Page 40 of Bully

Sloane was angelic. She was perfection.

And I was evil. I was broken.

Good and evil didn’t belong together. They were made to battle each other, constantly fighting for control and power over those they inhabited.

“Tamen—” Peyton’s sad voice cut through the spell, and I looked away from Sloane as she joined us, stopping Peyton from whatever inspirational sisterly thing she was about to say. I turned my back on them, unable to face the consequences of my actions face to face as I ordered another drink. It was a mistake for me to give into my anger and desire to keep Sloane far away from the only slice of peace I found for myself in my family. Now I was stuck in her perfect presence, once again coming up short of deserving to be.

Liv’s snarky attitude added the cherry to the top of my self-loathing sundae. “Holy shit, it worked. You said Beetlejuice three times and Tamen showed up.”

“Cut it out.” Peyton snapped, “Just,” She stammered, “Give it up, Liv.”

“Whoa,” Olivia’s shock echoed through the crowded restaurant behind me.

As Sloane slid in beside me, she touched my arm and leaned around me, forcing her face into my sightline. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Why are you here?” I hissed, staring down at her. I felt raw and on edge, and that familiar call to the darkness beckoned in my mind.

Sloane’s gold eyes widened at my tone, but she replied calmly. “I ran into them, and they invited me to join them for girl’s day.”

“You don’t have other friends? Friends that aren’t my family?”

I watched as a different persona slid over her features and she riled up at my question, “I do, but you’ve slept with all of them. So, I figured I’d hang out with the only two girls in the city that can’t say that.”

Smiling to myself as her bite fed at that self-loathing loser inside of me, I snapped back, “Do my sexual encounters bother you that much?”

“They didn’t until I faked my way through a tiresome ten minutes with you.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder, “I kind of lose my appetite for someone after something like that happens.”

She turned to walk away, and I sidestepped her, boxing her in against the bar. It wasn’t overly aggressive, but her lips parted, and her eyes flared with anger as she bent backwards to stare up at me. I knew Olivia and Peyton were standing right beside us within earshot, so I leaned down around her face and ran my nose up the side of her face, not touching her anywhere else, and whispered in her ear.

“Nice try, Rainbow. But I can still taste the sweet flavor of your orgasm on my tongue.” Her ragged breaths against my neck showed her futile attempt to control her response. She was as fucked as I was when it came to physical chemistry. “I can still feel the way you dug your nails into my skin, branding me as you came all over my cock, begging for more.”

Sloane snorted and pushed me away, breaking the connection I had desperately needed for days now, “Wrong.” She huffed, staring up at me again, “Those are secrets of the trade, meant to make men like you think you’re the best I’ve ever had.” She stepped forward, and I took a step back as she raised her finger to my chest, digging her dainty black painted nail into my sternum. “The night before you, another man thought he was just as special as you did. And an hour after you left, another man swore my praises to the sky as he claimed every inch of me that you had touched right before that. You’re not special. This is just a game. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Red.

I saw fucking red.

Imagining her letting another man touch her after I left that night burned every bit of control I had left inside, and I stepped back into her space. I would bend her over the bar right in the middle of the upscale city bar we were in to take back my claim on her, if that’s what she needed to be reminded that I was the boss.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Peyton hissed, stepping between us and glaring at us both. “Okay, we get it. You two like to fuck each other like rabbits while pretending that you hate each other.”

“We do hate each other.” Sloane and I both barked out at P in unison.

“Right.” She droned on, pushing me back and patting my chest. “And the Feral Post Office Lady is harmless. Both are almost believable for half a second until you get close enough to see the truth. But by then, it’s too late, you’re in the clutches of fate by that point.”

“Do not mention that untamed geriatric bobcat in my presence ever again.” I snapped and Liv snickered, drawing my glare her way.

“Anyway,” Peyton slid her arm through Sloane’s, who looked smug as my sister-in-law once again continued to invite her into our circle. “We’re headed to Duffs for wings.” Even simply mentioning the rough sports bar down the street had my annoyance level already rising.

“What is that, three bars in one afternoon?” I chided.

Liv flicked the side of my face with her fingernail, “Careful what you say, mister, or I’ll call Dane and have him turn off your tracker.” When I gave her my attention, she raised her eyebrows at me and nudged me along after the other two. “Yeah that’s right, I know all about your Mr. Hot and Cold mind fuck you’ve got going on with her. So act right, take us out for dinner, and then you can start winning her over the right way.”

“I’m not trying to win anyone over.” I argued, but she waved me off.

“Rory likes her.”

“Gah,” I cringed at the maternal influence she was trying to use on me. “Fuck off.” She chuckled, drawing Sloane’s side eye over her shoulder to me. “Whatever. But if anyone tries to do shots, I’m out.” I droned, already knowing there was no way I was letting the girls go out alone. Especially not Sloane.

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