they can’t hear you.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
Cass shoves the bandanna between my lips and ties it off behind my head. Then he pats my cheek and draws me out of Reuben’s grip.
I’d been willing to hear them out.
But this?
It’s obvious they’ll never trust me, so what’s the point in trying to change our fucked up dynamic? I’ve gotten myself enmeshed in their plans, and the only way out is along the path they’ve chosen for me. I hate them for not letting me choose. But why did I expect any different of the big bad world my parents kept warning me about?
“Put her in there.” Cass points to the bedroom. Apollo grabs my wrists and starts dragging me across the room.
I shake my head and dig in my heels.
“Relax, Trin,” Cass says.
I’m one-hundred percent focused on Apollo, but I can practically hear Cassius rolling his eyes at me. “Your virginity is safe.” He lets out a dark chuckle. “For now.”
My enraged shriek comes out as a manic moan.
“Shh,” Apollo says, hauling me the rest of the way. Reuben holds the curtain back as Apollo pulls and Cass pushes. I end up tripping the last yard and falling on hands and knees inside their soft, dark sleeping pit. I scramble up in a rush, my fingers tugging at the gag.
Reuben’s hand closes over mine. He’s just a shape in the dark, if a massive shape, but his presence calms me. He doesn’t try and shush me, or drag me, or do anything. He just gently guides my hands away from the knot at the back of my head until they’re in my lap.
Two more shadows slip inside and merge with the darkness.
Despite the blood singing in my veins, I can hear them breathing.
And then the muted sound of fabric rustling. I sit up straighter, and Reuben’s hands tighten around mine. It should have calmed me, but now I can feel his pulse, and it’s racing.
Who the hell is coming?
“Here?”
“Further back.”
“But this is where we—”
“Want someone to find us again like last time?”
I sit up straight, my lips going slack around the gag. What the hell are Jasper and Perry doing down here? Did they follow Reuben and me when we slipped into the crypt? Do they suspect something?
It’s only when Reuben starts stroking my knuckle with the pad of his thumb that I realize I’m gripping him hard as I can. I try to ease up, but my fingers refuse.
If they discover me down here, it will put an end to everything. Is that why Cass gagged me? He can’t honestly think I’d make a noise and attract their attention—I could have done that any time in the past few hours I’ve been alone in the dorm. But since I’m past the point of complaining about their treatment, I sit and bear it.
At least until this fucking gag is loose. Then they’ll get a mouthful.
A thump rattles a bookshelf a few yards away, back in the sitting area. Crap, what was that? Are they fighting? Fabric rustles, this time not nearly as muted as before.
If my eyes were to go any wider, I swear they’d pop out of my head.
They can’t be doing what I think they’re doing.
Can they?
Reuben peels open my fist and laces his fingers through mine. Something brushes my leg, and I turn my stricken gaze on Apollo who managed to move right up beside me without making a noise. Then again, I hadn’t been focusing on them, had I? Apollo takes my other hand, mimicking Reuben.
Do they think I’ll try scratching my way out of here or something? I shift on the layers of blankets and mattress beneath me, and squint in the darkness, looking for Cassius.
Maybe he thinks Apollo and Reuben have me taken care of, because I can’t spot him in the shadows even though my eyes have adjusted to the dark.
Outside, Jasper and Perry start kissing. From those desperate sounds, it seems this tryst of theirs is long overdue.
More rustling.
A stifled moan.
Mother of God, I can’t stand this. My brain seems very eager to fill in the blanks of what’s happening. In my mind, those two boys are doing some very, very naughty things to each other.
I shift again, and then freeze.
No, this can’t be happening.
Are those sounds turning me on? It can’t be. It’s more likely the fact that Zach’s brothers have my hands clasped like kids on a first date.
The weirdest first date imaginable.
But there’s definitely something happening between my legs. I’m