As I stroke a strand of hair behind her ear, she holds her breath. Something about the flicker of doubt in her eyes soothes my inner turmoil. Even so, I cup her chin and claim her mouth. Our lips crash, and I frown, kissing her harder.
Why the hell is it that I feel nothing when I touch anyone but Cole? My girlfriend could be an object. I taste the coppery blood on her tongue, and my heart remains a dull, steady beat. It doesn’t matter how hard I kiss her or claw at her clothes, skin, or hair. I don’t feel a thing. It never bothered me before to use people for my gain, like pieces in a chess game, but now it seems like I have a queen on my board—the most valuable player—and I can’t fucking get to it. Cole smirks at me from behind a wall of pawns, protected by his rooks and bishops. My king can’t defeat his army, and I’m yet to decide if he’s a coward or if he’s smart for building his walls this high.
“Blaise,” she breathes when I spin her around. “Allie is upset in the other room?—”
“Shut up!” I yank down her pants, palming her bare ass while keeping her cheek pressed to the wall with my fingers around her neck. I smack her pale skin, and she yelps, but I still feel nothing.
Not a fucking thing.
Numb.
Empty.
I attack her neck with biting kisses. Moaning, she juts her ass against me. The bitter taste of her flowery perfume assaults my taste buds. I rip my belt open, determined to feel…something.
“What’s gotten into you?” she asks as I free my dick.
I clamp my hand over her mouth to shut her up, and she whimpers, aroused and scared.
I’ve always played the perfect boyfriend.
Always been what I thought she wanted. I’ve tried to fit in.
“If she comes looking for my cock once more, I’ll give it to her.”
Cole’s words taunt me, slithering beneath my veins like prickly thorns. Fuck him and his threats. He won’t be touching anyone without my permission.
Mia’s eyes roll back into her head when I ram my dick into her tight cunt.
I still feel nothing.
She squeals, and I pause when the door creaks. He’s here, watching me fuck my girlfriend. Cole sets me on fire as he drops a metaphorical matchstick to the gasoline trail on the ground.
I feel again.
My heart thuds to life, beating so damn hard that my chest aches. Mia’s walls ripple around me as I sneak my hand beneath her wooly sweater to palm her tits. She doesn’t arouse me, but the thought of riling up the man behind us sure as hell does.
It’s easy to ignore her sickly perfume and squealing whimpers when every snap of my hips knocks another pawn off his board.
I’m hunting his fucking queen.
“Moan for me, Mia,” I growl in her ear, pinching her nipple. “Let my brother hear how good my dick feels. How you love it tearing through your cunt.”
She stiffens, but soon melts into my touch, and I slip my hand from her top to play with her clit. I’ve barely grazed her slick pussy lips, when I’m wrenched away and punched in the face. Collapsing to the floor, I laugh like a fucking maniac. “You’re so predictable.”
Cole glares at me and my still hard, slick dick. I push up onto my elbows and smirk at him while Mia hurries to pull her pants back up. She flees the room, mumbling apologies.
“Why so angry?” I taunt.
My dick pulses against my T-shirt. There’s a wet patch on the navy fabric. Cole grinds his teeth as he stares at it. He pulls on his short hair before kicking me hard enough to make me double over and choke out a strangled laugh.
“Fuck!” I cough, cradling my stomach. “That hurt.”
I’m finally alive again. Alive in ways I’ve never been. So what if I have to hurt him to taste freedom from the suffocating darkness? It’s worth it.
Heis worth it.
“You can’t keep your fucking hands to yourself, huh?”
