Page 7

Chapter 7

The Six Six Six Rule

Bex

Bridgeport, two nights ago

M y hand looks tiny, encased in Kurt’s much larger one.

His brown eyes bore into mine, dark and intense. “I wasn’t sure when Byron said we were a good match, Rebecca. But do you know why I agreed to this relationship and to get engaged with you?”

I shake my head. “Why?”

“Because you’re beautiful. I’ve always thought you were, since the first time I saw you.”

Warmth floods me at his words, and heat rises to my face. “You aren’t too bad looking yourself, Kurt.”

He chuckles. “Oh why, thank you. Glad I meet your standards.”

Laughing together feels good. Kurt is always serious, and I didn’t realize how worried I was that his constant, stony expression would turn out to match his personality.

His thumb strokes the skin between my thumb and my index finger, and I’m surprised by the effect that simple, innocent touch has on me.

A rush of liquid heat collects between my thighs and my inner muscles clench in a desperate search for release.

“Rebecca,” he whispers. “I know we’re already breaking your father’s rules, but we’re going to say I do tomorrow night. Byron told me that he thinks we would produce some incredibly talented children. I agree with him. But talking about children and forever feels strange when we haven’t even kissed. I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day. Is it something you would like?”

My pulse picks up its pace.

I used to love kissing my high school boyfriend, and making out with him. I miss being in love, and how that made me feel.

I’m not so na?ve to think that kissing Kurt could make me instantly fall for him, but I really want to feel his lips against mine. “Yeah. I think we should take this as a rehearsal. I don’t think our first kiss should be at the altar. It would be weird.”

He scoots closer, leaning forward until our lips touch. His head slants so that he can deepen the kiss, pushing his tongue inside my mouth.

I haven’t kissed anyone since my senior year of high school, since Matthew and I broke up after graduation because he was headed east for college.

The thought hits me that this isn’t the best kiss I’ve ever received; it’s too slow and there’s too much tongue. But maybe I’m being unfair. Maybe Kurt is as nervous as I am.

I’m sure once we’re married, we’ll get a lot of time to practice and get in better tune with each other.

While I’ve definitely had better kisses, my body has been so starved for attention that it reacts to Kurt’s closeness.

“I knew you’d like kissing me.” His eyes descend to my chest, where my nipples are poking against the thin fabric of my tank top, desperate to be touched.

“Oh.” I half-gasp, half-wince when he palms one of my tits, squeezing hard and pinching the aching point.

The pleasure is equally mixed with pain, but I feel myself growing increasingly hotter. Wetness pools between my legs, and when Kurt uses his big body to push me down on my bed, I go willingly.

“I like the way you feel, Rebecca.” He grunts, lifting my tank top just enough to keep kneading the bare flesh of my breasts.

Kurt bites his way down my neck, a little too rough, his body crushing me into the mattress.

His attention is confusing. I’m not sure how much I’m enjoying being with him, and how much of my physical reaction is down to sheer need.

“Fuck,” he grinds his hips, his hard length pressing against the apex of my thighs. “You smell so good, and you feel even better.”

My clit pulses with need, but I wish he’d slow down. I wish he was a little more gentle.

“I want you, Rebecca.” Kurt grunts. “I haven’t had sex since I’ve agreed to move into this house. Between my schedule and the rules of this house, it’s been impossible to find an opportunity. Will you let me fuck you?”

He lowers his head, biting on my shoulder so hard that I whimper. Kurt must take my reaction as a sign that I like this, because he does it again.

“Please, please, please, Rebecca. I’m dying for you.”

When he looks at me, his eyes are pleading.

“I don’t know, Kurt.” I say, taking a breath now that he partially lifted his weight off me to look me in the eye.

“I haven’t really done this before.” I admit.

Matthew and I fooled around a few times, but we never got past hand stuff and third base—on one occasion on which I blew him, but he didn’t return the favor. Once the writing was on the wall that we would be on opposite sides of the country for college, I didn’t feel like going all the way and he respected my wishes.

“You’re a virgin?” Kurt sounds surprised.

“Why is it so hard to believe? I haven’t had a boyfriend since high school.”

His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t know. A hot girl like you, with all those dance partners… I’ve seen some of your videos. It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t try to get closer, after they’ve had their hands all over you.”

His tone irks me a little. “Those touches are just for the sake of the choreography. And my dance partners and I are professionals. So no, Kurt, I haven’t slept with anyone.”

His smile widens. “Were you saving yourself for me?”

I wasn’t. I just never had the chance to get close to anyone enough that I wanted to sleep with them after Matthew. And obviously the no touch rule in the house took care of any possibility of anything developing with my dance partners.

“I was just waiting for someone who would feel right.” I offer.

He interprets my answer as a confirmation of the idea that I was somehow saving myself for him. “I’m that someone, Rebecca.”

Maybe I should let him believe that, but the words leave my mouth before I can decide if I should utter them. “I don’t know you enough to be sure about that, Kurt.”

His jaw ticks, as if he didn’t like the truth. “I’m going to be your husband in less than twenty-four hours. Tomorrow night, you’ll be mine either way. But it would be nice if you gave yourself to me tonight. It would be a gift to each other. Fucking tomorrow is going to be almost a given. But doing it tonight, it would be proof that we’re doing this for each other, not because we’re expected to.”

I understand what he means, but I don’t like that he thinks that tomorrow night I have some duty to sleep with him.

“I don’t know, Kurt.” I say honestly. “I want things to work between us. I know we aren’t in love, but I hope that with time, we can learn to love each other.”

“Then prove to me that you mean it.” He insists. “Be mine tonight, Rebecca. Let’s do this because we want to, not because your father expects us to.”

He isn’t wrong. If we get married, we’ll sleep together sooner or later. And I want to do this on my own terms, not my father’s.

“Ok.” I say softly.

“Fuck, yeah.” Kurt takes his pants and underwear off and slides the shorts of my PJs down my legs.

He settles between my legs. Our bottom halves are naked, but our shirts are still on.

“I knew you wanted me,” he says, shoving his fingers between my legs. “You’re drenched.”

I don’t say anything in response, too tense to even try to make sense why my body is reacting this way when Kurt has done very little to make me feel good.

He pushes forward, and I tense up when the blunt head of his cock comes into contact with my opening.

“Kurt, wait. Do you have a condom? Maybe we should wait until tomorrow after all.”

He barks out a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous, Rebecca. We’re gonna be married tomorrow. We’ll be expected to have children. Why would we worry about a condom?”

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

“Like I said, I haven’t gotten laid in months. If you’re really a virgin, there’s no way you can give me an STD, right?”

I nod, meaning that I’m one hundred percent sure that I’m clean. Kurt, however, must take that as a sign of agreement.

He enters me with a hard, brutal thrust. “Your cunt feels so good.” He grunts.

I bite my bottom lip so hard that I taste blood as searing pain blooms inside me.

“You’re such a dirty slut,” he grinds out, thrusting harder and harder. “You wanted me to fuck you from the first time you saw me. You wanted my cock so much that ? —”

“Kurt, you’re hurting me. Stop, I ? —”

He pumps into me three times and he shudders. “Ugh.”

He goes still.

My body is still screaming in pain from the sudden invasion when he rolls onto his back, his chest heaving with each labored breath.

I’m catching my breath too, trying to get the storm of emotions inside me under control.

This wasn’t what I expected or dreamed of whenever I imagined my first time. It was just weird and painful and I wish Kurt would try to pull me into his arms and hold me.

I turn my head on the pillow to look at the man I’m supposed to marry tomorrow. “Kurt?”

He’s lying next to me, his body rigid, his jaw ticking. “What do you want, Rebecca?”

“I—”

He turns his head to look at me, too. “It’ll get better for you once you do it a few more times.”

I don’t want to do it again. Not with him, at least.

A wave of emotion crashes over me. I feel empty and dirty. This feels all wrong.

I sit up, forcing myself to look at my fiancé. “I need to take a shower. I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding?”

He barks out a laugh, his tone harsh. “Yeah, go wash yourself, you filthy whore.”

I blink a couple of times in quick succession, confused. “What?”

“You heard me. Your father warned me that you need a strong, stern hand to guide you. That if I don’t get control of you, your rebellious nature might mess with the purity of spirit that’s necessary to let my talent shine through. And he was right. Look at what you made me do.”

I don’t understand. “What I made you do?”

He raises his voice. “You made me break the one rule your father gave us. Not touching, channeling our sexual energy into our work is what allows us to excel, to be great. You used your body to lure me in, to destroy everything I’ve been working hard for.”

Is this guy for real?

Fury mounts in the pit of my stomach. “I lured you? What the fuck, Kurt? You were begging me a couple of minutes ago. This wasn’t my idea, and I wish I hadn’t said yes. This feels all wrong, I can’t ? —”

Slap.

He strikes me so fast and so hard that I’m too stunned to react for a few seconds.

The side of my face is throbbing so hard that a wave of nausea causes bile to rise and fill my mouth. I taste blood too, as I must’ve bitten my tongue when he hit me.

The few seconds it takes me to make sense of the fact that he did indeed hit me should have been used to put some distance between me and my fiancé.

I realize that when it’s too late.

“It is all wrong. You made me break the new contract I signed yesterday with your father. He could take everything away from me if he found out what you made me do. You filthy whore.”

He lands another blow to my face that knocks me down. My hands come up to cup my throbbing jaw as a pained whimper escapes from me.

“What?” he snarls. “You don’t have anything to say, huh? But I’ll teach you how to act in the presence of your husband. Say a word of what we just did to Byron before tomorrow, and I’m going to kill you. The only way my future will be secure is to put a baby inside you, like I just agreed on that new contract.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about. I probably should stay quiet, but I make the huge mistake of voicing my curiosity. “A baby? What ? —”

“Shut up! From now on, you don’t get to speak unless I give you permission to do so. Are we clear?”

What’s happening? Kurt had always been quiet and a little cold, but I’ve never seen him lose his temper this way. Not even on the ice.

“Answer me, slut!” he yells.

But before I can say anything, he’s on me. His large, strong hands are around my neck, compressing my windpipe and making it hard to breathe.

His weight crashes me as he straddles me, looking into my eyes with a dark, vacant gaze.

As darkness begins invading my vision, I think that if he does kill me, at least I’m not gonna have to marry him. Because I don’t care if I lose everything, but there’s no way I’m going to be married to this monster.

Bex

Present day

Luke is horrified. And furious. I can tell from the way the muscle in his jaw is jumping as he looks at me in stunned silence for a long moment.

I think I prefer that reaction to pity.

“Fuck.” He finally says, wiping a hand over his face. “I can’t even—Did you tell Dad what happened?”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t risk it. The stuff Kurt said to me wasn’t totally out of the blue. Dad didn’t use that language, but when a couple of other dancers last year were caught having sex, he blamed it on her. She got kicked out, he didn’t. Then he gave us all a speech about female power and how it’s mostly on us to keep the men in the house from breaking the no touch rule.”

“Jesus.” Luke murmurs. “I think you’re right. I’m glad you came here, Bex. And I’m so fucking glad you’re ok. I don’t even know where to start unpacking all this horror. I wonder if it’s too late to go to the hospital and get a rape kit done on you.”

I consider his words. “I don’t know, but I agreed to have sex with him.”

His fists clench on the table. “That’s debatable. He pressured you, he basically didn’t leave you any other choice. He intimidated you into sleeping with him and then he judged you for it. And don’t even get me started on how he didn’t even try to make it good for you.”

My brother is right, but that doesn’t change the situation. “Yeah, but it’s going to be my word against his. And it’s true, I felt cornered, and that’s mostly why I agreed. But that doesn’t change the fact that I never told him no.”

“Yeah, but at some point you asked him to stop, and he didn’t. Consent isn’t a blanket type of thing. It can be withdrawn. The second you asked him to stop, he should have.”

That’s true. “Yeah, but all I want is to lie low and never speak to Kurt again. If we go to the cops, there’s going to be an investigation, and you know whose side Dad is going to take.”

His laugh is sardonic. “You’re right about that. But I still don’t think that piece of shit should get away with it. Even if we couldn’t get him for rape, he still assaulted you.”

My fingers trace the rim of the glass pitcher where Lady M is swimming to the surface, probably looking for more food. “I don’t know, Luke. I just don’t want to have any more contact with him or Dad. I want to focus on my future and forget the last four years of my life. When I got out of that cab at the pier yesterday, it felt like I was waking up from a nightmare. I don’t want to invite Dad, Kurt, and their toxic energy back into my life. Even if it’s to get justice, which isn’t a sure thing.”

Luke sighs. “I can’t force you to press charges, Bex. But I want to take some photos of your injuries in case you change your mind later on. I’m sure there’s a statute of limitations to charge someone for assault, but it’s usually longer than a few weeks.”

I don’t argue with him, but I don’t think I’m gonna change my mind about this.

Once Luke is satisfied with the photos he snaps with his phone, he sets a worried gaze on me. “There’s another thing we should worry about. You said that pathetic excuse for a man refused to use protection. What if—do we need to go get something to make sure he didn’t get you pregnant?”

I take his hand, grateful for the way he’s always looked out for me since I can remember. “Yesterday morning, when some of the girls in the house came to my room to help me get ready for the wedding, I noticed I got my period. I put a few tampons in the clutch that matched my dress, but I’ll probably need to get some more. A couple of tampons and my phone were all I could fit in there. Isn’t that pathetic? That’s all I have to my name, if you don’t count the fifty bucks in my bank account, if we don't count the money I won with the bet with the guys.”

Luke pulls me into a hug, and I soak the warmth and the comfort radiating from him.

“I’m glad that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.” He says when he releases me. “There’s one more thing I need to ask you, Bexie-Boo. I don’t mean to sound unwelcoming, but do you have a plan? Anywhere you want to go or do with your life?”

The million dollar question.

I squirm in my chair, lowering my gaze when I tell him that he’s all I have. “I have nowhere to go, and no money. I was hoping I could crash with you until I can get a job and save enough to rent in town. I haven’t thought about it beyond that.”

There’s a beat of silence as Luke muses over what I just said.

I brace myself for being turned down. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he kicks me to the curb. Of course I can’t hold it against him if he does. When I texted him after almost two years of no contact, he immediately came to the rescue. It’s more than anyone in his shoes would have done. Heck, I don’t know what I would have done if the roles had been reversed.

“It’s complicated.” He finally says. “I want to help you, Bex, but it isn’t just up to me. I can stay with Shane at the Gamma house and give you my room here, but to do that, I need to ask my roommates if they’re ok with it. It isn’t just having you stay here, sis. These condos are technically dorms, so I could get expelled if someone reported us. I’m willing to take the risk of helping you out, and I would take full responsibility if there was any problem. But there might be consequences for the guys too, so I don’t know if they’re going to agree.”

I hang my head. “They probably won’t, and I wouldn’t even blame them. Besides the risk of getting in trouble, I doubt Keene would say yes, anyway. He and his cat hate me.”

To my surprise, Luke laughs. “Keene and Poonani hate everyone. Don’t take it personally. Look, I can’t promise anything, but give me a minute to figure it out and talk to them. There’s a party at the Gamma house tonight. I’ll ply them with shots and see if I can get them to agree to at least a couple of weeks.”

“That’s so devious, babe.” I can’t help but laugh.

Luke shrugs. “I’m not gonna get them wasted, but they’re more likely to help us if they’re in a relaxed environment, and they’re having fun. I’m their team captain, and they respect me. I’ve never used that to my advantage, but this is for a good cause. You should probably stay behind for tonight, so if they say no, things won’t escalate too quickly.”

I nod. “Yeah, I don’t mind having the place to myself for a few hours, anyway. I could use some quiet time to collect my thoughts. And besides, where would I even go? All I have is this t-shirt and boxers I stole from your dresser and my chopped up wedding dress.”

Luke looks me up and down. “We can go out and get you a couple of things. I don’t have a ton of money, but we can at least get you one outfit or two. My NHL contract has a signing bonus, but I’m not going to get it until I show up for summer training next year. If I had that, I could do a lot more to help you.”

I can’t help but think that if our father hadn’t profited from my hard work, I would be able to stand on my own two feet without a problem. At least financially.

My concerns must show on my face, because Luke pulls me into his arms again. “Hey, hey. You aren’t alone, Bexie-Boo. I’ll do everything in my power to help you get your life back on track.”

I look into my brother’s eyes. “What have I done to deserve you, Luke? You would be absolutely justified if you told me to fuck off.”

“Bex,” he scolds me. “You’re my twin sister. You’re a part of me. You have no idea how lost and broken I felt without you. I’m so happy to have you back. Together, there’s nothing we can’t achieve. We’ll find you a place, a job and fuck it. Maybe even a new boyfriend. Someone much better than Kurt fucking Priestly.”

My laugh comes out sounding more like a snort. “That wouldn’t take a lot of effort, to be honest. Not choking me and leaving me unconscious the night before our wedding should be quite easy to do.”

Luke’s scowl deepens. “That fucker. Wait until we play Bridgeport. I’ll slam him against the boards so hard that it’s gonna leave an outline of his shape like one of those fossils you can find sometimes on the beach.”

That would make me laugh, but I don’t want Luke to get into trouble because of me. “Luke. You promised. Stay away from Kurt as much as possible.”

He rolls his eyes. “I know. But a guy can hope, right? Guys like him are a shame to the entire male species. He’s such a douche even on the ice. I don’t know what his fucking problem is . I bet my first three years of NHL’s salary that he has a small dick.”

This time, I laugh so hard that tears collect in the corners of my eyes. “I’m not saying this just because I hate him after what happened between us, but he actually does. I’m not an authority on dicks. I’ve only ever seen Matthew’s a couple of times. But he was much bigger than Kurt.”

Luke slams his fist on the table. “Ha. I knew it. Aside from how pathetic a man who hits a woman really is, he didn’t even have the decency to try to take care of you. You can do heaps better than him, Bex. And I'm going to help you find an amazing boyfriend.”

The idea of having a boyfriend, of being in love, is like a dream. “And who are you?” I tease my brother. “The boyfriend whisperer?”

Luke gasps with mock outrage. “Excuse you, sis. I’ll have you know that my douche detector never fails. And if you let me vet your dates, I can guarantee you, you won’t go wrong.”

I think about it. “Ok. What’s the worst that can happen? I would really like to date and have some fun while I search for Mr. Right.”

Luke winks at me. “If you want to find love, you have to abide by the same rule I followed until it led me to Shane.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that. I just left Dad’s house and his dozens of rules. Maybe I should just play it by ear.”

He explains himself. “Well, luckily, all I have is just one rule. The six, six, six rule.”

I’ve never heard of it. “Come again?” I ask, confused.

“It’s very simple,” Luke reassures me. “More than a rule, it’s really a standard. And it’s about some minimum requirements for your Mr. Right. He should be at least six feet tall, have a six inches dick, and six figures in his bank account. If he lacks any of these three requirements, you move on.”

“Luke!” I snort. “You can’t be serious.”

His lips curl into a knowing smile. “I’m as serious as a heart attack. I’ll have you know that Shane fits all of those minimum requirements. He actually exceeds the dick size one. He’s more like a very generous seven inches.”

Heat rises to my face. “Seriously,” I groan. “You can’t say this stuff to me. Now, every time I see your boyfriend, I’m gonna picture his dick.”

Luke hugs me tight. “It’s ok. You’re my twin sister, I’ll allow it. So, do you agree? If he doesn’t have the six, six, six, he’s a no go.”

My brother is crazy, but I guess some guidance can’t hurt. “We have a deal.”