Monsters' Gift (Crude Hill High Book 2) Read online

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “He came to warn me, and I don’t know. Something feels off about this whole thing.”

  “You’re starting to scare me,” Ashley said. She took a long sip of her coffee and licked her fingers. “Your paranoia aside, I will be late tonight. I’ve got the late shift and also, Ronald has offered to show me how to make his Yorkshire puddings. I can’t wait. Mine are always coming out so dry and flat.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Really.”

  “Come on. I want to make everything perfect for Christmas dinner.”

  “We’re months away.”

  “Nothing wrong with preparing in advance. Anyway, don’t worry when I come in late.”

  “Oh, is this like a date date?”

  “Ew, no. You do remember Ronald is married with three kids, right?”

  “Right, yes, sorry.”

  “My mom may have been a cheater. I’m not one of them.” Ashley sat back, her face pale.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to … insinuate.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not. This is all my fault.” I felt bad now. I tried to never bring her mother up as it was full of bad memories. Her mother was a cheater, not that my father was any better. I reached across the table, taking her hands in mine. “I’m really sorry.”

  Ashley pulled away. “I need to get to work.” She stood up and I watched her gather her bag.

  “Ash, please, don’t leave like this.”

  “I’m fine. I can forget for the most part, you know. She uprooted us, and I was more than happy to go along. I knew her man was married, and if it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have met you.”

  “I’m really sorry.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact she’s dead. That they killed her.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I didn’t get a chance to stop her. She moved too fast, but I also knew she wanted to be alone, and I couldn’t change that, nor could I blame her. Her only crime was having a mother who fell in love with my dad, who was a greedy bastard. The only saving grace we had was the fact he was dead as well. It didn’t stop her from missing her mom. I hated this. There was absolutely nothing I could do. No way to console her.

  Running my fingers through my hair, I got to my feet and paid for our coffees. There was no point in sticking around.

  As I left the café, I glanced back, sure I’d seen someone I recognized. When I glanced over the tables, no one I knew was there. None of it made any sense to me. The feeling of being watched was still strong.

  Rather than linger, I left, but I didn’t go to work. I called the supermarket, claiming to be sick. Lying was second nature to me. With the unsettled feeling that rushed over me, I headed straight to my and Ashley’s apartment. No one stopped me on my way, but I found myself stopping to look for anyone who could possibly be following me. It made no sense. Why would anyone wish to follow me? I was no one now, as Amelia.

  I thought about Earl Valentine. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. My heart raced and I wished I had my knife with me. It had been a long time since I thought about having my knife. I thought back to the one River had taken. He’d never given it back to me after I killed that MC guy, stabbing him right through the neck. It felt like that had happened to someone else, not to me.

  The way I felt was Earl’s fault. If he hadn’t turned up, I wouldn’t be nervous or panicking. I’d be in control of all of my emotions, instead of being pissed off. While I rushed toward my apartment building, I stopped for the hundredth time and glanced out across the street. People were going about their business, completely oblivious to my craziness. Why would they even have to think about my life, or what I was going through? They had their own lives.

  There was no one there. No one who stood out. I hated this feeling so fucking much.

  Finally, I headed into my building, but I didn’t take the elevator. I went for the stairs, running up them.

  No one intercepted me.

  As I grabbed my keys and went for my door, my hand shook. I didn’t like how afraid I was. Gritting my teeth, I let myself inside my apartment, slamming the door closed and resting my palms against the wood.

  My heart raced.

  Someone was inside.

  I knew they were.

  My hands were hidden behind my body and I grabbed the keys, sliding one between my knuckles, ready to cause trouble.

  I counted to ten inside my head, and then I turned, raising my hand, ready to take out whoever was in my place. They would regret coming here.

  My wrist was caught and I cried out at the sudden pain, but I was pressed against the door, my hand lifted up. Then I was staring into a pair of blue eyes. I recognized them instantly. Gael Parson, in the flesh, had me trapped and as I stared at him, I was amazed. He was the same old Gael, and yet, he wasn’t. He was darker, scarier. The part of him that always seemed to be joking, gone. No smile. No nothing.

  Neither of us spoke.

  I panted and he just stared. I released my keys and it seemed to shake him. In the next second, I threw my arms around him, taking possession of his lips.

  Deep down, I knew I should be pissed at him, and I was. But I wasn’t going to waste a moment. One of his hands sank into my hair as the other went to my ass. We both moaned as he pushed me back. This time, we missed the door and went straight for the wall. He broke off the kiss, sliding his lips down my neck to my pulse, and I moaned, wanting more.

  Shoving against him, I pulled my bag over my head and let it go. It landed on the floor with a clatter, but I didn’t care.

  Next, I was back on him, and he lifted me as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  I wanted him so badly.

  Gael and I, we never got to do this. I should be angry at him, telling him to fuck off, but with his hands wrapped around me, all I wanted was to feel him everywhere. We didn’t get this chance before they pushed me away. I needed this.

  My body craved his touch more than I wanted to push him away.

  It was wrong. I knew that.

  Afterward, I’d be pissed. I’d send him back to hell, but for now, I was going to be selfish and have this moment all to myself.

  Gripping the edge of his shirt, I tore it open.

  Buttons went flying in either direction. I caught sight of all of his ink, the old mixed with the new, but I didn’t care.

  We moved to my sofa and he dropped me down.

  It was a battle of wills, getting each other naked. I didn’t know exactly who won as we both ended up without our clothes, and that was more than fine with me. Our clothes were on the floor all around us and I stared at him, waiting.

  “Fuck, I forgot how beautiful you are.”

  I didn’t hide. I held myself still, watching him, waiting. He just kept looking at me and I liked it.

  I hadn’t been with anyone else, nor had I dated. I didn’t want anyone else but him, along with his three other friends. I didn’t care if it was conventional. They hadn’t left me alone. They all promised me forever, and instead, I had a mere taste of what it meant to be owned by the Monsters’ Crew before they discarded me.

  The pain shook me to my core, but rather than dwell, I stared at him for a few seconds and then sank to my knees before him. Wrapping my fingers around his length, I worked him up and down.

  His fingers went to my hair, holding on to the strands. Staring up the length of his body, I flicked the tip of his cock with my tongue. The growl that erupted from his lips sent a thrill down my spine. I liked that I can do this to him. I didn’t take him into my mouth immediately. No, I took my sweet time, torturing him, making him wait. I didn’t want him to get off easily.

  Sliding my tongue down the vein, I watched him close his eyes for a split second before they were back on me. Good. I wanted him to know who was doing this to him. I didn’t know if he’d had other women, and I didn’t want to know right now. All I was interested in was what I could get out of thi
s.

  None of the other women mattered.

  When I’d coated him in my saliva and made him wait enough, I took him into my mouth, covering the entire tip. Up and down, I bobbed on him, relishing the sounds he made as he hit the back of my throat. I almost gagged on the length with how big he was.

  He held my head and moved me up and down his length, and I took him, loving every single second of his touch. Even the force as he made me take him. At a few points, I gagged, but within a matter of seconds, he pushed me off his length.

  Gael sat me on the edge of the sofa, moving me back, and then his tongue danced across my pussy. His tongue sliding through my slit, circling my clit, then down to my entrance. I cried out as he fucked inside me, and the pleasure was instant.

  I’d touched myself, but none of it felt like this. Gael’s tongue was working his magic and all it took were a few strokes, and I was coming. I screamed his name, but I didn’t want him to stop. He didn’t. He was licking and sucking at my pussy as if I was the food he’d been dying to eat, and I loved it.

  I begged him to not stop, and he hurtled me into a second orgasm that shocked me with just how quickly he got me off. I wasn’t used to coming so fast, but that was what he did to me.

  My body was sated and I waited. Gael sat back, wiping his face with his palm, and then he was back between my thighs. The hard length of his cock rubbing between my lips. Each time he hit my clit, I arched up, and his hands went from my hips, up to my tits, squeezing them.

  “So fucking hot.” He moved down.

  I looked at him as I felt the tip against my core.

  In one hard thrust, he slammed deep inside and we both cried out.

  His grip on my tits didn’t let up. He held them and started to pound inside me, going deeper as he filled me. I heard the sounds of just how wet I was as he started to fuck me. Going in deep, pulling out.

  “So pretty. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been wanting to fuck you? To drive my dick inside you? I’ve thought about it every single day.”

  “Shut up and fuck me,” I said. The last thing I wanted to hear was what he’d been craving or doing while I’d been away. He’d left me. He’d fucking left and I didn’t want to have to deal with that. Asshole. He pissed me off by even thinking I wanted to hear what he went through.

  He released my tits, grabbed my hips, and started to pound inside me.

  I wasn’t used to the sheer width and size of him, and it took my breath away with just how fucking hard he was.

  He pistoned in me, not letting up, and I didn’t want him to stop. I screamed his name, desperate for more. Hungry for him.

  Gael gave me what I wanted and as I came on his length, he cried out, his hard cock filling me with his cum. We didn’t use any protection. I didn’t say anything as I came down from my high.

  His dick was still inside me. I stared at him, wondering if these feelings he inspired would ever dissipate. I was so angry, at myself and at him. I wanted to scream.

  “Hello, Emily,” he said.

  There was a twinkle in his eye, as well as a smirk. I was super pissed and I reacted. After drawing my fist back, I clocked him in the face. He reeled back, pulling out of me. I stood up, feeling his cum sliding out of me, down my thigh, but I didn’t care. Not at that moment. I glared at him and then stomped away.

  I just couldn’t bring myself to say how much I hated, loved, and needed him at that moment. Instead, I went for a shower. It was the only thing that felt safe to me right now. Everything else, my feelings, they were too much. I was drowning in them and that wasn’t a good feeling. It was a bad one. I needed to get my shit together before I completely lost it.

  Chapter Four

  Caleb

  As we stepped into Emily and Ashley’s apartment, I caught sight of Gael putting his clothes on.

  “You couldn’t wait?” River asked.

  “It’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s had to wait all this time. You’ve had a taste of her.” Gael stepped into his pants.

  “I had one taste.”

  Gael and I didn’t get a chance with Emily before our fathers interfered. To a point, it had put a strain on our friendship with River and Vadik, especially when we were drunk and our anger reached a new kind of high.

  Much to my surprise, neither River nor Vadik minded. They seemed to get that we’d missed out on her.

  “Where is she?” I asked. I don’t want to reminisce about the past. There was no point. All I wanted was to see our woman. We’d been too long without and we’d made a deal with the fucking devil to get her back. Before she could realize what we’d done, we needed to get her home. Not that Crude Hill could be called home.

  The moment Ashley didn’t come home tonight, she’d realize we sacrificed her best friend in order to claim her. We’d deal with the fallout so long as we had a chance to chain her to us in every single way that mattered.

  I didn’t trust Earl one bit, and that was another reason I wanted Emily back in our town. Once we had her within our protective circle, she would be safe.

  “You need to leave,” Emily said.

  She was completely wet. Her hair fell down around her shoulders and she had a towel wrapped around her body. She hadn’t looked up at us, and just seeing her now, my cock went so hard. She’d lost weight, which I didn’t like.

  We’d take care of her.

  Seconds ticked by, and she looked up, coming to a stop.

  “Fuck me,” she said.

  All four of us were in her apartment, which was so tiny compared to our place back home.

  Her gaze moved over all of us until she finally settled on me.

  “What is this?” She stayed perfectly still.

  “It’s time for you to come home,” I said.

  Her hands went left to right. “No, I am home.”

  “This isn’t your home,” Gael said. “You know it. I know it.”

  “I don’t have to listen to this. You had your fun.”

  Her glare was so fucking cute.

  Gael chuckled. “I seem to recall you had your fun just as much. You used me to scratch that itch of yours.”

  “You think you’re funny?”

  “Hilarious.”

  She rolled her eyes and it was so good to watch her. I’d missed this.

  “You can all leave.” Her teeth sank into her lip and I caught the glistening of her eyes. It cut me deeply to know we were the ones responsible for the way she felt. We’d hurt her. No one else.

  It made me want to beat the shit out of myself, but I couldn’t do that. “Em, you’ve got to come with us.”

  She burst out laughing. “You’re all joking. Not happening. You need to leave. With Earl’s appearance, Ashley’s already having a hard time dealing with everything. Unlike us, she loved her mom.”

  “We’ve got Ashley,” I said. I was going straight to hell for the lies that spilled from my lips. “Do you think we’d risk coming here if it wasn’t important? You and Ashley are in danger. We’ve already got Ashley on the way back to Crude Hill. Your lives are in danger.”

  “You’re lying. Ashley told me you sent me here for my own good.”

  “Yes, and she didn’t lie, but things change, Emily. You know this life better than anyone. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.” She was going to hate me, but so long as I got her ass back in Crude Hill, in our home, I didn’t care.

  Her gaze left mine and she looked toward Vadik, River, and Gael. I hoped they kept straight fucking faces.

  I was doing what I needed to in order to get her home.

  “Ashley’s safe?”

  “Yes.”

  “I need to call her.” She moved as if to go and see, and I reacted. Wrapping my arms around her, we were going for plan B. I didn’t want this one, but she was too damn stubborn. River was there with the needle, and he pressed it into her skin. “What the hell are you doing? Let me go. Let me the fuck go.”

  She was no match for my strength. I
held her as the sedative took effect. Her grip on the towel loosened and it dropped to the floor. I kept my arms around her as she slumped in my arms.

  I looked toward Gael. “Get her some clothes.”

  “Since when did I become your servant?”

  “Just get her some fucking clothes.” I didn’t have time to argue. The moment the sedative went into her, we were on a countdown. We only had one other dose and I didn’t want to waste time.

  The sooner we got her to Crude Hill, the better.

  Vadik and River watched me. I hadn’t let her go.

  “You lied to her,” River said.

  “You think she was going to come with us?” I didn’t know why I was trying to justify myself to them.

  “I don’t know, but lying to her wasn’t exactly ideal, was it?” Vadik asked. “She’s going to know the truth now, and we’re going to have to fight her.”

  “If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll do as she’s told.” I sounded like an asshole, but I didn’t care. I was trying to keep her safe, protect her.

  Gael returned with a pair of sweats and an ugly-ass t-shirt with a cat on it. Kind of strange for Emily, but I didn’t care. With Gael’s help, we got her changed and I lifted her in my arms.

  “Wait,” Gael said, stopping me as I walk toward the door.

  “What?”

  “You think we should, you know, grab a few things for her?”

  “We’re about to have a fight for our life in keeping her. Do you really fucking think this is going to help us if she has any memories of all that we’ve taken from her?” I was losing my temper now.

  “It may help,” Vadik said.

  “If you guys want to stay behind and grab sentimental shit, be my guest. I don’t have time.” I worked the door open and left, carrying the love of our life with me down toward our waiting car.

  ****

  Vadik

  Emily hadn’t woken up yet.

  We were on our plane, heading to the airport, where a car was waiting for us to escort us all back to Crude Hill.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her.