20. Chapter 20 - Roux
Chapter 20
I was going to kill him, and after I was finished with that Irish Ricci bastard, I was going to punish Rin for letting that man touch her. How dare she let that filth lay a hand on her, let alone take his limping ass to the fraternity house, the one we’d told her to stay away from.
My fists clenched so hard my nails made bloody crescents in my palm, but I didn't feel a thing because all of my attention was on my woman with another man's arm around her.
My woman.
I didn’t care if I hadn't touched her; she was still mine just as much as she was Rion’s or Ravi’s. My brothers were doing a bang-up job making their fantasies a reality, but I knew that this could come crashing down fast if we made a wrong move or showed our hand too early. They’d been giving me shit, telling me I was being an idiot, but I was doing what I thought was best. The more interest I showed in her, the more likely others would notice. We not only had to deal with Foedus, but also our uncle. For years, he’d been looking for a weakness to have absolute control over us.
Rion said our uncle was overseas taking care of a lucrative relationship, so by the time he got wind of her, we would be powerful enough to take him on. I, on the other hand, was not so optimistic.
The only saving grace was our uncle had jobs lined up for me, which meant his attention was more on me than them. He didn't like it when we weren’t busy; he liked Foedus thinking that the Ambros clan had secret members carrying out plans they didn’t know about. It gave him power, and that was all he cared about.
As long as we followed his orders, we got to do what we wanted without the weight of his constant stare, but if we brought on the eyes of other members, drew more attention to us than there should be, he would come down here himself and hammer this life into pieces, killing everything in his path. I didn't want Layrin to get caught in the crossfire.
So instead of jumping out of the shadows and tearing Elio limb from limb, I let him have his moment to bask in Rin’s rays. Let him think they’d had some special moment with whatever happened that made him a little baby bird for her to care for.
I watched his limping ass flirt with her outside the house before he went in, and when Luca ran back out to her, mumbling something, he looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. Like he might try to take her from us.
That would never happen. We would tear down the whole Ricci house, person by person, making every family member pay for their sins in blood. Envisioning that crimson liquid running down my hands, feeling the hot spray when I hit the right artery, squeezing the life out of each and every one of them... All of it would bring me to my happy place.
Stop it, Roux. Don’t lead with the slaughter when the lambs need to be convicted first.
I couldn't kill the Ricci family yet, but I could definitely get some of these burning questions off my chest. Rin was going to regret the day she fucked with this Ambros brother.
My phone beeped. I was sure it was my brothers checking in for an update, but I didn't have time for that. I put it on silent and slunk behind Rin, following her closely. I needed to talk to her one-on-one, and an idea popped into my head.
She was heading to her next class, so I cut her off the back way, settling myself in the dark stairwell she would have to pass in order to get to the Art History building. When she came into view, I creeped up behind her and snatched her up. Hand over her mouth to prevent her yells from calling people, I tightened my grip on her kicking legs.
I would be lying if I said I didn't get turned on by it, having her completely captured, my wiggling prey desperately fighting to break free. The defiance in her eyes would be delicious to devour, but I had questions that needed answering first.
Kicking on the door that led to the inside stairwell, I took her down to the under level, the place where some students stored their bikes or smoked weed, and threw her a few feet away from me. She stumbled, tripping over her feet, and my arm reached out to catch her on instinct. I quickly pulled back, feeling like my body had just betrayed me. I always felt like this around her—pissed off yet still wanting to care for her and make sure she was safe. It was annoying.
“What the fuc—” Her eyes flew open before her fists clenched and her body grew taut. “What the fuck is the meaning of this, Roux?”
My voice echoed when I bellowed, “Why the fuck were you all touchy feely with Elio Ricci? Huh?” A pounding in my ears started to drum.
Stepping up, I got in her face. “Why the fuck was his arm around yours?” I grabbed her by the throat, pushing her back up against the concrete wall. Her eyes took me by surprise when they looked at me dead on, not flinching once.
Leaning in, I whispered in her ear, “You think you can get away with fucking us over?” My vision clouded, and a violent whirlpool filled my soul, making everything seem more wrong, more on edge.
Not expecting what happened next, she glared up at me, the defiance in her eyes sparkling. I wanted to pluck them out of her head and jar them so I could bask in them forever. That was until she kneed the inside of my thigh, causing me to lose my balance for a second. That was all she needed to scoot on by.
I got lucky when my fingers grazed her backpack. I yanked her back before she could let it go. Circling my arms around her, I trapped both her wrists with one hand, keeping them pressed to her torso, and cuffed her neck with my other hand.
Lowering my lips to the back of her ear, I murmured, “I'm going to ask you one last time. Why were you with Elio?”
She kicked at me, but I kept firm in my stance even when she rasped, full of attitude, “You already know, fucker. We met at the library to work on our project.”
My fingertips grew tighter, wanting nothing more than to drag her into the corner and rut into her like an animal, but I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I was better than that. That voice inside of my head laughed. Yeah right. Better. You're hilarious.
“That doesn’t explain, Layrin, why his fucking hand was on your shoulder! Why he was touching you like you have some kind of pull to each other!” I knew it came out a little psycho, yelling at my captive like that, but I was also having fun. My insides churned and my blood pumped so fast I thought it was its own being. I hadn’t felt this alive in a long time.
“No, you know what? After I tell you, you're going to give me a goddamn apology, you hear me, Roux?”
I growled in her ear, letting her know I was listening. She continued, and her voice trembled, but in anger, not fear. “I went to that fucking weird ass place you all call a library to meet up with Elio.” My arms tightened, and she threw her head back.
“Fuck! That hurt like a bitch! That is not like the movies!” she yelled when I groaned from the pain. The delicious ache brought my brain back online.
“Continue.”
She huffed, wiggling again when she barked, “Not like this! I don’t want you squeezing me to death every time I mention him.”
I had to admit that seemed fair, but that didn't mean I had to make it easy for her. I set her down and twirled her to face me, snagging her hands and lifting them above her head against the concrete wall. Two steps forward closed the distance between our faces. Her delicious sweet breath filled my nostrils. “Better?”
Those gray eyes took on the shade of a newly forged blade, ready to cut me where I stood. I swore if she didn’t stop being so defiant, I was going to take her in this dirty stairwell.
She exhaled, still glaring at me when she continued. “Like I said, we met up to talk about the project. We even came up with an outline. It's in my bag if you need proof.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn't care about schoolwork. That was all just a cover-up for what we were really doing here anyway.
“It was when me and…” My hands unintentionally tightened on her wrists, and although her breath hitched, those silver-bladed eyes stayed the same. “When we split up to do research, it all went to shit.”
Her expression and relaxed body told me she was telling the truth, so I eased up just a fraction, interested in what she had to say. She looked off to the side like she was picturing the situation again. “It was weird. That place was dark and gloomy from the beginning, but there was a certain point when my instincts told me something was up. I just wasn't fast enough.”
My heart began to pound, realizing something really did happen, and maybe, just maybe , she wasn’t fucking around with Elio behind our backs. “I heard the thuds first, not understanding what was going on, then Elio called out my name. When the first book hit the space next to me, I knew I was too late. The shelf was tipping over. That was when Elio appeared, shielding me with his body and taking the brunt of not only the falling books but the shelf itself.”
For the first time in a long time, my insides curled up and I felt like I was about to puke. My mind flashed with a picture of Rin’s body underneath one of those abnormally heavy bookshelves, her face bloody, body broken, and her eyes shut in an eternal way. I looked away from her, needing to catch my breath.
“He told me to go, to get to safety, but I couldn't leave him there like that. I crawled out and put my back to the bookshelf, trying to get it off him. Finally, some guy came running and helped get it off. I offered to take him to the nurse’s office, but he asked me to take him to the house because they had their own doctor. That was it.”
Her story had my mind on overload. What the fuck just happened? Why did someone try to hurt Layrin? Was it Foedus? Was it the Riccis?
Shaking my head, I knew it wasn't the Riccis. Not because they weren't capable of some shady, backhanded stuff like putting one of their own in danger to get a target, but it was the look on Luca’s face. He was truly worried about Elio. It wasn't them, but if it wasn't them, did Foedus know? Was it just some freak accident?
I was lost in my thoughts, trying to figure it all out, when her snappy voice came out. “And why the hell do you care? It's not like you want me like that, anyway.”
My neck ratcheted back toward her, focusing on her like nothing else existed. It took all my effort and control to say, “Don’t talk about something you know nothing about.”
Her jaw clenched, her eyes cold, hard, as her chin lifted. “Know nothing about? You want to know what I know?”
Her face transformed into an angry mask. “I know that you keep your distance from me. Whether it's from fear or loathing, I don't know. I know that you keep to yourself when it's just me and you in a room. I know that you make up excuses all day every day to avoid me. I see you glare at your brothers like you're disappointed in them. Whether it’s about them dating me or about them just being with me, I don't know. But do you want to know what I really see beneath all that anger and disgust?”
My muscles clenched, my body vibrating with emotions I’d been keeping locked away. They were threatening to come to the surface, to spill over.
She stuck her head out as far as she could, getting in my face as she spat her venomous words. “I see your need, your lust . You may not like it, but you fucking want me. You. Want. Me.”
My eyes tracked her every move. Her tongue came out, swiping along her lips, and all I heard was a voice in my head telling me to take it. To show her just how wrong and right she was. I didn't hate her. I didn't look at her with disgust. I hated that she was all I thought about. I hated that I couldn't get her out of my head, out of my skin.
All these years of waiting, so you would think I’d be over her by now, but no, that only made it all worse.
The waiting, the anticipation. I was the hunter waiting for the right moment, but right now, the fucking leopard had jumped out in the middle of the night and bit down on me hard.
My body betrayed me when my dick rose to attention, and I rubbed it against her. Her eyes widened, then she let out a gasp. The dark obsession I kept deep down came out in full force, shoving me to the side so it could look down at its darkest desire. I shot forward to bite her shoulder.
She cried out in pain, but I moved one of my hands to her center, rubbing against her fabric-covered clit until her cries took on a different throaty tune. Her body pushed further in my hand, and the beast inside me purred.
Placing my lips on her neck, I breathed, “You think you know everything? I’m trying to save you, trying to help you, but you know what? It's tiring.” Running my nose along the column of her neck, I took in that sweet, pungent scent of hers, sucking it down like a smoothie. I moved my face right in front of her, taking in her half-lidded eyes and rapid breaths, then set my forehead on hers. “I think it's about time I take what’s mine, right? Because, don’t get confused, when we say you’re ours, that includes me as well.”
She hissed when I yanked her leggings down to her knees, still not giving her free range of motion. Never taking my eyes off hers, I watched them widen when my fingers slid between her thighs. I was engrossed when those silver blades filled with hunger as I slid my fingers back and forth between her clit and hole. I devoured her gasp with my mouth when I plunged those fingers inside of her, not being soft or gentle in the slightest.
She wanted to know what it was like to be with me? Well, she was going to find out now. I hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
Her moans were luscious and rich, her body begging me for more, pushing at the restraints. She was exquisite, all bound up and at my mercy. The way her reddish-brown locks fluttered against her face as she exhaled... How her eyes lit up when I got rough then grew needy when I backed off... She was an arrangement of carnal expressions, and I was eating it up like she was breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Unable to handle it anymore, I removed my hand despite her whining. It was music to my ears. I unzipped my pants with one hand, and we both looked down when my cock sprang out. I was so worked up, so hard, my tip was already leaking precum. Her pants grew heady, and she licked her lips.
“Fuck, Roux.”
Palming myself, I let loose a sinister chuckle. “Rin, I’m going to fuck you so hard and fast your head is going to spin.” I leaned over, spearing my cock between her thighs, rubbing the head against her clit. “But even if you beg, I won’t quit. I’m going to rock this body into a new plane of existence. I’m going to show you the world that dances between pleasure and pain. I hope you're ready, baby.”
She moaned before she clenched her teeth, glaring at me. “Bring it on, Roux. I’m tougher than I look.”
I actually believed her. At that moment, she had never spoken something more true, and that excited me.
When I released her hands, she cried out as she lowered them. Only giving her a moment's reprieve, I turned her around and smacked her ass. She mewled, jerking from the sting but not backing away. The red handprint that marked her gorgeous, plump ass had me panting, and I felt like I needed to give her a reward.
Shoving my hands up her shirt, I yanked the cup of her bra down and pinched her nipple. She rested her head on the cold concrete wall and gulped down a breath while I reached my other hand behind her to plunge two fingers into her center. She let out a silent scream into the air, puffing out a moan at the end while I worked both ends of her. Her body began to tremble when I switched between plucking her nipples and kneading her breasts.
“Oh, fuck. Fuck. Roux .” The words were spoken in a plea, and since this was our first time, I decided to take it easy on her.
Positioning myself at her entrance, I called out in the darkness as my last string of sanity left. “You wanted this. Remember that.”
In her own act of defiance, she pushed her ass into me, causing the head of my cock to enter just slightly. This one act broke out the demon inside of me. I grabbed her arms, pulling them behind her before I speared her pussy in one thrust.
This time, that silent scream was vibrant and loud, echoing against the walls, and I bathed in her pain and pleasure for only a second before the onslaught started.
Feverishly pounding into her, I yanked her arms back so hard her spine bent into this beautiful curve that I could get lost in. It was so sensual, so breathtaking, that I wanted a sculptor to make a piece with just this curvature, something that only I would be able to savor when I looked at it.
My hips thrust in and out so hard her whole body jerked, but I kept my hands on her wrists, gripping the reins, never letting her go.
Her once full, loud pants began to break apart, becoming shallow and quick. I gave her not even a moment to breathe or think, only allowing her to feel what I was doing to her.
The wet sounds of our joining began to grow louder and louder, with her enjoying everything I was doing. Her reactions were so perfect, so seamless, that I got lost in her. Watching her. Feeling her.
It wasn't until she clamped down on my cock so hard I wasn't able to move that I could feel her power, her pure unadulterated pleasure taking over her body and making it glow. Her guttural wail pierced my dark soul with light, shocking my system as she gushed all over my cock.
The obsessive being inside of me surged forward, wanting to catch that light and hoard it. I grabbed her neck, bringing her back to my front as I rutted into her like my life depended on it, fucking every inch of her orgasm out until I exploded inside of her. I released everything that I had until I was left with no more.
Both of us slumped against the wall. My hand was still around her throat, but instead of it cuffing her, trapping her, it was tethering me to her, connecting us in not only desire, but heartfelt care.
What the fuck has she done to me?