Page 11 of Facing the Music

Which means that my mother could so very easily slip onto campus and find me.

The lack of security has always been what I needed to conduct my business but now it might very well be my downfall.

I try to ignore the issue as we enter Cairo’s apartment at the edge of campus, a building afforded to some of the richer students who want complete privacy. By the time we get Paval situated on the couch, I’m strung out, my body shaking from the overwhelming news continually coming my way.

“Hey, babe. Cairo’s going to get you some meds, alright?” I kneel beside him, loving the way he sifts his fingers into my hair. His touch is stronger than it was earlier which I take to be a good sign. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.”

His words aren’t as slurred as he struggles to sit up, those deep brown eyes focused on me. They run across my face and then dip lower, his brows furrowing until I realize what he wants. I stand and then slowly spin, holding my hands out so he can see all of me. “I’m okay, Pav. I had both of my beautiful protectors with me all night.”

He seems content with that.

Chapter eleven

CAIRO

Tia’s passed out in the armchair, curled up like a goddess, her hair splayed out in front of her face. Paval’s not sleeping as well, continually grunting and twitching before falling silent again. I’ve been watching his breathing for the last hour, ensuring that he still is. The worst possible outcome is that his condition worsens and we have to take him to the hospital. I can’t bear to see this beautiful soul hurt like this, even if I saw the excitement in his eyes while he stood in that ring. No pain is worth it if it comes to this.

It doesn’t help that taking Paval to the hospital would involve the Kolas crew and that could put a stop to the fights. They’re all I have—evenings where I beat the shit out of someone else and win a little cash doing it. My grades are shit, my prospects even weaker. The only option I truly have is working for my father and it’s not something I look forward to.

That man is a monster, finding ways to beat me into submission so that I obey and fall in line. So, I fight—to expel the nightmares and the anger and the uncontrollable rage. I pretend that each face is my father as I finally get to think and say all the words I’ve never been able to. It never makes me feel any better. That man’s face is still in my head, telling me I’m a failure, that I’m nothing more than a waste of space.

Tia’s been my sunshine since I met her a few months ago but I’ve always been in search of someone with a bigger aura, someone meaner. Someone who can fight my demons for me, make me forget. Tia thinks it’s just a crush. She would be wrong.

I stare at his delicate features mixed with the sharp angles of his face. He looks so peaceful despite the bandages. I’m not as obsessive as Paval and I definitely don’t see the world in patterns and numbers but the aura that follows him is what I crave. He’s so fucking gorgeous, the way his eyes darken when he’s pissed off or utterly confused. The way his jaw pulls tight when something doesn’t go the way he expects it to has me in a chokehold.

Now knowing that he was hiding that fierce power behind those fists just makes him all the more perfect to me. And the way he kissed me earlier is all I can think about. My gaze dips lower, following the tattoos covering his chest and the muscles lying beneath them. His body screams a secret strength, one that most people don’t see at face value. It’s why so many thought that Heath would win. Paval’s moves weren’t trained and he didn’t move with grace.

He moved like a fucking animal, attacking prey. Paval definitely brought a spectacle to watch last night. A heavy sigh falls from my lips before I’m flattened onto my back on the living room floor. My eyes widen as Paval is suddenly on top of me, his nostrils flared as he glares down at me. “Why do you keep looking at me like that? I’m not a piece of candy for you to eat.”

I didn’t even know he was awake; my tongue caught against the roof of my mouth. What do I even say in this particular position? My body is betraying me, my cock thickening between us even as I try to stay still. Paval glances down between us as my interest becomes known, the man still hovering above me like this position is normal.

My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I pray for the moment to be over, Paval still staring as I bite back a moan. I don’t even know if he truly understands that his presence is making my body react this way. He’s on a heavy dose of painkillers which are most likely clouding his rational thoughts. Paval blinks a few times before pushing to his feet and disappearing down the hall to the guest bathroom.

I internalize my scream as I gather myself off the floor and race to my bedroom and into the private bathroom. I immediately turn on the shower, shedding my clothes and grabbing my cock to give it some relief. Just one touch from that man and I’m on edge. Tia has always told me that Paval is intense in the way he sees the world, in the way he enjoys and loves things and the people around him. I didn’t know justhowintense. I felt like the man was looking through me, seeing everything in just one glance.

I squeeze my cock and then give it a good stroke, bowing my head beneath the spray that slowly rises in heat. “Fuckkkk,” I drawl out, impossible fantasies flitting through my mind. Imagining me fucking into Tia’s sweet cunt as Paval thrusts his cock down my throat has me stroking myself faster. In an instant, the positions are changed in my head and Paval has me bent over the counter as I eat Tia out.

“Either is good,” I moan to myself. “Both is better.”

Neither will happen but I can pretend. I continue stroking, reaching below to massage my balls. It’s enough to push me over the edge as a mixture of Tia and Paval’s names spill from mylips. I’m so thoroughly fucked when it comes to the two beautiful humans in my apartment because I can’t truly have either one.

My father will never approve of Tia. He has his own ideas about marriage and who will fit the image he needs his son to have. And Paval… god, he’s not exactly the kind of guy someone takes home to their parents. Even so, I want them both.

Tia says I can.

But does Paval even want me?

Chapter twelve

PAVAL

The shower seemed to clear a lot of the fogginess, a few hours sitting on the couch affording me enough energy to open my laptop to log in for my classes. A few skipped lessons won’t be any harm to my grades but I need something to focus on other than Cairo. His cologne is clogging my nose, confusing me. I want Tia. I adore her, crave her, obsess over her but now there’s Cairo in my thoughts. And every time I glance toward the kitchen, I remember his soft lips against mine and the way he melted into my chest.

I remember the look of desire floating in his expression as I hovered over him, Cairo’s interest pressing against my thigh while he tried to hide his needs. Tia left before I woke up so it’s just this man I don’t really know and my wayward desires.

Needing answers, I whip out my phone and text her.

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