Saints of the Syndicate by Natalie Nicole
Chapter 13
Bethani
Sun filtering through blinds… wow that feels wonderful. Wait, sun? My room doesn’t have blinds. I’m thrown from a deep sleep asI shoot up in what has to be the comfiest bed I’ve ever been in. My body is completely unhappy with the fast movements. “Son of a bitch,” I mutter as I try to gather my bearings. Where am I?
I sit there a few minutes, glancing around at the minimally decorated room. I’m lying in what must be a king sized bed decorated with dark gray sheets, comforter, and pillow cases. The headboard is a simple dark wood with a black padding on it. The night table, dresser with mirror, desk, and chair are all of the same modern design making everything cohesive. A metal lamp sits on the nightstand with a black lampshade. The walls are a light gray and the curtains are somewhere in the middle for color between the walls and bedding. I can see what looks like the entrance to an attached bath, and I’m guessing that it's probably similar in design to the room. I’m currently too damn confused to move and find out.
Glancing back towards the nightstand, I see my phone sitting there along with a bottle of water, bottle of Tylenol, and a...note? Huh. Curious. Maybe the note has the answer to my numerous questions that are rolling though my sleep muddled brain.
I quickly snatch my phone up before opening the Tylenol, taking 3, and chugging down half of the water to satisfy my thirst and get them all down. Normally I don't take the crap, but I know I’m going to pay if I don’t. Reaching for the note, I glance at the unfamiliar writing, still curious. But when I finally look at the bottom, everything of the past couple days clicks back into place, and I’m instantly awake.
Bethani,
Morning kitten.
Tylenol and water for you.
Take it so you don’t feel like shit.
Bathroom is attached to your room, the closet is located in the bathroom.
That’s where your boxes are with all your things.
Grab a shower then come to the kitchen.
Sinclair
Shit! How in the hell did I forget this information? Then realization dawns on me, making me glare at the note. The cocky fucker gave me an orgasm to get me to agree!
I crumble the note and jump out of the bed, easily ignoring the pain with my newly found pissed off attitude. Stomping towards the door, ready to chew him a new asshole, my body reminds me that I haven’t been to the bathroom in who knows how long. Rolling my eyes at myself, even more irritated that my body can’t just get with the program that we are pissed and basic needs do not need to be a top priority, I turn towards the bathroom. Flipping the light switch, I’m temporarily stunned at how gorgeous it is.
A dark wood double vanity is what first catches my eye. A dark onyx marble counter sits on top of it with two deep bowl sinks that rest on top. A giant ass mirror that looks bigger than anything I’ve ever seen compliments the setup along with gorgeous pendant lighting. A huge natural stone open shower that looks like it could fit 8 people is what draws my attention next. The glass is so pristine that you almost don’t notice it, save for the metallic brackets holding it up. Three giant rainfall shower heads come from the ceiling, along with various others attached to the wall. A toilet and deep set jacuzzi tub are what I see next as I’m glancing around. Holy shit this fucking bathroom is bigger than my dorm room! Jesus, it must be fucking nice to rule the school and be some of the richest and most influential people in the area.
As my bladder reminds me that it needs my star struck ass to relieve it, I walk past the mirror and catch a glimpse of myself, thoroughly stopping in my tracks to fully turn and face the mirror in horror over my appearance.
Wow. Just...wow. I legit look like I got hit by a dump truck. My hair is a complete cluster fuck, bruises litter my body along with tiny scratches that are thankfully starting to heal, but are also itchy. My neck looks the worst, with the big bruises around it from Peter’s hand, causing my body to shiver violently over the drug induced memory of him.
I try to shake off the memory, knowing it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but I need to compartmentalize it for a later date.Otherwise, I’ll break down and bawl my eyes out or send myself into a panic that causes me to pass out. Neither of those sound-like appealing options currently, so I close my eyes and take a few cleansing breaths until I feel normal again. Well, as normal I can feel right now.
I finally use the bathroom to my bladder's demanding request before taking a minute to find a towel and head over to the humongous shower. Glancing in, I see my stuff sitting in the cubby. That makes me quirk a brow, curious about their somewhat ‘thoughtful’ actions with this whole insanely messed up situation. Yet again, another thing to think about and get answers on. But first, I might as well take advantage of this badass shower with actual hot water before I potentially get thrown out on my ass.
-----
Holy shit balls of fire and brimstone, so that’s how the rich and famous shower. After spending a good half hour in the shower deep conditioning my poor hair and scrubbing all the dirt, grime, and some of the aches out of my body, I finally feel somewhat normal, given the circumstances. Wrapping the giant fluffy towel around my body and the other one around my hair, I slowly step out onto the marble floor. I really don’t need to fall and bust my ass and add to the already long list of what hurts.
It would be easier to list what doesn’t hurt in all honesty.
Sliding the pocket door open to the giant closet, I see all my possessions in a handful of labeled totes in the middle of the room.
Well that sorry excuse of everything I own just soured my somewhat uplifted mood. Fuck you too, world. Fuck you too.
I rummage through them and find some socks, black leggings, and a lime sports bra, before quickly saying screw underwear and going commando. After throwing everything on, I search around for a hair tie and damn near lose my shit over how I can’t find anything. Thankfully, I finally find one and toss my hair up into a messy bun. I’ll deal with the consequences later for not taking a few minutes to properly brush it.
Whatever. My life is a current train wreck, so let’s add my damn hair to the mix. I’ll deal with it like I do with everything else. Sass and not giving up.
As I reach the door to my little, albeit temporary slice of heaven, I’m suddenly overcome with fear. Who am I going to see? What are they going to say? Am I losing my scholarship and getting sent back to LA? What if they dug up shit on my past? I do not have the mental capacity to deal with that can of worms right now. “Come on Bethani, you got this,” I mutter to myself, giving my body the much needed pep talk to get over it. Standing here like a scared damsel isn’t going to achieve anything or answer the many questions I have.
With one last deep breath, I finally open the door to the unknown, only to have the ever loving hell scared outta me.
“Jesus fucking ducks!” I scream as I launch the water bottle at Declan in retaliation. “The flying monkey hell is wrong with you!”
He successfully dodges my water bottle kamikaze as it flies into the wall across from me. His eyes are wide from shock as the bottle hits the floor. He slowly turns back to face me, palms up in surrender as I clutch my heaving chest, trying to regain a sliver of composure.
“Sorry, sunshine. I heard the shower turn on a little bit ago and uhh... got a little antsy waiting for you to come out. I was actually getting ready to knock when you came out,” he finishes with a gorgeous, but sheepish smile.
All I can do is hold my hand up in an attempt to get him to stop talking while I catch my breath. Currently, I'm not sure if I’m having issues from him scaring the donkey balls out of me, or if it's his mesmerizing rock god looks.
Declan is standing in front of me in nothing but a pair of low hanging dark gray sweatpants, showing off a sinfully sexy v cut that tapers down into the land of the unknown. Of course, since I’m a glutton for punishment, I happen a quick glance at the prominent bulge in his sweats, and I have to struggle to withhold a gasp. Holy shit he is huge. Like I can tell from just his sweats he is bigger than any other man I’ve ever been with. Wow. Swallowing thickly, I move my way back up towards his face. Declan is built like an enormous, tattooed Greek God. The full sleeves of tattoos covering his muscular arms flow flawlessly into his shoulders, chest, and stomach. Waves, swirls, and shapes of color melt flawlessly between the blacks and grays. As I make my way up the expansive wall of chest and tattoos, I stop abruptly at his nipple piercings. His. Nipples. Are. Pierced. What I wouldn’t do to give those sexy things a lick.
Lick? What the hell is wrong with me? Jesus, this walking Adonis sex-on–an-expensive-stick damn near scares the piss out of me, and all I can think about is how it would be to have him pressed up against me. Hard and soft. Tall and short. His gigantic looking dick maybe giving me a decent orgasm for once.
I close my eyes quickly, trying to control the undeniable lust that I know is showing on my face and oozing off my body. Stupid sweaty palms. That’s what happens when you don’t get laid in over 2 years, dumbass. Thanks for the reminder of my poor life choices there internal voice of reason. Not. Also, fuck you too.
I slowly open my eyes, keeping my face neutral, only to be damn near screaming again when he is right. In. Front. Of. Me. I open my mouth to yell again, maybe kick him, when he surprises me by quickly lifting me up into his rock hard body and walking us back into my ‘room’ just far enough to shut the door with his foot and pin me between the wall and him.
“What the-”
I don’t even have the opportunity to finish when his mouth descends on mine. I’m so taken aback by the whole thing I don’t even realize I’m kissing him back at first until his tongue is demanding entrance to mine. I gather enough courage do deny him entrance, making him growl a bit at my defiance before he caresses my lips with his tongue. I feel his tongue ring against my lips, making me gasp. That was most definitely his goal, because he quickly shoves his tongue deep into my mouth, causing our mouths to fuse together. We are fighting against each other for purchase as the passion and attraction flow through us. My lungs are screaming at me, but I’m not giving into the burn. We are both so into the kiss, that we aren’t even moving. There’s no fondling of each other's bodies, we are just thoroughly enjoying the kiss that our brains can’t compute anything else.
A sharp bang on the door finally separates us.
“Declan, you rotten bastard. Get the fuck out of there!”
I’m not sure which one is saying it, but from the bossy tone I’m going to assume it is Sinclair. I can vaguely remember his dominating aura yesterday when he gave me the first orgasm not by my own hands in a long time.
Declan is breathing just as heavily as I am when he whispers, “Ignore him,” before flashing me a gorgeous smile. As I stare back into his flawless slate gray eyes, I realize I’m completely enthralled by them. While I can almost read the lighthearted nature behind them, I can also see the hazy turmoil. It’s a troubled look, one that says his life is no walk in the park either, but he is still him through it all.
I feel that more than anyone will ever know. It’s a struggle some days to keep my head above water and not just succumb to the darkness that wants to drag a person to the depths of hell.
“Declan Grant Carter. Either put Bethani down and come out so we can all fucking talk, or I’m coming in and dragging your horn dog ass out by your cock ring, fuck face.”
Yup. That’s definitely Sinclair.
Declan’s eyes shut, and he tilts his head back, almost like he is praying for patience. Then, he groans. “God damn you Sinclair Alfred Blackwell! Shit was getting good fucker!”
Alfred? Alfred. I can’t stop the giant, carefree laugh that bubbles out of me at that. I can’t stop laughing to the point I’m almost doubling over into Declan’s body at the admission. I’m still a giggling mess when I feel a kiss on the top of my head, and Declan moves to go back towards the door with me still wrapped around his body. He opens the door to a furious looking Sinclair, and I can’t help but laugh even more.
For what a stunning specimen Sinclair is, albeit a complete asshole, his middle name just doesn’t suit him. My idiotic brain just can’t stop the manic laughing long enough to be even remotely serious at how irritated he obviously is over Declan’s admission to his middle name.
“You just fucking had to say that, didn’t you?”
Another amazing smile comes from Declan’s full, slightly swollen lips, which are also adorned with a hoop piercing on the right side of his bottom lip.
“Made sunshine laugh, and pissed you off. So that’s a double win in my book. But you also started it by using my middle name first, asshole.”
“Yes, but Grant is nowhere near as pompous and proper sounding as Alfred,” I somehow force out the comment before another fit of laughter hits me.
A deep laugh rumbles out of Declan, joining in with me. That earns us both a vicious scowl from Sinclair’s swirling emerald eyes, and his utter lack of amusement at our banter against him.
Giovanni’s voice filters down the hallway from behind us. “Food’s ready if you are all done arguing. I’m not waiting, so hurry up or piss off!”
And of course, my stomach and brain realize it’s been way too long without food. It sends out a deep grumble in protest, as my nose finally inhales delectable scents of breakfast food.
“Come on, sunshine. Let’s get you fed before stick-up-his-ass here gets his panties all in a twist over his lack of control,” Declan says as he starts walking towards the kitchen, with me still attached to his body.
“You do realize I can walk, right?” I ask him as I arch an eyebrow to him.
“Yup,” he chimes, popping the p at the end for emphasis. “Still not putting you down. You feel way too good in my arms, and since asshole there had to interrupt us, I’m going to hog all of your attention,” he finishes as he walks us into the kitchen.
When we arrive, Declan promptly grabs a chair at the massive island, sits down, and then easily picks me up and places me back on his lap before sliding two massive plates of food towards us.
“Eat up, sunshine. G is a decent cook, and you haven’t eaten in a while.”
He then proceeds to shovel his own food into his face while keeping his left arm around my waist.
I’m staring at a massive plate of waffles, bacon, sausage, and eggs. As I’m trying to decide where the hell to start, Giovanni’s voice breaks through my thoughts.
“Coffee, juice, milk, or water, Tesoro?”
I glance up to see an equally charming and shirtless Adonis smiling at me. Jesus Christ, what water did their parents drink when creating them? Seriously.
All three of them are fucking drool worthy walking sex on sticks. Giovanni has gorgeous ice blue eyes that are just as entrancing and soul stopping as Sinclair’s emerald eyes and Declan’s gray eyes. But while all three of them are some sort of God’s gift to mankind with their looks, I can see the differences between them easily.
Giovanni is somewhere in between the other two. He looks like he can be just as serious and rude as Sinclair, but he also looks like he can be as equally carefree and wild like Declan. Giovanni has the least amount of tattoos from first glance, the only ones I can see are ones that match Declan and Sinclair perfectly. Something you see men from the mafia or an MC don in the movies. They are peculiar tattoos: skulls with a trident stabbed through the skull. They all have matching Latin script on their shoulder blades also. Ante Mortem Infidelitatis. I wonder what that means.
All three men are way taller than me. Declan is the tallest, while Sinclair and Giovanni are about the same height yet are not much shorter than Declan. Sinclair has the darkest hair, an onyx black color. Giovanni has dark brown hair that is just as silky smooth looking, but slightly longer. Declan’s hair definitely fits his personality. It’s a chocolate brown color that is shorter on the sides and wild on top. It falls in his eyes when down, but when styled it's more faux hawkish, but in a way that is unique to him.
All three have the deep sexy V’s that cut into their low rise sweatpants, adorned with sexy as shit happy trails that lead to their well hung dicks. I’m going to assume Giovanni is just as well hung like the other two. Sinclair is well hung, verified by my spontaneous orgasm yesterday, and I can feel the boner I’m sitting on from Captain Cuddles lap, which hasn’t quite left since our make out session. All I see is chiseled chests, sinful 6-packs, bulging broad shoulders, and sculpted facial features. Lord have mercy on womankind, because just being here in the same room as these Greek Gods is enough to make a woman want to strip down and let these lick worthy specimens enact their deepest and darkest fantasies. Because these men, yeah, they can back up their cocky swaggers, and they know it.
I can feel the blush creeping up my cheeks as the thoughts run through my head of these guys naked and having their way with me.
“Coffee please,” I choke out. My voice all throaty and breathy, giving myself away at what I was thinking. My blush flames even more as I quickly pick up a fork and start devouring the waffles.
I can’t help but moan when the waffles and fruit combo hit my mouth, because holy shit are these good. One of them dropping their fork causes me to glance up to see three sets of eyes on me. I quickly swallow then take a sip of the coffee.
“Why are all you staring at me?”
“Tesoro, you can’t moan like that unless you want us to strip you down and see what else makes you moan.”
“Would you rather me say your food tastes like shit then?”
“I’d much rather that moan come from you deep throating my cock and enjoying it, Bethani.”
My eyes bulge, and my mouth gapes from his bold statement. “You can’t be serious?”
Sinclair snickers, which has me narrowing my eyes and turning towards him. “Yes, Satan? What glorious opinion would you like to share with the class?”
His smirk is now gone, and that glint that was in his eyes yesterday is back. It’s predatory and dominating, stopping anymore sarcasm falling from my smart mouth.
“Oh, kitten. That smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days.” He straightens in his chair, the air feels thinner suddenly with his authoritative presence. “And when that day comes, you will be begging for it. I can’t fucking wait to tame that smart little mouth of yours with my cock sinking deep in that tight little pussy of yours.”
I can’t fucking breathe for a second. My thoughts are a complete jumble as Declan’s grip around my waist tightens and the throbbing of his dick between my ass cheeks is another reminder at what is going on here. Which in all honesty, I have no fucking clue.
Steeling myself a bit, I’m finally able to reply, “Just what makes you think I’m going to submit to you? Or any of you for that matter? I don’t even get what you guys could see in some shitty scholarship student that lives in a basement, which you guys destroyed by the way. If I get thrown out over that, I’m chopping all your dicks off. Because this stupid ass school is my one shot at a decent life, and I’ll be damned if your asshole actions ruin that.”
Damn it, I probably said too much. The tension skyrockets over my admission, and the reminder of where I live here on this pretentious campus has three sets of dagger eyes pointed my way. I quickly start eating more food, and keep my face down towards the plate in an attempt to avoid questions I don’t really feel like answering.
“Nothing will happen to your status here as a student, Bethani Larie. You also don’t live in that hell hole anymore. You live here with us, and that isn’t changing anytime soon, whether you agree with it or not.”
Ok, now he is just pissing me off with his bossy attitude. My temper flares, and I dish it right back at him. “Oh, excuse me? I wasn’t aware that my permanent living situation changed indefinitely. What exactly is keeping me here? There are other rooms down in the basement that I can just as easily occupy. My key works in every other door down there. I also don’t have a giant controlling pain in my ass down there to deal with either. So you can just fuck right off.”
“Wait a fucking minute. The hell did you just say?” Giovanni hisses, throwing me off with the venom dripping from his voice.
“Uhh...that Sinclair is a giant douche canoe that needs a mannerism class?”
He smirks at that, but clearly isn’t deterred.
“While I will agree with you on that, Tesoro, nice try. You were all issued the exact same key? That’s what you said right?”
I glance down again. “Not exactly,” I mumble. Damn my big mouth.
“And what exactly did you mean, sunshine?” Declan says into my ear, making me shiver.
“You guys won’t give up until I tell you what you want to know, right?”
“Yup,” they all say collectively.
Inhaling deeply, I contemplate my options here. I have a feeling they can all be very, very persuasive if they want to be, and I don’t know if I’m even remotely ready for something like whatever they come up with.
“Fine. I’ll answer your questions. Within reason of course. But I’m not answering another question until after I’m done eating, so suck it the hell up and deal with it.”
“Fair enough,” Giovanni answers.
Declan kisses my cheek. “Works for me, sunshine.”
I glance at Sinclair, who still has his scowl on his face, but then he nods and goes back to eating with the other two.
At least I bought myself a few minutes of peace before the personal purgatory of my life gets dredged up.
Yay. Freaking. Me.