CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CLOVER
“Why can’t I go back to the dorm? Zane won’t be a problem anymore. You guys made sure of that.” I gratefully grabbed my phone from the bag of things Cash had brought back from my dorm room.
“You’re safer here.” Daire’s tone was short and clipped, leaving no room for argument. “Besides, you belong to us. You should have been here right from the start. Then Zane never would have got his hands on you.”
And he never would have been killed. Even though I knew this wasn’t my fault, I still felt guilty.
I went to the small gray armchair in the living room, plugging my phone into the outlet next to it. “I want to see Raina. You guys can’t keep me from her. She’s my best friend. I need her right now.”
The three of them exchanged a look. They stood around the kitchen island divvying up the Chinese food they’d ordered. My stomach grumbled at the aroma of food. It had been so long since I’d eaten.
“Call her then,” Cash said with a shrug. “She can come over here.”
I gaped at him like he’d grown a fifth limb. “Are you insane? Why the hell would she ever want to step foot in this house again after what you guys did to her? I can meet her somewhere.”
“Not without one of us going with you.” Blaze shook his head. He brought me a plate piled with food, as if that would soften the blow.
I accepted the plate with a nod of thanks. “Absolutely not. I won’t have you guys monitoring my every move. Cut it out with this controlling, possessive shit.”
Daire’s laugh made goosebumps break out on my arms. “Look at you getting a backbone. Took long enough. I like it. I’ve always loved a challenge.”
Shooting him a frown, I picked up my chopsticks and dug into my food. “I’ve learned that being the sweet good girl gets you nowhere. I’m done with that shit.”
I meant it too. I couldn’t pretend to be someone that I wasn’t, but somewhere deep inside I had the spirit of a fighter. I’d allowed everyone to push me around for long enough. It was time to push back.
“Is Raina finally rubbing off on you?” Daire eyed me with curiosity. “Don’t forget how that worked out for her.”
I shot him a vicious glare, letting my inner feelings show on my face for a change. “You carved her up like a fucking turkey. You’re pretty proud of that, huh? Maybe I’m finally done taking everyone’s shit. I’m done being the easygoing pushover.”
Daire and I locked eyes for what felt like way too long. So badly I wanted to tear my gaze away. His green eyes burned with a hunger I felt to the tips of my toes. What did this psycho want from me? To cut me? To see what made me tick on the inside? To kill me?
“Good. It’s about fucking time.” The grin that spread across Daire’s face was filled with intrigue. He loved seeing this side of me.
Feeling uneasy with his obvious excitement, I picked up my phone and called Raina. I had a few missed calls and unanswered messages from her. She was relieved to hear my voice.
“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. Is everything okay?” Her concern made me feel loved. She’d become the sister I never had. I had a brother who was older. We’d never been that close.
“It is now,” I said, wary of the Angels listening to my conversation. “The past twenty-four hours have been pretty messed up. I want to see you, but I’m at the Angel house. Maybe we can talk outside?”
There was a slight pause before Raina said, “No problem. Anything for you, Clover. You know that I can’t go there alone though.”
“I know. I’m sorry. This isn’t a great time for me to go anywhere else.” I cringed hearing my own words.
“Do you mean that they won’t let you?” Her tone hardened.
“Something like that. It’s a long story, Raina. Really. I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
After we ended the call, I slumped in the armchair and sighed. I didn’t care how the Angels felt about it, I was telling her about Zane. All of it. I needed to purge this from myself by sharing it with the one person I trusted.
“Raina is coming here?” Blaze shoved half a spring roll into his mouth.
“Yes, and she’s not coming alone.” Suddenly feeling unable to eat another bite, I stood up and took my plate to the kitchen. “I hope you all can be civil. It’s important for me to speak with her.”
Cash tapped his chopsticks on the edge of his plate. “Sure, we can play nice with the Gods. As long as they don’t start anything.”
“I’m sure it will be a nice, friendly visit,” Daire snickered. “You’re asking a lot here, Angel.”
I cleaned my plate off and stuck it in the nearly overflowing dishwasher. Needing to calm my nerves, I helped myself to the bottle of scotch sitting on the island. “You guys will have to accept that Raina is a big part of my life. Maybe instead of continuing this war with the Gods, you can all come to some kind of peaceful understanding.”
Daire let out a bark of laughter. Pulling up the sleeve of his t-shirt, he nodded to the gnarly scar on his arm and another higher up on his shoulder. “This pretty much guarantees that there will never be peace between us. Gage Corwin fucking stabbed me. There’s no forgiving and forgetting something like that.”
“You carved up his woman with a knife before that happened,” I pointed out, pouring scotch into a glass. When Daire opened his mouth to argue, I cut him off with a raised hand. “Look, it doesn’t matter who did what or who started it. All that matters now is that she’s my best friend, and that’s not changing. If you still want to keep me as your little fuck doll, you’ll have to damn well live with it.”
Daire moved fast. His chopsticks hit his plate with a clatter. Grabbing me by the arm, he spun me around and pasted me up against the wall next to the fridge. My face mashed against the wall, making me yelp. It was all I could do not to drop my drink.
The cold touch of Daire’s knife blade pressed against the side of my neck. His body shoved against mine, holding me in place.
“Careful, Clover. I’m not opposed to carving you up a little. I’ll start with that smart mouth of yours and end with your tight ass.” To emphasize his threat, Daire pushed his hardening cock against my ass, his knife digging into my neck.
After what I’d been through with Zane, I found myself unafraid. Of course I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Daire’s blade. However, I was done rolling over for these guys.
Through clenched teeth I said, “What’s wrong, Daire? Can’t handle a woman who talks back? You want a submissive doll that lays there and takes your abuse?”
Neither Blaze nor Cash came to my defense. Big surprise. They stood there watching, waiting to see how this played out.
Daire fisted a handful of my hair, using it to keep my head pressed against the wall. Slowly he ran the tip of the knife along my neck and down the side of my body. “You don’t want to try me, Little Unicorn. I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“I already regret everything about you,” I blurted. The moment the words left my mouth, I wished I could rewind the last few seconds and keep them inside.
Grabbing my arm, Daire spun me around to face him. Using the tip of his knife, he outlined my upper lip. My entire body quivered.
“Is that so? Tell me then, should we have left you with Zane? Would you prefer to be owned by him? He would have eventually killed you. You know that, don’t you?”
Afraid to speak, my voice came out as a whisper. “So will you when you tire of me.”
Something dark and deadly flashed behind Daire’s eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I guess that all depends on how well you play the game. Now let’s see you get on your knees and beg my forgiveness.”
Holding tight to my hair, Daire guided me down to my knees. He tilted his head to one side, indicating that I should get started. When he started twirling the knife in one hand, I felt my courage fade.
God, I hated him. I doubted there was a man so vile on this planet. All of the Angels were bad news. Daire was the absolute worst.
“I’m sorry, Daire,” I said, not meaning a damn word. “Please forgive me.”
He pretended to consider my fake apology. “I think you can do better than that. Try again.”
“I’m sorry for upsetting you. I shouldn’t have done that. It won’t happen again.” Inside I was fuming. Who the hell did Daire Keller think he was?
Daire stared down at me, enjoying his power trip. I wanted so badly to throw my drink in his face. Cash continued to eat, watching this twisted scenario play out while Blaze tugged a joint from his pocket and a lighter from the other.
“Suck my cock. I want to watch you swallow every drop of my cum.” Amusement played about Daire’s handsome face. His expression was far hotter than it had any right being.
I gaped at him. Raina and the Gods would be here soon. Was he insane?
Of course he was. He didn’t give a shit about anything but reminding me who had the power. I loathed him with every cell in my body.
I took a long drink from my glass before setting it on the floor beside me. Then I reached for Daire’s belt, working it free. I unzipped his jeans, reaching inside his boxer shorts for his thick erection.
The silver piercing through the head of his cock looked like it must have been painful. It said a lot about what kind of man I dealt with. A man willing to stab a needle through his dick was obviously fearless. Maybe he liked it. He probably got off on it.
While all three of them watched, I ran a hand up and down his shaft. After making him wait a minute, I sucked the head into my mouth. His piercing clicked against my teeth as I slid his cock back out, then back in again.
Daire made a low noise of approval. His hold on my hair remained firm.
Refusing to acknowledge him in any way other than the obvious, I sucked him deep. His pleasurable groan felt like a good sign. I bobbed up and down on his shaft, alternating between shallow, teasing motions and deep, fast motions. Everything seemed to be going relatively well. I was hopeful to get him off before Raina arrived.
Daire wasn’t content unless he was in control. Tiring of my technique, he took over. Using his grip on my hair, he pulled my head down on his cock while shoving it deep in my throat. He held it there until my eyes began to water from the lack of oxygen. Only then did he pull back and allow me to breathe.
He didn’t give me much time to recover before doing it again. Over and over he aggressively thrust into my mouth, choking off my breath. Once he got close to finishing, he thrust faster, fucking my mouth with a vicious intensity. As much as I told myself that I hated every second of this, my thighs clenched as wetness gathered between them.
I did my best to breathe through my nose and keep my teeth from scraping his shaft. He didn’t make it easy. He released a hot spurt of cum down my throat, forcing me to swallow. When he’d finished, he stepped back and tucked himself back into his jeans.
“Good girl.” Daire patted my head like I was a dog.
Clutching my glass in one hand, I imagined throwing it in his face. Before I could make a rash move that I would no doubt pay for, the doorbell rang. Raina was here.