When Rivals Fall (Bayshore Rivals 1)

I’ll never escape, never be able to fight them off. Inky black dread clouds my mind, and I feel the tears forming in my eyes.

“Usually when a woman says no, she means no.” Sullivan growls, the sound of his voice soothing the panic threatening to take over my body. I’m so relieved that I could sink to my knees on the ground to thank him.

“Come on, man, don’t be a dick, you can’t keep her all to yourself, obviously she likes getting banged by more than one guy, hence you and your brothers using her,” he retorts. His chuckles sounding strange.

Sullivan doesn’t answer, at least not with words. With superhuman speed he catapults his fist into chuckling asshole’s face, shutting both of them up in an instant. The guy staggers back from the hit, releasing my arm as he does.

His friend follows suit and flings my arm away like it’s on fire.

“Fucking asshole,” the guy moans, holding his hand to his jaw. Blood dribbles down his chin from a cut on his lip.

Momentarily I’m stunned, like a deer in the middle of the road, two headlights shining on it. The other guy balls his hands into tight fists, and it looks like all three of them might start fighting but then Sullivan takes a threatening step forward, his chest puffed out, his face set in a furious scowl, those massive paws of his clenched into tight fists. He looks like a Viking on the warpath, ready to destroy and kill everything, and anything in his way.

Even though there are two of them and one of him, they cower to him, taking a few steps backwards before turning around to walk away, well, more like run.

I rub at my arms where the skin feels bruised from them gripping it so tightly. Sullivan glares in the direction of the two assholes, before he turns his attention back to me. With a clenched jaw and murder in his blue eyes it looks like he wants to chase them down, to teach them a lesson. Only then do I let what almost happened, what would have happened if he wasn’t there sink in. Fear floods my veins, turning the hot blood to icy slush. My whole body starts to shake, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. A sheen of sweat forms against my brow.

“Has this happened before?” He demands, his hand gripping at the corded muscles of his neck. Tension seeps off of him, and slams into me. I’m terrified, but beneath that fear is something else, anger, sadness, pain, and it pushes through to the surface like a submarine breaking ocean water.

“You mean guys propositioning me? Grabbing me and asking to see me naked? Well yes, actually, see that kind of stuff happens when everybody thinks I’m into it. Wasn’t that your plan all along?”

He sighs and looks away, as if he can’t look into my eyes any longer. As if he feels ashamed. I cross my arms over my chest, mentally giving myself a hug. Silence stretches on between us, being this close to him is fucking with my head. I want to kiss him and smack him. Tell him that I did nothing wrong, and make him beg for forgiveness, but before I can do any of those things his sultry voice breaks the silence.

“Oliver isn’t coming to English class, so come on, I’ll take you there.”

Without even looking at me, he starts walking towards the main building. I know he expects me to follow him, but I can’t make my feet move. Standing there like I grew roots I watch him walk away. He stops after a few feet when he realizes I’m not following him. I want him to keep walking, but I also want to beg him to turn around, to take me into his arms. I’m conflicted, confused, broken.

“Don’t be stupid, let’s go, I’m not going to do anything to you. I’m just making sure that you make it to the class,” he says over his shoulder.

Shaking my head, I say, “I think I’ve had enough for today. I can’t do this right now. I’m going back to the dorms,” I tell him, but still my legs won’t move forward, it feels like I’m stuck in mud. Not stuck, drowning. All I want to do is go back to my room, lock myself inside, crawl into my bed, and pull my blanket over my head and forget. Forget the brothers, what just happened, the rivalry and all the family drama that comes with it. I want to bury it all, dig a hole and toss it inside.

“Fine, I’ll take you there instead.” He spins around and starts to walk back towards me, but still I don’t move, unless you count my knees knocking together. When he realizes that I don’t plan to move he sighs, as if I’m inconveniencing him.