Chapter 25
MINE TO TORTURE
Killian
Crimson blossomed over Lexi’s flesh, crawling up her throat and into her cheeks. I didn’t even try to mask my smirk. Hatred shone from her searing blue eyes, but she couldn’t hide the lust roiling beneath that repulsion.
I leaned forward, brushing my lips over her ear. “Have you ever gotten dirty in the middle of class, Red?” My hand skated farther up her thigh, my finger slipping beneath the hem of her dress. “If you’re quiet, I’ll let you come.”
As she shoved me out from under her dress with a death glare, tremors raced through her body.
“I’m not going to be your whore just so you’ll pay my travel expenses.” She raked a shaky hand through her auburn locks. “Besides, don’t you hate me? Shouldn’t the idea of sleeping with me make you sick?”
“I do hate you.” And the thought of fucking her should make me queasy.
But it didn’t. In fact, burying my cock in Lexi’s warm pussy had consumed my thoughts for weeks, even before I discovered she was my mystery girl from the party.
Not that she needed to know that. “I wish you never came to Stonewall University.”
Her plump mouth pulled into a frown. “Then why are you doing this? Why won’t you just leave me alone?”
Leaving her alone wasn’t an option now. Bass had her in his crosshairs, Micah as his weapon.
Why did I even care? I shouldn’t care about Lexi.
But I fucking did.
I always did.
She had no idea how truly powerless she was at Stonewall.
“This is about control, Red. And punishment.” My fingers dug into her thigh as she tried to push my touch away again. “You’re mine, and it’s my choice to ruin you or to fuck you—if I want.”
Lexi snagged her bottom lip between her teeth, probably cutting off the scream she wanted to unleash. “You are such an asshole. I regret ever being your friend.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” My hand slipped between her legs, and when I glided a finger over her underwear, warm wetness greeted me. A satisfied growl rumbled in my throat. “Your hatred doesn’t make you want me any less either.”
Her gaze darted around the room. “Killian, don’t. Someone will see.”
I pulled aside the silk material and thrust my digit into her dripping entrance, yanking a gasp from her. “Let them see. Then they’ll all know who you belong to.”
Panic erupted over her expression as she grabbed my leather jacket and tossed it over her lap. Funny that she chose to conceal what I was doing rather than kick me off or punch me in the face.
“What is wrong with you?” she hissed.
My chuckle prickled the flesh on her nape, and I got a primal satisfaction at having that affect on her. “That’s a loaded question, but you have issues too if you’re allowing me to do this.”
Her nostrils flared, and she gripped my arm, her nails digging in hard enough to break the skin. “I’m not letting you do anything.”
I toyed with her slippery clit, and she shuddered. “Don’t be coy. You could push me away if you really wanted to, Lexi. Now, be a good girl and take your punishment.”
“Punishment for what?”
Her nails burrowed deeper, bringing searing pain to my arm. That, coupled with the desire quickly overwhelming her, had my dick rock hard. My jeans threatened to rip open.
“You’re being punished for hanging around Micah Preston when I told you to stay away.” I added another finger, and a moan burst out of her.
She slapped her hand over her mouth and peeked around. A few students glanced our way but couldn’t see the debauchery unfolding between us thanks to the thick shadows the corner provided. “Y-you can’t tell me what to do, Kill.”
“I’m a fucking Lord. Of course I can.” My tempo increased, making Lexi’s chest rise and fall in frantic breaths. Hell, even my heart slammed against my ribs as she came closer to falling apart. “And like I said, you’re mine, Red. Mine to ruin, mine to break, mine to own, and mine to torture.”
Her lids fluttered as her hips rocked against my hand, unable to fight the pleasure brewing within her. The sweater dress stretched against her chest, and the urge to tear the top down and feast on her tits had my mouth watering. If we weren’t in class, I’d shred the material off and go to town.
I couldn’t resist leaning forward, running my tongue over her throat and tasting her skin.
“Kill, please.” Lexi’s husky plea somehow had more blood rushing to my cock, so much so that it was getting painful. The greedy fucker was pissed it wasn’t buried in her yet.
“Please, what?” I nibbled her ear. “Stop?”
Her eyes flew open as her gaze shot to mine. “No!”
A wicked edge sliced through my laugh. “I won’t stop, baby—if you beg.”
Lexi cursed under her breath as tremors raced down her spine. She was too close. Ending this now would be pure torment, which I should have done. But she slid down in her seat and parted her thighs for me.
“Don’t stop, Killian. Let me come.” Her teeth mashed as she spat the words out, fury boiling beneath each one. “Punish me for defying you. Please.”
Oh, fuck. Did she actually beg?
I sucked her neck and bit down to mark her. “I will punish you, Red. Over and over again.”
As my thumb rolled her clit, I pumped in and out of her, and within seconds, her pussy clamped down.
Lexi shuddered, and I pressed my other hand over her mouth before she screamed. Her body jerked in the chair as she shattered all over my fingers.
When she finished, her skin was flushed, her eyes were hazy, and she could barely hold up her head. I pulled out of her and smeared her arousal all over her lips.
Lexi was too far gone to put up much of a fight. “Disgusting bastard,” she mumbled.
“Taste yourself.” My middle finger pushed at her lips, meeting teeth. “Open your fucking mouth.”
Even as fury radiated from her, she did as I commanded and sucked herself off my finger.
A feral growl vibrated my chest, and it took every bit of control I possessed not to jerk her up, bend her over, and screw her on the desk right in the middle of class.
Fuck the audience. Instead, I licked her off my other digit, savoring that sweet flavor I’d taste with my tongue soon.
“Good girl.” I pressed a kiss to her temple. “Next time, you’ll taste my cum as it spills down your throat.”
Her nails finally retracted from my arm, leaving deep, bloody scratches behind. “There won’t be a next time, Killian.”
My smirk only intensified her rage. “We both know that’s a lie, Red.”
The cold bit through my gloves, sharp and relentless, but I barely felt it.
The marina was quiet this time of year. Most of the boats had already been hauled out or covered for the coming winter, their hulls creaking softly with the tide. The air smelled like salt and rust and old wood.
I dragged the brush along the side of the boat, dark paint cutting across the worn hull in slow, deliberate strokes. The wood had taken more work than I’d expected when I bought it—rotted in places, splintered in others—but it was mine.
Every inch of it.
No trust funds. No family name.
Just me.
I’d been coming here whenever I needed a break from all the pressure of being the perfect Davenport.
My mouth curved in disdain just thinking about the heavy mask I always had to wear. But not here.
No one knew about my boat except Axel. Maybe Gage, but only because the guy was a freaking shadow sometimes.
I painted another stroke of black, sighing.
The wolf’s head was almost finished now.
Its maw stretched wide along the side, teeth bared, sharp and unforgiving.
I dipped the brush again, adding depth to the shadows, dragging black into the edges until the thing looked like it might lunge off the hull if I stepped back too far.
My gaze flicked toward the name painted right next to the wolf’s mouth, but I didn’t let myself look at it for long.
Didn’t need to. I’d known what I was going to call her the second I handed over the cash.
Long before she showed up at Stonewall.
Long before she wormed her way back into my life like she belonged there.
My jaw tightened, a familiar irritation crawling up my spine.
Fucking Red.
The brush pressed harder against the wood, paint thickening where it shouldn’t. I dragged it down anyway, not bothering to fix the uneven line.
She’d always had a way of getting under my skin, even when she wasn’t there. Even when I thought I’d left all of that behind.
But could I ever truly leave behind the person who shattered and collected the pieces of my heart.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Swearing under my breath, I shoved the brush into the paint can and pulled my phone from my pocket, the screen lighting up with Gage’s name.
Gage: Micah’s been lurking. Following your girl around campus like a ghost.
My grip tightened around the phone. A cold, familiar dread settled low in my gut, heavy and immediate. I stared out at the darkening water, the last of the sun bleeding into the horizon, turning everything a deeper shade of gray.
Had Micah really decided to snuff out Lexi’s life to make it as a Lord?
My jaw flexed, teeth grinding together.
Me: You sure?
Three dots appeared instantly.
Gage: Yeah. Been keeping his distance while she’s at the dining hall with Cordi, but he’s watching her. Thought you’d want to know.
Watching her.
Something inside me snapped tight.
Possessive. Violent. Immediate.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket, already moving, boots hitting the dock with sharp, echoing thuds. Bass had given Micah an order. And I was about to fuck with that order.
Actually, I was about to break a shit-ton of rules that not even my last name could get me out of—if someone found out.
But Lexi was fucking mine.
I exhaled slowly, raking a hand through my hair as I stepped off the dock, the cold air biting harder now. This wasn’t about her.
Not really.
It was about control. Power even.
About making sure no one else touched what belonged to me. About proving I was the only one who could break Lexi.
The only one who could hurt her.
At least that was what I told myself.
But the unease coiling in my chest—the sharp, restless edge of it—said something different. Something I didn’t want to name. Something I didn’t want to look at too closely.
Even if deep down, I knew exactly what it was, as I’d felt it before, a long time ago.
I cast one last glance back at the boat, the wolf’s open maw glaring out over the water, the name just barely visible in the fading light.
Then I turned away and marched directly toward Stonewall’s campus. By the time I caught up with them, darkness blanketed the world, and Micah was looming outside of Davenport Dormitory after Lexi and Cordi vanished inside.
The little weasel thought he could hurt Red.
He’d die first.
I silently slinked forward with my hoodie obscuring my face and grabbed Micah from behind.
He tried to fight back, but I clamped a hand over his mouth to silence him, dragging him deeper into the shadows between the buildings.
“Get off me, asshole,” he hissed when I shoved him around and slammed him against the brick facade. “Who do you think—”
As I searched his pockets for weapons, I yanked out a bag of pills with a familiar number code marking them.
A storm of fury crashed into me, and I ripped the hood down to reveal my face. “What are you doing lurking outside Lexi’s dorm, Micah? Were you planning to dose her with these sleeping pills?”
My control teetered on a thin wire. This motherfucker really thought he could hurt her.
Dark circles bruised beneath his haunted eyes, and his cheeks appeared hollow.
“You know, don’t you?” His gaze flickered to the opening where safety lay just beyond his reach. “You know the girl I’m supposed to kill is Lexi.”
I pressed my forearm against his throat to obstruct his breathing. “Did you come here tonight to drug her so she wouldn’t scream or fight back when you murdered her?”
“No!” he choked out, frantically shaking his head. “I wasn’t going to do it. I would never hurt her. I’ll forfeit my spot.”
A humorless laugh burst out of my mouth. “You don’t get it. There is no forfeiting. You either complete this task, or they kill you.”
“What?” His body sagged against the wall. “They never said anything like that.”
“You really expect a secret society like the Serpents & Daggers to tell you everything? Do you think they’d allow you to walk away?” I released him and stepped back. “Maybe you can find another girl who looks similar and convince them she’s the one.”
His green eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “I can’t kill some innocent girl.”
I scoffed. “You stabbed that woman in the initiation ritual just to become one of us, a Lord. What’s the difference?”
Micah jammed his hand through his blonde hair and cursed. “I-I didn’t have a choice. And she didn’t die. It was a trick.”
“This is no fucking trick.” I shoved the bag of pills into my pocket. “You have three options, Preston. One: you try to kill Lexi, and I slaughter you. Two: you return to the Lords and tell them you failed, which will result in your death.”
He swallowed hard, his entire body quaking. “What’s the third option?”
“You can vanish without a trace and hope like hell they never find you.” The chances were slim but not impossible if you had the right resources.
Micah blanched. “I can’t just disappear. What about my family? What about my life?”
“You won’t have a life if you stay, and your family will lose you either way.” I gripped his jacket and yanked him forward. “Those are your choices. You’re lucky I’m giving you any.”
His brow furrowed. “Why are you? If they find out you helped me, won’t that put you in danger?”
If the Lords or any of the Ascended discovered I sabotaged a sanctioned murder, they’d display my head on a stake at the next meeting.
And then they’d send someone else after Lexi.
So why the fuck was I doing this? Why was I risking my life to not only protect Lexi but to offer Micah a solution other than death?
I didn’t have the answers.
“Those are your options. Pick one. You have a few more days to complete your task, so hurry, the clock is ticking.” I released him and allowed the caged monster within to float to the surface. “But if you choose to go after Lexi, know I won’t hesitate to slit your throat.”
True fear shone in the Neophyte’s eyes, and for the first time, he appeared more afraid of me than the Domnus, or even the Grand Domnus.
“What are you going to do about Lexi?” he asked. “They want her dead.”
A chill slithered down my back like a ghostly hand.
Micah was right. Getting rid of him only delayed the inevitable. But no one knew her identity.
Not yet.
And Bass had no doubt lied to the brotherhood about her. He sure as fuck wouldn’t want them to know he murdered a girl and had us dispose of her body.
So I could keep Lexi relatively safe as long as no one realized she was the mystery girl who knew too much.
If they found out?
We’d both end up six feet under.