Ritual (Palm South University #5) - Kandi Steiner Page 0,9
draw blood from his bottom lip. It’s rough and nasty and hot as fuck.
And when his hands tighten around my hips, a guttural groan ripping from his throat, I push myself off of him, breaking every spot of contact all at once.
Kade shakes violently from head to toe, and when I’m standing at the edge of the bed again, I have a glorious view of him ejaculating all over his abs without so much as touching his dick.
“Jesus Christ,” he cries out, leaning up on his elbows and assessing the mess he’s made on himself. He looks up at me with wild, confused eyes. “What… the fuck… was that?”
I smirk, walking over and pressing my mouth tenderly to his in a long, sweet kiss.
“That was payback,” I whisper. “The real lessons haven’t even started.”
He whimpers, reaching out for me but I pull away before he can get a grip.
Then, I tug down my dress until it’s covering my hips again, and I don’t give him so much as another look when I swing his bedroom door open.
“Don’t touch your dick until I see you again.”
And with that, I strut my ass out of that house like the goddamn Queen I am.
INTRAMURAL FOOTBALL IS JUST about the only thing keeping me alive.
Once school started, I found that the hole I’d slid into over the summer was deeper than I realized. I couldn’t focus in class — which I really need to do, considering I’m in my cornerstone courses now that I’m a senior — and even with most of my nights spent exploring Becca, the hole continued to grow, and I fell in deeper.
It wasn’t until the first IM football game with my Omega Chi brothers that a small spark of my old self came back to life.
Now, it’s the only thing I look forward to.
The Alpha Sigma quarterback hikes the ball, and I slam into the offensive lineman across from me, overpowering him in seconds and sliding past him. I growl, thighs burning as I run as fast as I can, and I launch for the quarterback, taking him down before he has the chance to throw the ball.
It’s my seventh sack of the game.
Cheers break out from the crowd of Greek students watching the game from the sidelines, and I’m almost positive I hear Skyler screaming above all the noise. I don’t celebrate, though — in fact, I remain stoic all game as if I’m not even playing at all.
Because the biggest part of me is still numb, no matter how I try to bring it back to life with the things I used to love.
By the time the game is over, we’ve outscored the A Sigs by seventeen and clenched our second win of the season. I shake hands with the other players and immediately strip out of my helmet and jersey, desperate to get my pads off.
Every muscle is aching. I know I’ll need an ice bath and I’ll still be paying for it tomorrow, but that pain reminds me that I’m still here.
I’m still breathing.
I’m still alive.
I’ve barely peeled my pads off when Skyler is on my back, her legs wrapped around me and fist in the air.
“My best friend is a fucking BEAST!” she screams, chanting my name until a small crowd joins in.
I muster the best smile I have, tickling her sides until she falls off me and lands on the ground, hanging her hands on her hips.
She nudges me playfully with a wide smile. “You murdered them today.”
“Just doing my job,” I said on a shrug.
“Well, you’re doing it well. I don’t think anyone can overpower you now that you’ve beefed up to twice your original size — which was already ghastly, by the way.” She squeezes my biceps, but when I don’t smile, her eyes grow sad. “Hey, I know you already know this, but… you can talk to me. If something is going on.”
“It’s not.”
She frowns. “It’s just… you don’t seem like yourself since we came back to school. I know I was busy with Kip and his dad over the summer, so I’m sorry if I wasn’t—”
“You don’t need to apologize, I’m fine,” I clip, shoving my shit into my gym bag with more force than necessary. I don’t know why I’m pissed that she’s asking if I’m okay when, clearly, I am not, but for some reason, it fires me up. “I gotta run.”
“Bear…”
“I’ll see you around.”
I don’t look at her again, don’t let her get another word in