“You were going to fall to your death, but I caught you. Last I checked, that’s called saving in every dictionary, so how about you show more gratitude?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. How should I do that? Get on my knees again?”
“Preferably.” His thumb caresses my bottom lip and my breath hitches when his voice rumbles, “I liked these lips. What they lack in experience, they make up for with pure enthusiasm. There’s something about the nervous energy of the first time and your innocence that made it quite memorable. I bet it’ll feel more euphoric when I tear through your cunt and make you bounce off my cock.”
My mouth falls open, completely and utterly lost for words. The stranger uses the chance to press his thumb against my bottom lip so hard that I think he’s trying to glue it to my chin. “I keep imagining the expressions you’ll make when I throw you down and shove my cock deep inside your cunt. Bet it’ll be hard to choose between it and your mouth.”
I’m trembling, I realize, my fingers twitching and my limbs nearly giving up on me. But I still glare at him. “Why are you doing this to me? You have the looks to get anyone you want. Why me?”
A wolfish grin tilts his mouth. “You think I’m attractive?”
“Like hell I do.”
“You just said I have the looks.”
“Physical, that anyone can see.”
“I’m not interested in just anyone. It’s you I’m focused on right now.”
“But why?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Beats me.”
My jaw aches from how much I’m clenching it. This bastard has turned my life into a nightmare for the past couple of days and he doesn’t even know why.
So I provoke him. Probably not the best choice, but I have no other way to hurt him.
“I’d never, ever give you the time of day or look in your direction if I had a choice. Never.”
“Never say never, baby.”
“I’m not your baby.”
“You’re whatever the fuck I call you, baby.” He tugs on my lip again before he releases my mouth.
It’s swollen, puffy, and feels so sore, as if I’ve been kissing for hours.
No, no. I’m not going to think about kissing while this prick is here.
“Seriously, what do you want from me? I don’t even know your name, and I have no clue how you know mine.”
“Maybe we have more in common than you think.”
“What…is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out.”
“Just like you’ll figure out what you want from me?” I can’t hide the sarcasm from my tone, and he smiles.
“Exactly. You’re a fast learner.”
“Not fast enough to find a way to get rid of you.”
“That won’t be possible from your end, so don’t fry those neurons for nothing. Just…be good.”
“Who the hell are you to tell me whether I should be good, bad, or anything in between?”
“I don’t need a label to get what I want. You already know that.”
A sudden shudder jolts through my system. He’s subtly reminding me of how he easily escalated from nothing to full-on violation and that if I provoke him, it wouldn’t be abnormal for him to do the same.
Over and over until I learn my lesson.
I can’t help the need to face him head-on. “What does that entail exactly? Forcing me again?”
“I’d rather not. Unlike the impression I gave on the cliff, violence is not my first method of choice. However, if I have to resort to disagreeable options, I will. So don’t make me, baby. I’d rather we start on a clean slate.”
“Fuck. You.”
He releases a low chuckle that sends chills down my spine. It doesn’t reach his eyes, not even close, but it’s the first time he’s shown any semblance of human emotion. And I don’t know why I find myself memorizing every second of it.
“Such a foul mouth for a pretty little face.” The sound disappears as soon as it appeared as his fingers grab the sides of my throat. Hard. So hard that he’s practically choking me.
“Cursing me isn’t the definition of a clean slate, Glyndon. We were just talking about you being good, so how about you stick with that, hmm?”
He releases me as fast as he grabbed me and I splutter for air, my lungs nearly giving out. “What the hell is wrong with you and choking me?”
“How else will I get your full attention? Besides…” He rubs his thumb against the rest of his fingers. “I like the feel of your quickening pulse.”
I swallow as if gut-punched. There are so many dark emotions hidden behind his words and I don’t know whether to scream or cry—or do both at the same time.
He steps back, returning the space he robbed so suddenly. “I’ll keep an eye on you. Be good, baby.”
And then he’s walking away, mingling with the crowd as if he wasn’t just stealing my air and existence.
I slump against the wall, holding my head between my hands.
What the hell just happened? How did I attract such a predator?
And most importantly, what can I do to keep him away from me?
“Kill!”
I lift my head to find Annika accompanied by Ava. Her brows dip as she watches where the stranger disappeared into the crowd.
“K-Kill?” I stammer despite myself, and Ava levels me with a stare.
She’s well aware I’m not the type to stammer or speak without weighing my every word. But the circumstances are different now. I thought the nightmare had ended two nights ago, but in hindsight, I should’ve known it had just begun.
I somehow attracted the attention of a boundless, soulless savage.
“Killian Carson,” Annika says. “Resident charming god of our high school and The King’s U, too. He’s a fourth-year med student, despite being only nineteen. Obviously, he skipped a few grades, like me. Though I only skipped one and I’m seventeen. I’ll be eighteen soon, by the way, so don’t treat me like a kid.”
Wait.
He goes to The King’s U? Is that how he knows my name? But I’m not in contact with anyone from that university except for Devlin when we used to sneak out.
He found me on IG and after that, we talked, then met.
Other than that, I’m not that familiar with the ‘dangerous’ kids.
Though I have heard about the two notorious clubs at The King’s U. Heathens and Serpents. Both have mafia backgrounds, rule the university, and they’re rivals.
If that isn’t fun enough, they both hate our own power-filled club, Elites.
The three of them compete in underground fights, sports events, and creepy night activities that are only spoken about in hushed tones behind closed doors.
Oh, and remember my brother, Lan? He’s the current leader of the Elites.
Does this mean the stranger—Killian, very fitting damn name—recognizes me because of my brother?
But then again, Lan always kept the club’s activities separate from his personal life.
“How do you know him?” I ask Annika despite myself.
She taps her chin. “We…kind of run in the same crowd. Well, not really. We’re not friends or anything, God forbid. He’s, well, you could say acquaintances with my brother. Scratch that, they’re really close and I’ve been specifically told to stay away. By specifically, I mean that my brother would take away my socials if I go near his friends. Can you imagine that type of torture?” She wraps her arms around herself. “I just got chills.”
“Oh my God!” Ava snaps her fingers. “I knew your last name sounded familiar. Your brother is Jeremy Volkov, isn’t he?”
“The Jeremy Volkov?” I repeat, incredulous.
I’m a certified hermit, but even I heard the name as soon as I stepped foot on Brighton Island. Jeremy Volkov is older than us, my brothers’ age, and is currently finishing his master’s degree.
The reason his name is so infamous in both our campuses is due to the fact that he’s a god that should not be crossed.
It’s said that he killed someone who pissed him off—strapped rocks to his body and threw him to the bottom of the ocean. Once, a student tripped against his car and hobbled away with a broken leg.
Another time, someone accidentally spilled water on him, then went ahead and punched himself to escape his wrath.
Of course, it’s all rumors, but they’re savage rumors. The type of rumors that clearly tell us peasants to stay the hell away from him.
Because, of course, Jeremy is the leader of the Heathens. Rumor has it that the initiation process into the club starts by spilling blood.
Rumor also has it that the other Heathens are as crazy as he is. Some are even worse.
I didn’t know their names before, but something tells me Killian’s name belongs there.
Kill.
That’s what Annika—who’s currently fidgeting from one foot to the other—called him. He’s a ‘kill’ type of person.
Grandpa Henry, Mum’s father, told me that every person has a share of their name.
Killian is the entirety of his name.
Annika lowers her head. “What are the chances of going back to before you learned that piece of information about my brother?”
“Slim to none,” Ava says. “Can’t believe you’re siblings.”
“I mean, he’s not as bad as the rumors say. He’s the best brother alive and cares about me.”
“He ruins people’s lives for fun,” Ava says matter-of-factly.
“We can’t choose our siblings?” Annika tries with an awkward smile.
“Can totally relate.” Ava sighs. “Still. This is big news. I’m surprised he let his sister study at REU. I thought he hated us.”
“He probably does since he said, and I quote, ‘REU is filled with spineless, spoiled brats who only know how to spend their trust funds and don’t have the slightest clue about how to grow them.’ And he didn’t get a say in it since I got Papa’s approval after a lot of begging and promising to be good. But none of those methods worked, duh. The only thing that did was having Mom convince him. Lucky for me, he can’t say no to her.” She grins, then stares between us sheepishly. “You don’t hate me?”
“Why would we?” I inch closer to her. “You’re welcome aboard.”
“Yeah,” Ava echoes. “Your brother is a scary twat, but you’re a total doll.”
She blushes, seeming over the moon with the compliment. “Aww, thanks.”
Ava and Annika gush over each other for a bit before Annika studies me as if searching for a hanging limb. “I know we just met, but I feel the need to warn you about Kill. If you think my brother is bad, Killian might be worse. He’s always been popular, worshiped and fawned upon as if he was God on earth, but there’s something off about him, you know. Like his whole social life is a façade for what’s truly lurking inside. His smile never reaches his eyes, and all his relationships have been flings and hookups. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever had a relationship. Even his own brother doesn’t care for him that much. It’s like he’s living, but not alive…as if he’s…”
“A monster,” I finish for her.
“I was going to say a psychopath. Anyhow, he’s bad news and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Too late.
He’s already took a part of me that I’ll never be able to get back.
“Is he part of your brother’s secret club?” Ava asks, then leans over to whisper, “Heathens?”
Annika gives a small laugh. “Ha…ha… I’m not supposed to talk about that or Jer will kill me. But yeah, he is, whatever. Kill is probably the mastermind behind it in the first place.”
“What do they do there?” Ava implores, closing in on her like a teacher interrogating a quiet student.
“Don’t know, don’t care. I keep out of their business and that allows me to fly under their radar. I mean, I have a clue about what’s going on, because the guards like me, but I pretend I’m clueless.”
I rub my palm on my shorts, contemplating her words. Does that mean if I remain still, I’ll also fly under their radar?
My phone beeps and I startle before slowly fishing it out.
Unknown Number: Careful, Glyndon. You might accidentally become the next target.
KILLIAN
Ilearned early on that I don’t fit in the normalized, stagnant, preached society.
I was born to reign over it.
No questions asked.
Control isn’t only a need or a fleeting desire. It’s a necessity that’s as pressing as breathing air.
Deep inside me lurks a serial killer with fucked-up fetishes and constant demands to satiate its desires. Sometimes, the urge is dull enough to ignore, but other times, it gets to be so much that red becomes the only color I see.
However, I’m not low on impulse control like some other idiots. And I’m certainly not allowing a mere compulsion, obsession, or fixation to rob my control.