Page 25 of Splintered Desire

“Fast little thing.” Jace chuckles in my ear, a hand pressed to the side of my head as he sits straddling my ass, keeping me in place.

I hate him. I fucking hate him.

But even with all the strength I train for, I’m not enough to throw him off as I flail and shove up off the ground.

His laughter grates on my nerves, no doubt the way he intended.

“Oh, is this bratty little mouth for me?” He rubs a finger over my lips, but I clamp them shut.

I’m not doing this with him.

I watch in disgusted horror as he moves his hand to his mouth and pops a finger in like he’s licking off the remnants of his favorite snack.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

“Jace.” Both of our heads snap up to look at Kolson, who stands with Isaac at the top of the stairs. I’d say he’s looking at us in disgust, but that might just be the same way he always looks at me.

Neither of us moves, not that I could if I wanted to. I’ve tried, and at this point, I’d just be embarrassing myself in front of them as well.

No thanks.

Kolson stalks down the hall, his nostrils flaring. Isaac trails behind him, looking like this is the last thing he wants to do but being a good lackey like always.

Before he can reach us, Jace huffs a heavy sigh and pushes off the ground, standing right beside me but no longer touching me.

As soon as his weight is gone, I’m moving. Scrambling up and toward my room without looking back.

I feel their eyes track me, but I don’t care. Slamming the door behind me, I quickly flip the lock before I reach for my phone.

I need another lock; this flimsy thing on the door handle won’t be enough to keep them out if they decide they want in.

Honestly, I’m not sure there is a guaranteed way to keep them out, but I’m sure as hell going to try.

It takes me all of two seconds to remember I left my phone on the ground near the bag I’d been using down in the gym.

I sag against the door, my forehead hitting the cool wood as I hear them moving around—their harsh whispers not enough to make out, but enough to tell me I won’t be going back out there tonight.

No, I’ll grab a shower and go to sleep. I can grab my phone in the morning; it’s not as if there’s anything worth having on there. And finding a lock tonight or tomorrow really isn’t much different either; it’s not like I can get it now and install it before I go to bed, no matter how much I wish I could.

Everything else is a tomorrow problem. For now, all I want is to wash the feel of Jace off of me and pray I don’t dream about the way he felt on top of me.

I need to set up a study session with Josh soon too. Clearly, being in a house with these boys is scrambling my brain in the worst way.

Iknew leaving Jace was a bad idea, but he’d insisted he could handle it, and I didn’t have time to argue with him. Of course, he picked the day when my meeting was time-sensitive.

I’m convinced he did that on purpose, but I can’t prove it. All in all, his interest in her is sure to be a problem, and tonight sure as fuck didn’t help. Leave it to my little brother to take a hook to the face and be more drawn to someone.

Even now, with her door closed and locked, his gaze remains glued to it as if he might be able to see through it if he tries hard enough. What’s even more problematic is the fact that Isaac isn’t much better.

Had I known she would be such a problem, I would have prepared, looked into her a little more, and ensured I had a proper hold on her should I need it. But everything I heard about her made her sound like she would be little more than a blip on my radar. Zela sounded boring, timid, and unworthy of my time.

That doesn’t match ‌the girl behind that door, not even a little bit.

“This,” I throw a hand out toward her door to ensure he knows exactly what I mean. “That's why I didn’t trust you to be here alone with her.”

“She started it.” He doesn’t sound put off by that, and that only makes this worse.

I bite back the urge to snap. The house might be big, but I have no doubt I’d wake Mother and Patrick if we got into it out here.