Shattered Legacy : A Dark Bully Romance (Gravestone Elite Book 1) by Caitlyn Dare (red seas under red skies TXT) 📕

“It’s okay.” It isn’t. But I’m not about to beg her to stay.

“Ladies,” Brandon yells from the door, “let’s go.”

Sasha grumbles something beneath her breath and takes off toward him, leaving me alone.

I could run now. Run and never look back. But Bexley is in there somewhere. So I inhale a deep breath, smooth my hair off my face, and head inside.

The first thing that hits me is how quiet the house is. Cade appears out of nowhere. Gone are his suit jacket and tie. He’s rolled back the sleeves of his shirt and unbuttoned the collar. He looks good, but I know he’s the devil in a handsome god’s clothing.

“There you are.” He offers me his hand, and I slide my palm against his. “Are you ready for tonight’s celebrations?” Cade guides me down the long hall leading to the kitchen. But we don’t stop there, leaving the house through the patio doors and walking across the perfectly tended lawns. It’s the same path I took with Sasha all those nights ago, when Cade made Bexley and Alex fight in the pit.

A shiver runs through me when I spy the small building.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Time to find out,” he replies cryptically. I notice Ashton standing guard and fight a groan of disgust. Of all Cade’s friends, I despise him the most. But something tells me he’s the most dangerous, because he’s not really Electi at all.

“Ready to play, kitty?” He smirks, and I bristle.

“Where were you tonight?” My voice is all saccharine sweetness. “Or didn’t you get the invite?”

“Oh fuck.” Cade explodes with laughter. I notice Ashton isn’t laughing. He looks like he wants to wrap his hands around my throat and squeeze the life right out of me.

“Fucking bitc—"

“Watch it, Moore,” Cade growls.

Silence falls between them and I inch closer to Cade.

“Come on,” he says, breaking the tension. “Make sure no one else comes down here.”

Before I have time to ask where ‘down here’ is, Cade guides me into the small stone room.

A dark archway leads to a black abyss, and fear grips me in a chokehold.

“W-what is that?” I croak.

“Relax, babe. I’ll protect you.” Cade places a hand on the small of my back and nudges me forward. Something travels on the musty air, the faint sound of laughter and music. As the darkness swallows me, candlelight flickers off the wall, revealing a staircase that sinks into the ground. The music grows louder as we move deeper.

We come to another huge stone door, and Cade moves around me to push it open. Inside is nothing like I am expecting. It’s a vast room, the decor modern and sleek. A huge black crushed velvet sectional adorns one wall, and a chrome bar runs the length of the other, complete with glass shelves full of expensive liquor. Brandon is perched on a black leather stool, kissing the face off some scantily-clad girl, his fingers pushed under her skirt as she rides his hand. He sure didn’t waste any time.

Channing and Tim sit in two wingback chairs, drinking from tumblers as they watch a girl contort her body around a pole. She’s in an itty-bitty bikini, her breasts spilling out as she swings and bends.

“What is this place?” My voice quivers.

“It’s our den.”

“Where’s Sasha?” I ask, hoping she’ll magically appear.

“She sends her apologies. But don’t worry, I’ll keep you company.” Cade brushes my hair off my shoulder. “So beautiful.” His thumb strokes my cheek, dropping to my bottom lip. He teases the seam of my mouth, slowly forcing it past my lips.

For a second, I imagine biting down hard, but sense gets the better of me and I gently pull away. “Not in front of your friends.”

His brow goes up at the suggestion in my voice.

Just then, Ashton enters the room and makes a beeline for one of the girls serving drinks behind the bar. He grabs her wrists, pins them above her head, and kisses her passionately.

Sex lingers in the air, the sultry beat thrumming deep inside of me. I don’t feel the overpowering lust I felt before, at the dinner where Cade touched me. But I feel something.

“Aren’t you going to ask?” Cade studies me.

“Ask what?” I meet his inquisitive stare with my own.

“Where your boyfriend is?”

I falter but quickly slide my stone expression back in place. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“So you aren’t fucking Easton behind my back?”

My heart plummets into my toes.

He knows.

Cade knows.

“How did you find out?” I don’t even bother denying it.

“Nothing happens on campus without me knowing about it, Mia. Nothing happens in this town without me knowing about it.”

There’s something in his dark gaze that I don’t understand. He’s angry about Bexley, yes, but it’s more than that.

“Where are Bexley and Alex, Cade?” I manage to get the words out despite the huge pit in my stomach.

“So eager, prosapia.” He spits the word as if it’s something less than human. And I realize that maybe it is.

“Mia wants to start the party early,” Cade announces.

Ashton tears away from the girl he has pinned against the wall and stalks toward us. “You sure, kitty? You might not like what you find.” His smirk is wicked, making dread snake through me.

“Where are they?” I demand, adrenaline pounding through me. Maybe it’s foolish to think I can stand up to them, but I can’t just lie down and take whatever they have planned, either.

I sense Channing watching me, but I don’t meet his eyes. I can’t. I’m too far in to turn back.

“Take me to them,” I say.

“Very well.” Cade nods, and Tim gets up and moves to the closed velvet curtains. I thought they were hanging on the wall, but when he pulls a cord and they open, I realize they were concealing a huge glass window.

And on the other side is Alex and Bexley.

“W-what is this?” I demand as bile rushes up my throat.

Alex pounds mercilessly into a girl as she claws at his back. But it