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There were dark deeds and bad seeds, but who cared if the house was falling apart as long as it was pretty, right?
I wanted to get into a little trouble. I wanted to catch some rain, find something that made my heart pump again, and I wanted to know what it was like to not have anyone to grab onto.
Own who you are.
Michael Crist was Trevor’s brother. A little older, a little taller, and a lot more intimidating.
Trevor didn’t make my heart pump so hard that I felt like I was on a damn roller coaster. He wasn’t in my dreams, and he wasn’t the first person I thought about when I woke up. He didn’t haunt me.
Michael sat in one of the cushioned chairs all the way at the back of the solarium, his eyes locked on mine, looking eerily calm. Michael. The one who wasn’t nice. The one who wasn’t good to me.
The closer he got, the taller his six feet four inches looked. Michael was lean but muscular, and he made me feel small. In many ways.
One night, he’d noticed me. One night, three years ago, Michael saw something in me and liked it. And just when the fire was starting to kindle, ready to flare and burst apart in a flood of flames, it folded. It tucked its rage and heat away and contained itself.
Chess would teach me strategy, fencing would teach me human nature and self-preservation, and dancing would teach me my body. All necessary for a well-rounded person.
I pulled out a small piece of paper with black writing. Licking my lips, I read the words silently. Beware the fury of a patient man.
And it was October 30, the night before Halloween. Devil’s Night.
They were here. The Four Horsemen.
Damon Torrance, Kai Mori, Will Grayson III, and—I locked my gaze on the bloodred mask covering the face of the one always in the lead a little more than the others—Michael Crist,
Their power came from two things: They had followers and they didn’t care. Everyone idolized them, including me.
I’d always been scared of him. The thrilling kind of scared that got me turned on.
Tonight would be chaos. Devil’s Night wasn’t just hazing. It was special.
Beware the fury of a patient man. I’d Googled it to find that it was a John Dryden quote, and I knew what it meant. Those who are patient plan. And beware the man with a plan.
“You ran away from my brother, my family, your mother, and even your own friends,” he pointed out, “but what if one day you found that all of those securities you took for granted—your house, your money, and the people who love you—weren’t there anymore? Would you need help then? Would you finally realize how very brittle you are without those comforts you seem to think you don’t need?”
The corner of his mouth tilted in a smile, and he walked around me toward the door. “Night, Little Monster.”
Don’t be alone with her. My one rule. The one thing I’d kept to myself and promised to heed, and now I’d broken it.
She thought she was nothing to me, insignificant and invisible. She wanted me to open my eyes and see her again so fucking badly, but she didn’t realize that I already did.
Yeah, you’re going to be in my bed, baby, but not until you wish you hated me.
Now the timing was perfect, she was here, and so was I. Only I wasn’t alone. And the best part? She didn’t know that we knew. She didn’t know that we were coming for her.
The closer you got to anything beautiful, the less beautiful it became. Allure was in the mystery, not the appearance.
“The shy ones tend to be the baddest after all.”
“But you’re . . .” she protested, gesturing to my cock tenting the black towel. “That’s not for you, and you know it.”
I saw Rika pour paint into a tray and then dip in a roller, soaking it in red. My favorite color. It was brave and confident but also aggressive and violent. Not sure why I favored it, but I always had.
We had our own temperaments, vices, and senses of right and wrong. But those differences strengthened us back then. As individuals we had weaknesses, but as the Horsemen we were invincible.
“But they were always controllable,” he challenged. “They were appeasable. Now they don’t have limits, and the only thing they truly understand is that they are the only person they can trust.”
The sun-kissed, glowing skin; the strong, toned legs from years of fencing; and the way she looked so alluring and sweet but with a hint of mischief in her eyes. Like a baby vampire.
“What about you?” I finally asked, making him stop. “Did prison change you?” He turned, looking at me with eerie calmness. “I guess we’ll see.”
“That door leads to the catacombs, right?” I asked, gesturing to the students inside who were heading through the darkened doorway behind the sanctuary. I held the bottle to my chest, turning my head up to Michael. He nodded. I turned back, watching the two guys and girls disappear. “What are they doing down there?” “Having other kinds of fun.”
“You’re such a good little girl, aren’t you, Rika? Good girl for mommy, good girl for teachers . . .” He trailed off before continuing. “You’re a good girl on the outside, but no one knows who the hell you are on the inside, do they?” I clenched my teeth, staring ahead at nothing. His hot breath fell on my neck as he spoke. “I know what you want to watch, Rika,” he gritted out. “I know you like to watch me. Schoolgirls shouldn’t be so naughty.”
Why did I need a blindfold? “Because you’ll see more with your eyes closed,” he answered.
I swallowed, slowly turning around and holding up my hands, finding his chest and placing my palms on him. “You can’t scare me,” I told him. I felt his hands take mine and pull them off his chest. “I already do.”
“Why won’t you let me see?” I asked, coming to a stop next to him. “Would that be more exciting for you?” I twisted my head to him, even though I couldn’t see him. “Is having me blindfolded more exciting for you?”
“Not sure what they have planned for you, honey,” a female voice teased, “but I’m jealous.”
Damon sighed and challenged in a bored tone, “I take what I want when I want it, Kai. We’re not in high school anymore.”
“I wish I could say he was all bark and no bite, but . . .” Kai trailed off, letting the thought sit. Yeah. We both knew that wasn’t true.
“You knew my name,” I stated, remembering that he’d called me Rika. In fact, Damon had said my name, too. “Yeah.” Kai approached my back. “Why wouldn’t I?” Why wouldn’t he? Why would he? I’d never spoken to these guys. It at least made sense that Michael knew of me, since I spent so much time at his house, but I was sure the others had never even noticed me. “You study fencing,” Kai started, “you’re heir to a fortune in diamonds, and you’ve been on honor roll since birth.” I smiled to myself, finding his sarcasm a hell of a lot easier to deal with than Damon’s hands. “And,” he continued behind
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That’s what I admired about the Four Horsemen. They were always in control and always visible. Why wait for Michael when I could do it myself?
“Do you use the word ‘fucking’ a lot?” My shoulders started to drop. Was I too crude? “No,” I admitted, looking away. “I—” “It sounds good on you, Rika,” he cut me off, putting me at ease. “Use it more often.”
“Why are people watching them?” I asked. “For the same reason you want to,” he shot back. “It gets us excited.”
“Sex is an unnecessary need,
“We don’t need sex to survive, but we need it to live,” he explained. “It’s a high, and one of the few things in life where all five senses are at their absolute peak.”
that’s exactly why, next to money, sex is the one thing that drives the world, Rika.
“And what about love?” I challenged. “Isn’t that better than sex?” “Have you ever had sex?” “Have you ever been in love?” I threw back.
“You’re here because you’re like me, Rika. You’re here because there are enough people who try to tell us what to do and try to keep us in a box.” He grazed his lips up my neck as he spoke. “They tell us that what we want is wrong and that freedom is dirty. They see chaos, madness, and fucking as ugly, and the older you get, the smaller that box gets. You feel it closing in already, don’t you?”
“I’m hungry, Rika,” he said, pressing his hard body into my back, his lips hovering over mine. “I want everything they tell me I can’t have, and I see that hunger in you, too.”
“There are too many people that try to change us,” he went on, “and not enough people who want us to be who we really are. Someone once made me see that, and I wanted to give that to you.”
