She shakes her head and laughs. It’s airy and bitter, one of the dry ones where exasperation is the only driving force and humor isn’t real.
Twisting enough so my vantage point is directly at her face, she makes sure I hear her too. “The only hands he has on me are the ones I beg for, Ridge. You know, when he fucks me and I scream for more.”
I hiss, the clouded delirium of hatred sprinkling out into me. My control has never been tested unless she’s involved. Right now, she’s all I see. All I hear. All I want to fucking touch and own and keep. Fuck Lux. Fuck the others. Their selfishness with one another only further proves my point.
“He can’t possibly fuck you the way I can,” I bark. “Just ask Melissa.”
At that, she stops in the middle of rifling through her clothing rack, fully giving me her attention, clad in the undergarments that make her body more irresistible somehow.
But it’s not the same as her black garter belt, thigh-highs, and pentagram straps. She’s not Colt, the freak who gained this sliver of humanity inside me. At this moment, she’s Colton DeLeon, wife of a prick, puppet to everyone’s making.
“Get out,” she growls, the laboriously way she says it is blatantly proving how much it upsets her whenever I bring up Melissa.
Colt hasn’t said it aloud, but I’m hers as much as she’s always been mine.
“No,” I argue back. She can try all she might to remove me, but it’ll be without action. Who does she have left? Everyone is already gone for Arcadia, the only two left are her and Noah.
“I’ll scream,” she threatens, placing her hands on her hips. Closing the distance to where we’re toe to toe, I tip her defiant chin up, grasping the angered elf in my palms, bringing our lips so close, we could rewrite the definition of adultery.
“Please do, sweetheart. As loud as you can… my cock enjoys it.” Her eyes flutter at the words, her lips pouting as she opens and closes her mouth, losing her argument with each breath. “And make sure you’re ready to run, because of this beast,” I explain, tapping my chest. “He loves to chase his prey, catch them, and devour them entirely.”
Her teeth dig into her bottom lip with aggression—I would too. Peering down her swan neck, I memorize the soft flesh calling out to me, watching as she swallows dryly.
“You’re a monster,” she whispers.
I lose a little control there, leaning and nipping the flesh of her throat. “I’ve always been your monster, sweetheart.”
Chapter Two
Past
Bridger
“Behave,” my mother says first thing on a Tuesday afternoon when a new girl moves in next door. I find it funny since her mom, brother, and another mom have lived here for a while, and then suddenly she does too.
“Who is she?”
Mom looks at me with a funny expression and I don’t quite understand why she’s giving it to me, yet she doesn’t say more.
“Is she Len’s friend?” I ask, wanting to know if Lennox already knows her. He always meets everyone first and if they are good enough, he introduces them to all the boys.
Mom shakes her head. “No, sweetie. This is your future wife.” As strange as it sounds, it isn’t the first time I’ve heard this phrase. Not only did Mom say these things when Dad had meetings, but so did Len’s, Jay’s, Pru’s, Rossy’s, and Jordan’s moms.
They all enjoyed tea once a week and that’s when we all hang out. I hear them gossiping about how when I grow up, I’ll marry a girl named Colton.
Who has a boy’s name but is a girl? I don’t understand. At first, I thought she was a boy, but my mom laughed at me and said, “No, sugar plum, she’s a girl.”
“Mom, girls are gross.” I don’t mention that people are gross too, only my friends were slightly not disgusting and it’s only because they can’t help it.
“Go play with the boys, Ridgy. I’ll introduce you to her in a bit. But remember, be nice.”
I laugh at that.
I’m always nice.
Unless they don’t deserve it.
Practically running toward Len’s house, which isn’t too far, my excitement propels me forward. All Arcadia houses are close together. They’re within running distance and we’re all family.
Or at least, that’s what Dad says.
“Ridge!” Jay yells, and I run for him. He goes in for a hug, and I stop him, not wanting to feel his skin brush mine. It’s not that he’s too gross, I don’t like any of them to touch me.
“What’s everyone up to?” I ask, wanting to tell them about the new girl. Unlike me, they seem to like girls. It makes sense, they’re super touchy. They like hugs and kisses, and I’d rather stab mud and kick rocks than deal with that.
“Well,” Jay says, rubbing his foot in the ground. “We were thinking of sneaking over to Cassidy’s house.” I open my eyes wide.
“So, you’ve heard about the new girl?”
They all look at me. “It’s a girl?”
I’m not sure who asks but I nod. “Another daughter.”
“Why didn’t she live there already?”
“Who is she?”
“My mom says her name is Colt.”
“Why does she have a boy name?” It’s Ten who asks.
“Not all names are boy names,” Ross interrupts, rolling his eyes.
“Fine, whatever,” Ten grumbles. “Can we sneak over or what?”
We all laugh at his tenacity.
“I say we can pretend we’re hanging out with Cassidy. We’ve done it before,” Pru says with a shrug. Jay nods and smiles.
“He’s right. Cass is our friend.”
Ross seems nervous. “What if he thinks we only like him because he has a sister,” he mentions.
“We like you even though you have a sister,” Len retorts.
“How would you know?” We all look at each other, then Ross speaks up.
“You’ve had a sister all along, you can’t really say we don’t like you, right?”
“Fine,” he concedes. “Let’s go before our moms get angry about it.”
We all walk toward Cassidy’s house, knowing it’s right next to mine. Heading up the stairs, I feel this nervous energy.
Girls don’t scare me—if anything, Olivia, Rossy’s older sister, bothers me. She’s so mean to everyone, calling them names and pushing them around. And she’s also super annoying, always wanting to kiss me. She calls me cute.