Chapter 35
SAGE
Kaiden and I lie together for about thirty minutes before either one of us has the courage to say another word.
To my surprise, he speaks first.
“Are you okay?” he whispers.
I smile at him through the darkness. “I’m fine.”
“We dropped a lot of information on you, then you pushed us away. It’d be okay if you weren’t okay.” His kindness feels wrong, so out of character.
“I’m fine, Kaiden,” I manage to get out without my voice shaking. “I’m tough.”
He chuckles, curling his hands around my waist and down to my ass. “I know you are, baby.”
Silence washes over us again, and after a few minutes, I wrap my legs around his bare waist and shuffle my hips closer to him.
“How often do you sneak into my bedroom?”
He shakes with a laugh, his fingers digging into my ass as he pulls my pussy flush against his growing cock. “Every night for the last week.”
“That sounds exhausting,” I say breathlessly, getting distracted by the feeling of his smooth shaft sliding through my center. “Why do you do it?”
He rolls his hips, putting pressure on my clit. His voice rumbles when he answers me. “Because I can.”
Moaning, I press my eyes closed and focus on the feeling of him rubbing against my wetness. “But why, Kai?”
Pushing his weight against mine, he lays me on my back and fits himself between my legs. I find his dark eyes and stare into them while I wait for his answer.
“I had to make sure no one was enjoying what’s mine.” He kisses down my throat, his hands squeezing my tits.
“Yours,” I repeat, arching my back and wrapping my legs around his waist.
“Again,” he growls as he reaches between us to position his hardening dick at my entrance.
I moan as he slides into me, my hands grabbing his arms. “I’m yours, and you are mine.”
Hips pulling back slowly, he thrusts again, moans escaping his lips that make my pussy throb with pleasure. “Kaiden. Say it... Tell me that you’ll be mine too.”
His hand slides up the side of my face, and I admire the sparkle in his dark eyes as he fucks me slowly and threads his fingers through my hair. “No.”
I grow hot with anger, but his hips speed up between my legs, and his cock hits my G-spot on every thrust. I don’t miss the taunting smile that pulls at his lips as I moan out my pleasure.
Pushing his chest in protest, I try to get him off me, hating that he won’t give me what I want.
But he only chuckles and pins my arms down on the bed.
Leaning his face into my neck, he licks at my skin. “Stop it, Sage. Let me fuck what’s mine.”
I can feel my orgasm burning deep in my belly, and I squeeze every muscle tight to postpone it. I know he feels what I’m doing, because he sits back on his knees and quirks an eyebrow at me before spitting between my legs.
“Don’t fight me, Sage.” He grins, his abs flexing as he continues to move. His fingers seek out my clit, and pleasure spreads from my head to my toes. “I can make you come whether you want to or not.”
Shaking my head, I squeeze around him. “It isn’t fair. You can’t have me if I can’t have you.”
Pounding his hips and lifting me by the waist, he strokes the head of his cock against my G-spot at the same time his fingers rub and press against my clit painfully, then my climax is taking over before I can stop it.
“Fuck you!” I shout, shaking and writhing against the bed as my release wrecks me. A malicious smile transforms his expression, one that sends renewed anger coursing through my veins, and when his own climax begins, he fucks me hard and fast.
Falling on top of me, his mouth finds mine. “I’ll be yours, Sage, but don’t forget that you have no control over me.”
I dig my fingernails into his back until he hisses in pain, and his face presses into my chest as his orgasm peaks, shouting out his pleasure. “Fuck!”
“Yes, I fucking do,” I moan, rolling my hips and curling my back up. “I control your fucking pleasure, Kaiden Thorne, and don’t you forget it.”
His teeth scrape across my neck, and he bites down on my flesh until I’m screaming again, my legs shaking in exhaustion at his sides. When we’re both spent, he collapses on top of me, our chests heaving.
With his cock still inside me, he rolls us to the side and brings my face to his. When I try to pull my hips away, he grabs me and holds me in place. “Stop. I want to stay inside you.”
I sigh in pleasure, humming, “I like you.”
Chuckling, he brushes his nose against mine. “No, you don’t.”
I smile, eyes closing. “You’re a mean, heartless dick, but you’re my mean, heartless dick.”
“You should write greeting cards,” he whispers, laughing softly against my lips before he kisses me.
My whole body turns to bubbles, and I feel like I may float away, because there’s nothing better than the feeling Kaiden gives me when he’s intimate. He’s a different person in the darkness and privacy of my bedroom, after we’ve spent all our energy on each other’s bodies. He’s almost gentle.
Kaiden’s gone when I wake up the next morning, his cum dried between my legs and on my sheets. Groaning, I stand up and wrap my blanket around my naked body and head for the shower.
The thought of washing away the evidence that last night was real makes me feel sad, but I know I have to. I know I can’t go to school with his essence between my legs or his scent on my skin.
It’s the thought of seeing all three boys that has me showering in a hurry.
Last night felt like a turning point for all four of us—even if it was just me and Kai.
I’ve finally accepted that I belong to them, and they belong to me.
And I’m ready to figure out what this life in Blackmore looks like with them.
I get ready for school in the next half hour, then I’m skipping downstairs.
“Morning, Gran,” I sing as I head for the coffeemaker.
She looks up at me over her newspaper. “Good mornin’, darlin’.”
I pour some coffee into a mug, take a big sip, then lean against the counter to look at my grandmother. “Any big plans for today?”
“Goin’ down to city hall and filin’ those papers to change your name, then I have a meetin’ at the church before bingo.” She smiles.
“Always so busy, Little Miss Popular,” I tease, and she laughs.
“Your uncle called for you again. Are you goin’ to speak to him soon?” she asks, her voice suddenly serious.
My stomach churns, though, thinking about the fact that my uncle stood by while my parents killed their friend, and then let them pin it on someone else. Not to mention, he’s been complicit in lying to me for my entire life.
“I don’t know,” I say, because I don’t. It isn’t just that he’s been lying to me; it’s that I thought we were genuinely close before my parents died, and he’s the reason I had to leave my life, my school, my home. “It’s just too much, Gran. I don’t want to deal with it.”
She holds out a hand for me, and I take it so she can run her fingers over my knuckles. “I won’t live forever, darlin’. You need family.”
I shake my head and laugh. “Don’t get dark on me now.”
She squeezes my hand. “Tell me you’ll think about it, Sage. Family’s important.”
Nodding, I smile, trying to reassure her. “I promise I’ll think about it. Now…can I go to school?”
She stands, wrapping her arms around me. “I love you, Sage Grace. I’m glad you came to Blackmore.”
My eyes tingle with moisture, so I blink back the tears. “Me, too, Gran.”
The first half of my day goes by in a blur. Midterms are next week, so every class consists of cramming information into my brain and making sure I’m ready to ace my tests.
After my second class of the day, I find Juliet in the hall, her hood up and her face in a book.
“Boo!” I sneak up behind her, but I don’t manage to frighten her. She just lifts her head slowly and raises an eyebrow at me.
“Was that supposed to scare me?”
I roll my eyes and lean against the lockers. “Yes.”
She shakes her head, but she doesn’t laugh. “You’d have to actually be threatening to scare me.”
I hold my hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, grumpy. What crawled up your ass?”
She sighs, slipping her books into her bag and zipping it shut. “Just a bad day. A bad life.”
My brow furrows. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry about it. You’d never understand.” She throws her backpack over her shoulder before she turns the other way. “I’m gonna skip. See you later.”
“Wait!” I grab her shoulder and pull her back, this whole interaction not feeling right. “Jules, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
Shaking me off, she steps just far enough away that I can’t grab her again. “Believe me, Blackmore, you’re the last person I want to talk to about this.”
My soul feels sad at how she’s treating me, and my face burns with confusion. “Juliet, what the fuck? Did I do something?”
She stares at me for a moment, then she shakes her head and turns away, heading for the exit. I decide to let her this time, not wanting to push her too much, and even though I’m confused beyond belief, I can understand being in a bad mood and taking it out on my friends.
I’ve done it so many times over the last few months. Maybe Juliet’s just having one of those days… Maybe I just need to give her space.
I can’t help feeling rejected and upset, though, as I turn to walk to class, wondering why my one and only friend has turned on me out of nowhere.