21. Hawthorn
Her peachy-colored hair is resting against my chest, her tits heaving up and down as she pants, her body damp with sweat, soft and pliant against me.
Mine.
The word settles into my core and calms me. I hadn’t realized how desperate I was for some claim on her, some sense of ownership, until now. She kissed me, right there in front of her sister and half the fucking school. She. Kissed. Me. I told her I needed her to choose, to give herself to me without me telling her to do it, and that’s what she did. She made herself mine with a very public display of affection that I doubt I’ll ever forget.
The last five days have been hell, but I was determined to give her the space to make the decision to give herself to me on her own. I know I could have railroaded her into being mine and giving me as much control as I wanted to take, but that’s what her parents did, and I refuse to be like them.
“I like the new look,” I tell her, sweeping her hair away from her face so I can see her.
“Thanks.” She giggles sweetly, and I love the way it sounds on her. Happy and young.
“When I told you to take some time to think, I didn’t expect you to disappear for five days. Where were you?” I ask, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.
Pulling away from me, she sits up and turns to face me, not trying to hide her nakedness. “In my hotel room, sulking and moping.”
A laugh falls from my lips, and I sit up, resting my back against the arm of the couch. “Yeah?”
“Yep. Then yesterday I got really angry.”
“At what?” I ask.
“Everything. Me, my great-grandfather, my mom and dad. You.”
“Me?”
“Yeah you.” Closing her eyes, she pulls in a slow breath. “I like you, Hawthorn, and that scares the hell out of me. When I asked you to take my virginity, it was supposed to be simple. You wanted to be in control, and I was fine with that, and we agreed it was a one-time thing, but then you changed the rules. Once the will was broken, you were supposed to go back to hating me and I was supposed to live my life knowing that I was a monster. But then there was the darkroom and my hotel, and bit by bit, you invaded my life. You make me feel weird and warm, and I have no idea what to do with that, and I’m mad at you because I was content to exist in my bubble of shame, and you wouldn’t let me.”
“I’m not going to apologize,” I say, smiling, as I reach out and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I don’t expect you to. But you need to take off the rose-tinted glasses and stop pretending that I’m this misunderstood damsel in distress. I’m not. I’m the villain, and yes, I have messed up, evil parents, but that doesn’t excuse what I did. I know you like my…” She rolls her eyes. “Princess side, but I don’t know that side of me, if it exists at all. I’m a bitch, Hawthorn, and not because my mom told me to be, just because that’s who I am.”
Laughing lightly, I nod. “I know you’re a bitch, Princess,” I say, tweaking her nipple between my finger and thumb. “And I don’t care. You can be as bitchy as you like, to whoever you want, except me and your sister. She doesn’t deserve it, and I won’t allow it.”
“You won’t allow it?” she asks, arching an eyebrow at me.
“Nope,” I say, launching myself forward and pushing her back down against the couch, caging her in with my arms and pinning her body in place, my hard dick grinding against her wet pussy. “I’ll fuck the bitchiness out of you.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she purrs.
“It will when I don’t let you come, pushing you to the edge over and over and never letting you fall off,” I growl, grinding my hips and letting just the head of my dick push into her.
Her legs lift, wrapping around my back, and she digs her heels into my ass, urging me deeper, but I don’t move, giving her only the shallowest of thrusts, teasing her.
“Hawthorn,” she whines, lifting her hips up.
“I think you forgot how this works. I’m in control.”
“So be in control, I’m yours,” she says, her words so much more impactful than the blasé way she just offered them.
“Say it again,” I growl.
Her beautiful blue eyes blink up at me, her lips parting slightly as they curve into a grin. “I’m yours,” she whispers.
I slam home, filling her in one hard thrust and claiming her completely, my lips taking hers as I seal her words with a kiss. By the time we peel ourselves free of each other, it’s lunchtime, and we’ve missed all our morning classes. Her hair is messy, her makeup is smudged, but she’s never looked sexier to me.
* * *
“What are we going to tell my sister?” she asks, her fingers entwined with mine as we sneak out of the darkroom and into the empty hallway.
“That we’re together.”
“Are we?” she asks, sounding like she genuinely isn’t sure.
Dragging her to me, I cup her face with my hands and roll my eyes. “Yes, Penelope, we’re together. You’re mine, and I’m yours. Boyfriend and girlfriend, a couple, or whatever else you want to call us. Okay?”
Her cheeks heat, and she dips her chin, like she’s too embarrassed to look at me. “Okay,” she says, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as I tuck her under my arm and guide her toward the cafeteria.
“We thought you’d skipped,” Davis says, his grin wide as he wiggles his eyebrows salaciously.
“Nope, we’re still here,” I say, leaning forward and slugging him in the shoulder without releasing my hold on Penelope.
“Ow.” He laughs, rubbing at his shoulder, before turning his calculating eyes on the girl clinging to my side.
She tenses, and I can feel her bracing for whatever he’s going to say.
His eyes rake over my girl’s sexy, rumpled hair and uniform. “Well, well, well, Penelope, are you deeming us worthy enough to sit with, now that you’re sucking Hawthorn’s dick?”
A coldness radiates through me as my muscles tense and I ready myself to beat the living shit out of my friend.
Scoffing coldly, she untangles herself from my side and saunters sexily toward him. “Davis,” she purrs.
“What’s up, boo? Sloppy seconds aren’t normally my style, but I’m liking this new sex kitten look you’ve got going, so I’ll make an exception and let you take a ride on my cock next,” he sneers.
Her heels click along the floor as she closes the distance between them. I feel myself tense as she reaches out and rests her perfectly manicured hand against his chest. Lifting her chin, she looks up at him and sighs breathily, then leans into him until her lips are an inch from his cheek and whispers just loud enough for me to hear, “Go fuck yourself,” a second before she snaps her knee up and drives it into his balls.
A startled laugh falls from my lips when Davis crumples to a heap at her feet. I still want to beat the shit out of him for talking to my girl the way he just did, but my balls clench up in sympathy at the pain I know he must be in right now. Turning on her heel, my Princess walks straight back into my arms, and I feel the tremor running through her stiff muscles as she curls herself around me, pressing her face into my shoulder.
“Did you just knee Davis in the balls? What did he do?” Izzy asks, arriving at our side with Gulliver’s arm curled around her neck possessively.
“He deserved it,” Penelope says quickly, tightening her hold on me.
“I have no doubt,” Izzy says, shrugging it off with a laugh.
“What the fuck is going on with you guys?” Gulliver asks, his expression suspicious as he looks between me and Penelope, who is clinging to me as her earlier confidence starts to wane.
“Let’s skip the rest of the day and we can go back to The Escape,” I suggest, looking down at Princess, who nods her agreement. Unable to resist touching her, I lift her chin and press my lips against hers.
Penelope rides with me, while the others follow in Gulliver’s car. I can feel the tension radiating off her as we drive the familiar route to the marina, but her mask has fallen back into place, and her expression is stoically calm. “Are you okay?” I ask, reaching over to lay my hand on her thigh.
“Kind of,” she says, turning to look at me with panic-filled eyes.
“Do you want to tell me what has you freaking out? Is it Davis? Because he’s an asshole, but after you nailed him in the balls, I doubt he’ll speak to you like that again. If he does, I’ll make sure he knows to keep his mouth shut unless he wants me to break his jaw so he’s forced to get it wired closed.”
“No, it’s not Davis, although I’d sort of forgotten how much Gulliver and the others hate me. But no, I had this big plan to march into school and talk to my sister…but then you were there and I kissed you and then we…you know, and you stole all my sass and now I don’t think I can do what I planned to do,” she garbles, talking so quickly I can barely keep up.
“I’m not sorry about the kissing and fucking,” I confess, arching an eyebrow at her and smiling.
Pursing her lips, she laughs lightly, fighting the smile that tries to spread over her mouth. Grabbing her chin, I turn her to face me, urging her to lean over the center console. When she does as I silently demand, I turn my chin and press a quick kiss to her lips before focusing on the road again.
“What did you plan to do?” I ask, wanting to keep her talking.
“Something that seemed like a good idea last night when I was full of bravado, getting my hair dyed, drinking martinis, and eating ice cream. But it all feels a bit stupid now.”
“Tell me, I’m sure it’s not stupid,” I coax, sliding my hand up her thigh until it’s resting an inch from her damp, cum-soaked panties.
“I was going to apologize, and then I was going to ask for help,” she says quietly.
“Princess, that doesn’t sound stupid at all.”
“It will when I tell you what I wanted help with.”
My chest tightens and worry builds inside of me. What the hell could she need help with? If it’s leaving, she can forget it. I’m not letting her go anywhere, not now that she’s officially mine. Fuck, I hope it’s not help with classes. Izzy would probably say yes, but Gulliver will lose his mind. We’ll be at the marina in a matter of minutes, but I can’t wait that long. “What did you need help with?”
Turning to look at her, I’m struck by how fucking beautiful she is. Before, she was gorgeous in a polished, classy way, but with the new hair and edgier makeup, combined with the post-sex rumpled look, she’s fucking stunning, and for the first time when I look at her, I don’t have a single doubt that she is meant to be mine.
“Princess,” I prompt. “What did you need help with?”
When her lips part, she says a single word. “Revenge.”