Page 25 of Her Wicked Knights (Their Hallowed Queen #3)

"Spawn of Satan." Tripp smirks in greeting, but it does nothing to dissuade my girlfriend from wrapping her arms around Tripp and Rev's necks. She stumbles a little as she does, and Rev ducks as she attempts to kiss him on the chest, causing her to sway further.

Fucking hell. She's getting toasted fast.

"Fallout boy." She quips back, stepping away from him to look him over. "Did you get taller?" Tripp ignores her, until she gasps obnoxiously. "You got your lip pierced? Did you do your tongue too?"

She's hooked him a little now; Tripp sticks out his tongue, flashing the neon green ball in the middle of it before turning his lips to a smirk, which shows off the piercings he got a few weeks ago.

He did both sides of his bottom lip with a small silver ring, and while I don't understand it, I kind of appreciate them.

They make him look less like the sappy-hearted pushover he really is under that brooding surface.

"Fuck me." Audrey moans, and Tripp takes another step back, grabbing a beer off the counter. He flips his finger in parting as he heads out to the beach and Rev chuckles before turning to lay his charm on Angela Varin.

Audrey turns to flutter her lashes at me. "You should do that with the piercing."

"You do yours first," I tell her, and she hums like she'd really do it. Somehow, I'm not surprised.

"I'm already great at blowjobs." She argues, and I scoff, which is exactly the right reaction to goad her into proving it.

"Really, babe?" She growls, dropping so suddenly to her knees that I actually step back when she reaches for my belt.

"The fuck are you doing, Graves?" I growl, gripping her by the throat when she tries to advance on me again.

"You want me to prove it? I'll prove to everyone here how good I am." She raises her hands, gesturing to the crowd of people who are most definitely watching now. "Want me to suck your dick in front of all your friends, Colton? Cause I will, if that's what you want. I—"

"Shut the fuck up." I hiss, pushing her through the crowd of people who have parted to give us some space.

"Audrey—" Jake reaches out for her as we pass him, snaring her wrist. Audrey turns to him, and I see the look he gives her. Possessive. Nervous. Afraid.

First, Jake steals the only person I've ever fucking loved, and then he steals my fucking girlfriend.

She may have blackmailed me into this sham of a relationship, but we've learned how to navigate each other in the months we've been dating, and we've worked out a mutually beneficial agreement.

I pretend we're together, and she gives me sexual favors in return.

We started slow but she's clearly working through some daddy problems, because the type of shit she's into is unlike anything I'd have imagined from someone our age.

She's either got a vivid imagination, or she watches a lot of porn.

Maybe even both. Whatever the reason, I don't care, because for some weird fucking reason she wants me even though I've made it clear I don't want her.

I've even called her the wrong name with her lips wrapped around my cock, and she just moaned louder, pretending not to hear me calling out for her best friend as my cum coated her tongue.

"Get your fucking hands off her." I warn Jake, far more calmly than I feel.

The way he's watching her pisses me off, like he thinks I'll fucking murder her or something once we're alone together.

As annoying as she is, I don't wish death on her, and I'm not a fucking killer.

Besides, everyone knows we're 'together'.

She's probably safer with me than anyone.

"Audrey." Jake repeats, his voice deeper, harder. "Keep your fucking mouth shut."

I wrench her out of his grip on her and continue to lead her to the room we sleep in when we're here. It's the primary suite, with a nice big bed that I shove her toward as I lock the door.

Audrey falls against the mattress and scrambles onto her back so she can prop her elbows up. "You gonna punish me for trying to taste you in front of all our friends?"

I should. I should just ignore her, leave her here alone to sober up and go back to the party so she can throw up in peace. But I'm not going to. I'm hot with the alcohol in my bloodstream and the way Jake fucking touched her, and she wants me to fuck her.

"Strip." I tell her, stepping back to watch as she watches me, questioningly, for just moment. And then she scrambles into action, like she can't get her clothes off fast enough.

I watch her lose her top first, and she's braless, so she spills free effortlessly as she drops it to the floor and moves her hands to her waist. I notice the bruise on her hip, but I don't say anything yet.

It would be a big conclusion to jump to, but the way Jake grabbed her so aggressively, the way he told her to keep her mouth shut. ..

My stomach twists, and I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel.

I don't like my girlfriend, but if someone is hurting her?

Yeah, I may be capable of murder after all.

It would take great composure to not kill Jake if I found out he was slapping Audrey around.

She's a pain in the ass and I absolutely use her as much as she's willing to be used but hurting her like that is another thing entirely.

She doesn't even seem to notice the bruise as she shoves her panties down her legs and beckons me closer as she slides to her knees.

I let her pull my shirt over my head and then she works my cock free before bending down to pull it into her mouth.

As her warmth wraps around me, I let my eyes close, going to the place where this isn't Audrey and it actually means something.

My hands go to her back, holding her in place, encouraging her until I feel something warm and wet on my palm.

Distracted, I pull away to see what it is and jump in surprise as I see the streaks of crimson across my hand.

Audrey's mouth wrenches away free and she looks up at me in bewilderment as I flash my palm at her. "You're fucking bleeding."

"What?" She blinks, confused, and reaches around her back like she can find proof of what I'm saying. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are." I snap. "What the hell? Was that Jake? Did he hurt you?"

"Jake?" She shakes her head. "No. I don't… he didn't—"

I've had enough of her stuttering, so I pull her to her feet and then spin her quickly, bending her over the bed so that I can see the source of the blood.

And holy fucking hell.

Saying she looks like she survived a match with a wood chipper would be dramatic, but saying she looks like she fought a fucking demon trying to take over her body isn't. Her back is covered in scratches, angry red nail marks that cut through her tanned skin.

"What the fuck?" I growl, rage unfurling in my stomach as I appraise the marks, how they cut over each other in a crisis cross pattern, entirely at random. And at the top, near her shoulder, is a bandage that's been saturated with blood so much that it drips down her skin.

"Explain." I snap, because my only explanation is that Jake fucking took things too far. This is... wicked.

"It's nothing." Audrey says, trying to wriggle out from beneath me. "Just let it go, Colt."

"Let it go?" I laugh. "Audrey, have you fucking seen yourself?"

She shakes her head, and I reach for the cell phone I abandoned on the bed when I shoved her onto it the first time.

I snap a quick pic, wondering if we need to keep it to press charges against Jake, because this is horrific.

No way Audrey thought that felt good? She's asked me to hurt her a few times, but this? It looks like Jake tried to murder her.

When she sees the photo, Audrey sits up, her face pale as she studies it.

"Fuck."

"I'm going to kill him." I shake my head, trying to transfer some of the pressure building inside.

"No." Audrey shoots up, grabbing my arm. "Please, it's not a big deal."

"You're lying. You bled through a bandage the size of my fist, so I'd say it's a pretty big deal. What did he do?"

"Nothing!" Audrey says quickly. It's too quick, too panicked. "Colt, just stop, okay? It wasn't... it's not what you think?"

"Did you get whipped in the town square then, because that's what it looks like?" Her flesh is hot to the touch, and I wonder how long it's looked like this. Is an infection setting in? Do I care that much if it is?

"Quit being so damn dramatic." Audrey huffs. "I just wanted him to go harder. It's no big deal."

I stare at her tense jaw.

We've both understood for a while that Audrey can fuck Jake if she wants to.

She's been doing it longer than she's been fucking me, I'm sure, and while I would love to know that Marley's boyfriend is monogamous and treats her well, she's not going to fucking listen.

Tripp and Rev told me they flat-out told her once about how they saw Audrey and Jake together, and she's so much in denial that trying to convince her otherwise would only push her away.

I can't make her see reason, but I can look the other way when she's being unreasonable.

"You like it when you're treated like a whore?"

Audrey seems to recognize the out I'm giving her. I don't quite believe her that she wanted to be torn apart like that, but just like I can't make Marley see the truth, I can't make Audrey tell me the truth.

"Yes!" She says quickly, her eyes holding to a glimmer of hope, though I don't know what for. That I'll let it go, I suppose.

So that's exactly what I do. I let it go.

But I don't let go of her.

I push her to her knees, right back where we started.