Chapter 7
Mila
He ’ s kissing me!
Thump! My heart ’ s still beating; I thought it died from confusion and bliss.
My eyes snap open; I need to see if this is real. His eyes are closed, completely trusting and confident. In this state, he doesn ’ t look as intimidating. My lips part further as his breath mingles and dances with mine.
And it feels… maybe it ’ s the shock that makes it feel like I grabbed a live wire, like my heart has stopped and is being jolted repeatedly.
I feel alive for the first time in years.
His body pushes mine back, hitting the door again, caging, ambushing me in the most delicious heated blanket ever to touch my skin.
More. I want more.
I ’ ve lost it.
He keeps his lips gentle, as if testing uncharted waters, and I ’ m left clinging to his direction as the compass turns due north.
Another moan breaks free. From who I don’t know. His hands find my hair, and they grab my bun, tugging me higher so he can deepen the kiss.
“ I ’ m going to mess you up, Mila,” He seductively predicts between kissing me. He grabs the hair bow holding my hair in place. His eyes close again, lips curving against mine. A hum of satisfaction vibrates up his throat as he sets free my hair, breaking the ideal ballerina bun; it's pure anarchy. The touch of my hair falling down my shoulders makes me sigh.
I kiss him back, swallowing what he gives me, brushing my tongue over his, fighting, swirling, and coaxing it. His taste is surprisingly good, like sweet spearmint and dark chocolate. Bitter, sweet, deceptive, yet safe.
How can that be?
Smooth silk touches my fingertips. When did I grab his hair?
His breath hitches, encouraged by my replies. It scrapes over my cheeks with each exhale, causing a red flush that might be as permanent as a tattoo.
A new hardness nudges the apex of my legs as he grinds his hips against mine. Does he feel the anxiety of being consumed, lost at sea, and swallowed by the storm that these sparks produced?
Kissing Jared just wasn't like this . It was forced. At first, I kissed Jared because I was excited to learn how to. It was like checking off a box. Kiss a guy, check. Make out, check. A guy touched my boob, check. That ’ s all it was: a series of tics.
I thought something might be wrong with me because I didn ’ t feel anything more with Jared. I tried; it wasn ’ t hard at first to let Jared kiss me, for him to slip his hand under my shirt.
As abruptly as it happened, Dash halts it. My breath snags in my throat when I see the gleam in his eyes. The icy blue streaks take over the hazel, smothering all the warmth. It ’ s a volatile mixture of lust, surprise, and something I can ’ t decipher.
Jaw clenched, he grabs my hair, wrapping it around his fist. He presses his hips to mine again. His hard cock nudges and presses against my sex, as if trying to show me what I did to him.
As if I were the beast who caused this reaction.
Another push of his hips into my mind sends heated shocks of pleasure up and down my body, making me tremble.
Why is he watching me like I ’ m prey stuck in a snare? I close my eyes, unable to hold his stare.
This is a dream. This isn ’ t real, right?
I tip my head back as I swallow down a moan as he rolls his hips again! I inhale deeply, ready to feel more pleasure, but then his hips are still. My hungry eyes snap open, and reality smacks me in the face.
What the hell is happening here?
My trembling fingers touch my lips. “ You kissed me.” And I felt it. I felt so much!
Why didn ’ t I feel that way when Jared kissed me? Why stupid body? Why?
The smug psycho grins as he brings his hand to his evil mouth, brushing his thumb over this bottom lip, savoring my taste. “ Clearly.” he gives me a nonchalant shrug.
I gulp as I try to stand taller. “ Why?” I breathlessly ask.
“ I don ’ t know.” He bites his bottom lip as his eyes watch my reaction.“I just felt like it.” He replies in the most honest tone he ’ s spoken so far. I can see the confusion in his eyes mirroring mine.
He chuckles, trying to stop me from seeing what he truly thinks. “ You ’ re so sweet, Mila.” He slumps into a relaxed pose against his crutch. “ Tell me how you survived this long. I want to know your secret.” He purrs so sexily my knees quiver.
I numb myself.
“ Why?” I whisper as I press my fingers against my mouth, my voice echoing slightly in the stark, fluorescent-lit school office. I flatten my palms against the door behind me. Deep in my core is a tightening need that is begging my feet to spring forward and into his arms.
“ Because I need to survive here, and I ’ m one leg down.”
“ You ’ re crazy.” I inch back. My lips still tingle. Is that normal?
“ Says the girl who kissed me back.” He laughs.
“ You…you confused me,” I reply, trying to cling to my shredded modesty.
Eyes lock onto my swollen lips. “ But then I made you see so clearly, didn ’ t I? Tell me you didn ’ t feel exactly what you craved.”
His eyes take on a winning glow. “ Has anyone ever made you feel like that, Mila?”
“ Disgusted?” I challenge him.
He snorts, “ I ’ m guessing not. I made you feel, didn ’ t I?”
My lips press into a thin line, but it ’ s blurred and easily erased. “ What is it you want?”
“ I need you to tell me things I don ’ t know, Mila.” His voice drops to a dangerously low level, as if his very statement is a threat.
It feels like a noose has been knotted around my neck. I can ’ t escape. If I try to move, my neck will snap.
“ Well, here ’ s something you should know! You ’ re insane and need therapy.” I blurt out. I start to smirk but then think wiser. How many times can you pester a deranged king until he snaps?
Dash snickers as if I ’ m his partner in crime. “ Do you always speak so freely? I don ’ t think you do. I think this is the first time. I can see it on your face after you snap. Shock, then satisfaction, closely followed by fear. People who are used to speaking don ’ t show their fear like you do, Mila.” He runs his tongue over his teeth, “ I think I ripped you open, and now you ’ re spilling out into the palms of my hands. I can help you. There ’ s no need to sew yourself shut again.” He raises a brow as if it were a handshake sealing my fate.
“ Breathe, Mila.” He orders me.
I didn ’ t realize I wasn ’ t. My breath rushes out in relief.
Mila. He says my name so differently than anyone else has. It makes my lips part and my heart shudder, which explains my actions because my brain is suffering from a lack of oxygen.
“ Do you always answer your own questions?” I retort, my eyes sizing him up as he leans on his crutch. He doesn ’ t make it look like a walking aid; it ’ s more like a scepter he can swing.
He shrugs. “ Sometimes. Other times, I like to see how people will respond.”
“ So why not let me respond?”
“ You ’ re not ready to be honest with yourself yet, so I ’ ll just be honest with you and reply with the truth.”
My inhale is sharp, like he sucker-punched me. He ’ s so calculating, yet his answers are the truth. I ’ ve been hiding, surviving for so long. My replies are often words that would just please others so they ’ d leave me alone. “ You make it sound like a dissection rather than a conversation.”
He tilts his head, showing off his sharp jawline, as if impressed. “ Isn ’ t it? This isn ’ t a normal school. You and me,” he nudges his head in my direction, “ we ’ re not raised to talk freely. We ’ re predators, and conversations reveal weaknesses, Mila.”
“ I ’ m…I ’ m not a predator.”
“ Yes, you are. If you weren ’ t, you never would have survived in our world this long.”
My next inhale makes me feel…stronger. His words help me somehow. I ’ m eating from a hand that is tainting me, but it’s delicious.
I ’ m not sure I can stop.
“ Not every monster has teeth,” he states, revealing a gleaming white smile that holds an unsettling beauty. “ Some camouflage themselves, hiding effortlessly and blending in so seamlessly you can barely detect them. Is that you, Mila?” Sweat drips down my back. “ Hiding, biding your time till it ’ s the most opportune time to strike?”
Our eyes clash. “ You sound paranoid.”
His eyes roll slowly as his grin grows from ear to wicked ear. “ You see, darling, that ’ s why you shouldn ’ t reply yet. Honesty is the best policy. You and I are going to be friends.” He states with such assurance you ’ d think we had been friends since birth. He rolls his lip in, his eyes finding my mouth again.
My world goes black as I close my eyes. I know of the Kings—everyone does—and I know they are utterly insane. No one messes with the Kings, and I can see why now. They aren ’ t men; they are devils twisting and contorting words into lullabies that lead you right into their arms.
I turn and try to flee, but I feel dazed and confused. He grabs me, spins me, and pins me against a cold, hard filing cabinet. The rise and fall of my chest outruns a stallion.
“ I ’ m going to be very honest, Mila.” My lips part, hoping he will kiss me so his words no longer trick me. “ I ’ m in a bind, and I need your help. You are going to help me.”
“ Screw—”
Before I can finish, he kisses me again. It ’ s hot, forceful, and... oh god, I crave it. It ’ s a dance I ’ ve never preformed before. New and unrehearsed. The opposite of what kissing Jared was like.
I ’ m thrown into choppy waters, given no choice but to swim or sink. I swim, kissing him back like this is a dream I ’ ll wake from and never recall again.
Oh, the misery of the descent into insanity. Who knew it tasted like a silken honey between my lips?
“ Hmm, there ’ s that monster hiding inside of you. She comes out when you kiss me back.”
My body shakes; maybe it is the beast inside of me.
“ Stop this.”
“ Make me,” he mutters as he traps my lip between his teeth.
I don ’ t stop him.
Couldn ’ t if he pressed a gun to my head.
“ Dash,” I pant as I grab his shoulders, my fingers digging deep as I try to shake the fog swirling around me. Oh, he feels good, strong, and so tempting. “ Stop it, please,” I breathe out as I do the opposite and push up on my toes so I can deepen the kiss. Chest to chest until I feel the beating of his heart over mine. My body is set aflame as a new pulse starts between my thighs, a throbbing ache I fear only Dash can soothe.
He pulls away, only allowing me to see his eyes. The ice has melted, and the blue shade retreats, revealing those stunning hazel tones. “ Who ’ s the devil now?” He mutters to himself, lost in the sight of my eyes.
It ’ s just hormones. That ’ s all. Not madness!
There is no such thing as love at first sight.
His hand traces the curves of my body; I tremble in his wake until his fingers caress my breast.
Oh!
His touch is so hot my shirt provides no protection. His lips tugs up when his thumb brushes over my nipple. It hardens in seconds, and then it starts to scream and shout at me as an aching pain fills it. It wants more pressure; it wants Dash ’ s lips around it.
“ Don ’ t be embarrassed by your desires, Mila.” He purrs as if he can hear my inner battles.
“ I…I don ’ t want this.”
“ Really?” A devilish smirk spreads over his beautiful face like an army of ants crawling up my body, tickling me, claiming my skin for their satisfaction, forcing me to stay still so they don ’ t attack.
It ’ s a challenge, one I ’ m about to accept, but as soon as I part my lips, he pinches my nipple. My shriek turns into moans so embarrassingly loud the entire school might have heard it.
“ Kill me I mutter,” My heart is on fire, but my mind is about to die of embarrassment. I hope he kills me because I won't be able to look in the mirror after this, let alone walk around campus.
“ Why would I do that when you ’ re so much fun to keep alive and play with?” He purrs in delight as he holds my breast, massaging it in the palm of his hand.
Why does that feel so fucking good?
“ Oh god!” I moan as my knees tremble, causing me to inch closer to him.
“ You ’ re screams are beautiful.”
“ You ’ re a psycho.”
“ Then pull my hand off your body.”
I glare at his hand with my eyes as if they have the power to remove it from my skin.
Dash chuckles. “ You want me to stop?” He whispers, his tone ’ s deep and husky. He lowers his mouth to my chest, all while keeping my eyes in a chokehold with his. “ Is that what you want?” He taunts me as he parts his lips and then closes them around my nipple.
“ Dash!” I shout, a pleasure-filled gasp, pushing up on my toes in shock, all while arching my back more into his mouth.
“ Mmm,” He swirls his tongue over my shirt, encircling my throbbing nipple like a planet trapped by a dying sun, it ’ s pulled to spin closer and closer until it collides and is devoured, utterly annihilated. I find my body swaying nearer and nearer until no air can pass between us.
What the serious hell is happening right now?
My eyes widen as they dart around the office, but then he bites down, and my thighs squeeze shut, wishing he was between them.
“ I ’ ll stop when you learn how to tell the truth,” He replies, releasing my breast only to claim my mouth again. He shoves his hips against mine, grinding his hardness between my core.
Does kissing stop your neurons from firing, or does it make them over-process? I can ’ t tell if I ’ ve stopped thinking or if I ’ m thinking so much that I can ’ t process anything.
Am I still breathing, or is Dash breathing oxygen into my lungs?
He pulls away suddenly, leaving me gasping and tipping forward onto my toes, wanting more. Hiseyes,intense and expecting,meet mine. “ You will help me, and, in return, I ’ ll help you.”He nodsslowlyas if sealing a pact.
“ Fuck,” I pause to catch my breath, “ you,” I pant as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. I feel like a fool. Why did I kiss him back?
I glance down at my shirt, my nipples poking through, and the imprint of his mouth has dampened the material.
He snickers, a dark, unsettling sound. “ You need help. It ’ s clear. I can help you.” He runs his knuckles over my blushing cheek before he drops his hand. I hastily wipe it away as if his touch burns.
“ What makes you think I need your help?” I snap, my back still pressed against the cold metal of the cabinet.
“ Because I know a trapped and dying creature when I see one.” His voice is soft, almost compassionate, but it chills me to the bone. “ Just because you are a predator doesn ’ t mean you can ’ t be killed, Mila. Consider me the hunter. I can either release you or kill you,” He warns with a charming smirk.
I freeze; his words cut deeper than they should.
“ I can help free you from your life. I can help you do anything you want to do. I ’ m offering you a favor. A favor from a King. You ’ d be a fool not to take it.”
I certainly would.
He ’ s cornered me. If I turn him down, I just made a King my enemy. If I accept, I have to help him.
My heart slows as if I ’ ve been plunged and sunken into deep, frozen depths. He ’ s right. A favor from a King is not just a ticket to freedom but to anything I want.
“ I ’ m not a whore, so define help?” I challenge, meeting his gaze steadily.
“ I wouldn ’ t have kissed you if you were. I ’ m in a situation with my leg. I need help. Discreet help. I need eyes and ears.”
“ And lips?” I sneer.
He snorts, amused, “ You enjoyed it, and something tells me you haven't felt joy in a very long time.”
How does he know that?
“ I enjoyed it too.” He adds. One statement makes my heart feel like it ’ s glowing. He shouldn ’ t be able to hold such a power over me.
“ We help each other. That ’ s all I ’ m asking, and if there are benefits to that help, then so be it. You can suffer alone or suffer along with me,” he looks around the office, “ Either way, we are going to suffer here. There is no escaping that.”
That… sounds doable. I nod slowly.
“ You tell anyone or try to set me up, and I won ’ t just end you; I will destroy your entire family.” He adds so sweetly that you think he was offering me a gift with purchase.
“ I know,” I acknowledge, my voice steadier than I feel. “ You ’ ll help me, offer me anything?”
“ Anything within reason.” His stance relaxes slightly, but his eyes never leave mine.
I narrow my eyes and cross my arms.“Freedom; can you offer that if it ’ s what I want?”
“ Freedom is the simplest gift to give.”
My eyes narrow as suspicion takes root.
“ Take it or leave it.” He adds, looking bored.
I ’ ve never seen an opportunity like this. Even though it feels like a deal with the devil, how can I refuse?
‘ Anything ’ from a King is a lot to turn down. Dash could help me escape my life; he could make me invisible, even to my father.
“ Take it,” I accept, extending my hand. Slowly, he shakes it, his grip firm and cold.
“ I have one question,” I say as I grip his hand tighter and lock eyes with him.
He tugs my hand closer till it brushes against his abs. “ You should have asked before we shook hands. There ’ s no escaping me now, Mila.”
I swallow. “ It doesn ’ t have to do with your deal,” I state as I relax my fingers in his grip. “ How did you know I was so broken?”
Tell me so I can make sure no one else finds out.
He said I was like a trapped and dying animal. It ’ s so true.
His glee fades as his chin tips high. He looks like the devil pondering how he ’ s going to triumph over God, but the distance from the earth to heaven is so vast that it feels incomprehensible.
He swats my hand away like I ’ m Holy water. “ Because I feel the same as you do,” he whispers; a shadow of vulnerability flickers across his face before he hides it with a cruel, cold look that has me second-guessing our newly formed deal.