In Ruins: A Dark High School Bully Romance (A Black Falls High Novel Book 1)

Fox messaged me goodnight. So did the others. I smiled as I lay in bed, giddy beyond imagination at everything working out.

Then the crushing weight of Ian came tumbling down on me. I had to figure out what to do about him. It was clear he hurt girls. If he drugged me and tried to screw me, his friend, then who else was his victim?

He needed to pay. I just had to figure out how.

Then I thought about my music. How Enzo and Fox’s eyes had lit up when I sang. How my dad would kill me if he found out I wanted to go to Mayfair.

I cringed and punched my pillow. I barely slept. When Fox came home well after two in the morning, I was up, sitting at my desk. His goodnight text had come nearly four hours earlier. I knew he wasn’t home when he sent it because he said he was still with the guys.

But what the hell were they doing?

My mind kept going back to what Mona said. As much as I wanted to believe I meant something to them, I had to know what the deal with all of that was. Maybe it was like Ethan said. They just really wanted a girl to share and had simply been looking for a long time.

I hoped that’s what it was.

When I got back into bed, it was after three in the morning. By six, I’d slept for maybe an hour. The day was going to suck.

Fox was already gone when I went out to my car in the morning, so I drove to school like I always did and parked in the back of the lot. The only one on the sidewalk when I got there was Ethan.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. “You look exhausted.”

“I am,” I mumbled. “Where are the others?”

“They had some business to take care of. They’ll be here later.”

“Why does that sound like it’s business with their fists?”

Ethan chuckled. “Why do you think that?”

“Fox said something was missing and you guys had to go meet someone. What was it?”

Ethan tensed before giving me a quick squeeze. “Nothing you should worry about. It’s being taken care of.”

“It’s not nothing if you’re keeping it from me,” I grumbled. “It’s definitely something. If it’s bad and I find out, I’ll kick all your asses for lying to me.”

Ethan relaxed and laughed. “It’s fine. Or it will be. Promise.”

“Better be,” I muttered, draping my arm around his waist as we walked together. I’d never done that with anyone before. We looked official. Students whispered behind their hands as we passed by. Instead of ducking my head in embarrassment, I held it high.

“I like the brave look on you,” Ethan commented as we stopped at my locker. “I can’t wait until it’s official.”

“What’s official?”

“Us. All of us. Together,” he said, leaning in and whispering it in my ear. I shivered against him. “We’re going to flaunt you around. You’ll be our queen.”

“I can’t wait either. But what are we waiting for exactly?”

Ethan backed up and sighed. “Fox.”

As if his name alone explained it all. But it was all the explanation I needed. Fox was in charge.

We walked to my class, passing Jamie along the way. Ian was beside her, his hand on her waist as she dug around in her locker. He winked at me as we strolled by, causing Ethan to let out a quiet snarl.

“I hate him,” I hissed once we got around the corner.

“You’re not the only one. He’s going to get what’s coming to him. I promise you that.”

“I hope so. I don’t want him to hurt anyone else, especially Jamie.”

Ethan nodded. “I know. We’re working on what to do about him. We need to catch him in the act though, so we have proof. It’s always just been a suspicion. That doesn’t do shit without evidence, you know?”

I nodded morosely. He was right. We could accuse all day long, but it wouldn’t mean shit if we didn’t have the proof. And me drunk off my ass in bed with him wasn’t exactly the kind of concrete proof we needed.

“I’ll see you at lunch, sweetheart. Leave the worrying to us. We’ll get this sorted.” Ethan gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as was his sweet fashion and departed with a wink.

Sighing, and wondering why he didn’t just full on kiss me, I went into my class. I managed to make it through the morning without a hitch, all the while wondering if Fox and the guys had made it back.

When lunch rolled around, I didn’t bother going to the cafeteria, opting for the bleachers instead. I took my usual spot and stared out at the field, lost in all my negative thoughts concerning Ian, Jamie, and Mona.

I figured I could just talk to Mona again, but whenever I tried to make eye contact with her in the halls, she ducked and ran the opposite direction.

“What has you out here looking so sad?” Enzo’s voice called out.

I looked over my shoulder to find the guys coming up behind me. My heart raced as I took in the sight of them. There was so much perfection smiling at me it was near painful.

“Hey,” I said, rising to my feet and rushing to greet them. I threw my arms around Cole’s neck, causing him to laugh in surprise. It was a strange sound coming from him since he was always so dark and serious. He wrapped his arms around me tightly.

“Miss me?” he asked.

“Guess I didn’t realize how much,” I said, squeezing him once more. He released me, and I went to Fox.

“Are you OK?” he asked, hugging me tightly.

“I am now. But being left alone with my thoughts can be dangerous.”

“Stop hogging Sunshine,” Enzo grumbled, taking me from Fox before he could answer. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” I said as he planted a kiss on my lips.

“You don’t have to go to Ethan. You already saw him today,” Enzo teased.

Ethan shoved Enzo aside amid laughter and squeezed my hand. “Figured you were out here. Didn’t even bother looking in the cafeteria.”

“We brought lunch,” Cole piped up. He shouldered off his backpack and gestured for me to follow him to the bleachers. We all piled onto the seats, Enzo pulling me down onto his lap.

“What are we eating?” I asked as Cole rifled around in his bag for a moment.

“Sandwiches from Remo’s Deli.” Cole handed me a turkey one, and I took it happily, sinking my teeth in.

Enzo bit into my sandwich, taking a large hunk and chewed it, winking at my protest.

“Where were you guys?” I asked as Ethan offered me a drink. Eagerly, I sipped at the cool water.

“Worried?” Cole asked, smirking at me.

“Well, yeah.”

“We just had some things to do,” Fox said, shrugging. “Nothing important, Rosie.”

“Is it about whatever you lost?”

“Yes. And you don’t need to concern yourself with it,” Enzo said.

“Well, I’m going to, so how about you guys tell me what’s going on before I have to find out on my own?”

Cole chuckled, and even Fox smiled.

“Rosie, come here.” Fox held his arm out for me.

I got to my feet and moved to him.

He pulled me down onto his lap and planted a kiss on my cheek. “I promise it’s nothing for you to worry about. Didn’t I tell you that I’d explain it to you later?”

I sighed and nodded.

“Are you pouting?”

“Maybe,” I mumbled.

The guys laughed. Fox tilted my head up and planted a gentle kiss on my lips.

“Maybe there’s something I can do take your mind off it,” he purred in my ear.

I wiggled against him, causing him to groan softly.

“My parents aren’t home. We can go to my place,” Cole broke in, his eyes fixed on me.

“I-I can’t,” I said, pulling away from Fox. “I’d miss afternoon classes—”

“Don’t be such a good girl, Rosebud. Let us dirty you up a bit. Promise we’ll make it worth your time,” Cole said, tugging me off Fox’s lap and bringing me to his. “I want to taste you.”

My face heated at his words, warmth pooling between my legs. He nodded knowingly.

“Come on,” he breathed out, kissing my neck.

“I can’t lose my scholarship, Cole. My dad would kill me.”

“One day won’t cause you to lose it,” he scoffed. “Don’t you want to have a little fun?”

“I do, but not at the expense of disappointing my parents. You guys have the video. If what my parents thought didn’t matter, then your video wouldn’t matter.”

“You’re only here because of the video?” Ethan asked softly.

I widened my eyes at him as the rest of the guys stared at me. “No.” I shook my head. “I mean, at first, yeah. But now?” I looked helplessly at them. “I-I want to be.”

“So that’s it? All of us? You’re ready for that?” Cole asked gruffly. “We don’t have to entice you with our wicked ways or blackmail you with videos?”

I looked to Fox. He sat forward, his brows crinkled.

“No. I want this. All of you.”

“Fuck yeah,” Enzo called out. “Let’s make this shit official.”

“How?” I asked, nervous laughter bubbling out of me.

“We run that train on you.” Enzo winked.

Cole grinned, and even Fox cracked a smile.

“How about her and Ethan go behind that shed?” Cole said, glancing at Ethan. “She can suck his dick.”

“I’m not going to make her suck my dick behind a school building, asshole,” Ethan shot out, glancing at me. “As much as I want her, I have some class.”

Cole rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Then she can suck my dick.”

“She’s not going to suck anyone’s dick. We have ten minutes until classes start again,” Fox broke in. “She already said she wasn’t skipping. I assume that also means she doesn’t want to be late. You can at least appreciate that, can’t you, Cole?” Fox lifted a brow at Cole.

“You suck, Evans. Fucking cock block.”

Fox let out a laugh and shook his head at Cole who was pouting.

“If it helps, she hasn’t sucked my dick yet either. Enzo’s the only one lucky enough to have experienced her mouth.”

“And it was magnificent,” Enzo joined in, winking at me.

I flushed at the compliment. “But really how will this work? I mean… not in private… but in public, at school? I don’t want…” I trailed off unsure how to say what was worrying me.

“You don’t want people to think bad of you?” Ethan guessed.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Talk shit about you, call you a slut?” Enzo chimed in.

My cheeks heated as I nodded. Cole growled at the word slut.

“If anyone dared talk shit about you, we’d take care of it. We’ll protect you. We protect what’s ours,” Fox said.

“But for the time being, I think the easiest solution if for you to be mine in public,” Cole said, winking at me.

“What the hell?” Fox glared at him.

“It makes the most sense. People have already seen the two of us behaving like a couple,” Cole explained matter-of-factly.

Fox narrowed his eyes. “Fine. But that arrangement is only temporary. In a few weeks, she can decide she likes me better and prefers to just be your friend. Then she’ll be mine in public, and in private, she’ll be all of ours.” He smirked at Cole’s grumbled acceptance.

“When do I get a turn for her to be mine?” Enzo griped.

“Let’s not worry about all that right now. We’ll figure it out,” Ethan rushed to assure me.

“Yeah. When you’re more comfortable, we can make things public,” Enzo reassured me.

“We can make it official for just us this weekend,” Fox continued, eyeing me. “What do you say, Rosie?”

I glanced around at the guys, who all stared back at me eagerly. I nodded. “OK.”

“Hell yeah,” Cole said as Enzo grinned at me.

“Let’s head back,” Fox said, getting to his feet. He took my hand in his and helped me down from the bleachers. When my feet hit the ground, he planted a kiss on my forehead before releasing me.

Cole wound his arm around my waist, and we made our way back to the school. When we reached a dark corner of the building, Cole tugged me to stop, the guys following.

“See you later, Sunshine,” Enzo said, winking at me.

Ethan planted a quick kiss on my cheek before following Enzo into the building. Fox dragged me out of Cole’s arms and leaned in, placing a deep kiss on my lips that curled my toes.

Cole grunted his approval behind us, before tugging me away to kiss me himself. Fox let out a soft, dark laugh as Cole’s hands moved to cup my ass beneath my skirt.

He lifted me and hauled me to the wall, pressing me against it, his tongue dancing along mine.

“I fucking want you, Rosebud.” He nipped at my lips, growling. “Come on, Fox.”

I looked past Cole to see Fox with a hungry look in his eyes. Fox took a step forward and drew me into his arms, his lips crashing against mine. He cupped my breast as he hauled me deeper into the dark corner with Cole right behind him.

I let out a yelp as Cole lifted my skirt, his fingers skimming over my damp panties.

“What are you doing?” I breathed out between Fox’s kisses.

“Having dessert,” Cole growled, going to his knees and lifting my sundress over his head. I let out a soft moan as he moved my panties aside and slid his tongue over my slit.

“Spread your legs wider,” Fox’s soft command had me nearly melting as I widened my stance for Cole. Fox’s lips found mine again as Cole’s tongue lapped at my wet center. He sucked my clit into his mouth, causing my eyes to roll back as Fox’s hand found its way beneath the top of my dress. He squeezed my breast, pinching my hard peaks as I trembled from Cole’s onslaught.

“Give it to him, Rosie,” Fox demanded, punctuating his command with hot kisses. “You’ll be late if you don’t.”

“Oh god,” I whimpered as Cole inserted a finger into my tight channel, his mouth never breaking away from my warmth. His tongue and fingers worked faster as the tingles grew. I trembled. My fingers gripped Cole’s hair and yanked him closer while my tongue danced with Fox’s.

The sparks grew into a hot tension, the heat burning deep in my center before bursting into wildfire and swallowing me whole. I moaned softly against the intense pleasure, my inner walls clenching around Cole’s finger as he slowed his tongue, taking a languid lick and swallowing my pleasure.

“Good girl,” Fox said breathlessly as Cole emerged from beneath my skirt, his lips and chin glistening with my orgasm.

With my fingers, I reached out and touched Cole’s moist lips, wiping his mouth and chin clean. Fox grabbed my hand before I could dig into my bag for a tissue and sucked my damp fingers into his mouth, his eyes locked on mine.

Cole let out a soft laugh as my lips parted.

“Don’t want to waste a drop of you, Rosie,” Fox said, giving my finger one more suck before releasing me.

“Holy hotness,” I whispered.

Fox smirked at me as Cole adjusted my dress, making sure I was completely covered.

“We best get to class. We’re going to be late.” Cole dragged me out of Fox’s hold and wound his arm around my waist.

Fox laughed softly. “Enjoy it, Cole, because once we make this official, we’re going to fight over who gets to hold her.”

Cole laughed. “Can’t wait, brother.”

A thrill shot through me. Truth be told, neither could I.