Page 8 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

Vincent nodded his agreement. “I like the way it hugs your body.” He took a step toward her, not enough to be threatening, but enough to make her think he was coming onto her. He dropped a hand to her waist, pulling her toward him in a slow, deliberate gesture.

She peered up at him through dark lashes, her breath catching in her throat. Going after her so strongly was a gamble. She used to fall all over us, but eventually gave up, and then I went to boot camp , at least…that’s what word on the street was. It was where I was supposed to be.

Uncle Clay was a powerful man, though. One with strong connections. I once looked up to him, thought he was my savior. A snort got caught in my throat. How na?ve and stupid I must have been.

Vincent ran his nose along the length of her neck, inhaling deeply. “What do you think, Dom? You were eyeing her, too.” He shot me a pointed look, silently urging me to go along with this fuckery.

A small smirk tugged at my lips, and I stepped forward too, so that she was crowded between us. “I was.” Reaching out, my fingers drifted through her long, dark hair.

“He’s been in boot camp all these months,” Nicholas chimed in, getting the hint. This was something we all needed to participate in. “ No pussy around, just a bunch of other dudes.” He lowered his voice in a mocking whisper. “He’s a bit desperate right now.”

I rolled my eyes. If that had actually been the case, and I did go to boot camp, maybe I would be desperate. But I’d gotten my dick wet plenty of times.

With reluctance, I decided to go along with it. “My room’s right up there.” I jerked my chin toward the stairs for emphasis. “You could fuck me, could take two of us at once, or…you could have us all if you think you can handle it.”

My hand dropped to the curve of her small breast, and I allowed my fingers to dance over it briefly, eliciting a shiver from her. She couldn’t even lie now. She wanted this.

“Do you still want me, Stacy?” I murmured, pressing up against her firm body. She stumbled back a step, her back connecting with the wall behind her. She glanced around frantically. We were in a room full of people, and we weren’t exactly being subtle.

“Here?” she asked, an edge of nervousness to her tone.

I ground up against her, letting her feel my cock through my jeans. I wasn’t hard, but I was big enough that she’d be able to feel it. Her hands latched onto my arms instinctively, her eyes widening.

“Here,” I confirmed. “No one goes upstairs. They’re all too occupied.” Frankly, I didn’t give a shit who knew we were fucking. But if it helped ease some of her nerves, that was part of the game.

Something heated seared into my spine, and I knew without even having to look that Hazel was in the room again, her gaze lingering on me. If this didn’t show her that things between us were over, I didn’t know what would. It was part of the reason I decided to come on to Stacy so strongly.

“I-I don’t think I can take all of you,” she stammered, the tint in her cheeks brightening. I wanted to laugh at that, because she would definitely be taking more dicks than were in this room eventually. She could consider this a warmup .

“Then who do you want?” I pressed, trying to hurry this shit along.

Stacy glanced between the four of us before releasing a rigid breath. “Mason and Dom.”

I nodded, certain she would have chosen me above the others. She always did have a thing for me. It was something that bothered Hazel a lot, even if she refused to admit it aloud.

“Okay.” I dropped my hands to her hips, pulling her body flush against mine, when my mother’s voice rang out.

“Dominic?” she asked.

I muttered a curse beneath my breath and glanced over my shoulder. Luckily, she hadn’t seen me, was just looking for me. I eased off of Stacy and turned, my gaze capturing Hazel’s who stood across the room. Her eyebrows were tugged downwards, confusion mixing with betrayal on her face.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me.” Mason laughed. “But don’t worry. Dom will give you a piece too. Just gotta be a little patient.”

Deciding not to draw too much attention to my friends and their prey, I started across the living room, coming to a stop in front of my mother. She looked at me in surprise for a moment, her blue eyes adjusting, taking in the new me.

“I almost didn’t even recognize you.” She laughed. “You’re a lot bigger than I remember.” Her gaze skimmed over the ink on my arms, a frown tugging at her lips.

“Two and a half years can change a person,” I clipped dryly.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, her gaze bouncing to a spot behind me. I knew what she was looking at without even having to turn. She spotted the guys. A disapproving stitch formed between her brows, but she knew better than to comment on it.

My mom was never a big fan of Clay, and for the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why.

I think my father knew the kinds of shit he was into, but he would have kept my mother oblivious.

She knew he did illegal shit, knew he was the leader of the Cobras, but didn’t know he had his hands in dirtier shit than that.

“I think you should stay away from those boys,” she finally said, going against her better judgment. It was nothing new. She’d been saying this shit since I started bringing them around three years ago.

“Is that why you were looking for me?” I reiterated. “To tell me you don’t like my friends?”

“No.” She sighed, her shoulders deflating. “I’ve missed you and wanted to spend some time with you. Alice and Hazel have missed you, too.”

An icy retort was on the tip of my tongue, but I had to remind myself that this was my mother.

She had every right to be concerned, especially considering that the last time she saw me, I was void of tattoos and obsessed with the girl on the other side of the woods.

Not to mention, my knuckles were split open and purple with fresh bruising.

I might have been acting out—shoplifting, car hopping, breaking and entering, but now…

I was doing even worse shit than that. She couldn’t even begin to guess.

If she knew, she’d disown me in a heartbeat and make sure I’d never see my sister again.

I couldn’t even blame her for that.

“I know,” I replied. “Maybe the corrections camp screwed me up in the head a bit.”

Her lips lifted into a watery smile. “It must have been difficult. I know the welcome home party wasn’t ideal, and you must be exhausted from the drive, but if you could just try…

” she trailed off, giving me a hopeful expression.

“All these people came to see you today, to welcome you home. Maybe you could try being a little friendlier.”

I snorted a laugh. She wanted me to plaster on a fake smile and mingle with all these people—most of them I’d never even said a word to. By the looks of it, my entire high school was invited, and their parents.

“Especially Hazel,” she hedged.

My jaw tightened at the mere mention of her name.

“Don’t speak of her,” I snapped in a low tone.

The last thing I needed was the wrong person hearing it.

No one needed to know just how close we were.

The guys knew we were friends, but they didn’t know we were best friends, that we grew up together, or that we were once so inseparable, I couldn’t stand being away from her for a full twenty-four hours.

Mom seemed taken aback by the hostility in my tone, her shoulders wound tight, and she flicked her gaze around nervously. “D-did something happen between you two?”

Yes.

I took her to the treehouse, put on a movie, ate her pussy, and fucked her multiple times.

Even when she complained that it hurt. Even when she said she was too sore.

I explored every inch of her body and then jacked off to the distant memory for months following it, knowing in my gut, that it would never be the same once I left.

My throat bobbed, a memory slamming into the forefront of my mind.

“Where are we going?” I asked, glancing at my uncle who had been enlisted to take me to the correctional camp. The camp was only a couple hours away, but we’d been driving a lot longer than that by now.

The road gave way to a narrow street, trees surrounding us on either side.

Uncle Clay glanced over at me, his lips lifting in a smirk. “You’re not going to that camp, boy.” He revved the engine, hitting the accelerator a little too harshly. “It’s pointless. They want to turn you into a little bitch. Not on my fucking watch.”

Unease trickled through me. “Where are we going? Does my mom know? It was court ordered. ”

Uncle Clay scoffed. “I have my way around the law. Trust me on that. You won’t get in trouble for this. As for your mother…” he trailed off, glancing out the window. “Let’s keep this between us.”

“Nothing happened,” I lied. “I just don’t want to rope her into my life.

She’s smart. She could go to a nice college, meet a nice boy, and settle down.

Our paths don’t align.” Even as the words left my mouth, I couldn’t help the sharp pain slicing through my chest at the thought of them. They were true, though.

I wasn’t the same boy she fell in love with. Not anymore.