Page 9 of Beg for It

CHAPTER NINE

ELI

Ihave to give it to Trent; this is a pretty sick party.

The old barn is decked out to look haunted as fuck, and he’s gone all out with the corn maze. I’ve spent the last thirty minutes sitting on top of the roof, mapping different routes and noting the dead ends. But that isn’t the only reason why I am up here.

I can see everything from the roof, including the one-way road that leads to the old barn, which is the only way Blair could arrive.

I check my phone.

She has five more minutes to show up.

I knew that giving her an hour would be cutting it close since she lives about forty minutes away and would need to find enough time to sneak out of her mom’s party without getting caught.

I like putting pressure on her. I want to know just how desperate she is.

If I can push her to break the rules she has so diligently followed for years.

My invitation is just the first step.

I scan the crowd again. I can’t see anyone who is inside the barn, but I can watch everyone outside of it, and that means Brett and his fuckhead friends.

Compared to last night at the bar, the group has tripled in size.

It is mostly made up of dudes who used to be on the football team and who worship the ground he walks on, plus a handful of asshats from the old lacrosse team who kiss Riley’s ass.

I hate my stepbrother, but I am tempted daily to murder Riley Manning.

You’d probably think this is odd considering Brett all but tried to beat me into a coma not once but thrice during high school, getting close enough at one point that I ended up on bedrest for a week (not that there were any repercussions for that).

No, my disgust for Riley stems from his relationship with Blair.

Asshole had the unfounded privilege of taking her virginity as just another notch on his bedpost. He marked her name inside gym locker 204, alongside every other girl whose cherry was popped by a member of his fucked-up bro squad.

Riley dated her as a trophy, and that pisses me off.

I saw him at parties during high school with his tongue down other girls’ throats and disappearing into bathrooms with them, all because Blair couldn’t go.

Meanwhile, he sang her sweet nothings in the hallway and drove her to and from school.

Everyone kept the truth a secret from her, and I’m ninety percent sure she still has no clue.

The beer can in my hand caves inward as I unconsciously fist my grip. Stray droplets flick onto my skin.

“Shit.”

I chug the rest of the drink, but it doesn’t cool me down enough. So, I do the only thing that will appease the monster itching for release under my skin.

I crush the beer can fully, and then I lob it directly at Riley. But unlike Evan, who was on the basketball team, my aim is questionable, so it hits the guy next to him instead. Motherfucker. What a waste.

I flop back against the roof with a groan, watching as the hazy orange sky begins to blend with the dark blue of night.

Waiting for Blair has me wound so damn tight.

This night would either go great or horribly wrong, and I’m not sure how I would handle the latter.

I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for years but watching her come last night has sent me over the edge.

I pull my blade from my pant pocket and flick it rhythmically around my hand with practiced precision.

My patience is running out. I crave her so badly it is causing me pain.

My phone buzzes in my pocket.

The countdown.

Blair has sixty seconds.

I sit up, eye the entrance, and just about come in my pants.

Fucking hell, Blair is dressed as sexy Alice in Wonderland.

Even from here I can see how damn short that dress is and the way her tits spill out from the top.

And those thigh-high white socks? She must be trying to kill me—or at least my dick, because it’s already half fucking stiff and I haven’t even touched her.

She sprints in, head swiveling from side to side like she is looking for someone—looking for me.

I take out my phone and open our DMs, click on the camera and take a video zooming in on her, and then press send. I pocket my blade, slip my balaclava on, and watch as she holds up her phone and opens our messages. It takes her a second, but her head lifts and she looks up right at where I am.

Fuck, I can feel the heat simmering between us from here.

I slide down to the edge of the roof and then jump down to the haystack below and then onto the ground.

But instead of walking toward Blair, I head in the opposite direction, around the side of the barn to the back where there are far less people and the light doesn’t quite reach.

I wait so I can see when she is close, and then I keep walking between the stacks of hay bales that are out here.

I weave between them slowly enough for her to just barely keep up, and then I round a corner and pause. When she passes by, I reach out and grab her waist, pulling her to me. She lets out a squeal, but I cover her lips and lean down, my mask brushing her ear.

“Hello, Blair.”

Her squirming stops and her muscles relax. It’s funny that her body thinks it’s safe with me when all I want is to completely devour her.

I let go of her mouth and loosen my grip, allowing her to turn around and face me.

Damn. She looks even more delectable up close.

The tops of her lush breasts spill out from the light blue ruffled neckline, begging for me to bite them.

Her cheeks are slightly flushed from the chase, and those caramel eyes are blown wide with pure adrenaline—no doubt fear and desire battling it out.

Her hand reaches out, stroking the jaw of my mask where the skull pattern is printed. She looks at me like she can’t believe I’m real. Which is fair. To most, Phantom is an unattainable enigma.

“Phantom?”

“In the flesh.”

“Are you really him?”

“What do you think?”

She bites her lower lip, and I know it’s in thought, but damn if it isn’t a tease.

I swipe open my phone and flash her our DMs.

“Proof enough?”

“I guess, it’s just…” She continues to pull her lower lip between her teeth, and it’s driving me mad.

“What, you need a little more convincing? How about this?”

I grip the hem of my black tank and lift it midway up my abs to show off the spider tattoo.

I didn’t really need to lift it this high, but I like watching the way Blair’s pupils blow even wider.

I grab her hand and place it over the black ink, holding back my own groan as her soft fingers trace over my skin.

My body screams to make her mine, to pull her into me and take what I’ve always wanted. But I keep a lid on the beast inside. For all the twisted secrets Blair has spilled online, I still need to hear the confession from her lips.

I drop the fabric and lean against the hay bales.

“That good enough for you, princess?”

“Uh, I…” She licks her lips. “Sorry, you’re just way hotter in person.”

I smirk and reach out to pick up a chunk of her shiny blonde hair, running my fingers down it and imagining it wrapped around my fist.

“Tell me, Blair. Did you mean what you wrote?”

“What do you mean?”

“All those comments you left on my videos. Did you mean them?”

I take a step toward her, and she takes a step back.

“You read all of those?” She lets out a short nervous laugh.

“Of course.” I take another step, and so does she. “Isn’t that why you came here? You were curious, weren’t you? You wanted to play the game.”

“What game?”

“The one where I fulfill all those fantasies.”

I tilt my head to the side, and she swallows nervously.

“All of them?”

“All of them.”

“Even the…even the dark ones?”

“Especially those ones.”

We keep up our dance. One step forward and one step backward.

“Don’t worry, I won’t give it to you all at once. I don’t think you can take all of me right now. We have all night to go down your little list of comments.” I tap my temple. “I have them all filed away.”

Step forward.

Step backward.

“Why? Why me?”

“Let’s just say you caught my eye. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.” I pause. “Unless you were all talk. Were you all talk, Blair?”

This time when she steps back, she hits a hay bale. Trapped. Her fingers fist the hem of her dress with nerves, but she licks her lips like a woman dying of thirst. A thrill shoots through my veins.

“I…”

“You can tell me no, Blair. I can walk away and end this game, no questions asked. But if you say yes, for the rest of the night, you’ll be mine to play with.

” I run a finger down the curve of her neck and lean close.

“Mine to touch, tease, and fuck however I please until the sun comes up. That is what you will be agreeing to. Do you understand, Blair?”

I see the gears turning in her mind. I see her stuck on the precipice. Those good girl chains are tight around her wrists, but all she has to do is say the word to break free. Blair wants to give herself over to me, it’s written all over her wanton face. I’m just providing the nudge.

“My offer expires in five seconds.”

She presses her lips together, chest rising and falling.

I slowly count down, running my thumb along her collarbone.

“Five. Four. Three. Two. O—”

“Yes,” she blurts. “I understand.”