubbing my nose against hers. To anyone on the outside, we’d look like lovers instead of enemies playing a dangerous game. “You’re not going anywhere. I own you for the entire semester, Red. Get used to being here.”
I repeatedly slammed my fists into the punching bag, sweat gliding down my face and drenching my clothes. A week had passed since I found out Lexi and my mystery girl were one and the same, and I still hadn’t been able to get her out of my head.
Every time I closed my eyes, her lust-filled face materialized in my mind. That damn vanilla scent clung to me, and her fucking taste lingered on my tongue. The girl was everywhere, and I couldn’t shut her out. I damn well tried.
The chain on the punching bag rattled as my fists rained hits on it in the Sigma Delta gym. When the other brothers realized the dark mood I was in, they’d all scampered out. Lexi’s presence was whittling away at my mask of control and perfection.
I barely spoke to her during Geology, and when she was in my room, cleaning things that were already clean, I ignored her. But the temptation to throw her on my bed and rip her clothes off was overwhelming.
The only reason I didn’t break this stupid deal was to keep her close. She knew more about the night of the masquerade party than she pretended to. And beyond that, some sick, addicted part of me needed her around.
Red was mine.
Axel had spread the word to the brothers that Lexi Vega was off limits. While she was here, if one of them had so much as looked at her for too long, they’d ended up with a black eye or a split lip. Some earned both.
“Uh, Killian?” None other than Micah Preston cleared his throat as he approached me, a black bag draped over his shoulder. “I got your tux. Want me to put it in your room?”
My fist hit the bag again. “Where the hell else would it go, pledge?”
He pushed his glasses up with his finger. “I’m pretty excited about this charity ball. It should be fun.”
“Whatever.” Forced into a penguin suit, schmoozing with boring alumni and Ascended sounded like the dullest night possible. I’d rather be stretched out on my bed, watching a certain redhead bending over to clean my baseboards.
“I even have a date.” The stupid grin pulling at his mouth captured my full attention, and I knew I wasn’t going to like the next words out of his mouth. “I’m taking Lexi Vega.”
Apparently, this little prick didn’t get the memo.
Ringing filled my ears as a blood-red haze coated the various exercise machines and dumbbell stations.
Images of Micah with his grubby hands all over my Red filled my brain, and my restraint snapped like a brittle twig.
Before my brain could catch up, I grabbed the collar of Micah’s pledge shirt and slammed him into the charcoal wall.
“You touch Lexi, and I’ll cut your fucking hands off.” The voice coming out of my mouth was a dark, twisted version of the one I’d cultivated over the years. Every syllable held a cold, cruel edge, and spikes coiled around the words, longing to stab Micah Preston.
The pledge dropped my suit and swallowed hard. “Dude, we’re just going on a date. And y-you don’t own her.”
My laugh would have made most men piss themselves. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
I did own Lexi; for the semester anyway. Of course, staying away from Micah was part of our arrangement, and if I shattered a few of his bones, that would break our deal.
“Whoa, little brother, what are you doing?” Bass jogged toward us in workout sweats, his hair tousled, cheeks flushed, and lipstick smeared on his neck. “Let the pledge go.”
I released Micah, smoothed his shirt, and flashed that fake, polished smile I’d grown accustomed to using. “Everything’s fine. Just a misunderstanding, right, Micah?”
The pledge nodded and retrieved my suit, his face void of color. “I’ll, uh, just take this to your room then.”
After Micah scurried out of the gym, Bass studied me so hard it felt like my skin would melt off. “What’s up with you, Killian? I heard you’ve been a little short-tempered lately, and that it’s all over some chick.”
My nape prickled at the curiosity in his tone, but I played aloof and returned to the punching bag.
I’d kept Bass away from Lexi any time she was at the house, and even though she knew I had a stepbrother, she didn’t know he was in Sigma Delta.
I didn’t want her connecting more dots and figuring out what happened the night of the masquerade party.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t get bent out of shape over a piece of ass. I just don’t like Micah Preston.” Besides having a thing for Lexi, there was something off about him.
“Whatever you say, bro.” His smirk filled my gut with knots. “But you better start liking him.”
My fists dropped as alarm bells screamed in my ears at the sadistic glee penetrating my stepbrother’s blue eyes. “Why?”
“Brothers above all.” Bass flicked the serpent and dagger tattoo on his forearm. “Micah Preston is getting tapped. He’s going to be one of us.”