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Mrs. Riordan watches Jess with intrigue. Reid never takes an interest in a woman for long. Reid’s parents try to keep up with Reid. Where he goes and what he is doing. They want to make sure he stays in line, following the Order’s rules. They know first-hand what happens when you don’t. Reid’s sister was killed for eloping with a Prey against the Order’s rules – one that states,by being the first born and a female, she has to marry a member of the Order and is not allowed to marry a Prey. The poor guy she eloped with suffered the same fate.
You can run from the Order, but you can’t hide. They will find you when you least expect it. When you fuckup, there is no God inside the church who can save you. There is only the Consortium. The judges from the entrance to hell that serve as the gateway between both worlds.
CHAPTER25
Jess
So much has happened since my last run-in with Michael that I cannot drag Valen into my mess. Guilt claws at my insides when I watch the look of hurt and disappointment crossing Valen’s face, but I can’t lead him on, thinking I will forget and everything will go back to the way things were. Then there is Z.
Valen has a sex addiction. In health class, I always paid attention on the subject. Sleeping with each other for the wrong reasons is not me caring for him. If you care enough about someone, you can’t make it worse for them. In Valen’s case, I can’t be the pipe to smoke his drug.
I could feel Reid tense when Valen promised he would be there for me, but then his parents showed up with Tara. The woman I recognized in his hotel that night we had sex in the elevator. The woman he is engaged to be married to that he has a history with. She is obviously accepted by his parents and the Order. But what confuses me is how his mother smiles warmly at me as she introduces herself. I find it weird she wouldn’t turn her nose up at me, making it known that I’m gum on her shoe.
“So you’re the Jess I have heard so much about,” Mrs. Riordan says.
“Yes, ma’am. I am,” I reply.
I’m nervous, but I feel Reid’s hand on my waist. His father’s eyes dart to where his son is currently caressing me with his thumb, causing awareness to skirt up my sides, and I bite my inner cheek, tasting blood, trying to stop my nipples from hardening under the fine lace.
What is Reid doing?
Mr. Riordan smiles, meeting my gaze, his lips moving, speaking to Reid, but his eyes never leave mine. Calculating. “It’s okay, son. I think they all get it. But some might disagree.”
“Honey, let it go. Let him be. He knows what he is doing,” Mrs. Riordan says.
I have never wanted to disappear or wish to be invisible like I do now.
“He’s embarrassing himself. He knows what must be done. And she isn’t part of it. She is just his current plaything. I’ve heard they pass her around like a Frisbee,” Tara says, her voice with malice dripping, talking to his parents like I’m not standing here.
The possessive streak inside me regarding Reid rattles awake, wanting to be unleashed. I don’t care if his parents are present. They know I’m a means to an end, but still, fuck her. I can tell when a woman is into a man, and Tara doesn’t like the idea of being married to Reid any more than he does. It seems this is a power move. And it helps the cause that Reid is hot as sin.
A nun would break all ten commandments if Reid walked into a room and she was offered a chance to be with him.
I smile politely, placing my finger on my bottom lip. “Tara, is it? I can tell he is dying to take you down the aisle. It looks like he can’t wait, and be careful with Frisbees. They can come out of nowhere and hit you in the face. I know you’re a little slow, and it will take some time to understand, but in the meantime. Be careful how you say my name. You might choke.” I pause and smile at his parents’ surprised faces at my behavior. I don’t miss the deep chuckle coming from Reid next to me. Valen has his hand over his mouth stifling a laugh, and the wide-eyed look on Tara’s badly caked-up face makes her look like a dollar-store Barbie.
“If you would all excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room,” I say, excusing myself before my mouth gets the best of me, or worse, the urge to smack Tara in the face overtakes me. I have never wanted to put my hands on someone so much.
“Good, that way I can dance with my fiancé. It would give you time to clean and spread your legs for the next one.”
“That’s enough!” Reid snarls, moving his arm away when she places her left hand on his jacket, but I don’t miss the big engagement ring on her finger that could probably feed a third-world country.
“I’m your future wife,” she retorts and points. “She is just a whore. I think she forgot that the only reason she is here is that the Bedford twins chose a Prey as their chosen, and she is the best friend, and was invited. No one escorted her here. She tagged along like a pet. We came here together as the future Mr. and Mrs. Riordan.”
People stop and turn to stare me. My feet move like skates across the floor until I reach the end of the ballroom. The music begins to play in the background. I recognize the song-- “Something I Can Never Have” by Vitamin String Quartet.
I’m trying to hold back the tears that threaten to fall, running inside the women’s bathroom and finding the bigger stall open, holding the skirt of my dress as I lock the door frantically, finding a small couch. Probably so you could get out of the gowns to use the toilet. I let out a strangled laugh at the fact that the bathroom stall is bigger than my room in the trailer. Anything to stop thinking about my heart breaking inside my chest.
I stare at my hands, that are shaking from shame and anger. I’m angry at myself and what I have become. Seeking scraps of affection to cover up the shame and guilt of allowing myself to be used. Over and over, I’m swallowed into a web of lies try to be free. The voices in my head scream in agony for it to stop, but when I think the worst is over, they come knocking, laughing at my stupidity.
I clamp my mouth shut to keep it from trembling when I hear heavy footsteps approaching. I listen to the turning of the doorknob. I think my heart skips a beat in my chest hoping it’s Reid, Valen or even Z. My palms sweat when the door swings open slowly.
A sob escapes my throat. My heart begins to pound like a machine.
“Did you think I wasn’t going to come for you? Look at you. It’s a shame you are all alone, but I have to say, you look so beautiful in that dress. I couldn’t resist,” Michael says, undoing the belt of his pants and sliding his hard cock out of his boxers.
I turn my head away in disgust, not wanting to look at him. I can hear him fisting himself, and I cringe. My stomach revolting.
“Hurry up and make it quick. Give me that dirty mouth, and I promise to dance with you.”
