Corrupt(26)

“I’ll find my own way out,” I told him, turning away and heading for the door before he could see my lips tremble.

But then he caught the inside of my elbow and yanked me backward, and I gasped as my back crashed into his chest.

“Don’t go.” His voice shook.

Tears pooled in my eyes, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, keeping me glued to his chest as he walked us to the right, rushing into another dark room, this one empty.

My eyes darted around me, but I could barely see anything, the only light coming from the candles in the other room.

“Michael, stop,” I breathed out. Everything was happening too fast. What the hell was he doing?

He walked us across the room, and I dug in my heels to stop him from pushing me, but it was too late. I was pressed into the wall, my chest meeting the stone, and I immediately felt something hit my foot. I looked down to see his red mask lying on the ground as he hovered over my back.

I opened my mouth to protest, but then I froze, feeling his arm tighten around my waist and his breath fall on my neck, over my scar. I stopped breathing, letting my eyes fall closed as my skin burned and my head swam with pleasure. His face and lips nestled into my skin as he held me caged between him and the wall, but he didn’t move further. No kissing, no caressing, just holding as he breathed in and out against my skin.

“You want to know why you’re here?” he asked me, sounding strained in my ear. “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 f*cking as ugly, and the older you get, the smaller that box gets. You feel it closing in already, don’t you?”

My lungs tightened, and I finally sucked in a breath, forcing myself to breathe. His hand dropped from the wall and gripped the front of my neck, bending it back to him.

“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.”

I blinked up, trying to make out the outline of his face in the near-darkness. All I could see, though, was the straight ridge of his nose and the angle of his strong jaw.

“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.”

I stared up at him, my heart racing but so happy I wanted to cry. He knew. He understood what I wanted more than anything.

Freedom.

“Own who you are,” he commanded. “And don’t apologize. Do you understand? Own it or it will own you.”

Relief flooded me. For the first time in my entire life, someone told me it was okay to want what I wanted. To get into messes and to dive in head-first.

To have a little f*cking fun before I died.

I dropped my hands from the wall and slowly turned around, feeling his arm around my waist loosen to let me move.

“Is that all you wanted to give me?” I asked quietly.

He dipped his head down, his heat and scent only inches away.

“I’m not sure you’re ready for more,” he said in a low voice.

And my breath shook, feeling his fingertips trail up my thigh, dragging my skirt up with them. His fingers grazed over the intimate curve where my leg met my hip, and I whimpered, clutching his sweatshirt.

Give me everything you have.

“Rika!”

I sucked in a breath and straightened, hearing my name.

Who…I tried to peer around Michael, but he was too tall, and he had me locked in.

And he made no effort to move, staying in front of me and letting his fingers linger on the

skin of my hipbone.

But after a moment, he dropped his hand and stood up, turning around and giving me room to see who was behind him.

Trevor stood in the light of the doorway between the two rooms, having probably witnessed the public display over there before making it into here.

He still wore his school uniform, khaki pants with a light blue oxford and a navy and green necktie.

“Rika, what the hell were you thinking?” He barged over and grabbed my hand, making me stumble as he hauled me over to his side. “Your mother is worried sick. I’ll take you home.”

But before I got a chance to say anything, he stepped up to Michael. “And you stay the f*ck away from her,” he ordered. “There are a dozen other chicks here. She’s not your toy.”

And without waiting for Michael to respond, Trevor squeezed my hand and pulled me toward the door. I looked back, catching one last glimpse of Michael’s eyes as he watched me leave.





Present



MY PHONE VIBRATED, and I let out a low groan as I opened my eyes and reached behind my head, fumbling for it on the end table. Grabbing it, I yanked it off the cord, my mouth stretching in a yawn as I swiped the screen and saw that I’d missed the call.

Three missed calls, actually. Trevor, Noah, and Mrs. Crist.

Jesus. Why so early? But then I blinked again, widening my eyes, as I saw the time in the top right-hand corner.

Ten o’clock!

“Shit!” I gasped, popping my head up off the sofa. “Dammit!”