Captured (Highgate Preparatory Academy #1)

by Rosa Lee

Sweet baby Jesus. Where do guys like this even come from? This is enough to make even Dorothy throw those beautiful red shoes away and live forever in Oz.

I never knew the meaning of insta-lust until now. I mean, sure, I’ve seen guys that make my breath hitch a little, but the way Loki is speaking to me, touching me, I want to give him permission to do all the bad naughty things to me his heart desires. And I don’t care what his motives are, or why he wants me so badly. I just need him not to stop.

I. Fucking. Shatter. And of course, I’m screaming his name as I fracture into a thousand pieces and am scattered to the four winds.

These guys are like my brothers. We’ve known each other our whole lives, our parents forcing us together at every turn from the moment we were born, our intertwined destinies carved in stone. But joke’s on them, because we chose each other early on by becoming closer than family, our bond stronger than anything that blood dictates. We became each others’ support, a part of our very souls melding until we were several parts of a whole. We've been through the fires of Hell together and are still traveling through the scorching depths. I would do anything for these guys. I have done everything for them, sold my soul to the devil to keep them at least a little free from the blackness that eats away at me.

He’s so beautiful it hurts my heart.

All eyes snap to me, and it’s like looking at a sea of jewels, if jewels could look hungry and sinful. Loki’s eyes are a stunning green, light jade round his pupil, then darkening to emerald round the rim. Jax’s are a piercing blue, like a glacier encapsulated in a diamond, and have a thin rim of navy round the edge. There are a myriad of different blues streaking through them, and his gaze reminds me of a wolf’s, ready to devour you. Ash has eyes the colour of steel, like darkest moissanite that are shot through with grey and black diamonds. They're so unusual that I get lost in them, and am surprised to find that they aren’t cold like I first thought last night, but full of molten heat.

The unbidden idea that I want to keep them all suddenly comes to mind.

“We made enough for you,” a soft, melodic voice invites, my eyes finding a beautiful honey brown gaze, like the finest amber full of warmth staring back at me. The final gemstone to add to my collection. Kai’s cheeks are slightly pink as he talks, indicating the seat on his right with his hand. He clears his throat.

“Let’s make one thing clear, Pretty Girl,” he states darkly as he stalks towards me, and I back up until the back of my knees hit the bed. “I’m happy to share,” he smirks, running a finger down my naked side, “but I get the first taste.”

I ask as I look up at my angel. Wait! My angel?

“Christ, Lilly,” he moans. “You make me fucking wild for you,” he murmurs, kissing me back hard whilst walking us towards the stacks.

I’ll make sure she uses mine again tomorrow. I’ll fill the whole fucking shower with bottles of the stuff if she keeps smelling like me.

She’s like a breath of fresh air, light after the darkest night, the warmth of spring sunshine after a freezing cold winter. She’s turning me into a fucking poet.

I’m already fucking addicted. I can’t get enough of her, and whenever she’s near me, I want to touch her, taste her, and get lost in her smile and warm curves.

I don’t know why I did that dumb Disney shit at the doors, I guess I thought that it would make her smile. And I want to make her smile because damn, when she does, my whole world fucking lights up like the Fourt...

But I’ve never felt like this before with any of the others. Like the shadows and pain disappear when she’s nearby. Like I can finally take a big breath of pure fresh air when I touch her. She makes me forget that I’m damaged, a devil, filled with a black soul and rotten on the inside. When I’m with her, I feel like there might just be a glimmer of light hiding beneath the pitch black.

I don’t know what this is, what we might be. Hell, I’ve known her for less than twenty-four hours. And these feelings scare the shit out of me. But I’m not giving her up. Or the freedom that she brings with her.

But I’m too selfish to let her go, not after spending so long in the dark. I need her light, we all do. Even if it means that she becomes a little tainted along the way. We are the Black Knights after all.

“I just want to know more about you is all,” he responds, slinging his arm across my shoulders, and we carry on walking. “You want to know more about me…?” I question, one eyebrow raising, and my words trailing off when I see the serious look in his eyes. “I want to know everything about you, Pretty Girl,” he encourages.

I realise that we’ve come to a standstill in the middle of the hallway, and Loki pulls me into him, surrounding me with his warm, comforting body and rubbing circles on my back. I breathe in his vanilla cookie scent and relax in his arms. He smells like...home. I feel so safe in his strong arms and wish that I could stay here forever.

Oh, my giddy aunt! Is this...is she…a VSCO girl?! Don’t know what a VSCO girl is? Basically, a teenage girl who spends twenty minutes making her messy bun look just so, and spends a small fortune on her casual outfit, all while spouting about ‘saving the whales,’ yet buying plastic stickers to stick on her reusable water bottle. Yeah, that kind of girl.

This is horrifically aging this book. It’s so bad.

“You must be one of those VSCO girls I’ve heard about,” I reply sweetly, flashing her a cold smile. “Tell me, how are the turtles doing here in the mountains?”

Then his face brightens, a mischievous grin on his lips. “And Ash keeps his slaves in the dungeon, only letting them out after dark, or when he wants to do terrible things to them.” The man in question snaps his head up, and his eyes turn to slits, swimming with danger.

That’s right. Mine, bitch. I’ll hump his leg if I have to stake my claim!

“If you keep doing that, Pretty Girl, I’ll have to bend you over this table and fuck you so hard in front of everyone that you’ll walk like a cowgirl for days.”

“Seems like Pretty Girl here likes the idea of being all tied up,” Loki drawls, loudly enough for the grey eyed prick to hear. Molten heat flashes in Ash’s eyes, liquefying them into swirling pools of slate and freezing me completely. “Looks like Ash likes the idea of tying you up in knots too, Pretty Girl,” Loki snickers playfully, his tone heated.

Loki is behind us, his arm wrapped around Lilly like a possessive asshole. I don't know why he doesn't just piss on her and mark his territory properly.

It’s so funny to me that Ash said and Lilly both thought about similar things about Loki

I don't want to admit that I might be jealous of him, that a small part of me might want to bathe in her light too.

A scantily clad female, wearing some sort of silk scarf that exposes one glittering breast, steps up to Lilly, who's now beside me, and pins a crown of silk flowers in her tumbling brunette hair. Somehow, they match her garish dress perfectly, and as I look at her, I'm taken aback, the hair rising on my arms and nape by how utterly spellbinding she looks, and the wonder in her eyes.

She's practically fucking glowing in the twilight, the candles and fairy lights shining gently on her beautiful face. She is exquisite. I can admit that much. And she seems to belong in these woods, surrounded by fairies and nymphs.

Turning her hazel eyes on me, I’m captured in her gaze, unable to look away, holding my breath.

“Well, in that case,” she says, turning her gaze back to me, and I can see a delicate flush in her cheeks. “Thank you, Ash. I love it.” I give Loki a smug look over her shoulder, trying to hide the sudden warmth pooling in my gut at her statement.

“Damn, Pretty Girl! I didn't think you could get any more beautiful,” he groans, licking his lower lip and rubbing his jaw with a strong manicured hand.

His kiss is full of its usual fire, but also a heart wrenching longing, and somehow, it feels...hopeful. Like I might be exactly what he’s been waiting for, for so long.

“You are a goddess, Lilly Darling, and I intend to worship at your altar all fucking night.”

Like his kiss, it's as if he's a starving man and I'm the first meal he's had in years.

I hear Mine by Joseph Vincent start to play, and as he pushes into me, he starts to sing along in a sexy, raspy voice that sets me alight. Oh. My. Fucking. God! You'd think it would be awkward and cheesy as fuck, someone singing to you whilst they fuck you. But it's not. Not at all. In fact, it feels like he's...making love to me, gazing into my eyes and singing about not wasting time and making me his. You're just imagining things, Lilly.

His smile is so blinding it leaves me speechless, lost in his brilliance. He's so beautiful, I just can't believe that not only does he exist, but I'm in his bed. That he actually likes me. At least, I think he does with all the attention he’s been giving me, and his demands to know all about me.

His smile is so blindingly beautiful and full of joy, that my breath hitches.

“I missed you in my bed last night and slept terribly.” A hint of vulnerability enters his gaze, making my heart crack and ache.

Before I can think of a response, his teasing grin is back in place, and I just know that what's about to come out of his mouth is gonna piss me off a little. “My cock’s not used to being so cold at night. He was lonely.” Annnnd there it is. Fucking arsegoblin.

My mouth falls open. I am gobsmacked. Okay, so he mostly frowned when I first arrived, but he has been smiling at me a lot recently, especially since last night. He gives me this devilish grin that makes me squirm, and butterflies dance in my stomach. I hoped that it was something just for me, but I never imagined that the act of smiling was something he didn’t usually do, even with his close friends. Plus, he didn't let go of me all night, holding me close in those strong arms, letting me know that I'm all kinds of safe and protected there.

Seeing Lilly's beautiful hazel eyes filled with wonder does something to me. It's like she's the sun, and my soul leans towards her, desperate for any light. The moment she walked into our lives, in that towel, I was lost.

I mean, would she want to spend time with me? Especially as she clearly already has Loki and Jax, and I doubt Ash will hold out for much longer. Not with the way he looks at her.

“I'd love that!” she beams, and as I look into those stunning eyes of hers, I swear she eclipses the sun outside the car window. “Great. It's a date,” I say, smiling back and feeling that fucking blush return to my cheeks.

I feel at ease for the first time since Mum died, like I can finally breathe and live again. I don't know whether it's the guys or the setting, maybe both? Mum was always a great believer in following gut instincts, and mine is telling me that here is where I'm meant to be. At least, for now.

“Fuck, Lilly. What have you done to me?” he whispers over my lips, our foreheads touching as he walks forward, guiding us to his bed. “I'm an addict, and you are my. Fucking. Perfect. Drug,” he murmurs in between savage kisses.

My relationship with Loki and Jax is crazy and intense, and we can’t get enough of each other, fucking like rabbits. The thing that frightens me is, it’s not just about sex. They make me feel things in a way I've never felt before. We haven't really openly talked about it, but I'm just taking it as it comes. I don't want to ruin what we've started by questioning it and putting a name to the feelings or a title to what we are.

“We will never leave you,” he says fiercely. “We will always find you.”

“Lilly Darling, I'm so fucking in love with you it hurts. I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you buck ass naked in that shower, singing Get Off My Dick.” He chuckles, and his cheeks have an adorable pink flush to them. I'm speechless. I mean, I knew he felt strongly about me, but I had no idea that he felt this strongly. “I fucking love everything about you. I love your fierceness, your bravery; I mean, shit, you’ve taken us on, and that is not something for the fainthearted. I fucking love your quirky style and the way you come all over my dick.” He smirks, thrusting his hips, rubbing my pussy with said dick, and my eyes flutter with the contact. “I know it's too soon, and we've only known each other for a few weeks, but this life is too fucking short not to grab it by the balls. So, there it is. I. Fucking. Love. You.” And without giving me a chance to think, let alone answer, he slams his lips against mine in a searing kiss. It's red hot, full of all the love he just spoke about.