24. Rhys

Rainpeltsmyface, and mud splatters my bare legs as I stumble along the dirt track at the back of Vixen’s Lodge. I know I shouldn’t be here, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else I could go to get what I need. Not here in Fox Pines. Maybe if I were older, it would be easier. A dive bar on the edge of town, or even a quick taxi ride to Redfield to one of the strip clubs, would be easy if only I were eighteen already.

The barn is locked up tight, which is unfortunate because it means I don’t have access to the face paint to cover my identity. Maybe they have spare masks inside I can borrow? I don’t need clothes. I can walk in completely naked. What does it matter if I don’t have an outfit to wear? I’ll end up naked, anyway.

I try calling Skipper’s phone again. He hasn’t replied to my messages or answered my calls, which means he must be inside the Feast. Part of me had hoped that he didn’t go tonight so I could go to him and get what I need, just the two of us. Sure, he would have questions about my current state of mind, but he won’t judge me. Unfortunately, it looks like my only way to him is by going into the Feast.

Tracking through the slosh until I reach the main path, the sky ignites with white light, and a moment later, the loud crack of thunder sounds overhead. I squeal, feeling way too girly and weak as I run up the path towards the main house. Thunder rarely bothers me. I tend to love the unstable atmosphere that comes with a storm, but my nerves are shot, and I’ve just spent nearly six hours trying to get back to Fox Pines, all while working hard to hold myself together after seeing Brian.

I trip up the steps, my backpack weighing me down as I graze my knee, and suck in a breath at the bite as my skin rips open. Shit. Pulling myself up, I glance down to see blood trickling down my leg, the crimson flowing to mix with the mud.

I just need to get inside. I just need to get lost with someone, anyone, and forget all about what happened today. Hopefully, that someone is Tyler. Or Shaun. Or Moxie.

Hefting my backpack over my shoulder, I push forward, tapping on the door. I don’t wait for it to be answered. Instead, pressing down on the handle to push the door open. Dashing in, I quickly shut it behind me before turning to see Brock frozen mid-step.

“Kitten?”

“Hey, Brock.” I puff as I try to catch my breath.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m extremely late, I know. Sorry. Are there any spare masks?”

“What? No.” He glances over his shoulder in concern before stepping closer to me. “You can’t go in anyway. You’re not on the list tonight.” Brock moves to block my view as I stand on my toes, trying to look over his shoulder into the cloakroom. Surely there are spare masks in there?

“I know. I didn’t think I could get here, but I made it after all. I just need a mask. Can you please grab me one?”

He shakes his head. “Spare mask or not, I can’t let you in, Kitten. You know the rules better than anyone.”

“Oh, come on, Brocky.” I pout. “You know I’m a crowd-pleaser. Madam Vik will probably pay you a bonus for letting me in.” I move to step around him, but I don’t get far. His big hand wraps around my bicep, halting me.

“No, Kitten. You’re not welcome here tonight.”

“Get my sponsor. Skipper. He can vouch for me.” I tug my arm free, looking at Brock hopefully.

“I can’t.” Brock releases my arm. “Skipper didn’t book in tonight either.”

“He didn’t?” I frown. It’s unusual for Tyler not to come to a Feast night. Especially after he messaged me earlier today to ask if I was coming. Plus, he hasn’t answered my calls. Where else would he be?

Maybe with his girlfriend or lover! Or on a date!

Everything doesn’t revolve around you, Rhys!

“Nope. Now leave.” He growls, his burley tone a clear demand.

“Come on, Brock, pleeease. I neeeed to go in there. Pleeease. I’m fucking begging you.” I slap my hands together in front of me to demonstrate my beg, but he shakes his head again.

“Please don’t beg. It won’t change my answer.”

I hiss through my teeth at him, clenching my fists at my sides as the heat of humiliation sweeps over me.

“Let me in!” I practically yell, which doesn’t sway him. He shakes his head again before taking his phone out and dialling a number. A moment after he puts it to his ear, he barks to whoever answered.

“Get Madam Vik for me, please.” Brock glares at me with frustration, not taking his eyes off me once, not even when Madam Vik’s voice comes on the line. “We have an unexpected guest not on tonight’s list.” He listens and then responds. “It’s Kitten.” I can hear Madam Vik’s voice, although I can’t make out what she’s saying as Brock listens. “I don’t know, Madam. Something’s not right. Maybe she’s on something?”

“What? I’m not on anything!” I hiss, but Brock ignores me and keeps listening on the phone. A moment later, he ends the call and crosses his arms over his chest, widening his stance.

“Can I go in?”

Brock doesn’t answer, just keeps his glare on me. And here I thought we were friends. Shouldn’t that get me some fucking brownie points?

The door opens down the hall, and a moment later, Madam Vik steps into the foyer wearing a silk wrap gown, her furious eyes landing on me. She runs her gaze over me, taking in my disarray.

“Kitten, you need to leave.”

“But I want to join in. I just need a mask. Please, Madam Vik, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

Her brows shoot up at my declaration.

“So, you’ll spend the night downstairs with Master Hill, then?”

Straight for the fucking jugular. Bitch! Seriously, what the fuck?

I shake my head. “N-no. I mean with you.”

Madam Vik steps up to me, lifting a pointy fingernail to rest under my chin, her green eyes piercing mine as she studies me.

“What’s wrong with you? Your eyes look normal. Why would you come here like this?” She drops my chin and gestures her claws to my body.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Of course, there’s something wrong. You’re shaking.” Vik screws her nose up in disgust.

“I’m cold. That’s all. I got caught in the storm on my way here.”

“No. You’re not shivering, Kitten. You’re shaking. Trembling. Coming here when you’re obviously highly strung from who the hell knows what is just unacceptable. I should get Master Hill so he can deal with you.”

“No!” I cry, and her eyes widen. “Please, I just need… I need…”

I try so fucking hard to fight back the stupid tears, but my emotions are shot. I’m fucking desperate, just not desperate enough to give myself over to Master Hill.

“You’re a mess. You need to leave now before you make things worse for yourself.” Vik turns to Brock. “Can you please take her home?”

“N-no, please. I can’t go home. Not tonight. Not after…”

“I’ll take her.”

The voice comes from the hall as Shaun steps out, tugging off his black leather mask, his dark curls tumbling over his bruised eyes. Just the sight of him eases the panic racing through me.

“Oh, Cass. That would be fabulous, thank you, darling.” Vik steps up to him, placing her hand over his bare peck, and I feel like mauling her. She needs to get her hand off my guy. Like right now!

“No problem, Madam. Happy to help.” Leaning down, Shaun presses a kiss to Vik’s cheek while keeping his steel-grey eyes on me.

My heart races as my chest heaves—the unfamiliar feeling of possessiveness rushing over me. When a quiet growl slips past my lips, Shaun pulls back, biting his lower lip as he tries to hide a smirk.

Fucker!

“Oh, and Kitten?” Vik gains my attention as she turns back to me. “I’ll be raising this infraction with your sponsor. This sort of behaviour is unacceptable.”

Great! Now I’ve gotten Tyler into trouble as well.

Seriously. All I want is a bit of dick, for fuck’s sake!

Madam Vik speaks quietly with Brock while Shaun throws on his clothes, and she leaves Brock to watch over us so she can re-join the Feast. I don’t say anything else to Brock while he glares daggers at me, and the moment Shaun steps out of the cloakroom, I turn my back on Brock and open the door, stepping back out into the storm.

The moment I hear the door close behind me, I feel warm fingers link with mine, and Shaun whirls me around, pulling me to his chest.

“What’s going on, Kitten?”

I can’t talk because the simple act of his arms around me, giving me the hug I’ve been craving all day, has me in tears. I wrap my arms around his torso, burying my head into the Shaun scented hoodie he’s wearing, and let my tears fall. I feel him press kisses to my head as he holds me to him. His hands rub up and down my soaking top, trying to warm me up.

“Kitten.” He whispers. “Let me take care of you.”

I nod into his chest, and he relaxes like he thought I’d argue with him. Fair call since I probably would under normal circumstances. A moment later, he pulls back and takes my face in his hands, his eyes, still swollen from Marcus’ fist, studying mine as salty drops continue to fall. Then, he steps back, re-linking his fingers with mine, and leads me along the covered veranda that wraps around Vixen’s Lodge. When we reach the corner of the house, he points into the dark yard.

“We gotta make a run for that tree. My bike is there. You ever been on a dirt bike before?” I shake my head, and he grins. “Do you trust me, Kitten?” The slightest of grins tugs at my lips, and when he notices, his grin broadens. “Yeah, you do.” Leaning down, he presses his lips to mine in a brief peck. “Time to go.”

Tugging me along with him, we run out into the heavy rain towards a large tree behind the pool house. The wind has picked up now, and the sky lights up again, causing my heart to race even faster as adrenaline builds. When we reach the tree, we don’t speak, just hurry so we can get out of the storm. Shaun slides the helmet over my head, doing it up as my body trembles, and once he’s done, he holds up a finger, silently telling me to wait. Then he turns to the bike, kicks the stand up, and throws his leg over.

Fuck, that’s hot.

With his hands wrapped around the handles, he looks down to one of his feet and rises before pushing back down. The bike roars to life.

“Climb on Kitten.” He yells over the noise, and I move to where he gestures behind him, throwing my leg over and wrapping my arms around him.

“Now, hold on.”

The bike lurches forward, and I let out a stupid girly squeal as we take off into the dark. I try to see where we are going over Shaun’s shoulder, but we are moving too fast, and quite frankly, I’m about shitting myself with fear. Fun fear. It’s exhilarating, and even though I know this is dangerous, I don’t want it to end.

After a little time, we slow as we pass through a narrow opening in the fence, and then we take off quickly again. I can feel Shaun’s heart thumping in his chest where one of my hand’s rests, and I fucking love how much this excites him too.

The open fields we are flying through come to an end, and I notice the dark shadows of some sort of plants or shrubs on either side of us as we climb a bit of a hill. Once we reach the top, I can see light up ahead, and as we get closer, I realise the light is actually several lights coming from a house.

Reaching the back fence of the house, Shaun slows the bike, pulling it in under a large open shed before killing the engine.

“Where are we?” I ask through the confines of the helmet before pulling it off.

“My place,” Shaun answers as he unravels my hands from around him and gestures for me to climb off. Once I’m no longer straddling the hunk of metal, Shaun climbs off too, taking the helmet from me and sitting it on the bike.

“You live next door to Vixen’s Lodge?”

“Yep.” He takes my hand, leading me out into the rain again.

We race across the yard, the grass logged with water, splashing up as we run before we reach the steps leading up to an old but adorable white farmhouse. We take a moment to shake some of the water off, and I take in the white weatherboard house. There’s a verandah that wraps around the side of the house. I can’t see where it goes, but I get the feeling it probably leads to the front. Off to the right, there’s a large area with an outdoor setting and one of those cute porch swings you see in the movies.

“Kitten.” Shaun gains my attention, and I turn to him. He’s now just as wet through as I am, his dark curls dripping as they hang down over his eyes. “Let’s get you inside. You can have a shower and warm up, and I’ll get you something to eat.”

I nod, speechless, as he uses his thumbs to wipe up the running mascara from my cheeks, being careful not to press too hard on my bruised skin. I can only imagine what I look like. A fucking mess, that’s for sure, yet his eyes seem to warm as he looks at me, and then he leans in, hovering his lips over mine as he whispers.

“I’ll take care of you, Rhys.”

When his warm lips press against mine, I relax into him, letting him take control and loving the way he kisses me like I’m a delicacy. He spends a minute gently worshipping my mouth before pulling back with a grin and tugging me inside his house.

I’m not a take home to your parents kind of girl, so my nerves pick up tenfold as we enter. The first thing I notice, besides how warm and cosy it is, is the smell of freshly baked something. Pie maybe? Something sweet. Who knows? But it makes my mouth water.

The interior is a combination of whites, timbers, and blacks, with the large windows a real feature looking out to the yard beyond. It’s too dark for me to see what the yard looks like, but given the house’s charm, I’d have to say it’s probably beautiful.

“Stay here a minute. I’ll be right back.” Shaun’s voice is quiet, and I give him a nod before watching him retreat into a room off to the left. A moment later, I hear him talking in Spanish, and my Kitty stirs to life. Other voices join him in a quiet conversation, and because I’m a nosy bitch, I slowly creep forward and peer around the corner.

Shaun is standing in a small living room, his back to me as he talks to a man sitting in an old recliner that’s seen better days. I can’t see the man’s face, but given the brief glimpse I caught of Shaun’s dad on Thursday at school, I’d say the partially balding man is him.

Then Shaun turns his attention in the other direction, squatting down beside the couch. I didn’t even realise there was someone on the couch, but now I can see a woman lying on it, a checkered blanket over her legs. She looks frail as she lifts a hand to cup Shaun’s cheek, and even though I can only see the side of his face now, I can still see the love he has for this woman written across his expression. They chat quietly in the language I don’t understand yet adore, and when he goes to stand, I move back into the little entrance he left me in.

When Shaun returns to me, he takes my hand and leads me quietly up the narrow staircase, across a landing to a door, which then leads to another set of stairs. Turning to me on the landing, he points up to them.

“My room is up there.” Then he turns around and points to the doors behind us. “Toilet is the right door. Bathroom is on the left. Take a shower and then come up.”

“Ok, thanks,” I murmur, suddenly feeling nervous and self-conscious.

“Oh, wait. Do you need clothes?”

I shake my head. “Nah, I have a t-shirt in here I can wear.” I hold my backpack up.

Shaun frowns. “Where are you meant to be staying tonight?”

“Oh, uh… My rents think I’m at Tillie’s.”

He nods. “Should I take you there? Is she expecting you?”

“No… I mean unless you want me to leave.” Shit, maybe he doesn’t even want me here in his house. In his space.

Shaking his head, he grips my hips with both hands and tugs me against him.

“I don’t want you to leave, Kitten. Get that thought out of your head right now. I just don’t want you to get into any trouble.”

“Uh-ok. I’ll let Tillie know I won’t be coming. I don’t always make it back to her house after a Feast night, anyway. She’s used to it.”

His dark brows shoot up, disappearing under his curls. “Where do you go if you don’t go to her place?”

“Sometimes I go to Brocks or Moxie’s. Sometimes I go home.” I shrug, and his eyes darken.

“You go to Brocks? The arsehole bouncer that wouldn’t let you in tonight?”

Nodding, I push back from him.

“Are you jealous, Bossi?” I tease, knowing I’m a hypocrite since I wasn’t happy about Vik touching him earlier.

“Fuck yeah, I am. You’re not going back to his place ever fucking again.”

This time my brows lift. “I thought you said you would share me. Did you lie?”

“It was no lie, Kitten. I will share you with people I trust.”

“Oh.”

Jesus, why do I like the sound of that?

“What about Skipper? Or other people at the Feast?”

“Oddly enough, I trust Skipper. I can see he won’t do anything to hurt you, but it does kinda irk me to see him touching you.” Shaun’s face is a mix of anger and a pout. It’s adorable, and I can’t hold back my smile. “I’m still trying to figure out if I’m happy about sharing you with him. There are so many things wrong with that whole situation.”

“Because of who he is, or is it just an age thing?” I say quietly so no one else can hear. Not that I know if there’s anyone else in this house, but I can’t be too careful when it comes to Tyler.

“The age thing wouldn’t be an issue if you weren’t still classed as a minor, Kitten. And yeah, his job is a big fucking issue with me.” As if he can’t keep away from me, Shaun takes one of my hands in his, entwining our fingers again. It’s a simple gesture. Innocent almost. Yet packs a punch I’m not used to. For me, hands linking together are done in the heat of passion as two bodies send each other spiralling into ecstasy. I’m not familiar with hand-holding that isn’t linked to sex in some way, so sharing this is new and even more intimate than spreading my legs.

“Just remember Casanova, I was the one that manipulated him. He fought me until I blackmailed him. The fact he even shows an ounce of care for me after what I did speaks to the kind of person he is. He should hate me, but he doesn’t.”

Shaun nods, “Yeah, I know. I’m trying to wrap my head around it.”

We fall quiet for a moment, our eyes locked with my hands in his as we linger on the landing. It’s not an awkward silence. It’s calm and comforting and another thing new to me.

“Go warm up in the shower, Kitten. Meet you up in my room afterwards.”

Then Shaun drops my hands and leans forward, pressing his warm lips to my forehead before heading back downstairs.

His innocent kiss has my fucking heart flipping in my chest. Either I’m about to drop dead from an unknown heart condition, or those romance books I read are coming to life. If it’s the latter, then I’m completely fucked because it means I’m falling hard for Shaun Bossier.