Page 1 of Ronan
1
My kinks are getting out of control.
I know Emma’s talking. I can hear her droning on about the same issues she’s always had with her boyfriend, but I can’t take my eyes off my phone screen. Masked men have had me in a chokehold for months, and my newest obsession blows the rest out of the water despite how stupid his username is.
Nightbreed.
I laughed the first time I saw it. Giggled, really. But the drool-worthy v lines just above said username drew my attention, and the map of tattoos sprawling across ripped abs and spiraling down muscular arms made me forget all about his stupid name. I just wish I could see his face. Most of the time, I’m grateful that masks let me fantasizeabout whoever I want. It’s not all about looks. It’s personality, aura, demeanor, vibes... and the vibes I use once they put me in the mood.
There are thousands of them on social media at this point — maybe more — but something about Nightbreed is different. Familiar, even. It draws me in and hypnotizes me until I find myself angry that I can’t see his face, his eyes. They’re always hidden. Sometimes it’s behind a motorcycle helmet, sometimes it’s a skull that covers his whole face, or another that only covers the lower half. Regardless, his eyes are always hidden by Ray-Bans. No matter what, his identity, his face, his soul are all hidden from me.
I guess there’s probably a reason for that.
“Are you listening at all?” Emma snaps. “Atley fucking Easton!”
Her tone makes me jerk, though I can’t really blame her. She’s got me. “Yes, I’m listening. Orion is mad you’re still talking to Ben, even though he doesn’t know you two used to fuck. Do I have that right?”
Her eyes narrow and then drop down to my phone. “Are you on fucking masktok again?”
“No,” I lie as straight-faced as I can. “I was talking to my mom.”
“Your mom is dead.”
Fuck, I forgot I told her that. “Fine. Yes, I was. I’m sorry.” Locking my phone, I set it down and turn to face her fully. “I’m sorry, Em. Really. What’s going on?”
She groans, her hand running through her dark blonde hair as her head falls back. “I just don’t get why he doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t know about anything from my past and he’s never had an opportunity to go through my phone, so what the hell is wrong with him?”
“Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know anything,” I offer gently. “He’s asked, hasn’t he? Maybe you being secretive puts him on edge.”
“Everything puts him on edge. I can’t even close my eyes during sex because he assumes I’m picturing someone else. Like, who hurt you dude? Not me.” She looks over at me and then snorts. “Or I guess it would be me, but what people don’t know doesn’t hurt them, and he’d have to actually open up to me to get hurt.”
She’s not wrong. Orion is my step-brother’s best friend, and he’s the most closed-off person I’ve ever met. He doesn’tlet any of us in. “Why do you stay with him then?”
The look she gives me then says it all. She stays because he’s hot. “You don’t just walk away from the best sex of your life, Atley. I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but originally I just wanted to be spit-roasted by him and your brother and here we are.”
I do my best to control my expression, but I know I fail. I’ve had that fantasy too many times to count. “Have you...?”
“Have you been listening? Orion is the most jealous guy in Saint City, of course I haven’t. He won’t even leave me in a room alone with Ronan, and I swear every time I see him, he’s in long sleeves and pants. It makes me feel like we’re in the Victorian era and I’m desperate to see an ankle. I just know Orion had something to do with that.”
I doubt it, I haven’t seen my step-brother in anything less since the day he turned eighteen. It’s done more than a few things to my imagination, not that I’ll ever admit that to her or anyone else. “So good sex but he’s crazy?”
“Pretty much, but he says I’m the crazy one, can you believe that? I swear it’s that green in his left eye, I named it Hulk because it gets brighter when he’s emotional andneeds to fuck something.” Her phone vibrates next to her, and when she looks at it I get the feeling they’re both equally crazy. “Guess who wants me to come over? I’m going to make him wait.”
She looks all too pleased with herself when she sets the phone back down, but I don’t understand.
I’d be tripping over my own feet grabbing my purse and heading to my car. God, I need to get laid.
Sighing, I side-eye my phone and ignore my twitching fingers. “Why do you still hang out with Ben anyway when you know it makes him mad?”
She shrugs. “A few reasons. We have history, I refuse to let a man tell me what to do, and lastly... I like seeing Orion mad about it. He may not show many things, but that angry look in his eyes is the only way I know he cares at all. I’m sure it’s about him and his ego, but I can be delulu and pretend it’s because he knows I’m the catch here. I’ll cut Ben off when I have a ring on my finger.”
It’s hard not to remind her that she probably won’t have a ring until she stops pissing him off, but I manage. “Do you want me to talk to him?”
“That’d be hilarious.” Her phone vibrates again and this time she looks even more mischievous. “He just snapped me a dick pic. Want to see it?”
My gut tells me no, but my pussy says yes. “What kind of a question is that? Hand it over.”
Laughing, she screenshots the Snapchat and tosses me the phone with it pulled up, and immediately a text pops up at the top of the screen that says, “Why the hell did you ss that?”
