Chapter 78

Angela. Neil’s girlfriend. Supposedly in name only, what with her regularly fucking Beau. Not that Neil knows about that. Or does he? It’s hard to tell.

Neil immediately releases his hold on my arm. He steps away from me an inch or two.

I feel embarrassed but I’m not sure why. Despite my horny thoughts, Neil and I weren’t doing anything romantic. He was lecturing me. That was it.

Unless that’s what Neil considers foreplay? A new thought flings into my mind, unbidden, of Neil manhandling me into his bare chest.

“You’ve been a bad girl, Chloe,” he whispers into my ear.

With Archer, I want to be a good girl and earn his rewards. But with Neil, I want to push his buttons, see how much I can get away with, and then face his consequences as he tries to bring me back into line.

My whole body burns, suddenly ashamed. But if I’m honest with myself, I like it.

I shake my head, trying to clear away the thoughts. I need to get to my room as soon as possible. Or I need to throw myself off the nearest cliff. One or the other.

Anything to keep from continuing to fantasize vaguely erotic scenarios of these two brothers dominating me.

“I’m going inside,” Neil says and walks through the door. He doesn’t wait for me. He doesn’t even look back.

Archer does, though. He’s staring like he wants to devour me whole.

“You didn’t have to say those things,” I say. “Neil was being a gentleman.” More or less, after the lectures stopped.

“He needed to hear them,” Archer says.

“And what do you need to hear?”

He glares at me. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“Is that why you left me standing there that night? Is that why you haven’t acknowledged what happened since then?”

“It was nothing and it meant nothing. Why would I need to acknowledge it?”

The words spear through me like a physical blow. They aren’t unexpected exactly, but it still hurts. For better or worse, that night means something to me. To have it thrown back into my face cuts into me and makes me regret.

I don’t want to regret.

“Fuck you, Archer,” I snap.

He moves at one, as if triggered by my words. Suddenly, he’s in my space and grabbing me by my upper arms. He yanks me toward him, and stares down at me. Fire burns hot in his eyes, so much like it was that night.

I want to ignite. My pussy reacts at once, and my panties get wet. My nipples harden in my bra, peeking into the lace so tight, they ache. I want him to touch me. I want him to order me around. I want anything he’s willing to give me, so long as it involves his hands or his tongue or his mouth.

For a moment, I think he’ll give it to me. I see him eyeing the wall like he could slam me up against it. I don’t argue.

I lose all sense when I’m with him. It’s like my higher faculties go straight out the window and all I can think about is his dick and how fast he can get me off.

I’m a virgin. I shouldn’t want anyone as much as I want Archer, especially not with the danger he promises, and the pleasure-pain I’ve seen. I’m doubtful it would feel good, but I still want it.

More than anything, I want him to call me a good girl and do whatever he wants with me.

“Archer…” I say, voice caught between a whimper and a moan. He’s not even really touching me, just gripping my arms.

But his gaze… Oh, his fiery gaze… I can practically feel it trace down my front. He can see my hardened nipples. He can see the way I’m pushing my chest forward to show off my tits.

I want him to look, to crave so badly that he can’t resist touching.

He licks his lips and I imagine our hot kiss in the library. His hands on my body. His tongue in my mouth.

I’m half-crazed now all on my own, touch-starved for him.

I’ve been your good girl, I almost say. I bite it back in the last minute.

He’s been cruel to me. I can’t forget that.

Even now, he’s saying what we shared was nothing.

He isn’t worthy of me. He doesn’t deserve me when he acts like that.

But fuck it all, I still want him.

I close my eyes, anticipating a kiss. It doesn’t come.

In my mind, Neil presses up behind me. “You aren’t his good girl,” he growl-whispers in my ear. I’m so hot I can almost hear it. “You’re my bad little bitch.”

I swallow thickly.

I want them both so badly, I think I might explode on the spot.

But my imaginings of Neil aren’t real. And Archer is now pulling away.

When he speaks, his voice is rougher than before. He looks away though, and won’t meet my gaze. “Don’t you have a baby to take care of?”

He’s right. I nearly slap myself. I don’t have time to fantasize about either of these assholes. Mia needs me, and Neil was right about one thing, I am behind schedule.

I move around Archer, heading for the door.

“Uh, uh,” he tuts, stopping me. “Neil left you here. So now you have to use the back door.”

“Are you serious?” I give him a disbelieving look.

He lifts one brow as if to say, are you challenging me?

“Ug!” I throw my hands up. I’ve had as much as I can take of this bullshit. I turn back to the stairs, then descend to ground level. There, I round the building and head toward my usual entrance.

I’m fuming my entire walk to Steven’s room where he is holding Mia in his lap while he watches a film on his projector. It’s science, atoms and neurons or something. Steven’s explaining it to Mia, and Mia claps happily at the changing colors.

Steven takes one look at me and stops mid-sentence. Mia doesn’t seem to care. She waves at me.

I wave back. Seeing her brightens my sour mood at least a little. Thank the gods for babies.

“You okay?” Steven asks.

“Your brothers are all assholes,” I say.

He looks at me critically. “I thought you knew that already?”

“I do, but just as I’m starting to think one or two of them might be alright, they ruin it.”

“You should probably expect less,” he says, and returns his attention to the screen. “Else you’ll only continue to get hurt.”

There’s truth in those words, even though they hurt too.

“Do you mind if I stay here for a while?” I ask. I don’t want to be alone, even with just Mia. “Watch the rest of this?”

“You care about molecular structures?”

“Sure.”

He shrugs. “Then take a seat.”

I join him and Mia for a while, watching the film. I try not to think of the growing desires inside of me, or the mirroring hurt that’s growing just as quickly and just as big.

I only have slightly less than two more months here, but at this point, I doubt I’ll come out unscathed.

The next day, I ask Neil to arrange sometime in my schedule to hang out with Angela. She’s already there with me so that helps smooth it over.

Our plan is to go to the bank to redeposit the money I didn’t give to Tide. Neil likes that too.

“Watch out for her,” he says, but we’re both standing there, so I’m not sure if he’s speaking to Angela or me. We both look at each other.

After we leave, on our walk to the bank, Angela brings it up, “Neil seems… fond of you.”

Fond isn’t the term I would use, especially knowing he sees me as someone lesser than him.

“We get along, I guess.”

Angela hums. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. She always seems a few steps ahead of me.

“He and I… we barely even hold hands,” she says. “When we do, it’s only in front of his father.”

I look at her sideways. That’s a weird thing for her to suddenly say to me.

“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about him and me.”

“Uh, okay…” What is she talking about?

It almost seems like… No…

Is she giving me the green light to go after Neil?