The Ritual

He snorts. “Cindy Williams will be Mrs. Cindy Archer.”

My pulse accelerates at his words. Now I understand why he’s talking to me. He thinks he can hurt me. He thinks I’m such a needy, lonely bitch that I’ve already gone and fallen for Ryat after one fucking night! Seriously? So, because a guy finally fucked me, I’m supposed to love him?

He steps into me, and it presses my back into the wall. “Matt …” I warn.

Leaning into my ear, he whispers, “She will be his wife. She will have his kids. And she will be the one tied to his bed that he fucks.”

A coldness runs up my spine. Not at his words but how he says them. The dark tone in his voice sends warning shivers down my spine.

He pulls back and smiles down at me. “Just like you will be all three of those things for me.” Reaching out, he plays with a piece of hair that’s fallen out of my messy bun. “Have fun while you can, Blakely. He may be fucking you for now, but I will be the one who will have you for the rest of your miserable fucking life. And I will never let you see the light of day.” Leaning forward, he licks up the side of my face, making me taste vomit. “And you will pay for what you’ve done to me. Remember that he’s playing with you now, but I will own you. Till death do us part. And that won’t come fast enough for you.” His eyes drop to the hickeys that Ryat left on my neck, then the bruises on my arms and wrists. “You may be his slut, but you will be my worthless whore.” Then he walks off.

RYAT

“WHY DIDN’T YOU choose me?” Cindy asks, her hands on her hips. “I know my name was on that list,” she snaps at me.

I say nothing. Not every girl gets chosen. We have fifteen seniors this year and hundreds of women’s names on the list. That’s why some Lords choose to have more than one. The list of women willing to be a chosen is a mile long.

Gunner laughs at her words. “Why the fuck would he pick you as his chosen? He’s stuck fucking you every day after his graduation until he dies. Why would he add a year to that prison sentence?”

Baring her teeth, she lets out a growl and spins around, stomping off down the hall.

“Man, you are going to hate being her husband. She’s going to be a miserable bitch.” He slaps my shoulder, watching her sway her ass down the hall. “I’d keep her gagged twenty-four seven, strapped to a board down in the basement.”

“That’s the only plan I got.” My parents arranged my marriage to Cindy Williams years ago. I was a senior in high school, and she was a junior. We lived in New York; her family lived in California. We took a family vacation to the Alps with them. Both of our fathers are Lords. And her two older brothers as well. Her father wanted her with a fellow Lord, and when my father told him I was going to have my freshman initiation the following school year, wedding bells started ringing.

We spent two weeks in the Alps. The first night there, she found her way to my room and woke me up with my dick in her mouth. I spent more time in bed fucking her than I did out skiing. She’s okay when her mouth is full, but when it’s not, all she does is run it. Nonstop.

“So, what are you going to do?” Gunner asks, getting my attention.

I look over at him. “About what?”

“The ice queen. She’s probably already on the phone with daddy, ratting you out that you chose Blakely instead of her.”

I wave him off. “Let her. Nothing they can do about it.” My father knew I was told to choose Blakely. He understands I had no choice, and he also knows that what he and my mother have arranged with the Williamses isn’t going anywhere. Right now, my focus is to fuck up Matt and his pathetic life. “I got the right girl.”

Gunner slaps my chest. “Speaking of your girl.” He points down at the end of the hall.

I see Blakely walking in the opposite direction with her head down, gripping a stack of books in her hands to her chest. “See you back at the house of Lords,” I tell him and take off down the hall. “Blake?” I holler at her, but she keeps going. “Blakely!” I call out her full name when she chooses to ignore me.

Catching up with her, I grab her shoulder and spin her around. She looks up at me, and she’s got tears in her eyes. I frown. I just dropped her off an hour ago, and she totally avoided me. I knew her watching me get her off would get her worked up. “What’s wrong?”