With that, he swept from the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving me soaking wet and shivering beneath the icy flow. I immediately switched the tap to warm water, wondering when I’d ever get the scent of apple from my nose. Saint’s scent. He’d branded me again. That son of a bitch.
I stripped off and used my vanilla honey blossom shower gel to scrub away the lasting smell of him whilst warming myself up in the heated water.
That power-hoarding, soap-wielding, dickzilla. One day I’ll ram a bar of soap down his throat and see if it can clean his filthy, wicked innards.
I finally exited the shower, towel drying my hair and combing my fingers through it so it would dry in soft waves.
My heart stammered as I thought over what the hell was going to happen tonight. I wanted Monroe to join them, so why did it terrify me too?
It’s just some old myth, it doesn’t mean anything.
But it did in one sense. The whole school respected it. If Monroe had held power before, it was nothing to what he’d have after tonight.
By the time I exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, my heart was pounding out a merciless beat. My gaze fell on a black bikini laid out perfectly on the bed with white feathers hanging from the hips of the bottoms and the base of the top. I took a moment to mentally prepare myself for this night. I had to play the part of the Night Bound. I had to ensure they never suspected that Monroe and I had a plan, a pact to bring them to their knees. So I had to behave from now on.
I dropped my towel, letting it pool at my feet as I grabbed the bottoms and pulled them on before tying the bikini top into place. The feathers tickled my flesh and goosebumps rushed across my arms as the cool air kissed my skin. It wasn’t exactly a great time of year to wear a bikini, but I didn’t want to rock the Saint boat again tonight by refusing. I’d be the obedient little servant and play their games, all while secretly slipping Monroe under their defences to join me in battle.
Once I’d done my makeup, I lifted my chin, tossing my long hair over my shoulders as I walked downstairs and concealed the nerves warring through my body as I descended.
The four of them stood waiting for me in the lounge, their hands wet with paint. On top of their heads were simple crowns, dark enough that they looked like iron, the metal twisted and imperfect like they’d been shaped by strength alone. Their eyes ate into my flesh hungrily, even Monroe looked like a starving creature amongst them as they closed in on me.
“Hold your hair up, Barbie,” Saint instructed and I did as he asked, my breathing growing shallow as they formed a ring around me. Standing between them felt intoxicating, their scents combining until their purely deadly concoction nearly overwhelmed me.
Monroe stood in front of me, his chest heaving, his throat moving up and down as he swallowed. There was a question in his eyes that said he needed to know what Saint had done to me, but the rest of his features were a mask that made him look as frightening as the rest of them. If I hadn’t known he was my teacher, I would have assumed he’d been one of them for a long time. And that was kind of terrifying.
As one, they laid their hands on my body, branding me with their palms and I couldn’t help my reaction as I inhaled sharply at the kiss of the cold paint, a chill running down my spine like a shard of ice.
Kyan gripped my right arm, curling his fingers around the crook of my elbow and leaving a red print there. Saint pressed his hands to my shoulder blades, sending a shiver racing through me. His flesh against mine after what he’d done to me felt like something I should reject with all my soul, but my body had other ideas, my back arching into him instinctively. Goddammit, why did I crave my tormentors? What sick part of me was responsible for that? And why couldn’t I smother her with a pillow until she stopped kicking?
My lips parted as Blake dropped down to his knees, pressing his palm against my left thigh while Monroe followed suit, kneeling and wrapping his hand around my right calf. My breaths were coming too heavily and I couldn’t conceal it in the skimpy bikini, my chest heaving as they worked around me, Saint’s music assaulting my ears.
They finally finished and Kyan slapped a hand to my ass with a smirk. “All done.”
I shoved his chest in retaliation and he grinned devilishly like he enjoyed that.
“Now for the finishing touches,” Saint purred from behind me and my skin tingled as he wrapped a silken cloak over my shoulders and Blake moved forward with a silver pin in the shape of an arrow, clasping it in place at my throat. Kyan caught my eye as he spun a silver crown around his finger, the item far more delicate than theirs, encrusted with a line of gemstones that surely couldn’t be diamonds?
Kyan took the spot in front of me, reaching up to place it on my head and a bolt of adrenaline ran deep into my veins.
“No…too perfect,” he said with a frown, running his thumb over my lips and smearing my red lipstick. “Better.”
“For fuck’s sake, Kyan,” Saint growled, but he didn’t make a move to fix it. I imagined him sharing me with the others went entirely against his nature, but he somehow seemed to be
