Chapter seventeen Bexley
Chapter seventeen
Bexley
I understand Tai’s words but they don’t quite sink in.
This is not what I was anticipating when Tai and Rylan waltzed through my door. The kissing incident? Maybe. Mayor Astor’s threats? Definitely.
The fire, though? Not even in the slightest.
“Sorry?” I glance between them. “What do you mean?”
I can’t deny that I haven’t thought about that night at least a hundred times.
All I remember is the acceptance that I was going to die before everything started to go hazy and then I blacked out.
When I regained consciousness in the medical center, finding Rylan waiting for me, I had assumed that, like the medical bills, he had something to do with it.
The idea I nearly met my end was far too overwhelming to discuss. So, I ignored the lingering questions, processing as little as possible until I accepted the fact the Willowbrook man had saved me.
Except, I was wrong. Rylan wasn’t the Willowbrook anti-hero when it came to my escape.
Ever since the fire, Hunter had been insufferable, making sure I knew how miserable my existence made him.
It never dawned on me that he could have been the one who pulled me out.
It had taken every ounce of strength to shove him out the window.
It’s perplexing to think he somehow came back in to grab me.
Asshole. I could have pulled a muscle doing that. Maybe I did—I was in so much pain that it’s a possibility. I was just a little distracted by other screaming body parts to pay attention.
“After he escaped, he immediately dived back in to grab you,” Rylan says, face all serious and a little pained.
Tai nods in agreement. “Bastard didn’t even wait for us to have a hold of him. Thankfully, I’m super fast though.”
Rylan scoffs to my right at the jab toward his speed skills. “Anyway, we’re not sure what’s been up his ass lately. We assumed he was battling some suppressed trauma. But after his little confession, I’m starting to think that’s not completely accurate.”
Blowing kissing gestures at me—to, you know, emphasize what they are referring to in case I’ve forgotten—Tai grins. “I gotta know… Who kissed who first?”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “You’re a nosy ass. You know that, right?”
He shrugs. “Yep. But I’m lovable regardless.”
My eyes drift to Rylan. We still haven’t had a chance to talk about… that. Man—can I just deal with one disaster at a time without more crises being tossed at me? I only have two arms to juggle with.
“He kissed me first,” I admit to them. “But I’m not ready for any awkward conversations about this weird dynamic between all of us.”
Rylan’s brows furrow, clearly on the same wavelength as me about our little Lawless Dragons situation. “That’s a discussion for another day. But it’s not important. H said my father paid you a visit.”
I sigh quietly, slumping back into my pillows. “Yep. He’s a charmer,” I mumble sarcastically. “Can I just offer my condolences? ‘Sympathies’ doesn’t quite measure up to the dumpster fire it must be having to deal with that man.”
“He certainly keeps things interesting.”
Tai lays on his stomach facing me, resting his chin on his knuckles. “Come on—tell us all the details. It must be good if it broke Hunter and he felt the need to smooch you. Or were you rambling so he had to shut you up?”
“I’ll shut you up,” I threaten playfully. “Hard to talk when your face is smothered by pussy.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Tai shoots back. “Or better yet—You sit, Rylan listens. I think we can handle multitasking.”
I laugh while simultaneously cringing. “No offence, but I don’t think I’d be able to come on your face while talking about Mayor Astor. Not even if you had three tongues.”
“Three tongues, you say?” Tai wiggles his eyebrows at Rylan.
Rolling his eyes, Ry reaches behind me and grabs a pillow, launching it at Tai’s head. “This idiot’s comments aside, fill us in on what my father had to say. Bearing in mind I’m about three seconds away from storming into his office and ripping his head from his shoulders.”
I shuffle closer to him, cupping his hand. “It’s a trap and you know it. All we can do is call his bluff and watch each other’s backs,” I say, before diving into the specific details of Max’s warning.
When I get to the part about my father, the guys fall quiet, somber looks on their faces.
It just about kills me to be honest. This is what I always fear.
The pity.
I don’t need to be reminded that it’s messed up. I keep trying to put it out of my mind, but the fact he’s so close, living a whole new life without me is heart breaking.
After everything I went through when Mom died, I don’t know if I can ever forgive him. You divorce partners, not kids.
I needed him. But I was forced to go through it alone, struggling with the crushing weight of grief and burdens I never should have had to face.
If there was even a slight chance I might have welcomed him back into my life, he’s made sure that’s gone.
We all agree to hold off confronting Max for now, and for a brief moment, I think I’ve gotten away unscathed from the other thing. But, of course, Tai circles back, kicking his legs like a giddy child.
“So…” He grins. “What are you going to do about Hunter now?”
Standing at the entrance of the black doors, my eyes scan the front of the house slowly.
This is perhaps the worst idea in the entire history of bad ideas.
The answer to Tai’s question came from a not-so gentle push from him and Rylan. Apparently, all of their fathers were out at some stupid charity thing.
After Hunter had filled them in on the situation, he’d told them he was going back home to blow off steam. I should have realized that even though I’m not the subject of their devious plots, I can still be entangled in them.
Which is why I was basically kidnapped and dropped off in front of Hunter’s house with the code to get inside.
He’s going to murder me. I hope it eats at Rylan and Tai’s conscience. It would serve them right for throwing me into the snake pit.
Great—my place of death is going to be in Dean Lannister’s house. How embarrassing.
Letting out a shaky breath, I count to five before punching in the code before I can chicken out. The guys have assured me that the place will be empty except for Hunter, but still, I enter slowly, casing out the joint.
Classical music booms from upstairs and double checking there’s no bodies around, I start climbing the steps, following the sound. Creeping on my tiptoes down the hallway, it leads me to a room at the end of the house, the door wide open as sunlight beams brightly inside.
I hide outside the door, sneaking a slow glance inside in case the Dean is lurking around.
Even with his back to the door, I relax—only slightly—at Hunter’s frame. My breath hitches as I take in the sight in front of me, as it dawns on me that the classical music is coming from Hunter himself.
Sitting at a large grand piano facing a wall of glass windows, Hunter’s hands shoot across the keys rapidly, creating a sad melody.
My feet move on their own accord, drawn to the music and Hunter. There’s something about the way he plays so beautifully that makes me curious. At the same time, my heart hurts listening to the powerful melancholic notes, wondering if he’s feeling as fucked up as I do.
I walk around the side of the piano into his line of vision. If he’s surprised by my appearance, he doesn’t show it, hands still flawlessly moving uninterrupted as he locks eyes with me.
Hunter keeps playing, eyes watching me intensely. I move forward, resting my elbows on the cool, black lid.
His fingers start to slow, the rhythm fading and growing softer. “What are you doing here, Bexley?” he asks in a curious, guarded tone.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were the one who pulled me from the fire?”
Hunter’s lips twitch into a small smile, still playing a slow beat. “Would it have mattered?”
“Of course it would,” I answer. “It just doesn’t explain why you’ve been so hostile.”
He laughs dryly. “Are you sure about that?” He questions. “You’re a smart woman. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
Clenching my jaw, annoyance fills me when he looks away, arrogantly falling silent. I wait for him to elaborate or talk, but he just continues playing, gaining speed and volume again to drown me out.
Narrowing my eyes, I hoist myself up on top of the piano lid, crawling until I’m in front of him so he has to face me. Swinging my legs on either side of him, Hunter has no choice but to pause as I restrict his ability to reach the keys.
“Bexley,” he says with a warning. “Don’t.”
“Why did you kiss me?” I demand, locking my legs against his arms.
Hunter’s eyes burn into mine. “Duchess,” he cautions, this time with a low growl.
I press harder. “You could have let me die, Hunter. But you didn’t. You could have left me alone to spiral last night, but you didn’t.”
He places a hand above my knee, squeezing. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Bullshit,” I murmur heatedly. “You can lie to yourself, Hunter. But you can’t lie to me.”
I’m suddenly ripped forward when Hunter firmly grabs my leg. My ass hits the keys and his body presses into mine, caging me in.
“Stop asking questions, Bexley. Because once you find out the answer, there’s no going back,” he murmurs low, our faces inches apart.
I don’t back down, matching his fiery stare. “We’re already past that, Hunter. We were past that the moment we burned together.”
His eyes darken for a split second before his lips crash into mine.
My back collides with the edge of the piano but I’m too preoccupied with his mouth to care about the pain.
I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer, letting out a soft throaty moan when his erection rubs against my lower abdomen.
Hunter snakes an arm around my back, lifting me up onto the top of the piano. He shoves a hand against my chest, the force sending me backwards until I’m laying down.
Those skilled fingers make swift work on the buttons of my shorts, the air being sucked out of my chest as my bare ass hits the hard wood.
I have just enough time to push up onto my elbows to search for him, when my legs are tossed over his shoulders. My heart starts pounding rapidly at the sight of his heated green eyes locked on me while he lowers his mouth to my cunt.
“Fuck, Hunter,” I moan, head falling back when he makes contact. His tongue darts forward, the tip flicking at my clit before he sucks it into his mouth.
Pleasure builds in my abdomen, much like the crescendo of his music, and when his fingers slide into my heat and start stroking my g-spot with expert precision, the intensity of my climax steals my breath.
Shit. Magical fingers, indeed.
I’m still trying to figure out how to breathe again when he grabs my knees, yanking me forward across the piano back into his chest.
My eyes widen when his cock presses against me, Hunter running it teasingly along my slit. I have no idea how the hell he’s so fast. But complaints? Zero.
“I’m serious, Duchess,” he says in a gravelly, carnal whisper. “The moment I put my cock inside of you, it’s game over. Last chance to back out.”
I throw him a smug smile. “When have I ever backed down from one of your challenges, Hunter?”
His eyes flash before he spears forward into me, a cry spilling from my lips as my body wraps around his thick length.
My moans are muffled when he grabs me by the throat and jerks me forward to bring our mouths together.
I grab the edge of the piano with my palms, clawing desperately for some kind of leverage as Hunter squeezes my neck while thrusting into me. Stars creep into my vision as my lungs burn for oxygen but the only thing that matters is that he doesn’t stop.
“Look at me,” Hunter demands, hand tightening around my throat.
I open my eyes, pussy clenching around his length at the smoldering intensity staring back at me.
Silently I beg him for more, eyes pleading. Hunter drags me forward with his grip, fucking me harder and deeper. Balancing me on the edge of the keys, he slips his other hand between our connected bodies, pinching my clit.
“Don’t you dare come until I say so,” he says, the tip of his finger circling the sensitive spot. “This is mine now. I own your pleasure and your pain.”
I’m rapidly spiraling toward the edge, on the cusp of descending into oblivion—both consciousness and climatic bliss. I want to fight back, to argue, but the hand around my throat keeps me silent.
Letting go of the piano, knowing this will surely be my downfall, I place one hand on his shoulder and the other around his throat.
It’s a weird sensation of déjà vu, a full circle moment from the last time we did this in the warehouse. Hunter growls, letting go of my neck to snatch my wrist in his grasp. He smashes his lips to mine in a suffocating kiss, hissing into my mouth when my nails dig hard into his shoulder.
I rip my head backwards, heated eyes finding his. “Fuck you, Lannister. You are my pain and pleasure. And I’ll come when I damn well want.”
My back is forced into an arch as Hunter slams my head into the piano lid, pinning me down by my throat as his arm snakes around to support my lower back.
“Yeah?” He taunts. “No one else will ever make you come like this again. Remember that when you’re screaming my name, Bexley.”
He sends me crashing over the edge with a precise piercing thrust, waves of dark bliss rolling through me. Somewhere in the haze, I’m partially annoyed that I’m crying out his name, mind foggy as stars explode in my eyes.
The pressure on my neck lifts and I gasp, violently sucking in air as my vision starts to return with vibrant clarity making my body tremble. Hunter lets out a carnal growl, my own name spilling from his mouth, before the two of us crash into the floor in a tangled heap, bodies giving out.
Our heavy breathing takes over the silence, filling the void from the absence of the piano. Hunter turns his head to look at me, little beads of sweat clinging to his forehead and eyes still heavy with need.
“You have your answer now, Bexley. There’s no going back because from this moment on, you’re mine.”