Page 5 of The Circus

I glance down at Eden, who refuses to look at either of us.

“Brant said we could share you,” I jest, prodding at her defenses and seeing what will garner a reaction. Her cheeks instantly blot with more blood, her fists clenching so tightly her knuckles blanche. Cash’s head whips in my direction, and he glares at me over her. Smooshed between us, she’s nothing more than a tiny, defenseless mouse.

“Fuck no,” Cash growls, then glances at Eden, his eyes softening. She doesn’t bother to look at either of us, stone cold in her quiet anger. “I…I uh…you’re pretty, but…”

I snort as he fumbles to retract his statement so as to not hurt her feelings, but her small voice lashes out, holding within it more ire than I ever thought her capable.

“Just leave me the hell alone.”

She pushes herself harder, running a few paces ahead. Cash looks over at me, a mix of satisfaction and sadness creeping into the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t want her to feel she has a place with us, yet he feels guilty at shunning her. I know my best friend all too well, and therefore know he will get over it eventually.

I wink, jogging ahead to catch up to her, the predator in me satisfied as her body tenses when my shadow falls over her.

“We don’t have to share if you don’t wanna. You can choose either one. Just know Cash likes his balls played?—”

She halts mid-stride, and I nearly tumble into her, Cash flipping us off as he passes us and jogs away. In his absence, her fury grows, and her thinly arched brows pull low over her doe eyes. When she glares at me, heat rushes to my cock, and I have to fight all of the dirty, hormonal images away. I like her. And I’m discovering that I like tormenting her as well.

“You’re disgusting,” she seethes, her pretty white teeth bared, her plump lips parted in a sneer. A few strands of black hair are plastered to her dewy cheeks and temples, her tiny nose so prim and perfect on her pale face. She really is a little Chinadoll. A fucking gothic one, too, and I’m suddenly a feral golden retriever chasing the neighborhood’s stray black cat.

“What?” I grin, resting my hands on my hips as I fight to regain a normal breathing rate. Her eye twitches, but she quickly glances away, resuming our run at a much slower pace. I’m quick to follow. The slap of our feet along the dirt path is as rhythmic as a metronome. “Fine, Cash isn’t your type. I don’t like sharing anyways, so if you want, I can make you come real quick?—”

In her shock at my words, she falters and tumbles over a fallen branch.

“Oof,” she grunts, splayed out on the dirt. Snickering, I bend to help her up, snaking an arm around her waist and lifting. She weighs about as much as a sack of flour, her ribs digging into my forearm. Struggling in my grasp to free herself of me, I only cinch down harder until her chest is pressed to mine, her dirt-coated palms resting on my pecs. She blinks up at me, a ray of sunlight slicing across her face and making her strange, violet eyes come to life.

More of that damnable warmth seeps into my veins and leeches into my soul. I’ve always felt her presence, but feeling her in my arms is another beast entirely. And once my obsession sets in, there’s no remedying it. She’s about to become my new plaything, and all of the millions of possibilities of what I will do to her rush forth in my brain. Hopefully she can withstand my psychotic ass. If not…I suppose stalking her will suffice, but only for a little bit. There’s only so much I can do against myself, constantly at war with my obsessive impulses ever since I let them run free four years ago.

“Let go,” she grits out, shoving against me to no avail. I like the way she struggles. Though I’ve never had a relationship, I know what I like sexually, and I also know it deviates quite sharply from what anyone would consider normal. I’ve yet toexplore the depths of my depravity, but fuck if Eden doesn’t make me want to.

We stare at one another for a beat too long, and her cheeks flame to life, our gazes locked as nature comes alive all around us. A cool breeze plays in her hair, robins chirp, and somewhere a squirrel is chittering at its companion. Peace. I fucking feel at peace right now, and it’s bliss.

“No,” I say softly, my smile tempered for her sake. If I grin as widely as I want to, she’d probably throat punch me.

Her lips twist into a furious sneer, and just before she can knee me in the balls, I catch her thigh with my hand, clamping down so hard onto her flesh and muscle that I wonder if I’ll leave bruises. I want to. The purple hue would match her haunting eyes.

Panic floods her gaze, and her cheeks pale when she realizes I’m far stronger than I look.

“Teddy,” she breathes, fanning my name across my face at her terrified plea. Fuck. Fuck, fuck,fuck. Her sudden strike of anxiety has me getting hard, and I quickly let her go, lest she feel my heat against her stomach. The last thing I need is a sexual harassment claim brought against me. Dick would have a difficult time getting me off the hook for that, and since he teaches here, I have to remain constantly on my toes.

She stumbles backwards, quickly righting herself and smoothing down her deep green gym shirt, her cheeks pinkening again. An awkward silence befalls us, and so I cross my arms and cock my head to the side, prepared to gently interrogate her. I want to figure out where she lives, and Dick has threatened me with everything but death if I hack the school’s administration system again. It’s more fun this way, anyways. Some good old fashioned stalking wouldn’t hurt Eden, right?

But before I can prod her, she takes another step back and hisses, stumbling as she favors her right leg.

“Looks like no more gym for you,” I jest. Her eyes snap to mine, irises coated in a layer of fury.

“It’s your fault I fell, freak.”

Her words are delivered with venom, and it pierces me far more deeply than it should. When she realizes the depths of her anger, her gaze softens, and she shakes her head, turning around to limp down the path in front of me. Stung but not wounded, I follow, a silent sentry, and her a ghost. The asshole in me can’t keep silent for long, though, and riling her up is far too easy.

“So, any fun plans for prom?”

Limp. Limp. Silence.

“Yeah, me too. Cash and I want to go together. Maybe spike the punch.”

Shuffle. Shuffle. Hiss of pain.

“Y’know, I could carry you. Don’t want to damage that ankle any further. Then how would you run away from a murderer?”

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