Page 131 of Please Hate Me

Maybe in another life, I could have had everything I wanted.

I rummaged through Lucian’s drawers to find a notebook and a pen. I’d make sure to steal the paper I wrote on and stick it in my book of lyrics that were far too soft to be performed by my edgy stage persona.

I sat across from Pearl’s terrarium, watching her slither through the dark substrate. She climbed atop the small log in the center of her glass kingdom, basking regally in the warmth radiating from her heat lamp.

That’s when inspiration fully struck.

I poured my heart onto the page, red ink staining the side of my hand as I wrote. The rest of the world didn’t matter while I was writing, and the more I wrote, the more I was dying to get out. By the time I finished, tears were streaming down my face, and I couldn’t breathe.

But just as I prepared to reread and revise what I had, there was a commotion from the front door.

“Put me down!” Lucian commanded. “I hate being picked up; you know that!”

“You should have thought about that before you called Soph a bitch.” Cameron drawled. My heart swelled at their voices and the idea that they would willingly allow me to join their slice of paradise.

“I didn’t call Sophia a bitch! I said she wasmy—ugh, Mason, help!”

A laugh replaced my tears. I slammed the notebook closed before venturing out to join the fun.

Chapter 36

Lucian

Before I could even process what was going on, I was completely naked in my own dining room, mostly bound to a wooden chair.

“Quit fuckin’ moving,” Cameron grunted as he tightened the peach-colored ropes around my chest, pulling my back against the wood.

I bucked against the chair, causing it to rock, but Cameron steadied all the legs onto the ground.

“You’re gonna get hurt. Quit fussing,” he scolded.

“Fuck you.” I spat. “Let me go, or I’m beating your ass.”

The room was dark, save for the ambient orange glow of a million twinkle lights spilling through the spacious archway between the foyer and the dining room, setting both spaces ablaze. The glow kissed Cameron’s angular cheeks as he moved to kneel before me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I saw pity in his eyes.

“Cameron. Let. Me. Go.”

My fingers drummed against the leg of the chair as if I’d be able to free myself if I just tapped fast enough.

“All you had to do was apologize.”

“And allyouhave to do is untie me,” I growled through my teeth.

It was one thing to have minimal control, or to submit because I wanted to. But being literally tied to afucking chairwas something completely different.

“If you really wanted to be let go, all you’d have to say istrust.” Cameron wiggled his fingertips through my hair, which was pulled loosely into a low bun. With a quick motion, Cam snapped the elastic in my hair tie, causing chilly strands to tumble onto my shoulders.

His touch left goosebumps on my scalp, and my breath caught in my throat. I considered calling trust, not because I didn’t want whatever Sophia had in store for me, but because I was pissed off.

Sophia liked to taunt me when I was in trouble. To that end, she’d been sending me cryptic messages all day. The first had been a picture of a chair, the second had been lingerie, and the third was a strand of Christmas lights. When I received them, I assumed she was going to force me to cross-dress... but that seemed unlikely right now.

What thefuckwas she going to do to me?

Cameron’s hand dropped to my cock, and I hardened in his palm. He smirked as I shot him a scowl.

“This ain’t all bad, right?” His voice was a husky murmur.

A spring of arousal coiled in my stomach as he bent down, his lips meeting my tip before he opened his mouth. Slowly, Cameron’s tongue danced along my shaft, and I exhaled a ragged breath. I closed my eyes, trying to relax and just enjoy the feeling of Cameron sucking my dick rather than thinking about the fact that I was, again, literally tied to afuckingchair.

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