Page 36 of Bottoms
Challenge me enough that I submitted by choice. That was the feeling I had been searching for my entire life. One that only they had given me, but I was calling the shots when it came to renegotiating the terms of the agreement.
I leaned in close to Tanner, biting lightly at his earlobe. His body tensed beneath me like he always did when he thought he was close to losing control. But I wanted to see his dark passenger too.
“He fucked me with the barrel of his gun.”
Tanner’s body tensed so much that he stood perfectly still, and I took advantage of his brain rebooting. Reaching into his pocket, I gave his soft sea monster a little pat before taking the key to the door from him. No one moved towards me as I unlocked it and bolted into the hallway.
I ran straight into a brick wall. I fell on my ass, my cape swirling around, landing half on my head. I hissed in pain as I looked up and saw Fynn, not a brick wall. He wore a smirk across his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Do you want to get out of here, sweetheart?” He extended his hand to me when I heard a door open behind me.
“Fuck,” I breathed to the floor. Can’t a girl get a break to disappear emotionally into the night?
Fuck.
I took Fynn’s offered hand and let him help pull me to my feet. He turned me in his arms, placing me in front of him like a shield. Tanner and Colten stood in the hallway with deadly glares aimed at Fynn. Nik stood in the doorway, his eyes bouncing around the scene before him.
“I would like to leave now, Fynn. This party got old,” I said, turning my back on the guys. “Take me home, but please don’t hurt them,” I whispered, only to Fynn.
“What, don’t you want to go home with one of them?” Fynn said loud enough for the others to hear while he gave them an instigating grin.
“Bottoms was never my home,” I said, my voice strong because at least I didn’t have to lie.
Fynn slid around me, his hands caressing me the entire time, enjoying showcasing what he could do to the others.
“No,” came the sound of Nik’s voice once Fynn started to walk down the hall with me. Then came the familiar round of a bullet entering the gun chamber, and my stomach bottomed out.
Fynn whipped around the same time I did, but where Fynn started for Nik, I moved between them and pushed my hands into Fynn’s chest. Forcing him to take a step back. His eyes slid to me as he stopped his advance, but his gaze was dark, and I knew I was dealing with the most unhinged version of himself.
“Take it out on me,” I whispered, putting a hand gently over his heart.
I rubbed my palm against his chest, holding him in my gaze. Helping him to switch mental tracks, even if that did end up with me tied up in the middle of his path. Fynn’s gaze flicked over my head, his eyes narrowing.
“Nik, put the fucking gun away,” I hissed, keeping my eyes on Fynn.
I knew Nik listened because Fynn’s body relaxed.
“Take me home, Fynn,” I begged, pulling on his jacket as I tried to get him to move towards the exit again.
“Let her go, Nik,” Tanner said, and my eyes slid to his for a fraction of a second. I gave him silent thanks and managed to get a view into his thoughts as he looked back at me with something that felt a lot like understanding.
12
Cost of Truth
Fynnwassilenttheentire drive home, but I let him peacefully smoke all the cigarettes. They didn’t quite hold the same appeal as before the night’s events. I had no idea how bad things could get for me when I got home, and I hoped that the long drive would give him enough time to switch back to a more reasonable personality. The long, quiet trip gave me more than enough time to go through a mental account of the night with a fine-tooth comb. No matter how I looked, I was fucked seven ways to Sunday.
The long quiet drive mixed with my whole-body, emotional exhaustion. I must have fallen asleep at some point because I woke, sheltered in the arms of Fynn as he carried me up the rickety steps of the old farmhouse. Snuggling into his chest, my body slipped back into sleep’s embrace.
I sat up from my bed with a gasp of air as the dream I was pulled from faded from my memory before I could remember what had happened. The sun hadn’t even begun to light the morning sky. I doubted I could sleep with the lingering remnants of terror from whatever had happened in the abyss. I could have laid in my bed for ten minutes, or it could have been an hour. Either way, the sun still hadn’t started to rise by the time I decided to abandon my bed and head downstairs.
My bare feet hit the cool hardwood floors, and I realized I wasn’t wearing the dress from the party. It seemed that Fynn had put me in a pair of soft shorts, a tank top, and underwear. I looked around the closet and found a familiar sweatshirt I had worn throughout the fall of my senior year of college. It fell to my knees, and I left the hood up to warm my head. But it wasn’t mine. It was Hannah’s. Or at least one from her vast collection of clothing left at her apartment after one-night stands. She considered them part of her trophies and always made sure I put them back after wearing them. I hadn’t been able to help myself. It was the perfect hoodie.
It must have gotten packed up with my stuff when we moved to New York.
I headed out of my room, deciding I needed a cup of coffee or another shot. But I stopped in front of the locked door at the top of the stairs instead. My hand came up to tap lightly, the same knock I used for Hannah. My feet stood rooted in place as I strained to listen for any slight noises of movement from inside. The entire house was silent.
Shaking my head, unsure what I was thinking in the first place, I turned to head downstairs. The house was eerily silent and didn’t make me feel any better after the nightmare. I padded over to the kitchen cupboard and grabbed the bottle of bourbon. Taking a large swig, I reveled in the burning sensation. I had to take more than one mouthful before the full-body, warm, buzzing sensation melted away the lingering shadows of unease.
