Page 22 of Die for You (Diamond Devils #4)

Aurora

“Where are they?” I tip my cup up, a wave of piss-warm beer hitting my tongue, and grimace as I force it down my throat.

“You mean your boyfriends?” Juliet flashes me a taunting smirk.

My knee-jerk reaction is to flip her off, but I keep my hands clutched around my plastic cup.

There’s no point in denying it anymore. They follow me around campus, give me rides, teach me how to drive, monitor me to make sure I’m safe, and after what happened in Damien’s car, I can’t even deny it to myself.

They’ve made it clear since they met me that they want me; I’m finally accepting that I want them too.

Whatever the Devils are to me, they’re mine.

“They should be here soon.” Luke takes his hand off Sienna just long enough to open his phone and show me the message to their group chat that says the Devils are on their way.

“Where were they?” It’s rare that I don’t know where the Devils are. Either on the ice, in the gym, at the dining hall, in class, or at home. Or in a car with me.

Anticipation bubbles in my stomach at the memory of the three of them in Damien’s SUV with me. Knox groping me, Finn pulling my hair, and Damien’s fingers between my legs.

I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have all three of them inside me at once. Probably as close to heaven as I can get while still breathing.

Although I doubt they’ll let me breathe much as they take turns inside my mouth?—

I force another gulp of disgusting beer to distract myself and nearly gag. A mistake.

Even though I don’t know Luke or Trey quite as well as their girlfriends, their expressions tell me they know exactly where the Devils were, but they’re keeping their mouths shut. They don’t want me to know.

Hot anger builds in my veins. The Devils stalk me for months, keep me under surveillance, grope me in a car, act like they care about me, and now?—

Now, they’re fucking some puck bunny. Where else could they be that their friends wouldn’t want me to know?

They don’t owe me anything. They didn’t ask to be my boyfriends or tell me they love me. I have no right to be pissed.

But that’s all I am. The only feeling swirling in me that I can name.

Sienna grinds with Luke amongst the other drunk partygoers who are half-heartedly dancing in the middle of the living room. Trey and Juliet are entwined in a dark corner, mouths twisted in devious smirks like they’re plotting something salacious and indecent to do to each other.

I am the fifth wheel.

Steeling myself, I down the last of my beer like a shot of medicine and call out to my friends that I’m taking off. This is the second disappointing party I’ve been to this semester, and I think it’s time to call it. Parties aren’t for me. I’d literally rather be studying right now.

I aim for the door, weaving between hot, inebriated bodies until I slam into a brick wall.

A meaty brick wall. Made of impossibly soft cotton covering hard, immovable muscle.

My eyes travel up and up and up until?—

A gas mask covers the Devil’s face. But I recognize his stature. That characteristic tilt to his head as he studies me far below him.

“Damien—”

Behind me, a warm body brushes against my back. Arms wrap around my middle, familiar and strong. An anchor keeping me from drifting out to sea. In my ear, he murmurs, “Hey, beautiful.”

I can’t fight the smile that tugs at my lips. Knox . My heart slams against my ribcage at their proximity, the heat radiating from their massive bodies, the sandalwood and minty scent of them.

“Where were you?” I search the crowd around us, but Damien and Knox are the only two in masks.

Finn is nowhere to be found. My stomach dips with disappointment. I want all three of them here with me.

When neither of the Devils answers, I narrow my eyes. “Where were you?”

Finally, Damien steps closer, voice dangerously low and distorted through his mask. “We went to pay your ex a visit.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Shit . If the Devils got Jeremiah alone somewhere, who knows what kind of state they left him in. Especially after they learned he put his hands on me.

I search Damien’s shirt and Knox’s knuckles, but there isn’t a hint of blood on either of them.

My pulse picks up speed. Where the hell is Finn? There must be a reason he’s not here with them, and it’s not good.

“What did you do?” I whisper.

“Trashed his place. He wasn’t there. But we left him a message.” Damien folds his arms. Over my head, he and Knox meet each other’s gazes through their masks. Both wearing cocky grins, I’m sure.

A deluge of relief washes over me. As much as I would love for the Devils to knock Jeremiah’s teeth out, that will only fuel the flames. His parents will bail him out of whatever trouble he might find himself in, and it will only be the Devils who suffer any consequences for this whole mess.

And me.

“He needs to stay away from you, Rory.” Knox’s arms squeeze me closer. “And we’ll make sure he does.”

“What kind of message?” I twist in his arms, scanning the faces nearby. “Where’s Finn?”

“Finn’s waiting for you.” Behind his mask, Damien’s voice drips with innuendo.

That fast, the stress and worry melt away, replaced with anticipation. “Waiting where?”

Without another word, Damien throws me over his shoulder like I’m weightless, knocking all the air out of my lungs as his hard muscle and bone dig into my abdomen. My dress rides up, exposing my panties to everyone at the party.

Laughter peels around us as I rain my fists down on his back, but I might as well be a fly for all the reaction I get out of him. “Hey! Put me down!”

Knox smacks my ass over my panties before tugging the hem of my dress down. He lifts his mask just long enough to smirk up at me. “No one gets to see that but us.”

As if everyone in the vicinity hasn’t already glimpsed a flash of my panties. Even though most of the people here are strangers, and in a few months, I won’t ever see any of them again, my cheeks heat.

“Have fun!” Juliet calls in a singsong.

Sienna gives me a double thumbs-up like my crush just asked me to prom, not like I’ve been thrown over the hockey captain’s shoulder so he can carry me through the throng of drunken college students and up to the second floor.

“Miss us, darling?” Knox calls as Damien carries me down a dimly lit hallway.

My pulse is thumping, cheeks still warm, but anticipation is curling deep in my belly, and I can’t deny it. All I can do is flip him off.

Knox chuckles beneath his mask, and the sound warms me down to my toes.

“Of course she did,” Damien answers for me, voice rumbling. “But we’ll make it up to her.”

Before I can open my mouth to ask what exactly they plan to do with me, Damien shoves a door that leads into a dark room. The only illumination trickles through the window from a blinking traffic light at a nearby intersection.

Knox follows us into the room, but it’s not him who slams the door behind us. The reverberations of the abrupt sound echoing in my ears.

I catch a glimpse of Finn’s long, lean figure, his dark hair blending in with our surroundings, his huge hand flat on the door, and his face hidden by an identical gas mask, before Damien drops me to my feet and flattens me against the wall with a massive hand on my chest.

The breath is driven out of my lungs for the second time this evening, but I don’t utter a single complaint. Against my back, the wall is unforgiving, and in front of me, the Devils are made of immovable concrete.

In the silence, the only sounds that fill my ears are the pounding of my heart and our eager breaths.

“How do you want us, angel?” Damien asks.

The three Devils surround me, blotting out the faint light behind their backs. They’re all I can see. Each of them in joggers and plain tees, nondescript clothing to go unnoticed, despite the gas masks that draw attention.

My heart hammers. This is really happening. Knox, Damien, and Finn surround me. Watching me, waiting.

“What do you mean?” I croak out.

Knox’s finger trails tenderly down my cheek, warm against my hot skin. He leans so close, his mask brushes my ear. “Do you want us to be gentle with you?” His finger slides to my jaw until it comes to the underside, where he pinches it with his forefinger and thumb. “Or do you want to get fucked?”

I gulp.

“We can take it easy on you.” Damien pulls off his mask, dropping it at his feet, and even now, I’m struck by his beauty. By the hard edges to his square jaw and the dark eyes that are almost black. “Or we can make sure you can’t walk tomorrow.”

My tongue is tied in a permanent knot. Finally, I manage to clear my throat and calm my racing heart enough to speak. “Who says I even want to fuck you? Any of you?”

I didn’t exactly come up here of my own free will. They just assume I’m willing to drop my panties and spread my legs for them.

They’re right , but?—

Unexpectedly, Finn drops to his knees in front of me. My heart leaps to my throat and freezes there, each of my muscles turning to stone.

In the silence, I’m sure all three of them can hear every traitorous, thundering beat of my heart.

Finn’s palms land on my thighs, gliding up achingly slowly, the graze of his skin against mine leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. When he reaches my panties, his breath hitches, and I have to bite back a moan at the sight.

His chest rises and falls faster, his breaths growing more labored, as he hooks his fingers in my panties.

And I don’t stop him as he tugs them to the floor.

A phantom breeze licks at the wetness already waiting for them. I shiver.

“Who says you want to fuck us?” Damien challenges, his hand rising to my throat and squeezing, pinning me to the wall. I whimper.

Finn’s finger slides along my slit, and I stop breathing. From behind his mask, he answers. “Your aching cunt.”

My knees turn to jelly.

“How wet is she?” The words are ragged as they leave Knox’s throat.

Finn’s throat bobs. “Soaked.”

“ Fuck ,” Damien growls. His mouth lands on mine, crushing my lips to his.