14

Ava
This was getting serious, more so than I understood.
What unnerved me the most about Weston was how aloof he was, as if manhandling a stranger was just a typical day in his world. The traitorous sparks continued to swarm my core, the electrified heat unwanted yet impossible to ignore.
Weston continued glaring at me with an impassive, lecherous desire. He truly believed I was his for the taking.
“My place? Let me go, or I’ll have you arrested.” I realized my threat meant nothing to him. When he laughed, the sound reverberating in my ears, I shivered uncontrollably.
“You have a lot to learn, but your training starts now.” He kept me in his clutches, my struggles meaning nothing as he led me down a different hallway to a set of stairs. There was no way I was getting out of his hold. When he jerked me into the stairwell, he pushed me against the wall, gripping my chin. “And baby, as of right now, you belong to us.”
Us.
Who was he talking about-the entire house, or the particular group of men Kennedy had warned me about too late? I glared him in the eye, doing everything I could to keep from showing any fear. The bastard didn’t deserve a single emotion other than rage. “I don’t think you have any idea who my family is.” While Weston was extraordinarily gorgeous, there was a detachment in his eyes that kept a cold shiver flowing through every inch of my body.
As if he had no conscience.
“I assure you that we know everything there is to know about you, including the adorable mole just under your left breast.”
“What did you say?” Had the bastard been watching me? Oh, my God. The Maria petal. I almost choked on the realization that I’d been one hundred percent right.
“You look particularly delicious in your pink nightie, and I do so love the flamingo shower curtain you girls selected. Girlie and innocent. Is that what you are, little pet?”
Now I couldn’t stop shaking. He and his disgusting friends had stalked me. They’d gone through my things. They’d had cameras installed. Oh, God. Nothing had been sacred. I chewed on my inner cheek to keep from making a single sound, a feat I was certain I couldn’t maintain. Why did I have a horrible feeling Kennedy had allowed them inside? No. I refused to believe that about my friend. We’d talked about boys and our future and how many kids we wanted to have, lamenting over our controlling parents. She wouldn’t do that to me. That meant the three Elite members she’d warned me about were more dangerous than I’d thought. The question remained. What did they want from me? A plan so extravagant couldn’t be just about sex.
While I was paralyzed with horror at a reality that seemed far removed from anything that could possibly occur, he laughed.
The sound was dark, angry, and very seductive. When he lowered his head, his lips only centimeters away, I bit down on the lower one until I tasted blood. Weston didn’t react right away. Then he jerked his head back, issuing a low, throaty growl.
“Bad little pet. You’re going to pay for that.” He wiped his thumb through the drops of blood, shoving it into his mouth and acting as if he was sipping nectar from the gods. “As far as the fucker who spawned you. I assure you, princess, that he can’t save you. We are far more powerful than daddy dearest.”
A prickle of heat mixed with the increasing fury. There it was. The reason for the charade. The hatred of my father was evident. But why? He didn’t run in the same circles. He was a good man who had happened to make a fortune. The vile determination in Weston’s voice kept my stomach in knots. Challenging him would mean nothing.
After laughing again, he pulled me up the stairs with enough force that I tripped several times. By the time he got to a door on the fourth floor, I was in a panic, fighting him with everything I had.
He was too strong for me and pushed me into a room without much trouble.
“Our lioness had arrived at our lair,” Weston chortled.
Two other men were inside, one of them Christian. Weston released his hold, shoving me further into the room, then standing in front of the door.
The third man that I’d seen but hadn’t talked to studied me intently, his eyes full of the same hunger I’d seen in the other two. They were also just as hypnotizing, drawing me into a level of darkness that yanked at the already lit fire in my core. I would never understand nor forgive myself for my body’s reaction. However, whatever they had in mind had nothing to do with passion. Their determination was all about power and complete control.
And revenge.
I felt it in my bones.
He had a sharpness about him that made it feel as if a cold arctic blast had shot through the room. He looked at me as anyone would when regarding a possible purchase.
To him, I was nothing but something to be owned.
“Well. Well. The little lioness bites,” the third guy said after glancing at Weston’s lip, his deep voice resonating in vibrating jabs.
“Yeah, I do. You should see what I can do with my fists,” I responded, backing as far away from them as possible. I’d spouted the words without thinking. Now, my heart was in my throat, a crushing boulder threatening to suffocate me.
When the three of them laughed, I shivered visibly. The third guy swaggered closer until he was only a few inches away. “My name is Clinton Cross, Ava . I’ve been waiting for a very long time to make your acquaintance.”
“I wish I could say I’d paid any attention to you at all. You’re just not noteworthy.” Of course, I’d seen him before, all three of them. They were impossible to miss as they strolled through the campus together, shoving aside anyone who’d dared get in their way. But something nagged at the back of my mind. Then I remembered. I’d literally run into Clinton on my first day. He’d been helpful, including managing to find my dorm room. As his dark eyes assessed me, I realized his assistance had been nothing but a ploy.
“Is that really the truth, lovely Ava ? I’ve noticed how you watch us cross the campus. I’ve seen the clear look of lust in your eyes.”
He wasn’t wrong, all three men being the things my darkest fantasies were made of. “Then you need to get your eyes checked.”
The three of them laughed is if watching a comedian on stage.
“I decided this is the perfect moment for the three of us to claim you.” Clinton was obviously in control.
“You mean, you’ve been stalking me.”
The corners of his lips turned up, and he raked his heated gaze down to my toes. He was just as gorgeous as the other two, sophisticated in a way most twenty-two-year-old boys couldn’t be. He appeared older, the dark, curly hair thick, the stubble crossing his angular jaw adding to a sense of danger and seduction. As if sensing I was attracted to him, the moment he eased his lingering look upward, he stopped on my breasts, dragging his tongue across his sensual lips.
“We do anything we want to those we own.”
God, the arrogance was disgusting.
“As I told your buddy, you can’t own a human. You’re not just an asshole but a fool if you think you’ll get away with keeping me for any length of time. My father will see to it that this house and every member of the Elite is expelled. And I’ll be there when they toss your asses outside the pearly little gates.”
Clinton obviously didn’t like my smile or my sense of humor. He grabbed my arm, twisting it around my back as he pulled me against his heated body. “That can’t happen if you’re locked inside a cage, but I’m getting ahead of myself. First, you’re going to be punished for your egregious actions. Going where you don’t belong inside this house will only provide you with answers you won’t like. But afterwards, if you’re a good girl, we’ll teach you what rapturous pleasure is all about.”
“You’re out of your mind.” When he dragged me onto my toes, fisting the back of my hair, I reacted without thinking, spitting in his face. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”
Clinton closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring. He kept his fingers tangled in my hair, freeing my arm as he wiped the glob of saliva from his face. When he opened his eyelids, the deep gray I’d seen before drifted into obsidian black, the snarl he wore cold and calculated. I expected him to backhand me or worse. What I didn’t expect was the smile crossing his face.
“I like this girl very much. More than I should. I think all three of us will enjoy playing with our new pet tremendously.”
Pet? The three of them? He was serious. I glanced toward the door, and Weston shook his head. I could swear they were able to read my mind. The scenario was almost exactly like one I’d written about three months before. The tightness in my throat increased from the knowledge they’d been watching me for some time.
Clinton lifted his eyebrow, his low-slung growl rumbling in my chest. “What’s wrong, princess? Are you afraid every single fantasy you have will come true?” All three laughed, Christian dragging his tongue across his bottom lip. The revulsion continued racing through every muscle, but the sick desire I had was winning the battle.
“Yeah? Well, I don’t like you,” I told him before driving my fists into his chest, my voice nothing but an ugly whisper.
“You witnessed something that was only allowed to be seen and heard by Elite members. And you disobeyed the rules. You were told to remain in the party room. Were you not?” Weston asked the question casually as he removed his jacket, walking closer.
As he unfastened the long sleeves of his crisp white shirt, I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off him. He was even more muscular than I’d originally thought, and as he rolled the material over his forearms, I was struck by the magnificence of his chiseled angles, veins throbbing on both sides.
“You mean witnessing Christian almost beating a man nearly to death for no real reason?” I snapped.
“At least she freely admits it,” Christian said as he took long strides across the room and almost out of my sight. “I assure you that Theodore deserved much worse. He is a true pervert.”
And they didn’t think they were?
“Yes, you’re right. That means perhaps we’ll go easier on you, our little pet, if you repent of your sins.” Clinton rubbed his hand on his trousers, then jerked me closer. Everything about the man was possessive. But there was something else I couldn’t put my finger on, the kind of obsession that could make a man go mad.
“Repent of my sins? What does that mean?” I blurted out, hating the sound of the weakness in my voice.
“That means I’m giving you a choice,” he answered, then threw a look toward Weston.
“What?”
Weston grinned, desire emblazing his eyes. I could tell the three of them had a close relationship, which created a storm of butterflies inside. A sick vision of being taken by all three of them popped into my mind. “Let me think,” he continued as he tapped a finger across his lip. “Ah, yes. You can either accept our punishment, or your little friend Kennedy will receive it tenfold, and you’ll be required to watch. It’s entirely up to you.”
Every word out of his mouth, his superior attitude, and the way he acted as if he already owned me should have repulsed the intelligent girl inside, but I was far too excited to be angry. Or concerned. This was everything I’d wanted but had denied myself. Still, I refused to give in.
“What kind of punishment?” The three men were serious. Maybe the best thing to do was cooperate for now.
Are you still trying to fool yourself?
My inner voice was chiding, more so than I could handle.
Somehow, I’d find a way to tear down their organization. Even as I promised myself I wasn’t an active participant, my skin burning with desire from their controlling touches, I couldn’t seem to stop trembling, my resolve starting to crumble.
The fight inside of me continued, the woman I wanted to be versus the one I’d been forced to accept.
Clinton’s intense words was some crazy cue for Christian to turn around. In his hand was a leather strap, but not like a belt. It was thinner. I sucked in my breath as he cracked it through the air, moaning as the action made a crackling, whooshing sound.
“You’re going to beat me with a whip?” I was mortified, but suddenly, my panties were damp. I was crazy for wanting something so… brutal. Kinky. I had no thoughts to adequately describe what I was thinking.
“We might be savages, beautiful Ava , but it would be too much of a pity to mar your gorgeous skin. A simple spanking tonight will suffice. However…” Clinton allowed the comment to linger. “I assure you that we won’t be as gentle with Kennedy should you decline.”
“You’re a fucking bastard.”
All three men obviously thought my words were meant as a compliment, beaming from ear to ear.
“Actually, we are very reasonable men,” Weston added.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“You have a choice,” Clinton continued. “That’s only fair. What will it be, our disobedient pet?”
I had no other choice if I wanted to get out of here. “As long as Kennedy and I can leave afterwards, then spank me. I don’t care. But you won’t touch Kennedy. You won’t hurt her.”
“Hmm… Should we trust her?” Christian asked the others as he moved closer, still cracking the strap as if trying to terrify me.
“Why not? She’s a very nice girl, and we know where she lives. And we have cameras keeping an eye on her every move. Here’s the thing, Ava . As of tonight, we own you. That means you’ll come to us when we call, and you will do as we say, or the deal you just made is off. Is that understood?”
Clinton was enjoying every moment of this. If they thought for one minute I’d surrender to them under any circumstances, then he and the rest of them were out of their minds. I’d call my parents, then move us to a hotel until the end of the semester.
“Fine. Agreed.” When I threw out my arm for a handshake, Clinton lifted his eyebrows. It was a move he hadn’t expected.
He took a deep breath, the anger I’d seen in him fading slightly. Then he shook my hand, even more surprised my handshake was solid, more like a man’s. An instant shot of electricity tore through both of us, the current red-hot. Suddenly, my mouth was dry, my pulse racing.
Weston broke the odd connection by yanking out a chair. “I get to go first.” He patted his lap, and I instantly felt like a bad girl. There was no reason, nor did it make any sense. I turned my head, biting my lower lip. The way the thin material of his trousers stretched across his massive thighs was pronounced, but not nearly as much as the cloth over the thick cock between his legs.
He caught my lingering gaze and smiled. Then he beckoned with a single finger, patting his lap a second time. “Come here, little girl.”