Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Vesper
Riya left them as soon as they’d finished washing up after Bellamy set the remnants of the body on fucking fire. Thankfully, Riya’s illusion held until the fire went out, but that didn’t make Vesper any less frustrated. She’d specifically said no fires.
“Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Vesper hissed at Bellamy while she’d scrubbed at the blood coating her arms in the bathroom of one of the buildings. Riya had put an illusion over them all, allowing them to sneak in and clean up before departing.
Now, Riya was gone, and Vesper and Bellamy sniped at each other the entire way back to the trolley station.
Vesper was, understandably, pissed about the blood and the fire.
She knew Bellamy was just jealous and couldn’t let a damn thing go.
She was always like this. It made her a nightmare to deal with whenever they were paired with Riya.
As a result, when they boarded their trolley, Vesper immediately settled on the furthest end from Bellamy and ignored her, opening her book to indicate their talking was finished.
Bellamy sighed loudly. “What? Now that we’re alone you’re not going to do anything?
” Vesper gritted her teeth and turned in her seat so that as much of her was facing away from Bellamy as possible.
Then, Bellamy pulled out her deck of cards, shuffling with more flair than she needed to. The sound grated against Vesper’s ears.
As if she needed yet another reason to be pissed. The cards were a constant reminder of where everything had gone wrong with them. The fact that Bellamy couldn’t fucking let it go told her everything she needed to know. It was truly just a game; Bellamy didn’t care about her.
Bellamy knew what she was doing though. The more she shuffled and fucked with the cards, the more pissed Vesper would be. The easier it would be to manipulate her.
It took fifteen minutes.
Vesper hated the cards. Hated Bellamy.
“Can you do literally anything else besides fucking with those damn cards?” she snapped, throwing her book on the seat and glaring at Bellamy. A slow smile spread across Bellamy’s face, paired with a look Vesper did not like one bit.
“Like you?” Bellamy asked, fluttering her lashes. She wrapped a string around her deck and dropped it on the ground, her eyes never leaving Vesper’s.
A challenge. Vesper had known it was coming. Bellamy tried it every time they were together. They were fucking toxic.
What Vesper hated most about it was that she didn’t always hate it. She’d never been able to find another brat like Bellamy—she met a need that Vesper couldn’t always hit with the whores or her other lays. Vesper had been good last night. When Bel offered, she’d ignored her.
Now, though… Now they were trapped in the small confines of this trolley where neither of them could escape. Vesper knew Bellamy would win this round—they both knew. Especially since she didn’t have a date with Riya to look forward to.
Still, Vesper tried not to make a habit of fucking Bellamy, tried not to make it easy for her either. She didn’t deserve Vesper’s attention. Yet, here she was, fucking giving it to her. Just like Bellamy knew she would. Like always. Because Vesper was fucking weak.
“I know you still want to punish me,” Bellamy whispered. “That’s what you’d rather be doing, right? You only flirted with the illusionist to make me jealous.” She pouted, standing up and sauntering over.
“I want you to be quiet and stop fucking with the cards. And I flirted with Riya because I want to fuck her.”
Bellamy sat on Vesper’s lap, leaning her head back against Vesper’s shoulder. “I think you’re a liar. I don’t think you really want me to shut up either.”
“It’s the only thing I ever want from you,” Vesper ground out, her hands clenched into fists by her thighs.
“Are you sure?” Bellamy asked, pulling Vesper’s hands up to her stomach and spreading her legs. “I think you want to make me suffer.”
Vesper swallowed. Of course she did. That was the problem; she shouldn’t want anything to do with Bellamy. How could she even stand to be around Bellamy, let alone want to fuck her, after she ruined their entire lives? It wasn’t right.
“I can hear you trying to talk yourself out of it,” Bellamy whispered. “You know you want this.”
And fuck, did she ever. It had been a long time since she'd put Bel in her place. Worked out some of her pent up anger. Vesper had been good about not letting Bel win lately.
Why not give in now? Just take what she craved and leave Bellamy frustrated and wanting…
Fuck it.
She pulled her hands free from Bellamy’s grip. Before Bellamy had any time to pout, Vesper was undoing her belt. Bellamy’s breathing hitched, her excitement evident, and it pissed Vesper off even more. She’d fucking lost. She’d always lose to Bellamy, and it fueled her hatred.
Gripping the belt in one hand, she shoved Bellamy off her lap, letting her land hard on her knees. Bellamy bent over without any hesitation. No words needed to be exchanged. Vesper yanked Bel’s pants down around her thighs.
Her pants crinkled and Vesper paused. Bellamy kneeled stock-still, holding her breath.
Vesper knew immediately that she was hiding something.
If she hadn’t already been planning on restraining Bellamy, she certainly would be now.
The belt came down on Bellamy’s ass with a loud thwack, snapping against the bare skin and leaving a bright red welt in its place.
Bellamy whimpered, releasing her breath, relaxing into the pain.
Vesper wasn’t satisfied. She snapped the belt again, hitting the other cheek. The resulting whine was music to her fucking ears, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
“Get up,” Vesper snapped. She sat back and watched as Bellamy turned to her, confused, then stood.
“Off.” Vesper gestured to Bellamy’s pants.
Bel pulled them down, but held onto one pocket in particular.
Vesper narrowed her eyes as Bel delicately stepped out of them.
She raked her gaze over Bellamy’s body before deciding her next move.
She needed Bellamy to relax, to think she hadn’t noticed or cared about whatever the fuck she was hiding in her pocket.
Vesper checked her watch, purposefully leaving Bellamy squirming.
The scent of her arousal flooded her senses and clouded her judgement.
They had thirty-five minutes before the trolley arrived at the station back home.
Setting an alarm, Vesper decided she’d give Bellamy thirty.
She took her time looking Bellamy up and down, studying the swirling dark lines peeking out from under her black shirt and running down her thighs. She hated how good Bellamy looked, how much the tattoos accentuated her curves, how submissive she knew Bel was about to be.
“Lie down,” Vesper ordered when she’d finished, nodding to the bench beside her. As soon as Bellamy was down, Vesper smacked the belt against her thigh. Bel wasn’t prepared this time and she yelped.
“Fuck,” she hissed, her fists clenched in an effort to keep still. Bellamy might be a lot of things, but she wasn’t naive. She knew if she moved, it would only make things worse—and Bellamy had no idea how bad things were about to get. Vesper smiled sadistically—that was the reaction she’d wanted.
She hit Bellamy’s other thigh. This time Bel was ready. The pained cry didn’t come.
Vesper gritted her teeth. “Arms up,” she demanded, shoving one of Bel’s legs off the bench and spreading her wide. She positioned her own clothed thigh against Bellamy’s center. The rough fabric of her cargo pants rubbed against Bellamy, who immediately tried to grind into the sensations.
Vesper snapped the belt across her arm, and Bellamy sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t move,” she ordered, giving her a hard glare.
Bellamy swallowed, freezing in place. Vesper smirked and went to work restraining Bellamy. She tied her arms above her head with the belt, attaching it to the little railing at the end of the bench.
She tugged the belt until it was tight against Bellamy’s wrists. Then, she got up and snatched Bellamy’s pants off the floor.
“What’re you doing?” Bellamy asked, eyes growing wide. Vesper pulled a piece of paper out of the pocket. “Put that back, it's none of your business!” She struggled against her bindings, but they held. Vesper knew they would.
She ignored Bellamy as she read the paper. There were at least twenty names paired with numbers connected to companies from the Voreshi hub they’d just left. Vesper furrowed her brows.
“What the fuck is this?”
“Put it back,” Bellamy pleaded. Fear was written plain on her face. “I need it.”
Vesper crumpled the paper in her fist, her anger peaking. “Are you fucking kidding me,” she hissed. Her magic flared, burning its way through her veins and onto the paper, sparking until it caught fire.
“No!” Bellamy cried, watching in horror. Vesper threw the burning parchment onto the trolley floor and stomped the fire out with her boot.
“You selfish piece of shit,” Vesper growled, advancing on Bellamy. She grabbed her throat and squeezed until she was sure there would be bruises, until Bellamy was gasping for breath. “How much are they paying you?”
“Ves, I—” Bellamy clamped her mouth shut. Vesper eased her hold, but Bellamy’s breathing was rapid and her lip quivered. She had the absolute audacity to look like she might cry. “Untie me.”
“Fuck you,” Vesper snapped, glaring at her. “You’re going to get us killed doing this shit. I don’t fucking care how deep in debt you are, do not risk my life for your bullshit again.”
If their employers found out Bellamy was selling evidence, stealing it off the bodies of their targets for the highest bidder… Fuck, they’d both be dead.
Vesper didn’t think it was possible to hate Bellamy any more than in this moment. Then, Bellamy’s gaze hardened. The scared panicked look she’d given Vesper before glazed over and was replaced with anger.