Chapter 24
24
KILLIAN
S he’s quiet when she comes down from the meeting, and I stop walking as soon as we leave the tower.
“What’s up?”
Wind gusts, blowing her hair. When her phone buzzes, she glances down and frowns. A minute later, my own phone dings. When I check it, it’s a message from Owen Malenus with a QR code, suggesting I escort Raine to a party.
“What happened in the meeting?” Keeping my voice low takes work.
Raine rarely gets upset with anyone except me. Also, she went into the meeting happy and excited, and now she’s not. For some reason, I dislike that even more than seeing her excitement at working with her idol.
“He’s just not what I expected.”
“Did he proposition you? Flirt?”
“No, nothing like that.”
She says no, but she could be lying for the obvious reasons.
“Then what?”
“Which way is the car?” Her gaze swivels from side to side and then stares off in the direction of the river.
“ What happened at the meeting?” My voice is louder now, overpowering the wind by a lot.
Her attention turns back toward me. “He wants me to spy for him. Fraternity guys will be more likely to show their true colors in front of a teenage girl than a famous director.” After a beat, she shakes her head. “I’m not even sure I should’ve said that. I signed a non-disclosure agreement about my work on the film.”
“That agreement doesn’t apply to me.” I take out my phone and send Malenus a text.
Killian: Thanks for ticket. I’ll go.
Malenus: Great.
I guide Raine to the Corvette, but once we’re on the road, I take a detour.
“Why are we going north?”
I’m surprised she noticed. “You need a dress for the Beta party.”
She rubs her forehead. “I can launder the red dress.”
“No, red’s not a good color for a spy mission.”
Her gaze slides to me. “Do you find this funny?”
“Not really. Wanna skip the party? Say the word, and we will.” When she’s silent, I add, “Do you want out of the film apprenticeship altogether? If you do, I’ll convince him to help you go back to your regular schedule.”
“Do you know how badly that would reflect on me? Blowing off a major opportunity without explanation? No. There’s no way I would do that.” She sighs. “I need to shake this off. It’s still going to be a great chance to see a lot of industry professionals at work.”
“Okay. By the way, Malenus sent me an invite, so I can escort you to this party.”
“How did he get your number? We never even mentioned your last name. ”
I shrug. “The guy’s got juice.”
“You know…” She licks her lips. “I’d been thinking of taking another girl with me, but I honestly don’t want to. It sounds like the Beta fraternity brothers are sharks.” Her small fingers rub the side of her neck. “If you’re there, at least I won’t have to worry about getting hurt, since I’ll be bringing my own Great White.”
Raine lets me buy her a strapless light blue dress without protest, which is progress, too. People buying things for each other is what couples do. I’ve seen it.
When she comes out of the bathroom in the dress, she’s got her hair up except for a few loose strands. It’s how she had it on the night she stabbed me. I liked it then, and I like it now.
The dress looks good on her, too. Simple, straight lines. A tube of fabric on top, a horizontal gap in the middle where her smooth skin shows, then the long skirt. It’s sleek and makes her look taller.
I’m wearing a navy blue designer suit that was custom tailored. One of the two new suits I bought for work. There are times when suits are called for on the job. Might as well look good in them, I was told.
When we emerge from the back of the house, Jamie, who’s on the black couch, looks us over. “Yeah, that’s grand. Want a picture, mate?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation, opening the camera on my phone and handing it to him.
I have thousands of pictures of Raine, but only six that I’m in with her. In the past, I had no interest in being in the pictures of her. Why would I want to take up space in the frame when she was the thing I wanted to look at? Now, though, it’s operational. Taking pictures together is a couples thing. I’m two for two.
Raine pastes a smile on her face because it’s what’s expected. She always does what’s expected. I don’t smile, at least not on the outside.
Jamie frowns at the picture. “She looks gorgeous. You look like you’re taking a mugshot. Want another?”
I take the phone, glance at the picture, and let the corner of my mouth curve into a small smile. “Nah, it’s perfect. ”
“Those Beta guys can be pricks, mate. Should you decide a fight’s in order, make sure you text so I can join in.”
Raine pauses and asks in surprise, “You’ve had a run in with someone from Beta House?”
“Indeed,” Jamie says, dropping back onto the couch on his back.
“They wanted you to come to their party,” Raine says.
“Did they now? Likely planning an ambush.”
An ambush? That means Jamie’s cover as a student hasn’t been blown. Unlike mine, since Wilson knew me.
“Anyone you want me to give a message to? Doesn’t need to be a fight. People trip,” I say with a casual shrug.
Jamie’s bright white smile appears. “Didn’t know you cared, mate.”
I wait.
He runs a hand through his golden hair. “Not tonight. Wouldn’t want to ruin the date.”
“It’s not a date,” Raine says hastily.
“Sure, course not,” Jamie says easily. “You look good together, nonetheless.”
With that, I put her coat on her and escort her out to the car.
Once we’re both inside, she asks, “Do you think they really would’ve ambushed him if he’d gone?”
“No idea.” My hand shifts the car into gear.
“Maybe we should skip the party. I could make up an excuse.”
“Why?”
“There will be a lot of them. Maybe too many for even you to handle.”
My mouth curves into a not-small smile. “Are you worried about me? Or just worried what will happen to you if I’m out of commission?”
“I guess… both.”
I slide my hand over to her thigh and squeeze. “If they try to start something, it’ll be the most fun I’ve had all day.”
“You’re not worried they could have a plan in place that would work against one lone guy?”
“If they manage to take me down, I’ll deserve it. ”
“You’re that confident?” There’s no skepticism in her voice. In fact, she sounds reassured.
Sometimes, I forget about fear. From what I can tell, ordinary people experience a lot of it. Most of the time, I don’t feel much of anything, so I like the excitement that comes from a fight or the threat of one.
Now that I’m trained, it’s even less likely that I’ll lose a physical confrontation, so in most cases I can’t even get excited by the idea of a fight. I need to be right in one to feel the buzz.
The only exception to my enjoyment of bloody combat is when I think it’ll cost me the one thing I don’t like to lose… access to her.
Since she’s inclined to dislike these Beta assholes, I can fight with them as brutally as I want. But only if they start it. Raine doesn’t like when I’m the instigator.
RAINE
For some reason, I expected it to be a small party. Within the Tudor Revival brick-and-stone house, there are at least eighty people.
The young men of Beta House don’t look like monsters. They’re dressed in suits because they’re celebrating the founding of their charter. Staff dressed in navy and white circulate with trays of food and champagne. I film some features of the house and the party, but not specifically for Owen. It’s just beautiful and belongs on camera.
After a glass of champagne and plenty of delicious food, I’ve relaxed into the party spirit. I chat with as many people as I can, letting them direct the conversation. Almost everyone asks where I’m from and what I’m studying. No one mentions Casanova or the dark times last year.
Killian stays within my orbit. At school dances, he tended to remain seated at his table or stood in the shadows, leaning against the wall and watching. Here, he stands closer and his eyes follow me .
When I go to him with my mouth tingling from champagne, I say, “Thank you for being here tonight.”
“You’re welcome.” His arm slides around me and pulls me against his side.
“Would you like to dance?” I’m certain he’ll say no, but he surprises me by taking my hand and leading me into the crowd.
My sense of rhythm isn’t terrible, but it’s not the best, either. Which is frustrating since I love old musicals and would like to direct a modern one someday. I’d have to have an amazing composer, choreographer, and cast for that to work out.
Despite feeling a little out of my comfort zone, I like dancing with Killian. He’s smooth and doesn’t seem bothered when I sway the wrong way and he has to pull me back into position.
He smells like men’s cologne and cigarette smoke, and I want to taste his skin. Will he taste different here? He feels the same. Strong. Overpowering. But also more . I can dance and drink and wander into dark rooms. No one will hurt me. Because I carry my own darkness wherever I go. And its name is Killian.
My toes step on his foot, making a mark on his expensive shoe. “Sorry,” I murmur. “I like dancing, but I’m not great at it. Want to stop?”
“No.” His grip tightens on my waist.
In turn, I tighten my hold around his back and put my head against him, concentrating on the way we move together.
When I finally stop, it’s because I don’t care for the change in music. My hand touches the side of his handsome face. “I’m done.” As we leave the area, I look up at him. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
Mmm. That’s the best answer. Strands of my hair fall down over my cheekbones. With a heavy breath, I try to blow them away.
“Someone said you visit prostitutes. Regularly.” My eyes lock with his.
“While you were avoiding me, I fucked a few women. I’ve paid for sex, in special circumstances. Total number of times, three. Is that regularly? ”
“No,” I scoff. “Three times is not regular. What were the special circumstances?”
“I was hanging out in a group, and we ended up in a place where there were pretty women who specialized in certain things the other guys wanted.”
“War and Jamie?”
“No comment.”
“Did you like it?”
“It was all right. The women weren’t really my type.”
The memory surfaces of his ordering me to stay naked even while in the living room. He has fantasies. Most assuredly dark ones. “What is your type?”
“You.”
“Me, huh?” That makes my buzzed brain smile. “Me, even though… I don’t specialize in anything wild?”
“You specialize in… being you.”
“Yes. We all specialize in that,” I say with a wink. Outwardly, I’m making light of things, but my insides are melting.
As someone shakes Killian’s hand and congratulates him on being on the rowing team, I overhear a pair of guys talking about an after party at the Lambda Delta house.
“We should probably go,” I say softly when we’re alone again. “I’m supposed to be working but I haven’t been.” Blowing a tendril of hair out of my face, I tilt my head. “Unless you want to go home?”
Killian leans close. “What I want is to fuck you.”
My eyes widen.
“Afterward, we can do whatever you want.” His hand catches my wrist and pulls me away from the party and out a door.
“Where are we?” I whisper.
“On the side of the house.” His hands lift my skirt, and I grab his wrists to slow him down.
“Outside a frat house?” I murmur. “Should we?”
Despite my grip on them, his hands continue to rise until the fabric of my dress is bunched around my waist.
“Hold your dress,” he says, but I don’t.
When he lets go, the fabric falls onto his forearms as he’s pulling my underwear down. He lowers himself far enough to take each of my feet out of the panties. He shoves them in a pocket as he stands. This time when he yanks the dress up, his voice is rough.
“Better get your dress out of my way, Raine, or I’ll tear it off and you can wear nothing but my suit jacket back to the car.”
I draw in a startled breath. “That’s not happening.” But deep down, my insides knot in anticipation.
“It could.” He shoves the dress into my hands.
My fingers clutch the fabric in a shaky grip. “No. And I’m not sure?—”
Ignoring my protest, he takes his cock out and rolls a condom onto it. Then he grabs and lifts me. “Legs around my waist,” he orders.
I obey.
The brick scratches me as he pins me against the wall, and I grimace. “Ow.”
“Hang on.”
When his cock pushes into me, I sink my teeth into my lip. In this position, he feels excruciatingly big. And also, really good. Grabbing his shoulders, I try to hold on.
“Fuck, yes,” he growls in my ear. “Your pussy’s all soft and wet. See? You don’t care if I’m rough. When it’s me, you like being used.”
I do, actually, but I don’t admit it. Instead, I shudder and hold on tighter.
He moves his arm behind me to protect me from the rough wall, then resumes. His thrusts are nothing short of a collision inside me. I whimper and grind against him. This is raw and painful and at the same time, so erotic my clit burns with need.
Pleasure and pain tangle together until they’re all I can think about. My groans get louder as he fucks me harder.
“I’m close,” I rasp.
He pins me and rocks his hips back and forth so he’s pressing right against my clit. I scream as I come undone.
The orgasm is fierce, and my lower body spasms uncontrollably. Killian returns to pounding into me until he comes, too.
When he finally sets me on my feet, my legs shake, and I almost crumple to the ground. His arm catches me and holds me against him. I drop my dress so I can hold his forearms to steady myself.
“Is that how you used them?” I whisper.
“What?” He knots the condom and tosses it on the ground before putting his cock away and zipping his trousers.
“The women you guys hired? Was it so you could screw them roughly against a wall?”
That’s really none of my business. Except that we’re acting like a couple, which makes his sex life my concern. The same way he’s always acted like mine is his.