Chapter 22
The sounds of fucking filtered through the wall like water through a sieve, each moan and gasp a drop that pooled in my chest until I was drowning in it.
I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached.
The rhythmic creaking of Cadence's bed frame matched the pounding of my heart, a metronome keeping time with my rising fury.
"Ryder, please!" Her voice, breathless and desperate, cut through me like a knife. I'd heard Cadence scream before, in anger, in fear, but never like this. Never begging, never surrendering. And never for someone else.
I didn’t realise earlier tonight, when I had pulled Cadence into Cole’s room to watch as Ryder blew Cole, that it would create this impact, that it would lead to one of us finally breaking through, one of us finally claiming the woman who had changed our lives so much in the last month.
But part of me hated that it wasn’t me who was there now, it wasn’t me who broke her first.
“Oh god.”
I could tell through the walls that she had already come, Ryder had already brought her screaming once.
My cock hardened painfully against my sweatpants, betraying me even as jealousy burned through my veins like acid.
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes, trying to block out the sounds, but they only grew louder, more insistent.
The wet slap of skin against skin. Ryder's grunts. Cadence's moans.
My imagination painted the scene in vivid detail: Cadence's purple hair splayed across the pillow, her back arching as Ryder drove into her, her blue eyes glazed with pleasure.
Her need racing through her as she begged to be fucked over and over.
But in my mind, it wasn't Ryder above her; it was me.
It was my name falling from her lips, my hands gripping her hips, my cock buried deep inside her.
It was me who was the one she begged, just like I had promised her barely a month before.
When I had made that promise, I had no idea that it would turn into this battle of wills, that she would resist this long.
"Fuck," I growled, my hand unconsciously drifting to the outline of my erection, slipping my hand inside my pants and fisting my cock in time with the movement of the bed, a groan falling from my lips as I imagine how it would feel to have her pussy wrapped around my cock and not my hand.
Fuck. I caught myself, disgusted by my own weakness, and yanked my hand away.
What the hell was wrong with me? This was the plan.
This was what we wanted. Break Cadence, make her submit, secure our place in the Trivium. Simple.
Except it didn't feel simple anymore. It felt like Ryder had won something that should have been mine.
"Mine to protect. Mine to love. I love you, Cade.
I fucking love you." Ryder's words, muffled but unmistakable, were followed by Cadence's scream as she came again.
The sound of it tore through me, leaving me raw and exposed.
Love? What the fuck did Ryder know about love?
He was obsessed, fixated, but love? That wasn't part of the plan.
That wasn't what this was supposed to be about.
And yet, the thought of Ryder claiming that part of Cadence too, her heart, not just her body, made something dark and possessive rear up inside me.
Something that whispered: If anyone's going to break her heart, it should be me.
I couldn't lie here and listen to this anymore. I needed to see for myself what was happening.
I swung my legs off the bed and stalked out of my room, not bothering to disguise my footsteps or my intent.
I didn’t care who saw me. I told myself that I needed to see that it was above board.
That Ryder hadn’t truly fucked us over and let his obsession get the better of him.
That she had really asked him to fuck her.
But really deep down, I just needed to see her, see her eyes shining with the pleasure I wanted to give her.
Ryder's room was bathed in the blue glow of his monitors, the air thick with the scent of arousal.
Cole was already there, sitting in Ryder's desk chair, bare-chested and flushed, one hand shoved down the front of his sweatpants.
His mismatched eyes were fixed on the largest screen, where Cadence and Ryder were tangled together, their bodies moving in perfect, primal rhythm.
His hand worked quickly under his pants as he grunted along like some back alley pervert.
Not that I was much better. One look at the screen was enough to send my boner into a full on raging hard on, throbbing with need for attention.
"Enjoying the show?" I asked, my voice barely hiding the raw bitterness I felt. Cole didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. He withdrew his hand from his pants and wiped it on his thigh, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"He followed the rules," Cole said, his voice rough. "She gave him permission. Asked for it, even." he nodded to one of the boxes at the side of the monitors, “Ryder is recording it as well. So we have proof.”
I moved closer to the screen, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding before me.
Ryder was pounding into Cadence, his bare ass working double time as he snapped his hips forward and backwards over and over.
His back was a patchwork of scratches, among the scars.
Scratches that Cadence was adding to as she clung to him.
Pulled him closer, her face twisted in pleasure.
"Look at her," Cole murmured. "She's fucking glorious.
" She was. Her skin flushed pink with exertion, her hair a wild purple halo around her face, her body moving with a grace that stole my breath.
I'd never seen her like this, uninhibited, passionate, free.
It was mesmerising. And it was killing me that Ryder was the one who had unlocked this side of her.
On the screen, Ryder’s movements became more frantic, causing Cadence to grip at him tighter, dragging her nails across his skin, her cries more desperate.
Ryder sped up but his movements became jerky as they both tumbled over the edge together.
I watched as they collapsed against each other, panting, their bodies slick with sweat.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, Ryder’s face buried in Cadence’s hair.
Then he must have said something, because a sad look crossed Cadence’s face before Ryder moved as he finally detangled from her body.
Ryder moved off the bed from the camera view, and for a moment all there was lying on the bed was Cade, her skin so pale in this camera view, was a beautiful goddess.
Her body moved as she panted from exhaustion and I could see her eyes beginning to close.
Then her eyes snapped open, and she looked around her room before dragging her covers over her to hide her perfect body.
Shortly after Ryder crawled into the bed again, and pulled her against his body, spooning her from behind.
She didn’t resist, didn’t flinch, in fact, I swore she even snuggled further into him as Ryder wrapped his arms around her.
And then, as if he knew we were watching, Ryder looked directly at the camera. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face, and he raised his hand in a small, mocking wave.
"Smug bastard," Cole grunted, but there was a note of admiration in his voice. I turned away, unable to stomach the sight of Ryder's victory any longer. My hands were shaking, my chest tight with an emotion I couldn't, wouldn't, name.
"Where are you going?" Cole called after me as I headed for the door.
"Out," I snapped, not slowing my pace.
I needed to hit something. Hard.
The basement gym was my sanctuary, the one place in Covenant House where I could let go of control without consequences.
The heavy bag swung slightly as I approached, as if it knew what was coming.
I didn't bother with gloves or wraps. I wanted to feel the impact, wanted the pain to ground me, to drown out the echo of Cadence's moans still ringing in my ears.
My first punch landed with a satisfying thud, sending the bag swinging.
I followed it with another, and another, until I was pummelling the bag with all the fury and frustration churning inside me.
Each impact sent a jolt of pain up my arm, but I welcomed it.
Pain was simple. Pain was honest. Pain didn't make you weak, it didn't make you vulnerable.
Not like whatever the fuck I was feeling for Cadence.
The door to the gym opened, and Cole slipped inside, still shirtless, his expression unreadable in the dim light.
He watched me for a moment, then moved to steady the bag as I continued my assault.
"Want to tell me what's going on?" he asked after a few minutes of silence broken only by the sound of my fists hitting leather.
"Nothing's going on," I grunted, landing a particularly vicious hook.
"Bullshit." Cole's voice was calm, measured. "You're acting like Ryder just stole your favourite toy." I stepped back from the bag, breathing hard, sweat dripping down my face.
"This isn't about toys, Cole. This is about the rules. About our future in the Trivium."
"Is it?" Cole raised an eyebrow. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks a lot like jealousy."
"Fuck you," I spat, turning back to the bag. Cole laughed, and I hated knowing that he could see right through my bullshit.
"We haven't won yet," I said between punches. "Ryder might have got her permission, but she hasn't given it to us. The contract isn't complete."
"She will," Cole said with a certainty that made my teeth grind. "You saw her up there. She's breaking. It's only a matter of time." I stopped punching, my chest heaving with exertion.
"And what if it's not enough? What if she gives in to Ryder but not to us? What if-"