Page 132 of Destroying Everleigh

A callous smirk flashed across Lucas’s face as he took in their departing vehicle with a flick of his gaze and then he was pulling away completely. “Come on, babe. You’re just in time for the party.” He slipped his hand in mine and led me through the trees, darkness surrounding us instantly.

Twigs and leaves crunched beneath our feet, terror winding through me like a vise. Party. He confirmed that it was a party. That’s all it was. Still, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had sprouted within me. His hand around mine felt like a noose, and I wanted to shake him off, but that would just start a fight I didn’t have the energy for. I’d play along until we were far away from wherever the hell we were.

The further we walked into the woods, the more unsettled I became. Finally, my gaze snagged on what appeared to be some kind of fire up ahead—a bonfire of sorts it seemed. The tension slowly started ebbing from my muscles and I started to relax. But I didn’t hear the usual laughter and cheers that usually erupted at one of the frat parties. Then again, by the way Jameson and Kash had said it, it sounded like there would only be frat members here. Just the guys, and…me.

The fire grew brighter as we got closer and finally, I could make out the shadows of some of the guys standing around the fire. I recognized Colt immediately, but he wasn’t his usual, goofy self. In fact, he looked like he was torn by something. One of the guys, Elijah, shot me a sleazy smile that had my skin crawling. I didn’t have many encounters with him, and he typically ignored me for the most part, but that look…

A shudder rolled through me as we approached. I glanced around, realizing there was only a small cooler tucked away between a couple of the trees and nothing else. No drugs, no alcohol, and definitely no women.

“I thought you said this was a party,” I muttered under my breath so that he was the only one who could hear me.

Lucas shrugged. “More like a get together,” he explained. “We were just waiting on you to get started.”

I realized pretty quickly that this wasn’t the entire frat. Just Lucas’s most trusted of the group. “Waiting for me?” I repeated,glancing at the ten familiar faces surrounding the bonfire—if you could even call it that.

“Yep.” He jerked me forward, tightening his grip around my hand like he expected me to bolt. I’d be lying if I claimed that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.

Elijah was rounding the fire in the next instant, his dark hair swishing around his face with the movement. I always thought he seemed a little…off. Darker than usual. Maybe it was the scar on his upper lip, or the danger lurking within his green eyes. He was attractive, but most of the guys in the fraternity were. He had absolutely nothing on my guys, though.

My guys.

They weren’t my fucking guys. This solidified that if anything.

Elijah closed the space between us, his warm breath fanning across my face due to our close proximity. The alcohol he’d consumed before my arrival lingered heavily in the air between us. His hair was choppy, giving him that emo-boy style that girls seemed to like a lot. Ashton’s was shaggy in that way, but shorter and not as intense.

“Mmm. She smells fucking exquisite,” he commented in a deep, raspy tone.

Lucas grinned, but there was nothing friendly about it. It was ruthless and unhinged—a side of him I’d never seen before. I trembled between the two guys, fear rippling through me.

“What is this?” I whispered, failing to keep the panic out of my tone.

Elijah reached out, brushing his calloused fingers over the side of my face. Everything inside of me was screaming, telling me to bolt. But I was frozen with fear, unable to move. My heart stuttered in my chest when my gaze locked with Alex’s across the fire. He appeared just as emotionless.

“Your punishment,” Lucas said simply. “I told you that you didn’t get to leave me. That you weremine,” he snarled. “All the while, you were fucking your way through your ex-boyfriend’s friend group.” He dropped my hand, moving to place his palm on my lower back instead. “It’s only fair that my friends get a turn, don’t you think?”

I lurched backwards, astonishment slamming into me with ruthless ferocity. But Lucas was quick to keep me from moving any further, his hand pressing against me more firmly.

Elijah’s lips tilted into a manic grin, his eyes blazing with raw excitement that had shivers skittering through my body. “I love it when they run,” he groaned. “Maybe we should let her go. See how far she gets.”

What the actual fuck? Fucking psycho.

“No,” Lucas replied dryly, like they’ve had this conversation before. “It’s too risky and it’ll take too long. Plus, she’s fast. Just fuck her and get it over with.”

Elijah shrugged like he didn’t give a shit either way, and then he closed in on me, pressing his front to mine. His hands moved to grip my waist, his nose dropping to the column of my neck. “Fuck,” he growled. “Just like cherries.” His tongue darted out of his mouth, and he swiped it along the sensitive skin there.

“Please,” I choked out. “Don’t do this.” Tears blurred my vision as I was faced with the twisted reality of what this really was. They all came here to have their way with me. Torapeme.

Elijah’s deep chuckle tittered through the air, sweeping in the wind as it was carried all around me in an unsettling caress. His hands found my jacket and he pushed it down my shoulders in a single movement, letting it fall to the ground with a soft thud.

Commotion caught my eye from the other side of the fire, and I realized that it was Colt, panic flaring in his eyes as he tried to get to me. Two of the other guys held him back, keepinghim from being the hero. One of them delivered a punch to his stomach, causing him to double over and wheeze.

My attention was captured by Elijah again when he grabbed the fabric of my thin shirt and ripped it down the middle with ease. A sob caught in my throat, my body vibrating with fear. The cold, night air drifted along my exposed skin, but that was clearly the least of my concerns. His gaze skimmed over my sports bra for a moment and then he gripped the zipper in the front between two fingers before jerking it down. I tried to move to cover myself, but Lucas was pinning my arms to my sides from behind. In no time, my bra was crumpling to the ground, too. My nipples pebbled due to the cold, humiliation rippling through me in waves.

Did Ashton know that this was the plan? He must have, right? I suppose it didn’t matter. He was the reason I was here in the first place. He was the reason this was happening.

“She’s got some nice tits,” Elijah stated, pinching one of my nipples between his thumb and forefinger. “A little small for my taste, but a decent handful.” I hated how he talked about me like I was just a slab of meat. Something he could use and discard when he was done. But what else would I expect from any of Lucas’s friends?

I wriggled between him, trying to get away, but my attempts were futile at best. I didn’t have my arms, and my stomach was twisting with hunger.

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