Chapter 13 Dredyn
THIRTEEN
DREDYN
Isink lower in the cracked leather chair, legs spread wide as the bass bleeds through someone’s headphones in the next aisle, mixing with the wet choke of a mouth that isn’t Mara’s.
She’s one of the girls I regularly call for a good throat fuck. I’ve got one hand in her hair, just enough to keep her rhythm where I want it.
I should be enjoying this, but honestly, I feel nothing.
Not even the smug satisfaction of exhibitionism.
Her moans vibrate against me and it pisses me off further.
I stare at the spine of some book across the aisle while she gags prettily for the fourth or fifth time—I’ve lost count.
I just keep shoving her head down onto my thick cock.
Every time I close my eyes lately I see her lips twitching in that infuriating almost-smile. The defiance in her eyes is intoxicating, but she’s been avoiding me… for days now. Changing up her routine so she can hopefully evade me. And it’s been fucking working.
I only dragged my ass to the library tonight—with Sloppy McStuffins—because if anyone is going to be at the library it would be Mara Black. I figured maybe I’d spot her. Make her watch while I get my dick sucked.
My cock won’t even twitch unless it’s her mouth I’m imagining wrapped around it. I’m seconds away from calling it off and zipping up when I hear Mara’s laugh.
My body goes still.
“Fuck,” I mutter, shoving the girl. She releases me with a wet pop and a confused yelp. I’m already tucking myself back in and zipping my pants, not even bothering to look at her.
“Wha—D-Dredyn?” she stammers, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes wide and disoriented. “What’s wrong? Did I do something . . . ?”
I’m on my feet before she can finish. “We’re done.”
She sputters an insult after me—something like “Asshole!” under her breath—but I don’t give a damn.
Because through the carved wooden slats of the bookshelf ahead, I see her.
Sitting at a study table with Jasper.
My Jasper.
My brother.
My fucking best friend.
I stride out of the alcove, emerging into the main aisle of the library. Across the room, Mara and Jasper are engrossed in each other. I can’t see Jasper’s face, but I know that easy smile of his is plastered there, probably pleased with himself for coaxing a laugh out of her.
Mara’s lips—those soft, full lips I’ve only seen pressed in annoyance or curved in scorn—are parted in a genuine smile.
They’re only a few paces away now, oblivious to my presence. She’s wearing a simple charcoal-grey sweater that stretches over her delicate shoulders, and black jeans that hug the curves Jasper has no business admiring right now.
The scraping of chair legs against the floor rings out as I grab Jasper by the collar and yank him clean out of his seat.
A grunted exclamation chokes up Jasper’s throat as I haul him up. The wooden chair he was in skitters back with a shrill screech, toppling over. Mara gasps audibly, shooting to her feet in alarm.
In an instant, I’ve got a fistful of Jasper’s shirt and jacket, bunching the fabric at his chest. He’s on his toes from the force of my grip, face flushed with surprise and anger. We stare eye to eye. He’s tall, but I still have a couple inches on him, and right now, I’m using every ounce of it.
“The fuck is your problem, Dredyn?” Jasper signs, regaining his footing enough to shove at my arm. He’s not the type to back down, best friend or not. A few students nearby scatter from their tables, sensing the explosion about to happen.
I barely register Jasper’s words. My blood is roaring. All I can see is his hand, the hand that was just on the back of Mara’s chair, now coming up to push me away—touching me—when only moments ago he was touching her. My grip on his collar tightens.
“You think this is funny?” I snarl through clenched teeth, face inches from his. “Flirting with what’s mine?”
Jasper’s blue eyes widen in shock, then harden into anger.
“What the hell are you talking about?” He twists in my hold and tries to pry my fist off his shirt, but I hold firm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mara beside us, her face pale and eyes huge.
She steps forward, one hand half-raised like she wants to intervene but doesn’t know how.
“Dredyn—” Mara begins, her voice high with alarm, but I can’t look at her. My gaze is locked on Jasper, on the betrayal I want to see in his face.
He plants both hands on my chest and shoves. “Have you lost your damn mind? We’re just studying, man! Back off.”
I stumble back half a step, my grip loosening. “Studying,” I repeat. “That what they call making eyes and giggling like a fucking couple now?”
Mara darts in, putting herself between us with both hands out. “Stop it! Both of you, stop!” She looks from me to Jasper, panic flashing in her blue eyes. “Dredyn, let him go—”
Jasper’s eyes flick to Mara and it ignites me all over again. I lunge forward, slamming Jasper back against the table. Books and papers go flying to the floor. Mara yelps and jumps back to avoid an avalanche of notebooks falling on her.
Jasper reacts instantly, swinging a fist that clips my jaw.
Pain blooms hot on my face, but it barely registers through the adrenaline.
Library be damned, I roar a curse and answer with a right hook, my knuckles crunching against Jasper’s cheekbone.
The satisfying crack and his grunt of pain should have been enough to end it.
Normally, one punch from me puts a guy on his ass.
But Jasper’s not some random opponent; he’s been my sparring partner for years. He recovers and tackles me around the waist, driving me backward into a bookshelf.
The back of my shoulders hit wood and glass, rattling the entire case. I hear the dull thump of heavy books toppling off a shelf above us. A few volumes rain down, one smashing onto the floor by Mara’s feet with a thud. She screams and scrambles away, further out of the danger zone.
Jasper’s fist collides with my ribs, knocking the breath out of me in an oof.
The brief flicker of remorse is swallowed by red rage once more.
I snarl and drive my knee up into Jasper’s gut.
He doubles over with a choking sound. Grabbing the front of his jacket again, I twist and slam him down onto the table.
We’re the center of a full-blown spectacle now—students peering from behind shelves, a librarian shouting something about security from the front desk.
None of it matters. All I see is Jasper struggling beneath me, and the faint smudge of blood now trickling from his split lip.
My best friend, and I want to beat his ass until he never even thinks about touching Mara again.
Jasper, dazed but defiant, grabs a heavy hardcover book from the table and swings it wildly at my head.
The corner of it smacks against my temple; stars explode in my vision.
With a feral growl, I wrench the book from his hand and fling it aside, then land a hard elbow to his jaw.
He hits the table again, harder this time, and slumps off it onto the floor.
I pounce, tackling him to the ground. My knee presses into his chest as I cock back my fist. Jasper’s eyes are unfocused, a thin stream of blood from his nose now streaking across his cheek. He still manages to glare up at me, chest heaving, anger and hurt all over his face.
From somewhere, I hear Mara scream my name: “Dredyn, stop!” Her voice cracks.
Stop? I can’t. I won’t. This is justice. This is right. He crossed a line, he touched what’s mine. He has to pay. My fist crashes down toward his face—
Suddenly, strong arms lock around my biceps from behind, yanking me backward. I’m hauled off Jasper with a force almost equal to my own. I struggle with a snarl, blindly ready to swing at whoever’s pulling me away until a familiar voice grunts in my ear, “Ease up, boss. Ease up!”
It’s Beck. And that’s Knox on my other side, grabbing my left arm. I catch a glimpse of Rook and CJ too, shoving aside onlookers as they muscle in. The cavalry—my OCK brothers. Damn it. They must’ve heard the commotion and come running before campus security could.
“Get the hell off me!” I snap, wrenching against Beck’s hold.
He grimaces, using both arms to restrain my right.
Beck’s a big guy—one of the only people on campus who can match my weightlifting PRs—but even he’s struggling to keep a grip as I thrash.
Knox braces an arm against my chest, trying to push me back.
Jasper coughs, spitting blood onto the polished wood floor.
His lip is split wide, and a bruise is already darkening along his cheek and jaw.
Seeing the damage I’ve done to my friend should maybe make me feel something—shame, regret.
And maybe somewhere, buried under all the adrenaline, those feelings are there.
But they’re drowned out by the still-burning jealousy.
“Calm down, Dre,” Knox hisses.
I jerk my gaze from Jasper to her. Mara’s a few feet away, near an overturned chair, chest heaving, blue eyes wide with horror. She drops to Jasper’s side; one of her hands skims his shoulder.
“You okay?” she whispers.
Jasper spits blood onto the floor and gives a weak nod.
When she finally turns her gaze on me, it’s not fear anymore, it’s fury. “You’re a lunatic. Stay the hell away from me.”
She shoves her notebook into her bag. Beck steps in fast, blocking part of my line of sight like he’s shielding her. “Come on, Mara. Let’s get you out of here,” he mutters, guiding her toward the doors.
“Mara!” I roar, surging forward. Rook wasn’t expecting it; I rip free of his grip, Knox stumbling aside as I lunge. But by the time I break from their hold, Mara has already disappeared through the doors with Beck.
A heavy hand claps down on my shoulder—Rook. “We gotta get out of here, man. Security’s coming.” His words barely register; my eyes are still on that door. Where did she go? Is she crying? Is she—
The group of OCK brothers, Jasper, and I all leave the library and make a hurried exit toward the house.
Jasper signs, “Don’t you ever—” He coughs, wiping more blood from his swollen lip.
“Don’t you ever pull that shit again. She’s not your fucking property.
” He straightens with a wince, one hand pressed to his side where I must’ve landed a knee or kick.
“I don’t know what the hell’s gotten into you. ”
“I—” My throat is dry, the words stuck. I should probably say I’m sorry. But I can’t form it. Apologizing isn’t in my nature.
Instead, I swallow and force out in a gravelly voice, “Don’t touch her again. Don’t even go near her.”
Jasper’s jaw tightens, and he shakes his head in disbelief, giving me one last look of utter disappointment. “You need help, man. Serious help.”
My lip tastes coppery; I lick it and realize it’s busted too. None of it matters, though. All I can taste is bitterness. All I can feel is this yawning pit in my chest where fury is rapidly bleeding out, leaving something hollow and cold in its place.
We get dropped off at the back of the OCK house. Jasper walks ahead stiffly, one arm braced across his ribs. I swear the asshole is milking it. The back porch light flickers once overhead as I follow.
I head straight for the kitchen, grab a water bottle, and press it to the side of my throbbing jaw.
“You both look like shit,” Talon says, leaning in the doorway.
I don’t look at him. “Not in the mood.”
“No shit,” he says, pushing off the wall.
My glare lifts to him. “You got something to say, say it.”
Talon shrugs, all smug amusement. “Just think it’s funny.”
“What?”
“That you went nuclear over a girl you don’t even fucking know.”
That makes me hurl the bottle across the room. It explodes against the wall, water dripping down the cabinets.
The door creaks and Jasper limps in, face swollen, fingers stiff as he signs, “You done beating the shit out of me so I can sit?”
I rake a hand through my hair and growl, “Yeah.”
Jasper eases onto a barstool, wincing. “Didn’t mean to piss you off. She’s been tutoring me for months.”
“You shouldn’t have to apologize, especially not when she isn’t his. Which makes this next part awkward as fuck.”
I narrow my eyes. “Spit it out.”
“She asked me to fake date her,” Talon says, enjoying every second of it. “Daddy issues, Chase Harrington up her ass. She wants a shield for the rest of the election season I guess.”
Jasper slumps forward, signing dryly, “Let me call CJ. He’ll love round two.”
That drags a short, broken laugh out of me. It hurts my ribs to do it.
“She’s PTO royalty,” I snap. “Her brother runs the fucking house. Do you two even realize what will happen if we start fucking with them? The Syndicate gets involved, and they’ll come down on OCK like a hammer.”
Talon smirks. “Bullshit. You’re not worried about the Syndicate. You’re pissed she didn’t ask you. If she’d come crawling to you, you’d already have her spread across your bed.”
My jaw locks. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I do,” Talon says, leaning in, “You’ve been circling her for weeks, barking and snapping at anyone who gets too close. But the second she doesn’t play into your hands, suddenly she’s off-limits. Hypocrite.”
I grit my teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “Well… OCK officers always pick a house girl for the year—that’s how it works. So, I guess it’ll be her.”
“Oh, so now it’s tradition? Cute. You didn’t give a fuck about tradition yesterday, but now it’s your excuse.” Talon shrugs. “Fuck you. She’s mine—my girl. And I’m not sharing.”
I scoff. “So, what, you’re going to play boyfriend with America’s sweetheart? You? Fuck that. If she’s with OCK, then she’s all of ours.”
Jasper’s hands fly sharp and fast. “She’s not a prize. She’s a fucking person.”
“I’m not saying she’s a prize,” I snarl. “I’m saying we can share her.”
“I want nothing to do with this.” Jasper leaves, limping toward the hall. The door swings shut behind him.
“Yeah, you can keep thinking that, but I’m gonna go see my girlfriend since apparently she’s a little shaken up.”