Bound: Highgate Preparatory Academy, Book 2

I wake up smiling, still surrounded by the scent of sweet lemons, the warmth of Jax at my back. I love that I no longer spend a single night alone. Some might find it suffocating, but it brings me a sense of peace to know that one or more of my guys are with me all night, keeping me safe from monsters, both imagined and real.

I head downstairs, dressed in one of Jax’s huge black t-shirts, which falls off one shoulder, and a pair of soft cotton boy shorts with pictures of unicorns all over them. I’m desperate for a wee, apparently, this is most definitely a pregnancy thing, but it should start to ease a little now that I’m at the four-month mark.

I startle when I see Ash sitting at the table, an expresso sitting in front of him, the faint light of pre-dawn casting its watery glow across his inked torso. He looks up, and I gasp when I see his face. One eye is puffy, there’s a cut on his cheek, and his lip is clearly split on the same side.

“Fuck, Ash!” I exclaim, wanting to go to him, but my bladder is legit going to burst if I don’t go right now. “Shit, I’m about to piss myself. Don’t move.”

I hear his deep chuckle as I dash to the bathroom, sighing in pleasure as I sit on the loo—pissing has never felt so bloody good before! I flush the loo, worrying about what on earth happened all the time that I’m washing my hands, and hurry back out. Seeing that he’s still sitting there, I swing past the freezer, grabbing an ice pack and tea towel to wrap it in before going over to him.

“Turn,” I instruct, his lips twitching at the order. He complies, facing me, and I step in between his wide spread legs—totally justified by the way, he definitely needs the extra space if you know what I mean. “Dare I ask?”

“Julian surprised me with some extra challenges yesterday,” he tells me, wincing as I place the wrapped pack against his puffy face. “Including about ten ex-Marines.” God, that man is such a ballsack cunt!

Ash’s hands come to my hips, pulling me closer. His fingers tease along my waistline, his palms resting over my now slightly rounded stomach. I seem to have ‘popped’ in the last couple of days, a small but definite baby bump now visible.

“Oh, Ash,” I say in a soft voice, wishing there was anything else I could say or do to help, but knowing that there isn’t.

“Do you know how fucking jealous I am that it’s Loki’s child you’re carrying, and not mine?” he asks me, rubbing my stomach. The baby kicks, but Ash doesn’t react. Obviously he can’t feel it, so I don’t mention it.

“W–what?” I stammer out, the subject change throwing me as I continue to hold the ice pack to his face.

“I’ve always been an arsehole, Lilly. Possessive and controlling,” he growls, hooking my knickers in his fingers, and drawing them down my thighs. My breath catches as his intentions become clear. He needs the distraction of my body, and I am helpless to deny him.

He lets my knickers drop to the ground, taking hold of the hem of my—Jax’s—t-shirt, and lifting it over my head as he stands up. The ice pack drops to the floor with a heavy thud as I let it go.

He takes a minute, studying my now naked body in the dim light, his eyes caressing me, causing my nipples to peak, and my breathing to quicken. An inked hand reaches out, tracing my curves, leaving a fire in its wake. He reaches the apex of my thighs, which I feel more than see, my stomach now in the way.

“Open,” he commands, looking at his hand as I obey, shifting my thighs so that they are parted.

I cry out at his first touch, moisture leaking out of me as he traces a finger up and down my slit, swirling my opening and clit. I’m so responsive to these guys, and they know my body so well that it doesn’t take much to bring me to the brink. He stops, pulling his hand away, leaving me panting, and desperate for more.

“Turn around, hands on the table, Princess.”

The cool wood soothes my hot palms as I follow his instructions, waiting. He kicks my legs wider, and a second later I feel his bulbous head pushing against my entrance. A hiss leaves my lips as he enters me, I’m still a little sore from the combination of Kai and Loki on Friday, but it soon turns to a pleasure filled moan when his piercings rub my inner walls.

He pauses once he’s fully seated inside me, a contented sigh sounding behind me as my nails scrape the wood of the tabletop in pleasure. He starts to move, slowly at first, tingles racing up my spine as he gets faster, bringing me to the edge once more with his dick this time. I can feel the burn of an orgasm begin, my inner muscles fluttering around Ash’s cock, begging him to keep going. Only he slows down and stops before I can fall over into exquisite bliss.

“I’m so fucking close, Ash. Please,” I pant through gritted teeth.

He reaches around, fingertips stroking over my slightly swollen stomach from behind in a loving caress.

“Next time, it’ll be my fucking baby in your womb. Won’t it, Princess?”

“W–what?” I question, my head spinning once more with his words. He starts leisurely pumping his dick in and out of me, quivers racing through my core, but not enough to allow me to climax. He’s fucking denying me my pleasure, the wankmonster.

“The next baby to grow inside you will be mine, understand, Princess?” he asks, his tone condescending as fuck as he continues teasing me with his slow strokes.

“Fuck off, Ash! It’s my body, and I’ll decide if I have another baby, and who the father will be,” I inform him, all kinds of pissed off and attempting to straighten up, having had enough of his jealous shit.

But his hands on my hips tighten, holding me in place with a mocking laugh that should piss me off more than it does. Jesus, I’m so fucking messed up that even his cruel laugh makes my pussy flutter.

“That’s where you’re wrong, fiancée. This body.” He squeezes my hips tighter, eliciting a squeak of protest from my lips. Okay, it’s part raw fucking pleasure too. “This pussy.” He punctuates here with a sharp thrust, and a deep groan sounds in my throat. “All of you belongs to me. I may be gracious and share with the others from time to time, but don’t mistake my kindness for anything other than that.” He’s growling by the end of his speech and has completely stopped thrusting inside me, holding just the tip in my entrance. “So I’ll tell you again. The next baby you carry, Princess, will. Be. Mine.” He thrusts hard in between each word, reinforcing his point physically.

I’m mewling underneath him, unable to move as he holds me in a bruising grip. He’s building me up to a crescendo again, my orgasm fluttering at the edges of my vision. Just as the wave is about to crest, he pauses, again with just his tip inside me.

“Ash!” I scream, clawing at the table, giving no shits about scratching it to buggery as I’m beyond frustrated.

“Well?” he asks breathlessly, and I just know that he has one perfect jet black brow raised. I also know that the twatterdick won’t let me come until I agree to his alpha bullshit.

“Fine! Yes!” I shout in response.

“Yes, what?” The git asks back, his tone smug.

“The next baby I have will be yours!” I screech. “Are you fucking happy now?!”

“Ecstatic,” he replies, in a somewhat droll tone.

Then he thrusts so hard and fast that if he wasn’t holding onto me, I would be flat on my stomach on the table. I cry out as he lets his inner animal take over, and fucks me like a demon, snarling and snapping like a wild beast, the sound of his hips slapping against me, loud in the quiet.

I soon see fucking stars, screaming out his name as my whole body tightens, and then liquefies with my release. He gives one final, punishing thrust, as if he’s trying to impregnate me right now, finding his own climax with a deafening roar.

“Good girl,” he says, voice breathy as he pats my arse like a fucking dog.

I’d snap like one, too, you know, if I hadn’t just been fucked to within an inch of my life. So I just huff as he pulls out, feeling some of his cum slide out of me. He notices, a growl of what sounds like approval leaving his throat, then I feel his fingers push it back inside my abused pussy, as if he can’t bear for any of his essence to leave my body.

I know that maybe I should take him to task over his alpha bullshit. But I know that he needs control right now, and I am more than willing to give it to him. It’s a part of who Ash is, and I love all of him, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. It’s the reason that I heave myself up on shaky legs, turning to face him and wrapping my arms around his sweat slicked chest.

It’s the reason why I kiss the side of his neck and whisper gently in his ear.

“The next baby can be yours, my love.”

His whole body shakes, his arms banding around me in a steel like grip as he buries his face into my hair, inhaling deeply and pulling me so close that it’s difficult to know where I finish and he begins.

The others come down just as I step out of the shower, each placing a kiss on my damp head as I pass them on my way back upstairs to get dressed. Deciding to go with comfy, it is Sunday after all, I throw on some loose wine red harems, and a new mustard yellow t-shirt that has a picture of a vintage rainbow with ‘Bookish Vibes’ in seventies bubble font on the front.

I pause as I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, turning to the side to admire my little bump. My hands come to cup my stomach, in a move that I’m sure so many women have made before me.

“You’re such a MILF, Pretty Girl,” Loki drawls from the doorway, and I chuckle as he walks towards me, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

He places his hands on top of mine, our fingers interlacing as we hold my stomach. I watch in the mirror as numerous emotions flit across his features as he regards our hands.

“I’m scared, Loki,” I confess in a whisper, his eyes coming up to meet mine. “Not of giving birth really, but, shit. We’re just kids, and with everything going on with Black Knight…”

His arms tighten around me.

“I swear to you, Lilly, I will never let anything happen to you. Or our child,” he vows, his emerald eyes almost glowing with his conviction. “And as for the other thing, yes we’re young. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But I know that you will make an incredible mother. After all, you’re able to love the four of us assholes.” A choked laugh escapes me as tears fill my eyes. “And there are five of us, five people to love the shit out of this baby. And that’s all it really needs. Our love.”

He pulls me closer as tears drip down my face. I’m so sad for him, for this beautiful boy who was missing the one thing he really needed growing up.

“You know, you’re kind of wise sometimes, Loki,” I tell him, sniffling. He turns me in his arms, wiping my face with his sleeve.

“Not just a pretty face,” he tells me, winking. “Kai said we need to start carrying around tissues, you cry so often at the moment.” He chuckles, causing more tears to fall even as I huff out a laugh.

“Fucking hormones,” I reply, making him chuckle.

“Come on, baby mama.” He takes me by the hand, and we start to walk out of the room. “Let’s get you something to eat. Kai is making some bacon, eggs, and pancakes.”

After eating a delicious breakfast/brunch we decide to all go for a walk, as it’s a gorgeous spring day. Heading out of the dorm, we make our way downstairs only to see the whole place littered with white pieces of paper.

I get a sinking feeling in my stomach, a shiver coming over my skin despite the sun streaming in through the huge windows. Highgate is nothing if not spotlessly clean, so this must be purposeful. Although I’m still surprised that the admin staff haven’t cleaned it up yet.

Loki bends down to pick up one of the papers, his face going pale as his eyes flit back and forth reading what’s on the page.

“Ash…” he says in a tight voice, looking up with a haunted look in his eyes.

He hands the page to Ash, Kai and Jax reaching down to grab their own copies.

“Fuck!” Jax snarls, just as Ash crumples the page in his fist, a flush creeping over his cheeks.

“What?” I ask, my heart pounding as I look at their faces, full of anger and devastation. “What is it? Tell me, please.”

Kai hands me his copy, his eyes so sad behind his glasses that moisture stings my own. Looking down, my throat goes dry, my breath stilling as I read what’s on the page in front of me.

It’s a letter, addressed to Ash in a messy scrawl. The paper shakes the more I read, tears falling down my cheeks as Luc’s final words swim before me.

Dear Ash,

I can’t fight you and dad anymore. I don’t want to, and I don’t want what he’s offering. I just want peace, so I’m taking myself out of the game. The crown is all yours.

LUC

“Oh, Ash,” I gasp, looking up at him and remembering that day in front of the chapel, the beautiful voices of Pentatonix behind us as he told me about finding Luc in his room on the last day before summer, dead and covered in blood.

Anger floods my system, overriding the grief, as I realise that this is yet another of Julian’s punishments. “How could he do this?!” I exclaim, my jaw tight. “You’re his son for fuck’s sake! And so was Luc!” I’m so cross, my blood boils, scaling my veins, tinting my vision.

“Hey,” Ash turns to me, letting the paper drop to the floor. “Don’t get so worked up, Princess. It’s not good for the baby.” He takes my shaking hands in his, prising the paper out of my grip, and dropping that too.

Pulling me into him, I’m engulfed by his spicy ginger scent which calms me instantly. Wrapping my arms around him, I hold on tightly as the angry tears subside. Looking up, I see his jaw is still clenched, but his steel eyes are full of concern for me, and my heart hurts.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I’m such an arsehole for flipping out and then making you comfort me when it should be the other way round.”

He gives me a tight, almost vicious smile, with an edge of resignation to it. It sends a shiver down my spine, and I’m glad that I’m not the one he’s pissed at.

“I’m used to this kind of shit, Princess. It’s not the first time he’s used Luc’s suicide against me. And you’re not an asshole.” He gives me one of his trademark smirks, clearly making the point that I’m saying the word wrong. Twatwaffle. “Kai, organise a clean-up crew to come in and deal with this mess. I want these gone stat.”

“On it,” Kai responds, his iPad in hand as he starts tapping away at the screen.

“Let’s go for that walk, shall we?” Ash asks, letting me go, but tucking my hand into his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman taking his lover out for a walk. You know, the lover who’s pregnant with his best friend’s baby, whilst his father forces an arranged marriage on the couple, not knowing that his grandchild will not be of his blood. God, I’m living in a Mills and Boon novel!

Despite the rocky start to our day, I soon settle with the gentle exercise, taking deep soothing breaths of fresh air as we make our way through the forest, leaving Highgate, Julian, and all the shit behind us.

We come to a break in the trees, a beautiful meadow full of delicate spring wildflowers spread out before us. I let the sun warm my face, closing my eyes as I feel its rays caress my skin.

My pocket vibrates with an incoming message and sighing, I take it out to see that it’s from Julian.

Julian Cuntish Vanderbilt: Just a lesson for the Princess left x

Just like that, all the warmth leeches from my body, and I’m no longer able to feel the rays of the sun, even though there isn’t a cloud in the sky.

“What is it, Princess?” Ash asks, brows furrowed and I shiver at the nickname, hating that Julian just used it. I turn the screen to face him, and a curse falls from his lips as he reads the message.

“When will it stop, Ash?” I ask, my voice thick, suddenly so weary I lean heavily on him as my knees feel weak beneath me.

“When one of them dies,” he tells me, a vicious gleam in his grey eyes. “And the others are rotting in jail.”

I should feel revulsion.

I should feel horror.

But I don’t.

I only feel a sick sense of relief at the idea of being free from the blackness that is Black Knight Corporation. Of finally being free from Julian’s oppressive presence.

What sort of person have I become?