“Damon!” I heard a bark come from behind him. “Fuck off and leave her alone!”
It wasn’t Michael’s voice.
Damon sighed and challenged in a bored tone, “I take what I want when I want it, Kai. We’re not in high school anymore.”
I ground my teeth together, struggling against him, but he wrapped both arms around my waist like a steel band, and I felt his whisper above my ear.
“How about I visit your room tonight, huh?” His hands dropped to my ass, and I squirmed, pushing against him, but he was too strong.
“Will you open the door for me?” he whispered against my lips. “Will you open other things for me?”
And then his hand dropped between us, sliding between my legs and rubbing me over my skirt. I let out a scream, but he cut me off, covering my mouth with his. I couldn’t breathe as I squirmed and cried out, the sound muffled under his lips.
Michael, where the fuck are you?
I balled my fists against his chest and grabbed his bottom lip between my teeth, biting down hard until he released me and shot backward.
“Fuck!” he yelled, and I drew in ragged breaths, holding out my hands, because I didn’t know where he was or if he was coming back at me.
I felt a small breeze, sensing someone else coming up.
“I said back off!” Kai yelled, sounding as if he was in front of me.
“She bit me!” Damon raged.
“Then you got less than you deserved!” Kai shot back. “Go downstairs and blow off some steam. It’s going to be a long fucking night.”
I reached up, grabbing the blindfold and wanting to see, but instead, I dropped my hands, curling my fists in anger.
“You okay, Rika?” Kai asked.
I heaved breath after breath, my body swaying as my head swam.
I bit him. I suddenly wanted to laugh. My hands tingled, and I straightened, feeling a little stronger.
“I wish I could say he was all bark and no bite, but…” Kai trailed off, letting the thought sit.
Yeah. We both knew that wasn’t true.
I inhaled, his heady body wash with only a hint of sweat hitting me. “I’m fine,” I answered. “Thanks.”
I pulled away and turned to my right, fed up with standing here like a target.
“Where are you going?”
“To the catacombs,” I replied.
“You can’t.”
I pursed my lips, twisting my head to face him. “I’m not a kid. You got that?”
“Yeah, I got it.” His deep voice held a hint of humor. “But you’re facing the wrong direction.”
I sucked in a quick breath, feeling him take my shoulders and spin me further to the right.
“Oh,” I mumbled, embarrassment heating my face. “Okay. Thanks.”
“No problem, kid,” he said, his voice thick with a laugh I could tell he was trying to hold back.
I held out my hands just a bit, still refusing to let Michael win by taking off the mask as I took a hesitant step forward. But then I stopped and turned my head again.
“You knew my name,” I stated, remembering that he’d called me Rika. In fact, Damon had said my name, too.
“Yeah.” Kai approached my back. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Why wouldn’t he?
Why would he? I’d never spoken to these guys. It at least made sense that Michael knew of me, since I spent so much time at his house, but I was sure the others had never even noticed me.
“You study fencing,” Kai started, “you’re heir to a fortune in diamonds, and you’ve been on Honor Roll since birth.”
I smiled to myself, finding his sarcasm a hell of a lot easier to deal with than Damon’s hands.
“And,” he continued behind me, his voice lowering, “You wore an amazing black bikini at the Fourth of July cookout at the beach this past summer. I looked longer than I should have.”
My cheeks instantly warmed. What did he just say?
Kai Mori was as handsome as Michael and as equally sought after by women. He could
have anyone. Why would he even have given me a second glance?
Not that I ever held out hope he would. He wasn’t Michael, of course.
“Michael shouldn’t have let you come in here,” Kai warned. “And I don’t think you should go down there.”
I felt a smile pull at my lips. “I know. That’s the same thing everyone else would tell me.”
I turned around, adding under my breath, “Except Michael.”
I held my hands out a few inches in front of me, spreading out my fingers and stepping slowly forward, moving toward the dull hum of the music and howls coming from deep below.
I shouldn’t go down by myself.
Kai had sent Damon down there, and even though I wasn’t sure he would try anything again, I did know I wasn’t safe with him.
Michael had told me to wait—he’d take me down—but…
But something inside of me hated being at anyone’s mercy. I didn’t want to follow, I didn’t want to wait, and I didn’t want to wonder. All of those things made me feel uncomfortable, like someone else was leading me around by the nose, and I didn’t like being controlled.
That’s what I admired about the Four Horsemen. They were always in control and always visible. Why wait for Michael when I could do it myself?
Cool wind blew across my bare legs, and I inhaled the smell of earth, water, and old wood drifting up through the door from the catacombs. I was close.
But then someone grabbed one of my outstretched hands, and I sucked in a quick breath, planting both of my palms on his chest and clutching the soft cotton of his sweatshirt.