Page 357 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

But wait…maybe that’s not a bad idea. Marcus would have one hand on me, and only one on the gun. Distracted. Horny as fuck.

I’ve never in my life wished I had telepathic powers as much as I do right now. We’d have this all worked out, Briar and I. Marcus would already be lying hogtied on the floor, the cops on their way.

Arethe cops on their way? Is Briar playing for time?

Briar’s hands close over my breasts and start squeezing. I press my lips into a line, looking up, looking down, looking anywhere but at him.

“Is she getting wet?” Marcus asks.

I squeeze closed my eyes, a shiver chasing down my spine at the leer in Marcus’s voice.

“Fuck,” Briar mutters angrily, but his hand moves down anyway, skimming over my tummy, my clit. Sinking between my legs.

But he doesn’t touch my pussy. Or at least, he doesn’t finger me.

“Mmm,” he murmurs, looking at Marcus. “A little, but not there yet.”

My chest constricts painfully. The fuck does he think he’s doing? I step back, throwing an arm over my boobs and cupping a hand over my pussy.

But Briar doesn’t even look at me. He’s staring at Marcus.

“So…” Briar straightens, leaning his weight to one side. “I saw the video.”

My eyes dart to Marcus. Marcus gives Briar a lopsided smile. “Yeah?”

“I liked it,” Briar says, nodding a few times. “It cleared things up, you know?”

“Yeah?” Marcus says through a laugh.

The fuck are they talking about?

Briar

I have no fucking clue what I’m doing, but I think it’s working especially since Marcus doesn’t seem that keen to blow my fucking head off anymore. I count that as a win. And I’ve gotten him to stop thinking about Indi—he’s not even looking at her anymore.

Instead, he’s fixated on me…like he always is. Suddenly, all those ‘bros’ we sent back and forth have so much more meaning. Why he always loathed the girls I dated.

I was protecting you, bro.

She wasn’t good enough for you, bro.

Time to play on his weaknesses, just like he has every single day.

“You were right.” I take another slow step. “You were right every time, bro.”

I try to let it sound as natural as possible, but there’s suddenly a suspicious gleam in Marcus’s eyes. “Yeah,” he says quietly, and his eyes move to Indi.

“About her,” I say, pointing at Indi. Then I take another step, this one diagonal, cutting off his view of her as if I have something really important to say. “About Addy.” I put emphasis on the last word, and Marcus gives me a fierce nod. “Bunch of whores, just like you said.”

I try to laugh, but it comes out sounding faker than a three-dollar bill.

“Warned you, bro,” Marcus says, and he even has the audacity to waggle his finger at me. “I warned you.”

“You did, man, you did. And I didn’t listen. I didn’tfuckinglisten.” I thump my fist into my palm and then drag my hands through my hair. I probably sound like an idiot, but when I glance at Marcus, he’s gone stock still. Face expressionless. The hand holding the gun dipping.

Marcus shakes his head, and the gun sinks to his side. “She was a cock tease, that stuck up cunt.”

“And the night I’m supposed to pop her cherry,” I say, my hands twisting at my side, “I go and fucking pass out.”

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