Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 178117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 712(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 178117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 712(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
“You’re really yearning for a beating, aren’t you, Dylan?” Felix says as he slams the door shut.
“I’m just having fun,” he retorts.
“By bullying me again?” I jerk my hand away from his.
“Bullying?” He scoffs, still keeping me close to him. “I prefer the word tease.”
“Enough playing around,” Felix barks as he marches to the door. “Get inside.”
“Woof,” Dylan barks back, and the glare Felix throws him is so funny it even makes me laugh.
“He’s right, though,” Alistair says as he walks up to us. “The Phantoms have obviously made her their target. It’s too dangerous to stay out here.”
He’s right.
Those fireworks in my sister’s room were definitely a message to me.
This means we’re getting closer to whoever caused her misery … and now mine.
I swallow as Alistair steals my hand away from Dylan and drags me along with him. “C’mon.”
“Hey, wait for me,” Dylan growls, jumping up the steps to the building.
We head inside and go through the main hall where the big staircases are. The last time I was here, it was dark and filled with sparkling lights and lots of people dancing around. Now it’s like a ghostly anteroom with doors and windows on all sides, all closed off.
“Jesus, this place needs some light,” I mutter under my breath.
“Felix doesn’t want people to snoop from the outside,” Alistair says.
I frown. “It’s a multistory building. Who’s gonna snoop on the second or third floor?” I point at the window at the top of the stairs, where thick curtains block the light.
“No need,” Dylan replies, and he flicks a switch.
A giant chandelier in the hallway turns on and brightens it with pretty crystals glittering onto the walls, and I stop and stare for a moment at its beauty. That light alone is expensive as fuck, and it makes me wonder how much money has been sunk into this society … these boys.
Alistair lets go of my hand and wanders off to the other side of the hallway. “If you need me, I’ll be in my room.” He adds a wink.
“C’mon, I wanna show you my room,” Dylan says, and he drags me along with him before I even get the chance to reply.
“Dylan …” Felix rumbles from the other side of the hall.
Dylan ignores him and pulls me into a different room. It reminds me of a hollowed cave, with steps lowering into an area where a red, velvety arch in the wall outlines a beautiful beige king canopy bed with a white curtain all around. To the left of the bed is a fireplace and to the right a door through which I can see a big bath. Soft lights with intricate Moroccan designs fills the bedroom, and the furniture looks so soft I could probably fall asleep on them and never wake up.
“Wow,” I mutter.
“Better than sex, right?” Dylan muses, and he jumps onto his bed and splays himself in a playboy fashion, rubbing the bed like he wants me to join him. “But what’s even better is this bed plus you.”
I snort as I approach him. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”
He raises a brow, and it only makes me laugh harder.
I clutch one of the bars of the canopy bed. “This actually works on girls?”
He frowns. “Are you actually bullying me for a change?” He gets up. “I can’t believe it. Come here, you little rat.”
He lunges at me and hoists me onto the bed while I squeal and laugh at the same time, and he rolls me around until he’s on top of me.
“Wait, but we’re completely soaked!”
“I don’t care. I’ve got you now,” he says, pinning my hands above my head. “Just like I caught you the day you ran at the Halloween party.”
A hot flash runs through my body. God, I hate to be reminded of that day. Not because I despised it, but because of how every time I think about it, my clit still thumps.
“You weren’t alone,” I reply. “It would’ve been much harder for you if you were.”
“Oh.” His eyes flash with curiosity. “Are you suggesting I wouldn’t have been able to trap you myself?” His grip on my hands tightens. “What would you have done to avoid me then?”
“I have knives,” I reply, swallowing away the lump in my throat.
“And you think that would deter me?” he retorts, biting his bottom lip. “The challenge only gets me hard.”
I lift my knee, pushing against his bulge, which throbs from the touch, and even I have to admit it feels powerful to be the one to cause that kind of reaction. “You wouldn’t be able to handle me on your own.”
He groans with delight and pulls out his lighter, hovering it so close to my breasts I can feel the heat burn through the fabric. “I like your tenacity, Pen. I like how fearless you are in the face of pain.” And he leans in to press a kiss against my neck, turning off the lighter the moment it almost threatened to burn through my dress.