****This is only a snippet of an ongoing story available ONLY on Kindle Vella. It's titled Sins And Chastity.****
MARNI
I step inside the classroom and duck my head as I make my way through the throng of desks towards mine in the second row, closest to the window, feeling my pulse climb higher when Jethro Winters, leader of the four deadly sins himself locks his bright blue attention on me, following my every step from the back of the room, a wild smirk curving his lips.
He's the epitome of the teenage fantasy come true, tall and lean and carved by the physical demands of the sports he plays, with perfect blond hair and plunging blue eyes.
I try to ignore him, I try to look away from him, but I can't. His eyes are mesmerizing and compelling even as I cross the floor.
Once I'm seated and pulling out my notebook, a few seconds pass by before a chair slides across the floor as Jethro vacates his spot.
Another second passes, and then I feel a body plop down in the desk behind me, and I gulp because I know that Jethro has just sat down, his Nike-sneakered feet appearing on the floor on both sides of me when he extends his long legs, his rich cologne wafting out to suffocate me in its expensive embrace.
"Hello, Marni Rose. I've been waiting for you." Jethro says as he scooches closer until the front of his desk meets the back of my seat. His voice is deep and rich, sandpapery and smooth, and it makes my skin prickle with awareness.
Waiting for me?
Shit.
I freeze momentarily. I don't know what to do. But I know that I can't ignore him. It'll only make it worse.
"Hi," I whisper, loud enough so only he can hear me, even though the whole room of students is now watching us as the teacher writes on the whiteboard. They all know what being chased by Jethro means. They knew something was up the second he followed me over here.
There's more movement from behind me as he gets even closer, his cool minty breath caressing my neck, followed by a hard yank on my long ponytail.
A gasp gets caught In my throat because it fucking hurts. But I bite it back. He wants me to react. He wants to know that he's hurt me. And I won't give him the satisfaction.
"Did you hear the good news?" He says, tracing his finger down the back of my neck to make me gasp, "While King and Damon were busy double-teaming Dina Evans on Saturday night, Jessica Stone gave it up to one of the guys on the football team."
"Two?" I breathe, astonished, and completely out of my league. And I know I should be focusing on the most important part of the statement, the threatening part, the part that means bad news for me, but hearing that Dina was with two sins for her first time takes me by surprise. I can't imagine having sex with one sin, let alone two. Was she scared? Nervous? How did it even happen? Did she want to? Did they approach her, or did she seek them out? She must have been really special to have attracted the eyes of both Wrath and Lust. That's a big notch on their belts. "They both-" I fail to talk through the sudden lump in my throat before he cuts me off.
"That's right." He chuckles, amused by my bashfulness, "Dina gave it up to two sins, at the same time. They shared her. Defiled her. She went from lowly virgin to debased real quick. Wanted more, too, from what I've been told."
The sins don't go back for seconds. They swipe v-cards and move on. They don't use them a second time. They toss them in the trash and begin the pursuit for the next willing victim.
Sure, they have a group of girls they occasionally party with, which comes with sex, I suppose. But not Virgins. They don't stick around after they get what they want from the pure. They never revisit a virgin they've deflowered.
Ever.
"That's two popped cherries..."He continues, his feet bouncing against the floor as though he's all too happy to spill the beans. There's no hiding the excited smirk in his voice as he says it. "Which makes you..."
I don't even need to hear him say it.
The last virgin of the senior class.
How is that possible? Just last Friday Jessica was promising to stay celibate until college. And Dina was the last girl I would have expected to fall under the spell of one of the sins. But two of them at the same time? What changed over spring break? What changed their minds so fast?
"The. Last. Virgin. Of. The. Senior. Class." He enunciates every word by pulling on my ponytail, not bothering to hide his delight. But he doesn't do it like an elementary kid might with a crush. He does it to inflict pain, assert dominance, and amuse himself.
"No..." The word slips out before I can stop it.
"No?" He repeats like he misheard me, "Are you not a virgin, then?"
I could lie. But what good would that do me? He'd stand up and poll the class just to prove me wrong. And then he'd punish me. They'd all punish me. I haven't seen it happen because I avoid the cafeteria to hide from them but I've heard it's the place they like to dish out their punishments. It's also where Kingston Scott does his beatdowns and where Damon sells his weed to the other stoners.
"No. I'm not saying that." I shake my head, feeling my belly flutter with unease. "But how do you know I'm the last one?"
He shrugs, "Guys talk. Especially guys on the football team. And King and Damon are my best friends."
Yeah, I know. Everyone knows. All four of the sins grew up together. Their fathers grew up together.
"How did you sneak by us, anyhow?" His voice is at my ear, his finger sliding down the nape of my neck again as he ponders, sending a trail of fresh goosebumps right down my spine that I can't control. "You definitely should have been fucked by now. And I've heard that you've never even been kissed before."
I swallow the nervous lump in my throat and my eyes flutter closed. That last part isn't true. I've been kissed. I've just never been open-mouth kissed before. "I've been kissed."
"Yeah? So you've had a tongue in that pretty mouth?" He hisses, wrapping my ponytail around his hand to pull my head back. I want to tell him to let me go, but he would enjoy that. He wants me to play his game. "I love the dress, by the way." He adds, raking me over with greedy eyes that make me wish I'd chosen anything else to wear. Goddamn new Marni and her recklessness. "It'll be very easy to work with. Did you dress up just for me, pretty girl?"
"No," I admit in defeat to both speculations, a little bit embarrassed now that I've said it out loud. An eighteen-year-old who's never even truly been to first base. What are the chances of finding one of those walking the halls of Blueridge High? One in one-hundred-seventy-one if you're polling the senior class.
"Well then, you haven't been kissed before. Pecks don't count, little rose."
Little rose? "I'm not little anything," I say, even when I know I shouldn't.
"No, I suppose you're not, what with tits like yours. So again, I ask, how the fuck did you escape us all for four goddamn years?" There's a bite of frustration in his voice now as he ponders the fact that I'd thwarted them for so long, my chest blooming with heat when his attention darts to my heaving breasts as my breathing accelerates.
What am I supposed to say to something like that? I don't know, so I keep my mouth closed. But something rolls in my stomach and I feel a twinge from down below, because let's face it, a girl who's been deemed attractive by a guy in school is always going to swoon a little, if only for the simple fact that she's got validation of her looks. Even if the words come from one of the sins' gorgeous poisonous mouths. It's human nature. A natural response. Completely uncontrollable. And I will list every excuse in the book before I admit the real reason why Jethro is affecting me like this.
"Fuck it. It doesn't even matter, because as of right now, you've officially been marked for sin. You belong to us until we say that you don't."
"It's the first day of the last semester," I mutter. Four years dreading these very words, and now that I'm hearing them and feeling the weight that they bring, that is what I muster up in defense. I'd shake my head in disappointment if he didn't have such a tight hold of my hair.
Which one have I caught the attention of, anyway? By the way, Jethro is acting right now, it seems like he's the one I've drawn in. After all, he's the one marking me. He's the one making an obvious and bold claim. In front of the entire class.
"So? That still gives us plenty of time to-"
Us? Do they plan on double-teaming me too?
"Mr. Winters, is there something you want to share with the rest of the class, or can I teach?" The teacher, noticing Jethro's attention is elsewhere, turns away from the whiteboard to call him out.
"You're good, Mr. Tate." Jethro answers, bored and a little angry to be interrupted.
"If that's so, then release Miss Rose and put your desk back where it was before you sat down."
"Whatever you say," Jethro unwraps my hair from his hand, but only so he can grip the ends of my ponytail with both hands and tug it tightly to readjust the band in it, a last-ditch effort to assert his dominance. "You're the boss, after all."
This time, I gasp and my hands shoot up to my hair because it stings so fucking bad, and I don't miss the dark, satisfied chuckle that comes from behind me as he shifts the desk against the floor to put it back where he found it.
"Actually, I'm not even supposed to be in this class." He stands up, stretching long and wide, pegging me with a devilish grin as he passes by. "I think I'll be going now." He salutes Mr. Tate and then strolls by him.
Mr. Tate stares dumbfoundedly for only a moment as Jethro exits the door before going right back to the lesson like nothing even happened, driving home the fact that the Sins really do have the slack to do whatever the hell they want to around here.
So Jethro put himself in my class just to torment me? Of course, he did.
What an asshole.
After he's gone, I release the breath tightening my chest, and with him no longer invading my personal space, it gets a little easier to focus on the lesson at hand.
*****
When the bell rings at the end of class, I'm out of my chair, cell phone in hand, and darting towards the door, desperate to flee and find Lexi so I can tell her all about my living nightmare.
I don't make it one foot out the door before Jethro is there to snatch the phone out of my hand with a tut, "I'll be taking this."
"Give it back, Jethro." I huff, unable to hide my irritation this time, and reach out for it. He's got about a foot and a half over me, so he laughs at my pathetic attempt.
"Hello?" He speaks into the phone, all smug and carefree, catching my eyes, "Yeah, sorry not sorry, but Marni cannot come to the phone right now. Bye." He ends the call and then types something into it. A few seconds later, his own phone buzzes in his pocket.
"Baby, we've got your number." He taunts me by singing an 80s song his way. "I'll see you at lunch, but you'll be hearing from us much sooner than that, little rose." He gives me a wink while depositing the phone back into my hand, overlapping his over mine, infecting my skin with his overbearing heat. He gives it a nice squeeze before sauntering away down the hallway.
Once he disappears around the corner, I feel like I can finally breathe again...
Until my phone begins to ding in my hand as I try to call Lexi back. And my heart free falls when I read what's on the screen.
Jethro (Pride):
Boys, I want you all to say a nice hello to Marni Rose. Our newest toy. *Rose and girl emojis*
Kingston (Wrath):
What up, what up? *wave emoji*
Spencer (Greed):
Yo! *pray emoji*
Damon (Lust):
Welcome to the party. *party emoji*
Jethro (Pride):
Don't be rude, little rose.
Say hi to your new masters.
Masters? As if. As fucking if.
Kingston (Wrath):
Don't be shy.
We don't bite.
That hard.
Despair makes me stumble back into the classroom. I lean against the first desk at the front of the class, my feet growing heavier with each message that appears.
Jethro (Pride):
You're not being nice, little rose.
And we don't like when our girls aren't nice to us.
Well good because I'm not one of your girls, Asshole.
Spencer (Greed):
It makes us not so nice.
Kingston (Wrath):
Talk to us, Marni.
We've already asked you enough.
Damon (Lust):
Come on, just give us something.
Or we'll have to come find you.
My blood moves faster through my system when I read the threat, and I glance out the doorway into the hall to search for them, expecting to be bombarded any second now.
Jethro (Pride):
We know you're reading these, the little check mark tells us as much. We were going to give you a break until lunch, but if you won't play along...
I feel my heart thunder behind my ribcage as my fingers type as fast as I can. Fine. I'll give them something. One word to appease their egos.
Me (Chastity):
Hi.
Chastity? Really? That's the nickname they've chosen for me. Not pure or virgin or something clever like un-fucked? How about toy or pet? Or even Rose like my last name—and the name that Jethro has already dubbed me.
Not even a second passes before there's a swarm of new messages.
Kingston (Wrath):
That wasn't so hard, was it?
Jethro (Pride):
Answer his question, little rose.
I'll give you a little rose, asshat!
I type out a sarcastic response before I can think the better of it, but thankfully, Lexi comes running into the room to stop me from sending the damning message. Lexi is of average height and weight. Short black hair cut sharp and sleek, hitting her chin.
"Marni, what's going on? Stacy told Ellie in the library that Jethro marked you last period. Any truth to that?" She places her hands on my shoulders and brings my attention to her face.
Word has already spread that fast? It's only been an hour or so.
Even as she speaks, my phone dings some more, convincing me that it's never going to stop.
I don't bother to look at the messages before I set the phone down on the desk, "See for yourself. " I shrug.
She swipes the phone and holds it up, gasping when she finds the group chat. "That's so fucked up." She pops a black brow as her finger swipes across the phone. "Oh my god, they are relentless."
Yeah, I know they are.
"But you'd better respond or do something, because according to this last message, Jethro has just left Gym class."
Panicked, I grab the phone and scan the text on the screen.
Spencer (Greed):
Tick tock. Tick tock.
Kingston (Wrath):
Time is running out. *clock and running man emojis*
Jethro (Pride):
Tick tock, little rose.
Tick
Fucking
Tock
Damon (Lust):
Come on. We'd hate to have to teach you a lesson so early on. Well...not Jet. I'm sure he'd love that. *Devil emoji*
Kingston (Wrath):
Stop being stubborn and play with us already.
Jethro (Pride):
Alright, little rose. You win. I'll come to you then.
Kingston (Wrath):
Oh shit!
Spencer (Greed):
You've done it now.
Damon (Lust):
You better try and run...
Jethro (Pride):
Yeah, please do.
I fucking love a good chase *hug emoji*