I CANT ESCAPE HIM

Pleasurable Manipulation

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~SOPHIE~

***

‘With dawn comes clarity.’

I’ve never agreed with a quote more.

There’s a text from Chase asking for details about the texts from my stalker. I stare at it like it’s a bomb.

Three options are circling in my sleep deprived head.

—Go downstairs to the room next to mine—where Blair's currently blasting ‘The Boy Is Mine’ like she didn’t literally steal mine, slam her already-bruised nose into the edge of a drawer.

—Answer Delancy’s twenty frantic texts asking for every dirty detail about my supposed "no strings" hookup experience.

—Cross campus, head straight for the guys’ dorms, and confront Chase.

Option three, though stupid, is the safest for now. I throw on whatever I can get my hands on, grab my keys and drive straight to Chase's dorm.

If i wasnt on strike I would have been in history class by now.

I sigh, killing the engine. Just as I’d expected, the dorm building is the exact opposite of mine. loud, chaotic, and smelling faintly of stale beer and cheap cologne.

They’re students milling around. Girls. Ignoring their eyes and whispers, I tighten my jacket and climb up the stairs towards what I hope is Chase's room. I don’t even know if he has a roommate. I hope he does. Anything that’ll prevent us from being alone together would really come in handy.

There’s a corkboard clipped to the front, littered with sticky notes, drawn hearts, and phone numbers. Admirers. I roll my eyes so hard they ache. Clairmont girls and always acting like bitches in heat. I wonder what they’ll do when they find out their new badboy hottie is a psychopath.

Just as I’m about to knock, the door opens.

I look up, and my breath catch.

Chase. Shirtless.

A sprawling canvas of dark, intricate tattoos covers his chest and heavily muscled torso. My eyes betray me, trailing down the sharp, defined V-line pointing straight past his waistline, disappearing into a pair of heather-grey joggers that are hanging criminally low on his hips…

“We could do it out here.” Chase says, snapping my attention back to his face.

“What?”

He chuckles, looking behind me. “We could do it here. I don’t mind a little audience. It actually fuels the passion.”

I flush despite myself. “Asshole.” I mutter, pushing past him and into the room.

He laughs closing the door behind me. “What? You were literally eye f*****g me just now.”

“I wasnt.” I snap. Taking in the space. Sleek furnitures. A study table. Flat screen tv. A f*****g bookshelf. Everywhere is spotless. Too spotless. Like a presentation.

“Some new hobby you got from Greywell penitentiary?” I ask.

“You’re acting like I didn't read books before I left Sophie.”

“Yeah, you did. ‘How to Murder Someone in Their Sleep’, ‘How to Hide a Body’. You definitely weren't reading up on the economic state of the world.”

“Yeah well, people change.” There’s a catch in his voice. I don’t miss it. I turn, his arms are folded. Highlighting his wide…

Nope.

“So what brings you here so early girlfriend?”

“That, is why i’m here chase.” I sigh. “Look, after careful consideration, I’ve decided to turn down your offer.”

Chase expression doesn’t waver. “Oh heah? And why is that?”

“Is that even a question? Look at us! If words were to go around that we’re stepsibings, it’s going to be bad chase. Dad will kill me. Your mother, I don’t even know what she’ll think. Fake dating or not.”

There’s a pause. “Okay.”

I frown. “Okay? That’s it? You agree?”

Chase walks past me. “I’ve heard you.”

Okay… i’d been expecting some form of argument, A fight, something?

“Alright, i’ll just…be on my way then.” I say awkwardly reaching for the door.

But then, chase says. “I have the name of your stalker just so you know.”

My hand freeze on the handle. I turn.

Chase is leaning against the couch, munching an apple, casually like he didn’t just drop a bomb on me.

“Who is it? Do they go to this school?”

“Ahh see, that’s not how it works princess. I help you find your stalker, in exchange i get to date you, remember?”

My chest tightens.

“I don’t believe you.” I say finally.

He shrugs, taking another infuriatingly slow bite. “Have it your way then but don’t come running to me when the police comes knocking or worse, when your father finds out about what you did.”

This is the reason why, no matter how hard I try, I can't walk away from Chase. He knows everything. He holds the loose threads of my life in his hands, and all he has to do is pull.

The worst part? If it had been him threatening me, I don't think I would be this terrified. But knowing the truth is out there, held by someone anonymous and cruel, makes Chase the only monster I can actually negotiate with.

I let out a long, jagged sigh, “Touche, Chase. You’re going to resort to blackmail now?”

“If it gets me what I want then yes.”

“Okay, fine. Tell me who it is. I’m not backing out of our deal.”

He tilts his head, a lock of dark hair falling over the bandage on his forehead. “Not so fast, princess. You were ready to walk away from the table just because you didn’t get a groveling apology text from Ken Doll after he spotted us last night. You’re flighty, Sophie. Unreliable.”

“That’s not—”

“Because of that, I actually spent some time last night printing out a formal agreement.”

“What? You can’t be serious right now chase.”

He is. Because he walks away, and comes back with a loaded pile of papers neatly held with a binder. “Clauses” he says, handing them over to me, with a pen on top.

“You’re insane,” I whisper. “You actually sat down and wrote a contract for a fake relationship?”

“I like to ensure my investments are protected,” he murmurs, stepping into my personal space. The scent of his soap and that faint, lingering hint of cigarette smoke wrap around me. “Read it. Every word. Because once you sign that, Sophie, the only way out is through me.”

“And if I sign this? You’ll give me the name? Right now?”

Chase leans down, caging me against the door, his lips inches from mine. “Sign the last page, and the name is yours.”

With an eyeroll, I sign the paperwork without looking at it. I slam it on his chest. “There. The name now.”

He doesn’t give me the name.

Chase goes down on his knees, one hand holding my waist. I gasp. “Chase, what are you doing?”

He presses his face against my skirt, inhales deeply and then without warning starts to hike it up, spreading my legs. Wide.

“Chase! Stop it. I said no messing around!”

“Clause 105 section 85” comes his voice. Muffled as he slides a hand up my thighs straight for my panties.

“I get to have you at my disposal whenever I please. And right now, I'd like to finish what we started yesterday.”

“What? That’s not—you can’t be—” The words die in my throat because Chase presses his mouth directly against the damp fabric of my panties.

The shock of his hot breath is a violent jolt to my senses. I moan, my head tilting back as the room begins to spin. He groans underneath me, and then he finds my c**t with his tongue through the silk. He sucks on it, hard.

My knees buckle.

“f**k, Chase,” I gasp, my brain turning to static. “This isn’t right.”

But my hands are already moving, tangling in his dark hair. He hooks my left leg over his shoulder, then slides my panties to the side with one ruthless finger.

I don’t even have a moment to breathe before he latches onto my soaking folds, sucking and flicking his tongue with wicked intensity. My thoughts are gone. Evaporated. I’m moaning shamelessly now, my hips rotating against his face, chasing the friction.

“f**k, just like that, baby,” Chase groans against me. “Rub it all over me.”

“Oh my God, Chase. This is a sin,” I stammer, rubbing against him despite myself. I can feel the orgasm building—fast, bright, and undeniable.

Just as I reach the precipice, Chase unlatches his tongue and thrusts three fingers inside. No warning. No hesitation.

That’s all it takes.

I hit the edge, crying out as I clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle the scream. My entire body shakes, my muscles seizing around him in a desperate, pleading rhythm.

He groans low against my skin, the vibration only adding to the tremors.

Before I can even come down from the high—before I can process the heat or the shame—he slides my panties all the way down, tucks them into his pocket, and stands.

I barely register the shift before he flips me around, slamming my chest against the door. I feel his erection pressing hard against my backside, pinning me there.

Chase leans in, his breath hot and dangerous against the sensitive skin of my neck.

“Not a bigger sin than you killing your own mother, is it, stepsister?”