“You shouldn’t be here.”

Maddoc.

“I was invited.” I roll my eyes.

He pushes me forward two steps, the yard light no longer shining against my back. He whispers, “I’m not talking about the party. I’m talking out where you’re standing.”

“Why not?”

“Listen.”

Me brows draw in but after a moment I hear it.

Soft giggles and quiet laughter, followed by the clear sound of a sultry kiss.

Deep breathes, soft mews and airy moans.

There’s a rustle of leaves followed by a whispered “yes” and my skin grows warm.

Maddoc pushes closer.

And then the zip of jeans is heard, and my core tightens.

There’s no sound for a moment and I find myself inching closer to the darkness of the trees.

“Oh God,” is breathed into the air and I pull in a lungful of cold air.

A deep raspy groan, a shuttered cry.

Maddoc’s grip on my hips tightens and my pussy walls clench.

“She’s almost there ...” he rasps against the back of my ear and I shiver against him. “Right at the edge, ready to come for him ... for us without even knowing it.”

I squeeze my eyes closed, licking my lips as I focus on their sounds.

I inch closer, slowly peeking in time to see the shadow of the girl’s head fall back as the guys drops to her chest.

“They’re there, Raven...” he breathes right as they cry out in release.

My body starts to ache with need.

Maddoc feathers his fingers across my skin and I’m ready to do something real stupid right here, right now.

But he’s a devious dickhead who knew exactly what he was doing, and he shifts the mood quick. “Royce says you’re sneaking out at night.”

Bastard.

“’Course he did.”

“Who you fucking?”

“Wow.” I roll my eyes, willing my pulse under control.

“Tell me.” He tips his head slightly, the scuff of his chin scraping against my neck causing me to shudder despite myself.

He chuckles against me and my head tilts - to avoid or to open up farther, fuck if I know right now.

“It’s not your concern.”

“The fuck if it isn’t. You’re mine to play with.”

“According to who, you?”

“Damn straight.”

“But I was ‘released’ from your little threesome, remember?” I glance over my shoulder, batting my lashes and his nostrils flare.

He pushes into me and I hold my breath. “You’re mine if I say you are, you’re trash when I decide I’m done. And I’m standing here telling you I changed my mind. I’m not ready to throw you out just yet.”

He doesn’t elaborate so I sure as shit don’t ask for his reasoning.

His grip on my hip tightens a moment before a burst of wind hits my back.

I spin slowly to face him.

He licks his lips, drops his head back lazily as he stares.

He’s too damn appealing to the eye. And he’s wearing a backwards fucking hat tonight.

That right there ... good fucking god.

I must show my appreciation for the ruler in front of me, because the corner of his mouth lifts slowly.

Captain saunters up right then, whispering in Maddoc’s ear and instantly, his mask is back in place. Maddoc nods, gaze still locked on mine.

“I have eyes on you, Raven. Don’t do anything stupid,” he tells me.

“The fuck ever that means.”

He walks closer and my spine straightens, a tingling sensation spreading across my ribs. He brushes his chest against me. “It means keep your legs closed to our guests.”

“I’ll do my best, big man,” I deadpan, and he walks off with Captain, Royce meeting them at the edge of the lawn, and together they push through the side gate.

Stupid me, I follow.

Out front is a repeat of last weekend at Graven, only these people I recognize. They’re the nomads from school, the one the girl told me about the first day, they are supposed to lay low, stay out of the way. Yet here they are.

“You really think this is smart?” Maddoc asks eerily calm.

The chick beside them holds her cell up, and Royce moves to take a half a step closer but stops when Maddoc speaks.

“I want that phone. Now.”

The guy stands taller and the girl laughs, tauntingly shaking her phone as she hides a step farther away like a little bitch. “That’s not going to happen,” she spits.

“If you wanted a sex tape, I’d have been happy to be the star of the show,” Royce quips, but his tone tells me he’s being an ass, though I’m almost positive it’s true.

She tilts her head, and from the side view I have of all of them, I can see the small smirk on her face. “This is a two for one, he screwed her, now we screw you all.”

“You’re about to cause a problem you won’t be able to fix,” Captain tells her.

She scoffs, glancing at the guys beside her. “Like I care. You can kiss your little basketball season goodbye.”

“You send that, you’ll regret it.”

The girl smirks and the guys are brave enough to laugh – it’s fearful but heard nonetheless. “You can’t control us anymore. With this, we get our district transfers approved. We’ll be at Graven by Monday.”

Kiss the season goodbye?

What the fuck are they trying to pull? The one thing I’ve seen light a fire in these boys’ eyes that’s not driven by rage or hatred is when a basketball is in their hands. From what I can tell, it’s the only thing they even give two shits about other than each other.

I owe them nothing, have no loyalties to honor. Nothing at all ties me to these boys and the stupid shit they do.

Yet something has my feet creeping along the house until the hose is in my hands. I use my knife to slice through it at a little bigger than arm’s length. And again, something has me tiptoeing out wide to round the cars lining the left of the driveway so I can come up behind the party crashers.

With my hands on the ends, I create a loop and quickly and easily slip the rubber around the girl’s neck and pull.

She yelps, but it’s cut short when I kick her legs from under her and she falls on her ass, the phone flying from her hand.

The guys she’s with spin quickly, but I haul her back a few steps and they pause.

After that first moment of shock, one decides to charge me but Maddoc catches him by the collar, tossing him backward with little effort.

I tighten my hold as the girl flails around, widening my eyes at the guys. “Uh, hello. Grab her phone!”

Royce darts for it as Captain steps in the center with his brass knuckles on and ready, daring them to make a move for his boy who has his back turned.

Royce snatches the phone from the girl’s feet and demands the password.

When she hesitates, I yank tighter and she cries out the code.

Royce pushes some buttons on the screen and then glares, before snapping it in half and stuffing it in his pocket. “Hope you weren’t attached to anything in your cloud. It’s all gone now.”

When she starts to kick, I tighten my hold even more. Adrenaline pumps through my veins, creating a natural – dangerous – high that grows stronger the more she gags. Her hands coming up to claw at my forearms, and I look down, following the small beads of blood running down my wrist, having felt nothing.