Veils of Rivalry Chapter 51

Blaise's POV

“Fuck you,” I growl, and Jackson whacks me with the knife’s handle. My head whips to the side, and pain radiates through my skull. I bite down hard on my tongue to keep from whimpering. Fuck that. I refuse to show weakness.

While my head pounds, I’m vaguely aware of Jackson securing my wrists behind me with a zip tie. Allie keeps talking, but I struggle to make sense of her distorted words. She’s blurring before my eyes. One minute, there’s one of her, and then there’s two. Laughter bubbles from my lips, my face wet with blood. Jackson must have split my brow when he hit me with the knife’s handle.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jackson snarls, fisting my hair and exposing my throat with a hard pull on the matted strands. A sharp sting follows as the blade nicks my skin.

Allie’s heels sound on the floor, and she slows to a stop in front of me. “Did you really think Cole could want someone like you? I’ll let you in on a secret.” She crouches down in her too-tight jeans and tries to cup my cheek, but I pull away.

If only I could strangle her with my bare hands. I’d love to watch the terror in her eyes as I squeeze the breath from her lungs. I bet she’s pretty when she’s dead.

Undeterred, she digs her sharp nails into my chin. “He likes a wet pussy.”

I bare my teeth. “I’m going to kill you.”

“The only one who will die here tonight is you.” Patting my cheek, she stands up and nods to Jackson behind me. It’s all the warning I get before a piercing pain trails a hot path across my throat, and I choke as blood pours from the deep gash.

Allie pretends to pout. “Don’t worry about Cole. I’ll be his shoulder to cry on.”

“And his cum bucket.” Jackson chuckles, shoving me forward. My head hits the grimy floor as I topple over. I drown in my own blood, my body jerking as a sharp heel digs into my cheek. Allie peers down at me through the strands of her cascading hair. “I’ll see you in Hell, Blaise⁠—”

I startle awake with a gasp and clutch the quilt to my sweaty chest. Fuck… The nightmare is still vivid in my mind, and it takes me a couple of seconds, or maybe minutes, to gain my bearings. I’m in Cole’s bed. His side is empty.

“Fuck me,” I breathe, scrubbing at my face. What the hell was that dream? It seemed so fucking real.

I drop my hand and check the time on Cole’s nightstand. It’s still early hours. Where is he? How is he awake already after letting me paint him in cum not once but three times last night?

Flopping onto my back, I drag my hands down my face but pause when the door opens. I peek between my fingers to see Cole, dressed in only his black boxers, enter the room with a tray of…breakfast. He must see the look on my face when I lower my hands because he sniggers as he takes a seat on the mattress. “Don’t look so shocked. I figured you would be hungry after last night.”

And just like that, I’m hard again. I swear he’s a drug. One fix was all it took, and now I’ll never get enough.

I sit up, and he puts the tray on my lap.

Cole shrugs, looking anywhere but in my direction.

He’s nervous.

The thought makes me smile, and I reach for a slice of buttered toast, moaning as I take a bite.

Cole rests his elbows on his thighs and pretends to be very interested in his hands. It’s cute how he can let go of his inhibitions and choke me with his dick, but something as simple as making someone else breakfast is uncharted territory. I like that. It makes me think that maybe he never did this for Allie.

“Is it okay?” he asks, peering at me over his shoulder. “I… You like bacon.”

“I do,” I confirm, picking up a slice and taking a bite. It’s crispy, just how I like it. “This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had.”

He snorts, shaking his head, and I can’t help but smile too. Cole thinks I’m lying, but I’m not. If only he knew the butterflies he lets loose in my stomach like I’m a teenage girl with a crush.

“Are you okay?” he asks, turning his body to face me. “You’re sweaty.”

I take another bite of the bacon, my stomach churning at the memory of my nightmare, and lift a shoulder in a shrug. “I had a bad dream, is all.”

“About last night?”

My chewing slows. I’m not hungry now that I’m remembering the feel of Allie’s heel on my cheek.

“Can I take you somewhere today?” he asks in a scratchy voice, then clears his throat. I study him, my heart beating harder when he meets my gaze. I’ve never seen him this nervous before. “Of course.”

He nods as if my confirmation settles it, whatever it is.

His eyes fall to my almost empty plate, and the tips of his ears redden. It’s the most endearing thing I’ve seen. The mighty Cole blushing? I never thought I’d see the day.

I place the tray beside me on the mattress. “I need a shower first.”

“Sure,” Cole replies, wetting his lips, but he makes no move to stand up, and I don’t either. We stare at each other, exploring this new uncharted territory between us. I want to hold him. It sounds like such a small thing, but it’s not. I’ve woken up next to Mia for months, and not once did my heart hammer like it does in Cole’s presence. I want to make him happy. I want to see him smile.

His eyes roam my face before falling to my lips, and he crawls forward, never taking his eyes off my mouth. I hold my breath when he’s close enough for our noses to brush. He keeps staring at my mouth like he wants to devour me, and it’s all I can do not to launch myself off the bed.

“What are you doing to me?” he asks, his breath skating across my lips like a whispered kiss.

“What are you doing to me?” I counter, and he smiles, his eyes clashing with mine.

Fuck… He has the most breathtaking smile—a smile with the power to soften the most hardened hearts.

Leaning in slowly, he trails his warm hand up my bare chest. “Keep looking at me like that.” His fingers explore each ridge of muscle, and I shudder with pleasure at the feel of his ghosting touch. Circling each nipple, he skims his fingers higher in a teasing caress. I’m panting by the time he trails across my collarbones. How can he hold this power over me when no one else has come close? He pauses at my pulse point, and I shiver.

I’m hard and putty in his hands all at once. I’m feral yet tamed. I’m…his.

“Come,” he whispers against my lips before easing back. I’m left reeling, my mouth dry. “Let’s take a shower,” he says and pulls me to my feet. I would follow him off a cliff. I’d jump so fucking fast if he asked. The realization hits me like a wrecking ball.

He guides me into the bathroom and, with his eyes locked on mine, shuts the door behind us. “You make me feel seen,” he says, pulling me toward the shower. “I like the way you look at me.”

I gulp as we step behind the frosted glass. Cole blinks as the water beats down on him, and droplets cling to his dark lashes as his hair sticks to his forehead. I pull him to me by his hips, feeling the wet fabric of his boxers beneath my fingers. “I see you,” I confirm and drop my lips to his. As the water soaks our hair, we kiss like it’ll be our last. Cole’s kisses are ravenous and desperate, and so are mine. We claw at each other, our tongues battling for dominance.