Adrian pushed me inside his room and locked the door behind him.

I remained in the middle of the room. “Are you trying to scare me?” I asked with a scoff. “I’ve dealt with bullies like you before.”

His sinful eyes grew wide, but they were mocking me. I just knew it. “No shit,” he said.

I looked around. It wasn’t a disaster, but he wasn’t neat, either. A few clothes hung over the chair, and there were a bunch of sketches thrown haphazardly all over his desk. Not going to lie – I wanted to check them out, to see what the artist was up to.

“I read the Bible every evening for two hours,” I said. “If you don’t intend to join me, get out of the way.”

He leaned against the door, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, to show me how unimpressed he was with my speech. I looked down, no idea why. I could guess the bulge inside his black jeans.

It was suffocating to be with him, in this room, while he clearly intended to goad me into doing or saying something stupid. Through his mom, he had sway over Dad, which meant I was at his mercy.

Was he thinking what I was thinking?

“I have better plans. In my experience, choir boys are the biggest cocksuckers in the known universe.”

I had no idea what kind of people he’d met in his life. I didn’t know one other guy, church-goer like me, who’d get on his knees that way. So I frowned and, determined to get away from my bully stepbrother, I walked towards him with my fists clenched.

“Get out of the way,” I said through my teeth, making eye contact.

It was dangerous to stare at him so up close. His eyes would’ve been two black holes if they hadn’t been so green.

“If you get in a fight with me, your dad is going to kick your ass. But I’ll kick your ass first, so you’ll get a double ass-kicking,” he explained things to me like I was hard in the head.

Rage simmered right beneath the surface. I wanted to punch his handsome face in; I wanted it so bad it hurt.

“So, what’s gonna be?” he whispered, leaning forward.

His lips were so close to mine, it felt like I was swallowing his breath with each inhalation of mine.

“Are you going to get on your knees, like a good and nice choir boy, and kiss my dick, or do I have to make you?”

“Fuck off,” I snapped.

“Wow. So you do know a few nasty words. Good to know.” He didn’t move an inch, but I wasn’t going to back down, either.

The look in his eyes so transfixed me that I missed when he moved his hand. So when he brushed it along my jawline, I jolted and moved away. That gave him fodder and a reason to laugh. He pushed against my shoulders hard, forcing me to take a few steps backwards.

“You have pretty lips,” he said. “Nice and full. They’ll feel great on my nuts.”

“Cut it out, idiot. This isn’t funny.”

“You can make it easy, Jo.”

“My name is Jordan,” I hissed.

“I like Jo better. It could be a chick’s name.”

Jordan could be a chick’s name. He was telling me nothing new.

He pushed me onto his bed. Again. I should’ve been quick to push him away, but he straddled me fast and held me under him. It didn’t help that he was resting his balls – I couldn’t feel them since his jeans were tight, but still – just on top of my crotch.

He intended to humiliate me, but I’d had history and experience with bullies. I braced myself for the right moment. I didn’t have to wait long. When he laughed, throwing his head back, I caught him in the chin, making him wobble.

But getting from underneath him wasn’t easy. My mistake – I barely grazed him, I realized right away. He caught my wrists and pinned them above my head. I was, once more, at his mercy, or better said, at the mercy of his impossible eyes, so magnetic, so unnerving, so bent on throwing my world out on a spin.

“You earned my respect, brother,” he drawled. “I had no idea you had it in you. Hmm, I think I did feel some nice muscles when I felt you up the other day.”

Two days ago.

“Good. That means that I’ll enjoy playing with you more.”

“What do you want?” I struggled to get away, but his fingers were like steel, digging into my wrists until I had tears in my eyes.

“To mess with you. To mess you up. Underneath your carefully pressed shirt, there’s a wild cat. I’m good at these things. Also,” he lowered his voice and leaned over to caress my ear with his lips, “I have no idea how you’re not aware of it, but you’re awfully pretty for a dude. I am so going to fuck that pretty mouth of yours, hear me?”

I heard him, but I remained silent.

“You earned your freedom tonight,” he said, letting go of me and allowing me to get up. “But you’re mine, brother. That’s a fact.”

His mocking laughter followed me in my dreams that night and many nights after.

tbc