CHAPTER TWELVE
CLOVER
I was so ready for the weekend. We’d decided to take a break from Paradise. There was a big frat party going on that the guys wanted to attend. Since Raina and the girls were going too, I was all for it.
With music blasting from my phone speaker, I took my time in the bathroom getting ready. I’d been too tired to put much effort into my appearance lately. Time for that to change.
I carefully drew on edgy winged liner, adding rainbow eyeshadow colors for that bright effect I loved. My favorite bright pink lipstick completed my look. Leaving my hair down in gentle waves that brushed my shoulders, I chose a bright teal skater dress with rainbow leg warmers over pink running shoes.
A sigh of relief left me as I took in my appearance. It felt so good to look and feel like me again. When I ventured downstairs to find the guys doing some pregame shots in the kitchen, they all shut right up as I entered.
Blaze waved a finger, motioning for me to spin around. I happily obliged. Their undivided attention felt nice. I ate it right up.
“Looking good tonight, Rainbow,” Blaze said. “You always look phenomenal, but I love it when you’re a walking rainbow. It’s so perfectly you.”
Daire eyed my dress, his lip quirking up on one side. “That skirt is pretty short. I don’t want anyone checking out that gorgeous ass of yours.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start that again, Daire. I’m not changing the dress. You know my ass belongs to you guys. What’s the big deal?”
He tossed back a shot of rum and shrugged. “Have it your way. If I see anyone checking you out, I’ll have to dig their eyes out. Is that what you want?”
Despite his attitude and willingness to get violent, Daire had been pretty chill since we’d killed Brady Rollins. He wasn’t as quick to lose his temper or fly off the handle. I suspected he was trying to stay cool, wary of coming on too strong after everything I’d been through. Maybe he even blamed himself for putting me in harm’s path. While I enjoyed this calmer side of Daire, part of me missed the way he’d snap and pin me to the wall while snarling dark threats. I wasn’t sure what that said about my current headspace.
“Maybe it is what I want.” I flashed him a mischievous smile. “I like it when you’re possessive and crazy. It’s cute.”
Rising to the challenge I’d issued, Daire rounded the kitchen island, stalking toward me. Like he knew what I wanted, he wrapped a hand around my throat and pushed me against the wall next to the fridge.
“Let’s get things straight, Angel. I am not, nor have I ever been, cute. Kittens are cute. Some people think babies are cute. I am not cute. Don’t make me spank your ass before we go. I’ll leave you bruised and raw.”
I smiled up at him, unable to help myself. “You think kittens are cute? I knew you were a big softy deep down inside. That’s precious.”
Daire’s hand tightened, cutting off my breath. “You’re tempting danger, my little sex doll. Do I have to remind you again what I’m capable of?”
A spark in my belly sent a rush through me. I nodded, squeaking out, “Please do.”
Daire leaned in to bite my bottom lip, capturing my lip ring as well. He gave it a tug before releasing me. Using his hold on my throat, he forced me down to my knees.
“You want to test me, Clover? Let’s find out how well that pretty lipstick will stay put after I choke you with my cock. Take it out. Now.” He let go of my neck, plunging his hand into my hair instead. Watching intently while I freed his cock from his jeans, Daire gave my locks a painful tug.
“Jesus, Daire,” Blaze said, pouring another round of shots. “Aren’t we supposed to head out now? I was going to order an Uber.”
“Go ahead.” Daire didn’t once take his eyes off me. “I’m sure this won’t take long. Our Angel wants to awaken my beast. I wouldn’t want to disappoint her.”
He didn’t hesitate, shoving his hard cock between my lips. Holding tight to my hair, he started brutally fucking my mouth. My pussy tingled even though my knees hurt. I didn’t care about that as I tried to breathe around Daire’s thick cock. His piercing clicked against my teeth a few times as he thrust deep in my throat.
Cash and Blaze continued doing shots while watching me on my knees. They each made a few encouraging remarks, telling me to take it like a champ. My pussy throbbed with need when Cash said, “Goddamn, you’re such a good girl, Sunshine.”
“You love being on your knees for me, don’t you, Angel?” Daire pulled my head back so he could peer into my eyes. “I fucking love watching you take my cock in every one of your perfect holes.”
My jaw ached from the force of his thrusts. A trickle of drool began to slip from the corner of my mouth. Daire loved all of it. He moved faster, choking me with his shaft.
“Stick out your tongue,” he commanded. “Don’t you dare spill a drop.”
He pulled out, pumping his shaft with a hand as he shot hot spurts of cum onto my tongue. While he watched, I swallowed all of it.
Taking my arm, Daire pulled me to my feet, bending me over a kitchen stool. His hand disappeared under my skirt. I let out a little moan when he tugged my underwear aside and thrust two fingers inside me.
“Soaking wet,” he mused. “Just as I expected.”
“The car is here,” Blaze interrupted. “We’ve got to go.”
Daire withdrew his fingers, licking them clean. “That’s fine. Clover can wait until I’m good and ready for her to come. Let’s go, Angel.”
My body buzzed with arousal as I gathered my things and prepared to leave. The taste of Daire lingered on my tongue. My lipstick was slightly smeared but nothing short of a quick fix. I got into the Uber still trying to catch my breath.
The frat party was well under way when we arrived. People were all over the front lawn, spilling out the front door. Empty beer bottles littered the walkway as we entered the house.
We entered into a living room packed with students from campus. The scent of marijuana and alcohol permeated the air. Hard rock music pounded through the house. A set of stairs to the left wound up to the second floor. People were sprawled all over those too.
Blaze stopped to talk to a few guys near the door. I knew that Raina would be outside in the backyard. It’s where she always went first at a party. More room to move and better air to breathe.
A keg in the kitchen drew Cash who immediately got involved in doing a beer chug. Ridiculous. Daire caught my hand before I could sneak off in search of Raina.
“Don’t leave my sight,” he said, eyeing those around us like they were all predators. “I mean it.”
“I want to find the girls. They’re probably out back.” I tugged on his hand, dragging him along behind me.
A small porch off the kitchen led to the backdoor. The area was a bottleneck of human traffic as people moved in and out. We were almost to the door when we passed Knight.
“Raina has been looking for you,” he told me. To Daire he said, “Not you though. Don’t disrespect my wife, Daire.”
Daire smirked, shaking his head dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. I won’t say shit to her. Get out of our way.”
“Cut it out, guys,” I admonished, shoving in between the two of them. “We’re all here to have fun. Play nice. For Raina and me.”
Knight’s gaze lingered on me. “Sorry, Clover, but I have no idea what you see in this guy.”
Without another word, he pushed through the crowd into the house. Daire stiffened but he didn’t say a thing. He guided me along until we broke free from the throng.
Outside was so much better. The stifling hot air from inside was gone. I could breathe again. The backyard was an adequate size, providing more room to move than the cramped house. Several people sat around a firepit while almost everyone else had gathered around a makeshift fight ring in the center. This tended to happen a lot at these parties. University guys loved any excuse to throw down.
I spotted Raina, Lyra, and Briar leaning against the back fence. They watched the fight currently taking place with varying expressions of intrigue, curiosity, and disgust. Gage and Havoc kept their distance while staying close enough to keep an eye on Raina.
“Go ahead.” Daire nodded toward the girls. “I’ll grab us a drink.”
“You always look like a rainbow threw up on you, and I love it so much.” Raina pulled me into a hug, almost spilling her drink down my back. “Oops. Sorry.”
I grinned. “Thanks. I think. How are you ladies doing? Are you as ready for the weekend as I am?”
“You have no idea.” With a roll of her eyes, Lyra sipped her drink. “Jet and I had to have dinner with our parents last night. It was his mom’s birthday. Every time my phone buzzed with a message from Ryan, he gave me this look. Like he knew.”
Knowing Jet, he probably did. Since I didn’t want to bring her down, I kept my thought to myself.
“Where is Ryan anyway?” Briar asked, scanning the group of mostly guys gathered around the fight zone. “For that matter, where’s Jet? Isn’t he usually lurking around, ready to pop up and make trouble at a moment’s notice?”
Lyra shrugged. “I haven’t seen Jet today. Hopefully it stays that way. I’m meeting Ryan at the theatre later for a midnight movie.”
“Good. I’m happy for you. You should have someone.” A smile lit up Briar’s face, curving her black lipstick painted lips.
“Sometimes that someone is who you least expect,” I said, watching Daire make his way back with a drink for me. “It’s kind of a mind fuck, although it seems to work out for the best that way.”
Raina’s gaze strayed past me to Daire, and she nodded. “Yeah, a mind fuck is putting it lightly.”
Daire joined us, passing me a drink that smelled strongly like vodka. He nodded a silent greeting to my friends who all mumbled some kind of hello. His close proximity got Gage’s attention. He quickly joined us, not bothering to hide his irritation at finding Daire so close to Raina.
“Give the ladies some space, Keller. They don’t want you hanging around.” Gage moved protectively close to Raina who scoffed.
“Go away, Gage,” she said, giving him a shove. “Actually, both of you guys should go away. We don’t need either of you ruining our vibe. Make yourselves useful. Keep the drinks coming.”
Daire studied Raina with a strange, curious expression. “What’s it going to take to finally lay this shit between us to rest? How about we get in the ring so you can even the score?”
I gaped at him in surprise. So did Raina.
“Get in the ring?” she repeated. “You want me to fight you?”
“I’ll stand there and let you kick my ass in front of everyone. Anything to end this so we can all move on. I can’t go back and change what’s been done, so this seems to be the best solution. Take your vengeance so we can find peace. For Clover.” Daire was dead serious. Ready to get his ass beat in front of the whole party.
Raina glanced uncertainly at me. “Well, it’s no fun if you don’t fight back.”
“Fine. I’ll fight back. Whatever you want. I’ll do anything it takes to make this right.” Daire stared at Raina, determination in the hard set of his jaw.
Gage made a noise of disbelief. “Seriously? What about the scars you left all over her body? A few punches won’t make up for that.”
Daire shocked us further by pulling his knife from a pocket. The same knife he’d used on Raina that night. He held it out for Raina to take. “Here. Do your worst.”
Raina stared at the knife. “Are you sure? This is kind of crazy, even for you, Daire.”
“I’m giving you the knife, aren’t I?” He continued to hold it out for her.
“Do it, Cherry Pie,” Gage said, a wicked light in his blue and hazel eyes. “You deserve this.”
Raina started to reach for the knife handle. Stopping, she turned to me. “What do you think, Clover? Are you okay with this?”
I honestly didn’t know how to feel. Daire’s request had left me blindsided. I knew he was doing this for me. Because he knew how much my friendship with Raina meant to me. Of course I didn’t want to watch my best friend and my lover get physically violent with each other, yet something told me this was the only way. If it would bring this ongoing tension and bad blood to an end, then what choice did we have?
“I think it’s between you and Daire,” I answered honestly. “I understand if you want to do this. I know it won’t take back what happened, but if it helps us all move forward, then maybe it’s for the best.”
Raina made her decision the moment her hand grasped the knife handle. I took a nervous drink from my cup. There were so many ways this could go wrong.
Daire took the first step toward the fight zone. Once he made that move, Raina and Gage followed. Since I couldn’t very well remain at the back of the yard away from the action while my boyfriend and my best friend settled an old score, I forced my feet to move.
Briar muttered something about how insane this was. She wasn’t wrong.