Page 20

REID

I don’t know why I pegged Dante as a cuddler.

He’s definitely not though. I wake up in a rush like usual, jarred awake by my body’s inability to sleep past six in the morning.

When I roll over onto my side, it’s to find Dante starfished out on his stomach, one arm under a pillow, the other reaching out toward me, his fingertip just barely grazing my bicep.

His head is angled away from me, his dark hair messy from no doubt tossing and turning all night.

He’s kind of adorable.

Even the thought pisses me off.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sigh quietly to avoid waking Dante up.

How did I get myself into this situation?

I went from aimless club twink to suddenly intertwined with a group of vigilantes.

Now, because I’m mixed up with them, there’s a bullseye on my back.

As if sensing my thoughts, Dante turns his head, blinks one sleepy eye at me, then groans loudly.

“What the fuck? It’s still dark out.” Dante grabs my arm and yanks until he can manhandle me into his arms. I squawk and try to wiggle free, but his arm is a tight band around my body. “You’re not going anywhere. Stop it.”

“I’m not a prisoner.”

Dante chuckles darkly. “You kind of are. At least until we can figure out what they want with you.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh?” Dante says innocently.

“It’s because I’m with you. They’ll get to you through me blah blah blah. Don’t you watch action movies?”

Dante places a soft kiss to the nape of my neck, making a shiver work its way down my spine. I attempt to hide my body’s reaction, but Dante’s knowing upturned lips press against my skin.

“I don’t really like movies.” Dante pats my stomach gently. “Don’t you worry your little head about it. We’ll work it out.”

I roll over to glare at him. “Worry my little head… who the fuck do you think you are–”

Dante interrupts me by slamming his mouth onto mine.

An oomf escapes me, but then I quickly get with the program.

God, the way Dante kisses is all-consuming.

My entire body shuts down, all the oxygen trapped in my lungs.

Delightful static fills my brain, like a television on a grayed-out channel.

When Dante pulls away to bite at my throat, I bury my fingers in his hair and moan like the slut I am.

“I’ll kill anyone that hurts you,” Dante mumbles against my neck.

“What if I hurt me?” I ask softly, a shake to my voice.

Dante lifts up, elbows to either side of my head to stare down at me.

“No more of that. Unless it’s me hurting you.

” He trails a hand down my chest to swirl the pads of his fingers just under my belly button, fingers toying with the belly button ring he seems oddly obsessed with.

I shiver helplessly and he grins, wide and cruel.

“What if I hold a knife to your throat while we fuck? Would you like that?”

“You’re insane,” I whisper, heart beating wildly.

Dante dips down to whisper against my mouth, “And you like it.”

Fuck me, I do. Dante kisses me until my brain is static again, then gives me the slowest, most indulgent blow job of my life.

And when he jacks himself off and comes all over my face, I try to tell myself I don’t like this at all.

I don’t get off on the idea of being owned by Dante.

I don’t feel a perverse and twisted joy when he says he’d murder for me.

The air looks chilly. Not that I’d know since I haven’t been outside yet today. I’d like to go to school though, if only Dante could stop arguing about who is going to protect me when.

“I don’t see why it can’t be me,” Dante grumbles, gaze stormy and aimed at Parker.

“Too invested. You’ll make questionable decisions,” Hayden explains with a dismissive wave of his hand. He smirks and looks at me over his shoulder. “Just let Parker do it. He’s just as capable as you, Dante.”

“Not with a gun,” Dante says sourly.

“Excuse me?” Parker pipes up from where he leans against the kitchen counter, apple in the palm of his hand. “Let’s go toe-to-toe at the range this weekend, buddy.”

“Fuck you!”

“No, thank you,” Parker says pleasantly.

Dante scowls and stomps over to stand in front of me. He takes my shoulders in the palms of his hands and shakes me a little. “Just when you leave the house, okay? If something happens to you, I’ll cut off Parker’s nuts, fry them, and make him eat them. So he will make sure no one touches you.”

“No one but you,” I say with a smirk.

Dante grins, pleased. “No one but me.”

“No ball frying,” Hayden orders just before disappearing back upstairs. There’s a slam of a door, a shout, a tussle, then Parker sighs loudly and takes a large bite of his apple.

“Let’s go. I have to write a paper while I sit outside your class,” Parker says grumpily.

I watch as he trudges out the garage door, then Dante gently cups my face to turn my gaze back to his own. Dante’s eyes are always so hard, but they’re softer when he looks at me. I should hate it, should bite him for it, but a small part of me likes it. For Reid, the snarling twink.

“I’ll be waiting here for you.”

“I’m not going to war,” I point out.

Dante hums, kisses my cheek, then shoves me toward the door that Parker just escaped through.

The car is idling with the garage door open and Parker leans against the passenger side door, waiting for me to join him.

Without a word, I climb in, pleased to know that it’s cool enough outside to warrant the heater blasting.

Parker fiddles with the stereo for a moment, before pulling out to make the annoying fifteen-minute drive to school.

All of the lights, pedestrians, and hunting down a parking spot make driving an outright headache if you live as close to campus as we do.

But I guess it’s easier to protect me in the car than walking down the street.

“Can I smoke?” I ask while tugging the carton of cigarettes out of my pocket.

Parker grabs them, rolls the window down, and tosses them out with no fanfare. It all happens so fast that I can’t even scream. I stare blankly out the window, then slowly shift my gaze to land on an unapologetic Parker.

“What the actual fuck?”

Parker rolls his eyes so hard I think they might get stuck. “They’ll kill you.”

“A meteor could hit right now and kill me.”

“Yeah, well, that’s out of your control,” Parker says with all the patience of a parent explaining why their child can’t have dessert. “No cigarettes while I’m on protection duty.”

“I’m going to tell Dante.”

Parker shrugs, uncaring. “Do it. I’m not scared of you or him.”

Well, he should be scared of me. Anger threatens to boil over inside me the remainder of the drive to school, but I press it down as best I can.

I’ll just buy a new carton of smokes when I’m out of Parker’s sight.

I scramble out of the car the moment it’s in park, ignoring Parker’s hastily yelled hey!

A few people turn to look at us as I hustle toward the math building with what I’m sure is a very annoyed-looking Parker racing to catch up with me.

I shove through the math building doors, not bothering to hold it open for him.

A swear echoes through the front of the building and I grin in celebration as I climb the stairs two by two.

The door to the classroom slams shut behind me.

When I glance over my shoulder, Parker is absolutely seething, nostrils flared as he glares at me through the window.

I send a wave over my shoulder, blow him a kiss, then pick my way through the desks to find my usual seat.

A few moments before class starts, my phone buzzes.

Dante

don’t be a little shit

this is who i am

Dante

he’s there to keep you safe

he threw away my cigarettes. tell him to replace them and I won’t make his life miserable.

Dante

fucking hell

see you later

Dante

you don’t have to make everything difficult

don’t i? You like it

Dante

fuck

When I finally exit the math building in the afternoon, Parker leans casually against the brick wall with his laptop precariously balanced on one hand as he types furiously with the other.

Instead of dodging him, I walk right up to him, and stop with my hand held out.

Parker’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t even attempt to argue.

I can’t help but grin when a familiar carton is pressed into my palm.

“Thank you ever so much,” I say with a calculated grin.

Parker’s eyes narrow. “You understand I’m keeping you alive, right?”

“Tomato, tomah-toe.”

“I’m literally… you know what. I don’t care. Go to the car so I can drive you back to the house. I’m switching with Jacob. I’ll watch your brother while he watches over you. You want to be a little shit, the little shit can watch over you so that you guys can attempt to out–little shit each other.”

“That’s a lot of little shits,” I reply with a mocking little frown. “Did I upset you?”

Parker’s eyes twitch so badly that I’m momentarily afraid he’s going to have a stroke or maybe a coronary.

Instead, Parker takes a deep, slow breath, then turns around to head toward the parking lot.

I follow behind him like a good boy because believe it or not, I don’t have a death wish.

The ride is once again totally silent. Parker doesn’t even turn the radio on.

When he parks the car in the garage, he jumps out, comes around to my side and aggressively swings the door open.

I gasp in shock when he bodily yanks me out of the SUV.

I dig my feet into the ground but he’s taller, and much broader, so I don’t have much of a chance.

The sound of voices from the kitchen reaches my ears before the sound of my blood boiling in my veins takes over.