Page 41 of His Ruin
Brook ices him out for the rest of the evening, choosing to talk to us about The Hunt and primal play. I’m starting to understand it as the drinks flow. Dylan hovers nearby, his gaze flicking to me now and then. I start to feel tipsy when my bladder protests.
I lean in close to Kodi, keeping my voice low. “Where’s the bathroom?”
Before she can answer, Caleb yells over the crowd. “Shitter is upstairs! Last door to the left!”
“Charming,“ Brook bites.
I push through the crowd, weaving past couples grinding together and people blocking the walkways. A loud game of beer pong erupts in the clogged living room, and somewhere close, I hear glass shatter.
“SORRY!” Someone shouts, and I roll my lips in as I stagger up the stairs. The pleasers aren’t doing me any favors as I hold onto the top rail like my life depends on it. Because it does. This is way harder than it looks, and I barely make it without tumbling back down to the first floor.
Reaching the second floor, I’m struck by the drastic change—here, the air is clearer without the clouds of cigarette smoke and weed from downstairs. I stumble along, cursing under my breath when I nearly trip again in my shoes.
The moment I’m out of here, I’m burning these damn shoes. Kodi be damned. Her pockets will recover.
I make it to the bathroom and relieve myself. I wash my hands in the sink, surprised to see the Christmas pump soap sitting on the counter. As I dry my hands, I get a good look at myself in the mirror. My lipgloss has worn down, so I pull the tube from my boot and apply a thin layer to my lips. I smack them together before wandering back out into the hall.
As I’m ambling around, I’m attempting to shove my lipgloss back into my boot when I run right into someone. It’s like hitting a brick wall, and I stumble back before hands catch my biceps.
“Sorry—” My apology dies on my tongue as I look up into a white mask. The mouth is elongated, with a dark mesh covering its lips. The eyes are the same, black pools that are deformed and frightening. I recognize the costume from a popular horror movie, but I can’t quite place the name.
The person is tall, and I have to crane my neck to meet their gaze. The thick, dark jacket covering their arms is obscuring, but recognition slaps me in the face. There’s nodoubt in my mind that this is Kaden. My skin electrifies where he touches, sending my flesh pebbling beneath his grip.
His head tilts. “Hello,Angel.”
The modifier makes a shiver wrack my spine as I gulp. “H-hello.”
The hall has cleared of everyone, and it’s just us up here. The air thickens, clogging my throat, as my body hums with anticipation.
What will he do to me now?
He doesn’t like it when I go to parties…
“You know better,” he growls before switching his grip and wrapping a hand around my throat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I bat my eyelashes innocently, playing into this scene like I have no idea what’s going on.
He hums, the sound of a deep rumble that vibrates in his chest. “You will soon enough.”
He dips quickly, hoisting me up over his shoulder as I yelp and brace my hands against his back. A fierce, stinging slap meets my bare ass, and my teeth grind as the spot becomes a heated ache. My thighs are drenched, rubbing together as he stalks down the hallway. I don’t know where he’s taking me, but arousal is already clouding my judgment as he carries me into a room.
He kicks the door closed behind him as dim lights glow to life at our movement. We’re in a home theater, with rows of plush, beige sofas lined up on different platforms, a massive screen stretching across the furthest wall. The sounds of the party are almost nonexistent here, and I recognize that it’s soundproof.
Kaden lets me slide down until my heels touch the floor. There’s a beat where we stare at each other, thick tension clouding around us.
He lifts a hand to my cheek, the act of a tender caress turning into a tight fist at the nape of my neck as he drags me close to him. “Get on your fucking knees for me.”
My lips part, my eyes staring into the dark pools of the mask. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Bad girls don’t get choices,” he growls softly.
My throat constricts, lust overtaking as I sink to my knees before him. Whatever hold he has on me is like a weakness, rendering my limbs into a puppet pulled by the strings he commands.
He releases my hair, his hand curling around my chin and tilting it up. “You look so good like this. My angel, tainted and twisted.”
I turn into his embrace, closing my eyes. “What are you going to do to me?”
He crouches down, grabbing my cheeks tightly. “I’m going to ruin this pretty makeup and make you fucking choke. When you leave this room, I want everyone to see what I do to you in the dark,Angel. Your devil will clip these fucking wings and put a collar around your throat if I have to.”
