Corrupt - Douglas Penelope - Страница 33
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He leaned into me, placing both hands on the railing at my sides and called over my head, “Michael! You’ve got a visitor.”
His deep voice sent shivers over my skin. I didn’t have to look behind me to know that Michael had seen me. I heard the basketball dribble to the ground, bouncing against the floor faster and faster until it eventually came to rest, making no more noise.
Kai brought his eyes back to me, his face an inch from mine as he looked down at me.
“I wasn’t aware you all were in Meridian City,” I said, trying to lighten the tense mood.
“Well, as you can imagine,” he said, pushing off the railing and joining his friends on the couches, “We didn’t want a lot of attention or fanfare. We needed some privacy to ease back into things.”
Seemed reasonable. The whole town lamented their arrest and incarceration, and despite the proof of what they’d done, no one hated really them for it. It wasn’t long before their deeds were forgotten and they were sorely missed. By almost everyone.
“Come on. Sit down,” Will pressed. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
Damon tipped his head back, blowing smoke as he let out a dark, quiet laugh, probably remembering his threats to me in the classroom today.
“I’m fine,” I asserted, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Are you sure?” An amused look crossed Will’s face. “Because you’re backing away from us.”
My face fell, and I stopped, realizing I was, indeed, moving away from them. I’d been inching further down the railing toward the wall.
Shit.
Michael climbed the stairs from his basketball court, wiping off his face and chest with a towel. His hair glistened with sweat, and his stomach flexed with his movements. I tightened my arms across my chest.
“What do you want?” he bit out.
Guess his temper hadn’t cooled from the argument at Hunter-Bailey the other day.
I took a deep breath. “I haven’t heard from my mother, and I was wondering if you could give me the number to the satellite phone on board Pithom.”
Michael’s chest still heaved from his workout, and he tossed the towel on a chair as he walked to the kitchen.
“They’re in the middle of the ocean, Rika. Cut her a break.”
He grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and tipped it up, gulping down the whole thing.
“I wouldn’t have bothered you unless I was worried.” I shot a quick glare at Damon for planting the seed in my mind. “If I can’t reach her, that’s one thing. But she hasn’t called me, and that’s unusual.”
Michael finished drinking his water and set the bottle down on the island, planting his hands on the countertop before him. Raising his head, he stared at me, narrowing his eyes as if thinking about something.
“Come to a party with us,” he commanded.
I heard a breathy laugh behind me, and I pinched my eyebrows together in confusion.
Was he was playing with me?
“No,” I answered. “I’d like the number to the satellite phone.”
I heard shuffles behind me, and one by one, each of the guys came up to the island, positioning themselves around me and watching.
Michael stood across from me, while Kai and Will leaned their forearms down on the counter to my left and right. I shot a sideways glance, seeing Damon with his arms crossed and leaning his shoulder against the wall between the living room and kitchen, staring at me.
They’re just messing with you. That’s what they do. They push, they intimidate, but they’d learned their lessons. They wouldn’t cross the line.
“Come to the party,” Kai chimed in. “And you can have the number.”
I shook my head, letting out a bitter laugh. “‘Come to the party, and I can have the number?’” I repeated. “Yeah, this isn’t Thunder Bay, and I’m not as easy to push around as I was then, okay?” And then I turned my eyes on Michael. “Screw you. I’ll get the number from your father.”
I turned and stalked off, taking a left down the hallway toward the elevator. The doors opened as soon as I pushed the button, and I stepped inside, trying to calm my racing heart.
They still intimidated me.
And excited me. And challenged me. And knotted me up.
I’d kind of wanted to go to a party but not with them.
The doors started closing, but just then a hand shot into the elevator, and I jumped, seeing the doors re-open. I sucked in a breath, staring wide-eyed as Michael reached in, grabbed my shirt by the collar with one hand, and pulled me out.
“Michael!” I shouted.
I stumbled into him, and before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my wrists and locked them behind my back, walking into me and forcing me backward, back down the hall toward the kitchen.
“Let me go!” I demanded, my lips brushing the tip of his chin.
“I don’t know, guys,” he teased over my head, “she still seems pretty fucking easy to push around. What do you think?”
Laughter greeted me as he forced me back into the living area.
Every muscle in my body was on fire, and the tips of my toes kept getting caught under his sneakers.
I twisted my body, trying to break his hold. “What the hell are you doing?”
I pushed against his chest and jerked my body to the left, tearing out of his hold with every muscle I could muster.
I stumbled, losing my balance, and fell backward, crashing to the floor. Pain shot through my ass, running down my legs as the fall knocked the wind out me.
Shit!
Shooting my hands behind me, I pushed myself up and bent my knees, looking up at him as he advanced.
He stalked over and then stopped, towering over me. I immediately moved my hands and feet, crawling backward, away from him.
But then I felt something at my back, and I halted. I twisted my head, seeing a dark pant leg, and I didn’t know if it was Damon, Will, or Kai, but it didn’t matter. I was closed in.
Oh, no. I slowly raised my eyes, seeing Michael’s lips tilt in a devious smile. I stopped breathing, seeing him lower his body to the floor, planting his knees between my bent legs, and his hands at my sides.
My neck arched back as his face hovered over mine, but I tried to keep myself up as much as possible, no matter how close his body got.
“I thought you were one of us,” his whispered, his breath caressing my lips. “I thought you could play.”
I stilled, staring into his eyes.
You’re one of us now. Will had said that to me on that night so long ago.
Michael’s amber eyes searched mine and then dropped to my mouth, his breathing growing heavy as he stared at me like he was about to take a bite.
I wanted to cry. What the hell was going on?
Three years ago was nearly the happiest night of my life, and it quickly became the worst. And ever since then, Michael not only acted as if I didn’t exist, but also, at times, as if he wished I didn’t.
Now the guys were free, and they were all back together again. What did I have to do with any of this? What did he want with me?
“I don’t know this game,” I told him, barely audible.
He stared into my eyes, thinning his own as if studying me. “All you need to know,” he finally answered, “is that you can’t tap out.”
And he slid his body into mine, capturing my lips and rolling his hips into mine at the same time.
I cried out, but it was lost in his mouth. Oh, my God.
Every nerve under my skin fired with electricity, and his cock rubbed hard between my thighs. I could feel how thick he was, and I couldn’t keep my body from responding.
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the little pulse in my clit throb as he grinded and teased me. His lips pressed down hard, eating me up, his teeth nibbling, biting, and taking.
I breathed hard between kisses, relishing the feel of his tongue touching mine. Groaning, I steeled my arms behind me, staying up off the floor as I met his match and kissed him back, taking his bottom lip in my teeth and craving more.
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