Chapter twenty-three
Bexley
I stare at him in disbelief, mouth agape. “Bullshit,” I whisper, voice cracking. “You’re just saying that because of last week. If it didn’t happen, if the fire didn’t happen, you’d feel differently.”
Hunter’s eyes flare angrily. “Stop putting shit into my mouth,” he snaps. “You don’t know how I feel.”
“I know well enough if the fire never happened, you’d still hate me.”
“Maybe,” he agrees, shrugging. “But that’s irrelevant because we’re here now.”
I shake my head, looking away. “Sometimes it’s not enough, Hunter. Maybe we’re just a lost cause—too much shit from the past to move forward or something.”
Falling back into my seat, I refuse to look at him… because I’m breaking my own heart here. I didn’t mean to let things get this out of control. But I guess I’m holding on to more resentment than I realized. And now I’ve said things I can’t take back.
What if I can’t separate him from his father? What if I always resort back to these thoughts every time we have an argument? Let’s face it—there will always be fights. It’s who we are.
Where the hell do we go from here? I don’t hate him anymore… but I can’t see a way forward when these men will always be in the shadows or haunted by their fathers. I’ll never be safe. Never be sure.
Hunter doesn’t say anything, but I can see the confusion and alarm on his face through my peripheral vision.
The others will be here shortly and it’s going to be nothing short of awkward. Ry can always tell when something is bothering me, and the moment I don’t react to one of Tai’s jokes, he’s usually on my case too.
I don’t want the three of them to gang up on me, to try to force me to open up and expose my vulnerability.
If this turns into some three-v-one fight, I’m going to damage all the healing we’ve done, especially when Arch rocks up and ultimately takes my side when he’s ambushed into it.
Any prospect of a new budding friendship between them will be out the window and we’ll be back to square one.
“Bexley,” Hunter starts. “Talk to me.”
I ignore him stubbornly, not acknowledging his request. I see the frustration and determination flash across his face as he leans forward.
“Seriously? I can handle this,” he mumbles, tone slightly amused. “But sure—I’ll play.”
My lips purse as I resist the urge to answer. Abby would have a field day with this. Wasn’t she the one that said Aquarians were stubborn? At least I’m living up to my name and reputation.
Hunter strums his fingers on the table, gaze unwavering as my eyes stay locked on a nearby bookshelf. The entire library is empty except for us and that worries me a little. We’re on the verge of playing real life Clue at this point.
Who killed Hunter Lannister with the dagger in the library? Miss. Bexley.
The tapping of his fingers starts to make my eye twitch. The tap, tap, tap grows annoyingly louder, obviously deliberate, but I stand my ground.
I’m just beginning to compose myself and drone out the noise when suddenly Hunter pushes his chair back. Just as I think he’s had enough and is leaving, he unexpectedly ducks under the table out of sight.
My head snaps back to his empty chair, bewildered, as I confirm he’s disappeared. You know… just in case I’m hallucinating in my madness.
I swear I not only hear the saxophones growing louder but also the Jaws theme song building when hands grab the tops of my knees out of nowhere.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, doing my best to sound angry and not startled… and failing miserably.
“Shut up.”
A curse is on the tip of my tongue, ready to be unleashed at him, when his tongue drags up my inner thigh. A strangled choke rips from my throat, legs flailing in surprise.
It gives him the perfect opportunity to overpower me, shoving them further apart until I feel his hot breath against the apex of my thighs. Fingers tug at my underwear, yanking them to the side and then I’m gone—his lips encasing my clit and sucking it into his mouth.
Shit. What was I mad about again?
I can’t remember as my head falls back, body sinking against the chair. Hunter feasts on my pussy, tongue lashing anywhere it can reach while his arm snakes around my leg. Fingers dig into my skin painfully, holding me still as an explosion of color starts flashing in my vision.
Soft fingertips draw lazy patterns on my outer lips, teasing me until slowly, he pushes a finger inside.
Reaching under the table, I feel for his head, gripping his hair in my fist as Hunter pumps his finger in and out of my body while his tongue focuses on my clit.
He sucks again, my hips bucking into his face despite his tight grasp on me.
I hear a quiet groan of surprise and approval when I fist his head harder against me, effectively suffocating the poor guy.
“Hunter,” I moan huskily. “Right there. Don’t stop.”
Not that I’ve given him much choice with my death grip, but he holds his pace perfectly, lapping and pumping simultaneously until I’m exploding on his face, name tumbling from my lips.
I’m still trying to catch my breath, panting softly when I realize I still have him smooshed into my crotch. I quickly release him, listening to the shuffle on the carpet until a disheveled Hunter pops up on the other side of the table.
“Did the factory reset work?” He asks playfully. “Or do I need to fuck you through a bookcase? I’m open to suggestions.”
Everything is still a little hazy, vision swimming as I lock eyes on him. “Your father is a fucking psychopath,” I mumble, out of breath.
Hunter sits back on the chair. “Tell me something I don’t know,” he replies, sounding annoyed at the mention of his sperm worm. “Is that what has you in a mood?”
“I am not in a mood.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Fuck you.”
“I just said I would,” he shoots back. “I have no issue bending you over this table and fucking your sweet little cunt so hard that you feel me for the next three days. But hey—it’d probably get Ry and Tai here faster. Like a Bat signal or alarm for their dicks.”
I blink slowly, baffled and a little turned on at the idea of the two of them walking in and finding me riding Hunter’s cock. The only thing that stops me from ferally launching myself across the table at him is knowing I might inflict irreparable trauma on poor Archer.
“I got dragged into your father’s office,” I finally say, feeling somewhat disgusted at talking about him after having one of the best orgasms of my life. “Your house staff are noisy assholes. Though… I guess that’s my fault for being loud.”
Hunter frowns, the corners of his mouth dipping downwards. “He knows?”
“Yep,” I sigh. “And he decided to remind me just how much you despised me.”
“He mentioned the warehouse.”
I nod, unable to elaborate. Hot, angry tears burn in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. He doesn’t deserve to make me cry. Fuck him with a paperweight.
Hunter leans back, crestfallen. “Don’t let him get to you, Bexley. I’ll deal with him.”
“That’s the thing, Hunter. It’s not just him—it’s all of your fathers. It’s a never ending battle dealing with them.”
He nods slowly, mouth opening and closing as the library door opens and Tai’s booming laugh echoes around the room.
“That idiot nearly pissed himself when he saw me. I’ve never seen someone scamper away like a drunk octopus. Legs shouldn’t flex that way. Oh, hey! Bex, I have the funniest story to tell you.”
Tai throws himself into the seat next to me, leaning over to kiss my cheek. I smile at him then turn to see Ry, baby blues scanning my face knowingly as he hovers next to the table.
“What happened?” he asks without hesitation, eyes locked on me.
“My father,” Hunter answers. “Apparently inspired by Max and decided to drag Bexley into his office.”
Tai stiffens next to me. “He did what? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I murmur awkwardly. “He just got under my skin a bit.”
Ry’s eyes harden, like he’s contemplating questioning the shit out of me. But he must read my pleading expression, slipping into the empty seat next to Hunter instead.
“Maybe this will help cheer you up,” he says, reaching down to dig into his bag. “I did some snooping in the beloved mayor’s office. Found some blueprints.” He pulls out a roll of paper, removing the elastic band.
The library door opens again and I glance over, giving Arch and Parker a small wave.
“I ran into Parker after class,” Arch tells me casually as they reach the table. “Figured he should come too.”
I nod. “Pull up a chair. Ry has some news.”
We scan over the blueprints as Ry talks us through what we are looking at. The blueprints of Ridgeview Valley and Cedar Heights academy look like a jumbled mess to me, but as his finger directs me to certain lines, it starts to make sense.
“These are the tunnels,” he informs everyone, tracing the line to the center of town. “Unmarked but clearly visible if you know to look for them.”
Arch’s eyebrows furrow. “Unmarked? That’s not suspicious at all.”
“Almost as if they are deliberately trying to hide them,” Parker grumbles. “Surprise, surprise.”
Ry nods slowly. “Here’s the best part.” He digs into his bag, retrieving a second blueprint. I wait as he unrolls it, laying it over the top of the first. “This blueprint was drawn up five years ago, around the time they were talking about doing maintenance on that stupid crater.”
My eyes dart across the collection of lines and markings as I try to find my bearings. “Where are they on this one? Which building is Cedar Heights?”
He glances over at Hunter knowingly, tapping a section. “This is Cedar.”
“The tunnels aren’t there,” Hunter interjects suddenly. “It’s just standard pipelines.”
“What?” I mumble quickly, leaning forward to get a closer inspection. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Hunter answers.
Tai lifts the edge of the blueprint. “When was the other blueprint drawn up? The one with the tunnels.”
“Twelve months ago,” Rylan replies. “Well before the fire.”
I stiffen, glancing over at Arch. “Wait—weren’t they doing improvements at Cedar around that time? I remember your dad had to postpone your summer vacation because he was called in for work.”
“Shit, that’s right. He was assisting with building reports, checking the structural integrity before the improvements commenced.”
“Improvements?” Tai asks slowly. “What kind of improvements?”
Leaning back, I try to remember. It was all very basic stuff, nothing of significance. I had completely forgotten about it, since most of the work happened over summer break. Nothing was noticeable when I returned for senior year, other than we were told minor work had been done.
“It was just state funded repairs,” I tell him. “Minor stuff like fresh coats of paint, repairing cracks—that kind of thing.”
“Or that’s what they wanted you to believe,” Hunter points out. “Minor work to cover up the installation of random tunnels.”
Parker scowls. “And they used them to start the fire. Why now, though? They have been there for months by the look of this.”
“It could have taken longer to extend them,” Ry answers. “But they needed you out of the way and an excuse to connect them to Cedar Heights.”
“But why?” I shake my head, perplexed. “What would anyone have to gain by targeting Cedar? No offence but surely Willowbrook would be the cash cow.”
Arch crosses his arms, turning to me. “We need to find out where the tunnels lead to. It’s the only way we can figure out who is behind this or why they wanted to burn our school down.”
“Hold up,” Tai interjects. “You can’t possibly be suggesting what I think you are about to.”
I grin at him sheepishly. “Cover your ears then because I hate to disappoint.”
Ry looks over at me. “I’m with Bexley and Archer on this one. We need to investigate the tunnels. It’s the only way we can be sure.”
“I agree,” Hunter responds. “The sooner, the better. Especially since our fathers are on Bexley’s ass every chance they get.”
Arch’s head snaps toward me and I scrunch up my face. “I’ll fill you in soon,” I promise. “But let’s start assembling a team. Anyone and everyone we can trust. We’re going on an underground adventure this week.”