Page 61 of False Idols

My cheeks burn, because I did watch him and the girl. It was hot. So hot. I couldn’t have looked away if I’d wanted to. I’d been dancing with Dean the entire time and barely realized he was telling me his feelings for me until it was over.

“That’s not-”

“Not it?” Beau interrupts and clucks his tongue as he throws his hands out and makes a show of pacing the space we’re in. I watch Beau as he walks, the swagger in his steps makes me spitting angry. But as I’m watching him I realize we’re not inside anymore. We aren’t in a room, we’re in a screened in porch. The cool night air feels good on my skin after being in the frat house packed with other people. I can see a bonfire shining bright not that far away from us. There’s people walking around the porch and hanging out near the bonfire, but no one looks our way at all.

What the fuck? How does no one notice anything when it comes to Beau? Or is it that they’re determined to turn a blind eye to whatever it is that he’s doing because of what I’ve done to him? It’s probably the latter. If he hurts me out here, they won’t care. But even as I watch Beau turn to face me, I know he’s not going to hurt me.

“Could it be that you’re pissed that I just put the hand I was using on Ali on your face? You smell her, angel? Taste her?”

“Fuck you.”

“I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

“What do you want, Beau? I need to go home.”

Beau tilts his head to the side and looks me over. The moonlight paints him in black and white. He looks more like a nightmare than human, but he’s still the most beautiful thing that I’ve ever seen. Monster. Man. It doesn’t matter.

“Sure, sure. I don’t want to keep you, Nevaeh. I do have one very important thing to tell you before you head home for the night.” When I don’t say anything, Beau sighs and crosses the porch to come stand in front of me. I don’t even bother trying to scramble away from him. It doesn’t matter. Not when Beau reaches right for me and shoves me back against the wall. He leans into me and settles his hands on my neck as he stares down at me.

“You’ve become such a beauty, Nevaeh.” That surprises me. His words feel almost tender. He reaches out a finger and brushes a lock of hair off my face with a sigh. “Absolutely breathtaking. Like a work of art,” he continues on, voice gentle and soft while he toys with my hair. Then his hands tighten on my neck and I cough at losing my air.

“So why the fuck are you letting that piece of shit touch you, hmm? Didn’t I already fucking warn you what would happen if I caught him touching you again? Do you remember what I told you, angel?”

“I’ll kill him. If he touches you again, I’ll cut his heart out and tonight, angel, I’m claiming what’s always been mine.”

My eyes go wide and I start to shake my head at Beau, but he cuts me off and presses a kiss to my mouth. “Shhh, shhhh, don’t cry, Nevaeh. You know what I’m going to do to him. It’s all going to be just fine.”

I shake my head back and forth and try to tell him no, but Beau isn’t listening to me. His hands tighten and his hold on my neck gets worse. I can’t breathe and the only thing holding me up is the wall at my back.

“Shhh, don’t fight me, Nevaeh.”

Everything around me starts to flicker and the ground under my feet feels like it’s slipping away. I start to sink into the black, but that’s when Beau lets go of my neck and air comes rushing into my lungs so hard that it’s painful. I gasp and choke, limbs thrashing as I fully regain consciousness.

“Get off of me, you psycho!”

“I’m your psycho.”

“I don’t want you. I don’t want this,” I lie.

Beau chuckles and kisses my cheek. His hands are around my waist and he rubs his hands over where Dean touched me earlier. “Angel, you’re a terrible liar. You want this. You want every fucked up minute I’m giving you. Do you know how I know that?”

I don’t want to ask, but I have to. There’s no world where I don’t ask how Beau knows that I want this from him.

“How?”

“You would have told everyone what I said at the television conference on day one. There’s no way you wouldn’t have told someone. Anyone. That roommate of yours, for instance, makes a lot of fucking noise. If you had told her, someone would have known.”

“You stay away from her,” I order before I think about it. Things don’t go well for me when I have a mind to tell Beau what to do or fight him. I’ll risk it for Sunny, though. No questions asked. I’ll always risk it to keep my friend safe.

Beau smiles down at me and leans down to kiss my nose. “Don’t worry, angel. She’s off limits.”

“W-what?”

“Your roommate. What’s her name? Moonbeam, Rainbow or some shit. She’s off limits.”

“Why though?” I don’t correct him. I don’t want Beau knowing Sunny’s name, but he’s close with his guesses, which surprises me even more than him saying she’s off limits.

“Because if anything happened to her you would be upset,” Beau tells me matter-of-factly.

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