Four
Pov
Tessa
Bennett isn't the first person I see when I enter the lavish Slade cabin, but he sure is the first one I notice. He's down in the basement that runs the full length of the house. He's sitting at the bar, a beer in one hand, watching everyone dance, drink, and socialize as if he were their puppet master. His messy black hair is in his eyes, and he looks bored. I see him check his phone before looking up, his eyes landing on me and my tight green silk dress. He doesn't look like a billionaire, dressed in dark jeans and a blue and green checkered flannel shirt left unbuttoned just enough to show off his toned abs and chest. He has a tattoo, the same raven perched on a skull that all the Ravens have on their chest. I suspect it won't be long until he's covered in tattoos like some of the older Ravens are.
He instantly stiffens, straightening his posture and staring at me as if he's never laid eyes on me before. More specifically, he's looking at me as if he wants to put much more than just his eyes on me. I'm just not sure if he wants his mouth on my skin or his hands around my neck. The party is nothing but background noise buzzing around me, and I make the decision to make it as difficult for him as I can. Things are going to change tonight between the three of us, and the furious butterflies trying to kill me from the inside out tell me it won't be for the better. I'll lose them both, because I know in my heart I could never choose. Even if one of them didn't want me, I'd still want both of them just the same. It wouldn't be fair to either of them for me to choose because he wouldn't have every piece of me.
I look around, making sure to avoid looking at Bennett. I recognize many people here tonight, but I'm not friends with most of them. When you're involved with The Ravens of Hollow Hill, it doesn't leave much room to make friends outside their circle. It's just me and three other girls. It's us who are firmly kept within the circle, whether we want to be or not. It's not something that's been explicitly spoken about, but when you're related to one of the Ravens in a way that seems important, it doesn't take long to feel somewhere between royalty and an outcast. Everyone wants to speculate and talk about us, but few are brave enough to approach. The Ravens like to fight and are as brutal as the mountain that raised them. There are no consequences in Hollow Hill.
"Did you dress like a slut because of me? Or is it for Mason?" Bennett taunts directly into my ear when he finally reaches me. He's jealous of the other guys looking at the way the fabric clings to my body, and that's hilarious. No one in this house would be stupid enough to approach me for anything without the Ravens' permission. They wouldn't have any qualms about taking someone into the woods and slitting their throat. They've proven that, and the memory makes me shiver. The land of Hollow Hill is brutal and unforgiving, but it's nothing compared to a Raven's wrath.
The cold beer bottle in Bennett's hand brushes against my bare arm as he lifts it to take a sip before lowering it to press against my lips. I look at him through thick mascara-covered lashes and take the bottle from his hands before downing the rest.
"Well, it's a Ravens' party, I thought I should try to fit in." I finally respond to him, raising my voice to an annoying octave to mimic the girls from my school who adore them. "Gods among peasants, isn't that what they call you?"
His lips press into a hard line and he studies my face coldly as if he knows something I don't, lifting his thumb to wipe the excess liquid from my lower lip. I run my tongue to lick his skin and I've never seen Bennett's eyes darken so much. Instantly, his other hand moves to my long red hair as his thumb parts my lips. His eyes don't waver from my mouth as I suck hard, teasing him, playing the game he and Mason started, better than either of them could ever imagine.
I see the moment Bennett remembers we're in the middle of the biggest party Hollow Hill has probably ever seen. He pulls his thumb from my mouth, but his fingers seem to tighten in my hair. He studies my face, and it's the first time I've seen one of the Slade brothers look unsure.
"Good. Now you know how us mortals feel."
I ignite the first match of the night as I pull his hand from my hair and intertwine my fingers with his much larger ones. I pull him to the expansive bar as if he were a 6-foot-tall rag doll. When we reach the granite countertop stocked with an array of expensive drinks, I notice my cousin Grey brooding as he fills some shot glasses for some girls I'll never know beyond surface level. I guess he took it upon himself to make all the drinks tonight. I roll my eyes because that's so Grey. He doesn't know how to have fun or relax. He's either working or complaining, and when he looks at me, I realize tonight he'll do both.
"Put some clothes on," he retorts, taking off his hat and then putting it back on over his brown waves. That's his tick. All the Ravens have one that seems to come out when they're about to blow up. When Grey's agitated, that hat comes off his head a dozen times.
I smile, dipping my eyes to his bare torso before looking into his eyes. His chest and arms are speckled with tattoos. "Put a shirt on, dear." I tell him, taking the Shirley Temple from his hand that I'm sure he made for me just to be a jerk. I take a purposeful long sip of the sweet carbonated, definitely non-alcoholic liquid before leaving it.
I can feel Bennett's laughter rumbling in his chest as he moves behind me and demands all my control not to smile when Grey grimaces. If there's anything he hates more than wearing a shirt, it's dealing with me. I'm actually surprised he's here. Even being a Raven, he usually doesn't show up at any of their flashy parties. It's not his style, besides he's two years older than me. I feel Bennett's arm wrap around me and his palm slide over my stomach, resting just below my breasts.
I suck in a sharp breath that makes my chest heave, which makes Grey angrily arch an eyebrow at me.
Jesus, sorry for breathing.