Page 19

CHAPTER 19

ZAIDEN

L ying in my bed, staring up at the ceiling, I remembered how much I hated this house. I hated it even more now that Ariella was in Kacie’s room down the hall from mine.

I rarely stayed there anymore. It had been hard enough to come back after Kacie's death, but the day my mom left and Ariella's mom moved in, I started staying in the frat house more and more.

Pushing up, I threw my legs over the edge of the bed, my hands curling around the corners of the mattress. I'd spent all night waiting for Ariella to get home, and she'd come home trashed, which didn't exactly surprise me since the dance team and the football team went to the local sports bar after the game.

Pushing to my feet, I strolled out of my room, through the hallway, stopping in front of her door. She'd been home for over an hour now, and my guess was that she was passed out cold. I twisted the knob and smirked when it caught.

"Smart girl," I whispered, my fingers finding the cold metal in my pocket. I turned the key over, feeling its ridges against my thumb. "Too bad the boogeyman has a key."

The locked door gave Ariella the illusion of safety, the comfort of closing her eyes without fear, the ability to drift into dreams, and the feeling that she was protected.

She was so wrong.

I slid the silver key into the hole and twisted as I turned the knob, and the lock clicked open, quiet as a promise.

I stepped through the doorway, silently closing the door behind me before strolling up to her bed.

My gaze swept over her as she slept, the bedside nightlight casting a soft orange glow across her face. The gentle light highlighted her features and traced the curve of her shoulder, fading where the thin blanket draped across her tits.

She was naked under that blanket. I was positive.

I stepped forward, my knee slamming into something hard enough to rattle the nightstand. My lips curled around a curse, but I managed to keep it from escaping.

She stirred.

My entire body turned to stone. My heart surged into my throat, pounding so loudly I was certain it would wake her.

Her breathing remained deep and even.

I wasn't worried about her catching me standing over her bed like some midnight predator. The fallout would be manageable—another battle in our endless war. I didn't want the fight tonight. I wanted to watch her.

Her arm shifted above her head. A small sigh escaped her lips.

I didn't dare breathe as my gaze dropped to the drawer hanging open, and my eyes widened on the fluorescent pink vibrator lying next to her black lace thong on the floor. The drawer was opened because that was where she kept her pretty pink toy, and afterward, she'd discarded her panties with the toy.

"Fuck—" The word escaped as barely a breath. My cock strained painfully against my boxer briefs, the thin fabric doing nothing to conceal my reaction. I took a step closer to the bed.

I leaned down. The black lace was soft against my fingers as I lifted it from the floor. I rolled the damp material over my hand, the fabric still warm.

The house fell silent around me. Just the sound of her breathing. The distant tick of the hallway clock.

Bringing the panties to my nose, I closed my eyes. Inhaled.

Her scent—sweet and primal, tinged with the unmistakable evidence of her pleasure—flooded my senses. My head swam. The room tilted.

When my eyes eased open, they froze on her still form, fast asleep. Her hair spread across the pillow, her arms above her head, the soft rise and fall of her chest.

For a moment, I forgot why I hated her.

My chest rose and fell with deep, ragged breaths as my hand, still holding her panties, slipped inside my boxers.

Wrapping the soft material around my cock, I stroked her panties over my length. Ariella's legs shifted, but this time, I didn't freeze; I continued to stroke myself. The thin sheet over her twisted in her feet and shifted down.

I released a low groan deep in my throat as her perfect tits slid out from under the sheet as it continued to move down her tight, toned stomach stopping above her pussy. One of her legs kicked out.

Using my free hand, I slipped my boxers down, releasing my cock. Giving myself more room to find the release I desperately craved. I took the panties from around my cock and brought them back to my nose, inhaling deeply as I pumped harder, faster. My eyes traveled from her full pink lips to the delicate curve of her throat, over her perky tits, down to her stomach. My mouth watered with the fantasy of tasting every inch of her, and my grip tightened, imagining the feel of her.

Wet sounds filled the room as I thrust my hips forward, chasing the orgasm that was so fucking close. I pictured her legs wrapped around me while I unforgivingly pounded into her, punishing her for everything she'd done to me, to Kacie, to my family.

Her nipples pulled tight, and I licked my lips, desperate to taste them.

My balls tightened, and my abs clenched as my breathing turned frantic. Quickly bringing the panties back to my cock, I bit down on my bottom lip as I exhaled a silent breath and came into her panties.

Fuck that was hot.

New kink unlocked.

My chest heaved with exertion. Stars burst behind my eyelids as I came down from a high I'd never experienced before. My mind was filled with dangerous possibilities, like what it would be like to have her. Not just like this, in secret and shadow, but beneath me. Against me. Around me.

I shoved myself back into my boxers, pulse still hammering in my throat. I dropped her panties to the exact spot where I'd found them. Tomorrow, she'd pick them up covered in my cum, never realizing what happened. Never knowing I'd been there, watching her sleep, violating her private space.

The pink vibrator felt warm in my palm as I snatched it from the floor—a trophy.

The door hinges threatened to squeak as I eased it open. I paused, counting the seconds between her soft exhales.

Satisfied she wouldn't wake, I slipped into the hallway. The door closed behind me with a barely audible click.

In the darkness of the corridor, I smiled.