Page 53 of Virgin Sacrifice

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see what my twin wanted. It was almost always him texting me. My older brother, Lucian, communicated with me almost exclusively through Nixon, having confused my silence with being unable to listen. Locke was a pompous fuck who only ever texted when he needed help to dispose of a body.

Nix: Big bro says family meeting

Everest did text me sometimes. It was almost always some obscure pop culture reference that was wholly lost on me due to the decade-plus age gap between us. That or a wildly incriminating photo of his latest art installation.

I didn’t respond to Nix’s message, knowing he would follow up with the relevant information when he had it.

Instead, I returned to staring at the building in the distance, my eyes narrowing at the thought of needing to leave before getting a chance to see her.

I owed her one punishment already, and if I didn’t see that pert fucking ass soon, she was going to incur another one.

My growing obsession with the little devil had not gone unnoticed by me, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. A fact I didn’t care for.

Sometimes I found myself replaying our interactions in my head with my usual sense of objective detachment. I wondered what would happen if Everest ever got his hands on her, if he would make a masterpiece of her from the inside out.

Other times, I found myself irrational, possessive, and entranced by her. I masturbated to the memories of her soft curves and sweet citrus scent—imagining how fucking lush those plump lips would feel servicing me—with increasing frequency, and even now my cock stiffened at the very thought of her.

I was also getting more and more annoyed by how much the Croft kid hung around with her and the other two. Autumn Morgan and Melody Thomson.

The Morgan and Thomson families were both new money, although from what I heard, Melody’s was in a bit of financial trouble these days. While I didn’t particularly care to know either of them, at least they weren’t social-climbing leeches like Aaron Croft.

The only thing that kept me from ruining that prick’s life was that Luz appeared to be, at best, ambivalent toward him. I sometimes caught her rolling her eyes or wrinkling up her nose at some moronic thing he’d said. I didn’t know if she realized she was doing it, and the idea that she secretly found him as irksome as I did was a satisfying one.

I looked back down at my phone again to check the time. What the fuck was wrong with this girl that she hadn’t left her dorm all weekend long?

Usually, I didn’t give a shit what the holes I fucked were doing, provided everyone got tested regularly. I didn’t do commitment. I didn’t care who else they fucked. So, why the hell did I care what Luz Torres was doing in her spare time when I wasn’t even fucking her?

My phone buzzed again in my hand.

Nix: 35 mins @ the manor

My grip tightened as I read his message.

I would have to leave soon if I wanted to make it to Blackwell Manor in time. Lucian didn’t tolerate lateness, and in my current mood, if I had to sit through one of his lectures, one of the only times he spoke directly to me, I was likely to explode.

I slid my phone back into my pocket and waited another fifteen frustrating minutes before I was forced to turn around and start walking back to where I had parked my Ducati.

I turned the engine on and felt the bike vibrate to life in between my legs. I was in a foul mood and had to hope that flying down the winding roads that led to my family’s ancestral home would mellow me out enough to handle whatever shitty news big brother would most likely be delivering.

I sped out of the parking lot, only one thought mollifying me—Luz was racking up quite the list of transgressions, and I couldn’t wait to show her what it really meant to suffer at my hands.

By the time I arrived at the estate, the sun was sitting low in the sky, and against the vibrant reds and oranges of the trees, it made for the sort of vibrant autumnal sunset that had tourists driving hundreds of miles to visit in quaint New England towns like our own. Nixon was waiting for me, smoking a joint, and remained seated on the top steps, back against one of the massive pillars.

“You’re on time,” he said with a cheery smirk. Nix was always smiling.

I nodded, squatting down to sit next to him.

He took a long, slow drag of the blunt before holding it in my direction. I considered it for a moment, studying the intricate smoke patterns rising from the burning cherry, before plucking it from his fingers and taking two deep hauls before passing it back.

Unlike Nix, I wasn’t a daily pot smoker. I preferred it when my mind felt clean and organized. Sometimes though, I needed an outlet, something other than killing, and then I supposed that I enjoyed a good drink or a toke as much as any other red-blooded male out there.

“Our pet didn’t make an appearance then?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. I wouldn’t be smoking to calm myself down before meeting with Lucian if I’d gotten to take some of my frustrations out on Luz.

I didn’t respond. He passed me back the joint.

“Maybe we can pay the birthday girl a visit after big bro tells us whatever’s got his panties in a twist this time,” Nix offered optimistically.

I shrugged him off.

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