Tarnished Crown (Gravestone Elite #2) by Caitlyn Dare (top inspirational books TXT) 📗

“Don’t stop,” I beg. “Don’t ever stop.”

His hand wraps around my throat tenderly, pinning me against the wall as he licks my mouth, slowing his pace and grinding into me. “I want you to come, Mia. Come all over my cock, mouse. Give it to me. Only me. Only ever me.”

An intense wave crests inside, ripping through me as I shatter around him, crying out his name.

“Fuck, Mia…. fuuuuuck,” he groans, spilling inside of me.

Our chests heave, our ragged breaths filling the room. Bexley’s eyes are heavy, his pupils blown with desire.

“Tell me what happened?” His thumb brushes the tender spot over my cheek.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it fucking does.” His voice is a rough growl.

“It was an accident. One of Cade’s sluts clipped me with her elbow. Forget about it.”

I sure wanted to.

“One day, Mia. One day I’m going to end that motherfucker.” He seals his promise with a passionate kiss, one I feel all the way down to my soul. “I meant everything I said. You own me, Mia.”

“Bex…” I sigh, slowly coming back to reality.

What have we done?

But for as much as I know we shouldn’t have done it, I can’t deny I feel a lick of satisfaction.

Bexley lowers me to the ground, and we clean up. I catch my reflection in the mirror. My skin is flushed, my eyes bright and brimming with lust. But what I feel for Bexley is more than that.

He comes up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist and hugging me to his warm body. “You are so fucking strong, Mia.” He presses a kiss to my shoulder as he watches me in the mirror. “But I’m begging you, let me handle Kingsley.”

I press my lips together, refusing to agree. I can’t let this go. I won’t.

“Mia…”

I’m about to answer when there’s a knock at the door. “Um, guys,” Sasha says, “you should really—”

“Yeah,” Bexley barks, “coming.”

“We should go,” I say, slipping out of his hold.

“Wait.” He snags my wrist and yanks me into his chest. My hands go to his shoulders as he kisses me. “Now we can go.” He smirks.

I let out a small sigh of relief. I know we should probably talk about what this means, but I don’t have the energy or answers to get into it right now.

When we slip back into Sasha’s room, she looks upset and Channing is nowhere to be seen. “Everything okay?” I ask her.

She gives me a small shrug, wrapping her arms around herself. “Channing is waiting for you outside.” Her eyes flick from Bexley to the door. “If anyone asks, I got sick and Mia is helping me deal.”

“Yeah, okay.” Bexley glances at me. I know he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. His eyes blaze with possessiveness as he holds my gaze.

Then he leaves, and I finally inhale a deep breath. My eyes settle on Sasha and she shakes her head.

“We’re screwed,” she says. “So fucking screwed. But it felt good, right? Getting back at Cade?”

“Yeah.” My lips curve into a devious smile. “It did.”

We stay in Sasha’s room for the rest of the afternoon. At some point, the guys return to the pool with the girls and the sound of laughter and music drifts up to us. But no one tries to come and coax us out of the room.

Sasha sleeps off her high and I lie there, next to her, replaying my time with Bexley over and over in my head.

It was so intense, the connection between us burning brighter than ever. I know I won’t be able to stay away from him, not now. But Cade can never find out… he can never know.

My cell vibrates and I pluck it off the nightstand, guilt flooding me when I see Annabel’s name on the screen.

Annabel: Hey… just wondered if you’re ever going to return to dorms?

Mia: Hey, sorry… I’ll be back later. Do you want to come over and hang out?

Annabel: Umm, do pigs fly? I’ll bring snacks.

I chuckle as I type my reply.

Mia: Okay, sounds good. See you later.

Annabel: Great. You can tell me all about your weekend.

Another wave of guilt floods me. I don’t want to lose Annabel as a friend, but our lives are moving in different directions, and I can’t blame her for feeling left out.

Because the reality is, she is.

“Hey.” Sasha stirs beside me. “What time is it?”

“A little after five.”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s okay,” I say. “You needed it.”

“Yeah.” She sniffles. “Crazy, huh?”

I nod.

“Did anyone come up here?”

“No. Whatever Channing and Bexley told them must have worked.”

“Thank God. I’m not sure I could have faced them all, not after…”

“I know. But we have to play our parts, Sasha.”

She regards me, her eyes softening around the corners. “You’re different. When I first met you, I thought Cade would destroy you. But you’re not going to go down without a fight, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’ll help you,” she says, pushing up on her elbows. “I’ll help you find a way out.”

“Yeah?” A plan forms in my head. I haven’t told anyone about it yet, but maybe it’s time. “My dad works at the Town Hall.”

“My dad, Phillip works out of that office.”

“I know. My dad works security for him. I’m going to try and get into the town’s records.”

“What?” Her eyes go wide.

“There has to be something, Sasha. Something I can use against Cade or Quinctus.”

“I don’t know… that sounds kind of dangerous.”

“More dangerous than sitting by and letting Cade do whatever he wants? You said it yourself, he’s unhinged. I’m not going to sit around and see how far he’s willing to go.”

“What do you hope to find?”

“I don’t know. Something. Anything. There must be records about all of this. Official Quinctus records. If they’re kept anywhere, it would be in that building.”

“Okay, I’m in.”

I nod, feeling adrenaline pulse through me. She’s right, it is dangerous. But I need answers.

And the town archives seem like the best place to start.

13

Bexley

The second we