Nero (Made Men #1) (12 page)

Elle listened to every word Nero said to her
. She had never considered he was mad at her, much less that he could be mad at her for that. She hadn’t even thought about what she was doing to Amo; she had simply been elated Chloe was safe and sound.

Nero looked
at her face for her reply, but she didn’t know what to say. She had been caught off-guard.

“I-I wasn’t even thinking
. I was happy that he brought Chloe there safely.”

“Why do you think he did that
, Elle?” His eyes were becoming even more furious.

Elle knew
, but things were different between them. “I know, Nero, but I don’t like Amo.” She turned her head away; she couldn’t look at his eyes for this. “It’s not easy for me to do those things when I’ve never done them to someone I like.”

She
heard Nero exhale before he grabbed her chin to look at him. “I don’t want to see you ever touch another guy again. You can kiss and hug your father and brother, but if I find out you’ve touched another guy—I don’t give a shit who it is—they won’t live to let it happen again.”

Elle swallowed hard and nodded her head
. She believed him. She couldn’t believe she was going to say it. “I’m sorry.”

She thought Nero was waiting for something
, yet then he kissed her. It was a hard kiss, and she let their tongues meet for a brief second before he pulled away.

“I’m still pissed, but we
’re going to be late for class.” He let her go, and she pulled away, going into the classroom. She blushed and ran in the room when she saw Amo and Vincent smiling. This time, Amo held the door open for her.

Chapter
Seventeen

A Page from Chloe’s Book

The lunch bell rang and Elle and Chloe walked out of their Spanish class. Elle was happy to see Nero’s face and eyes had calmed down. She walked over to him
as Amo started walking toward the cafeteria. Elle reluctantly began walking behind him when Nero didn’t act like he was going to move.
I guess he is still pissed
.

After
a few steps toward the cafeteria, Elle felt Nero’s hand grab hers. She looked over at him and smiled, and then, on her own, she decided to walk closer beside him. She really had missed holding his hand.

When they reached the lunchroom
, Amo stopped to wait for them. Once they were in one, big group, Nero spoke.

“So
, what do you girls want to eat?”

Elle
dropped her hand from Nero’s when Chloe and her eyes met. They didn’t know how to respond.

“It
’s either pizza or the same line that’s always been here of chicken patties and hamburgers.” Elle and Chloe both turned their heads to stare at Nero. They had never gotten to pick on taste.

“I don’t care
,” Elle got out.

“Yeah
, uh, me either.” Chloe looked at the floor.

“Jesus
, pick already. I’m fucking starving.” Amo, on the other hand, was still grouchy and tired.

Elle looked at the two lines
. Hardly anyone was in the chicken and hamburger line. “Chicken patties sound fine.”

“Who the hell doesn’t choose pizza?” Vincent obviously wasn’t happy with their choice.

“Elle, do you like pizza?” She looked at Nero, remembering what he had told her about lying. She had already made him mad once today, and she’d learned she didn’t like it when he was mad at her.

Elle silently said, “Yes.”

“Chloe, do you eat pizza?” Amo asked that time.

Chloe looked over at Elle
, and Elle hoped she understood to tell the truth. She nodded.

“So
, why the hell can’t I have pizza?” Vincent clearly wanted some pizza.

“Elle
, why did you pick that line?” She looked up at Nero and bit her lip. She really didn’t want to lie to him. Therefore, the only thing she could possibly do was evade the question, and by the looks of their three faces, they weren’t going to let her off.

She decided not to look at their eyes
. “We always pick the line that doesn’t have anyone in it.”

“And what happens if the lines are about the same?” She really wished Nero would quit asking her questions.

She felt all their eyes on her, waiting for her answer, except Chloe’s. She was looking at the ground, wringing her hands. She didn’t want them to know anymore than Elle did.

“Hey
, guys, what’s up?” Leo had found them and joined in, giving her hope she might not have to answer.

“Shut up
, Leo. Answer the fucking question, Elle.” Elle was shocked Amo had been the one to say that.
All hope is lost
.

Elle decided to take a page from Chloe’s book
—she looked at the floor. “If the lines are even, then we pick the line that has the least scary people in it.”

“Jesus Christ
.” Elle heard Nero say.

“For fuck
’s sake,” Amo chimed in.

“Motherfuckers
,” Vincent added.

“Does that mean they don’t want
piz—”

“Shut up
, Leo!” Nero, Amo, and Vincent all said it at the same time, making Elle and Chloe jump.

“From now on
, you fucking eat what you want to. Do you both understand?” Elle nodded her head at Nero. Chloe still didn’t reply.

“Chloe
, if you want fucking pizza, you eat fucking pizza, got it?” Amo yelled at her. Chloe didn’t waste any time to nod in understanding.

Elle was ready to move on
, so she decided to scurry away to the pizza line, no matter how badly her instincts screamed to go in the other line. Chloe wasted no time following her.

As Elle hurried away
, she thought she heard Vincent say, “Let’s fucking kill ‘em.”

Leo ended up being the first one to join them.
They were all the way in the back of the line since they were talking while everyone else had gotten in. When the three guys finally joined them, they didn’t look very pleased.
I don’t know why they even asked me what I wanted to eat if pizza was clearly the only option.

“No way I’m waiting this fucking long
. You know they run out of pizza. Let’s cut,” Amo said.

By the looks of the
guys’ faces, they were ready to cut. Elle didn’t feel comfortable about it. “No, that’s wrong. We’re not cutting.” She looked at Nero to make sure he understood.

“Sorry
, sweetheart. After what you just told me, I frankly don’t give a shit about right and wrong.” Vincent passed them and yelled “move” to the person ahead of them. She watched Amo join in, making everyone part the line.

Elle was shoved by Nero to move forward
, giving Elle and Chloe no option other than to cut the line. Elle was shocked Nero was making her do this; she didn’t feel right about cutting in front of people.

When they reached the trays
, the guys stopped and grabbed one. Amo handed his to Chloe and Vincent handed his to her. Elle reached and grabbed it, swearing Vincent’s face made her do it.

Now that
she and Chloe had a tray, Elle walked through the line, figuring she might as well enjoy it. Once next week started, she was going to be lucky to eat without lunch money. The cost of lunch had gone up to a ridiculous price, but no one at a prep school would dare complain.

Elle got out of the line first
, charging it to her account. She waited for Chloe to come out of the line. By the way the boys had probably pissed everyone off, she decided not to go until one of them had checked out. Nero checked out first and started walking back to the table with Elle following behind.

Once they were seated,
Elle was caught off-guard when Nero pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek. She still wasn’t used to him, and she definitely wasn’t used to it when she was around Chloe.

Elle was glad when Leo sat again at the empty seat next to Chloe. She could tell Chloe eased a bit when he did. Elle looked around and saw that all the boys had bought an extra piece of pizza
.
That’s why they never have any left.

Elle smiled when she picked up her
pepperoni pizza and saw Chloe doing the same. For once, she actually liked what she had gotten for lunch.

“When was the last time you at
e pizza at school?”

Nero couldn’t just let me enjoy it
, could he?
She was really starting to hate the whole honesty thing. “Since middle school.”

“I had it freshman year.” Elle looked over at Chloe.
That didn’t help, Chloe.

While the
guys were becoming agitated by her answers, she didn’t understand why they would ask these questions when they knew they wouldn’t like the outcome.

She figured Leo sensed everyone was on
edge since he tried to change the conversation. However, the thing he asked was possibly the worst thing he could, making it only worse.

“Chloe
, how did you get those scars?” She knew Leo was young and didn’t know how she got them but figured everyone else had already heard about it.

She waited for the guys to say shut up
, because this really would be the right time to do it
,
but they didn’t. They clearly wanted to hear it, too.

Elle looked at Chloe
, who was staring at her plate. She really hated that Leo had asked that.

Elle decided to get the story over with
. “She was in a car accident.”

“Oh
, dang. When?” Leo became intrigued.

Elle put down
her pizza. “When we were freshmen.”

“That suck
—”

Elle grabbed her
head. She heard a buzzing noise and started blinking, trying to focus on what had just happened. She had seen something fly out of the corner of her eye a moment ago, and whatever it had been had really started to sting her head. As the buzzing started to cease, all Elle could hear was laughter.

Elle felt Nero and the rest of the guys stand up,
then she heard Nero’s voice. “Who the fuck just did that?”

While t
he room became eerily silent, Elle grew scared. The guys were already pissed off; she didn’t want them to get hurt because of her.

Elle managed to get the word “don’t” out while she pu
lled her hand from her head, trying to grab Nero’s. That was when she saw the blood on her hand.

Nero immediately noticed
it, as well, distracting him from his questioning.

“Shit
, Nero. She needs to get out of here,” Vincent spoke.

Elle still felt Nero fuming as he tried to get her to stand.

“Yeah, let’s get them out of here, and we can deal with the fucker outside of school,” she heard Amo quietly speak.

Nero helped
Elle up, grabbing her around her waist as she stood. “It’s going to be okay, baby,” he murmured.

Elle tried to nod
her head, relieved he hadn’t started a fight. Vincent had come around to help walk her out of the cafeteria and Elle let them lead her out. When they reached the door and exited, Nero bent down and picked her up, holding her in his arms.

She tried to search for
Chloe, afraid she might have been too shocked to come. “Chloe.”

“
Shh, Amo’s got her.”

Elle calmed down and relaxed into his arms. She fought the feeling to close her eyes
, no matter how much she wanted to, as her head rested on his chest.

As Nero passed the victory wall that was filled with sport
s memorabilia and encased in glass, she wondered where he was taking her. She heard a metal door open and a ceiling that felt like a thousand feet high greeted her. She didn’t understand why he was taking her in the gym.

He walked to the other end
and she had a feeling of where he was taking her. She didn’t exactly have the greatest memories of that place, either.

“Vince
, bring me the first aid kit.”

Chapter
Eighteen

I Will Enjoy Watching You Scream

Nero sat Elle down on one of the
benches. She knew he was taking her in the locker room.

She heard the door open again
and saw Vincent set a white box down on the bench beside her before leaving without saying a word. She had a feeling he might have been just as pissed as Nero.

Nero
went to the sink and wet a bunch of paper towels. He then walked back over and handed her one to wash her hand before he lowered himself in front of her, going to his haunches. Elle could only stare up at Nero as he pressed the towels to her head. His face was calm while his emerald eyes looked like they were on fire. She had gotten used to the calm exterior while his eyes showed his true feelings.
He is so beautiful.

“I don’t think you’ll need
stitches,” Nero said, opening the first aid kit.

Elle tried to lighten the mood
with a laugh. “Well, that’s a first.” She regretted it the moment the words left her mouth.

“Elle
, this isn’t funny.” Nero stopped what he was doing to look at her. “I can’t let them do this to you anymore. It’s hard enough to hear that you pick what to eat based on who the fuck scares you less.”

“
I know, Nero, but please.” She took his hand and touched his battered knuckles. “You promised me you would try.”

She watched Nero take a deep breath
before he went back into the box and pulled out a white tube, squeezing the ointment on the tip of his finger. He reached up and rubbed it on her head.

Elle made a face when it started stinging
.

“Oh
, yeah, this might sting,” he said.

Elle smiled
, finally able to calm him down a bit. “Thanks for letting me know beforehand.”

Nero actually smiled back
. “No problem.”

He grabbed a
Band-Aid from the kit and opened it.

“Do I want to know
how you know your way around a first aid kit?”
I probably don’t.

He placed the
Band-Aid on her head then and leaned his head down. Elle felt his lips brush her skin just above it.

“Nope.”

I figured.

Nero stood and took Elle’s hand to help her up
. When she was standing, he swept her hair off her forehead. She saw Nero look closer.

“How’d you get that scar?” Nero touched the high end of her
forehead off to the side. A faint scar remained there that almost went into her hairline.

She didn’t like where this was going
. She looked away from him, unable to answer him this time.

Nero grabbed Elle’s face
. “How did you get that fucking scar?”

“I-I can’t tell you.” Elle could never tell him how she
had received it. She didn’t want him to find out Chloe had been a part of it in this very room. She couldn’t risk lying to him and making him mad at her, either.

Elle became frightened at what he did next
.

“God dammit
, Elle!” Nero picked up the first aid kit and threw it at a wall filled with lockers. The kit broke in half and everything came flying out. Nero then pushed back his hair and shut his eyes.

S
he realized he had hit the breaking point. She was about to witness all Hell breaking loose.

He started walking for the door
and Elle ran after him. She was afraid he would end up doing something terrible. W
hat if he got expelled? Then he’ll leave me.

Elle picked up her feet and reached out her hand to grab him
. “Nero, please. Please, stop.”

Nero stopped
when Elle’s hand touched his. She walked into him as he stood there, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Don’t
leave me,” she whispered, placing her head in the crook of his neck.

Nero
backed her up two steps, putting her back against a wall of lockers, placing his hands on the lockers beside her.

Elle mumbled into Nero’s nec
k. “If you start a fight, you’ll get suspended or worse, expelled.”

Nero gritted out,
“Baby, I can’t let them get away with this.” She felt Nero go completely still, though he remained on the verge of walking out.

“Nero
, I don’t want to be alone again.” Elle squeezed him tighter and tried to push her face into his neck deeper.

Nero harshly said each word
. “Then make me stay.”

Elle removed her head from his
neck and looked up at him, knowing what he was asking. She had found out what it was like being close to him and him not touching her. Elle didn’t want to find out what it would be like not seeing him; as a result, she would give in and give him what he wanted.

“Take off your jacket
.” His still-harsh voice started to make her nervous. Nero hadn’t moved an inch; he was like ice.

Elle reluctantly started taking off her jacket,
though he didn’t give her any space to do so with his arms still braced on the lockers and his body against hers. She could feel his eyes over her body as she shrugged it off. When the jacket hit the floor, Elle’s heart started beating out of her chest. She had no idea what to do; she just knew he wanted her to do something to him for a change.

Elle decided to do what she had been dying to do
from the first time they were in the art supply closet alone. She had always kept her eyes mostly to his chest for several reasons. One, she couldn’t look him in his eyes most times. Two, her eye-level was at his chest. Lastly, she enjoyed looking at it under his white dress shirts.

Elle raised her hands to his shirt and went fo
r the highest button he had fastened on the top middle of his chest. She shakily unbuttoned it, revealing more of his chest. Moving her hands down, she managed to release another button, exposing his whole chest and the top of his abdomen.

Elle thought
her heart was going to explode looking at his perfectly-toned chest. The tanned skin begged her to touch it, so she slowly placed her hands on his taut muscles. She leaned in and lightly placed a kiss in the middle as she parted his shirt wide by moving her hands across his chest. She loved the feel of his skin under her hands, warm and smooth. She kissed his chest again and again, determined to make him stay.

This time
, when Elle kissed his chest, she let her tongue lick the skin. Nero tasted better than she had imagined. Enjoying the taste, she raised higher, kissing and licking him up toward his neck. She felt his rage turn into desire with every passing second as she ran her hands up his chest then behind his neck and into his hair.

She had been itching to run her hands through his dark mass, jealous every time he did so. She pulled his head down closer to her so she could get to his neck wit
hout straining her legs. She paid the same attention to his neck as she had to his chest, but she hadn’t broken Nero yet.

She greedily sucked his skin into her mouth and bit down.
Elle smiled against his skin when a rough noise escaped his mouth.
I hope it left a mark.

I
t did.

When Nero still refused to move, s
he lapped at her bite mark, proud it was going to be there for a while.

Elle felt Nero finally drop his hands from the locker
. He put a hand in her hair and pulled while his other went to the lower part of her back. She looked up at him and saw his eyes were hungry; however, they were no longer hungry for blood.

Elle was ready for his kiss this
time. She wanted it just as much as he did. She wanted the taste of his mouth; therefore, when his tongue entered hers, she sucked on it, trying to mimic what he had done to hers earlier.

Nero grabbed Elle’s
ass in his hands, squeezing it and lifting her higher. She felt his hardness through her jeans against her mound. Earlier, it had frightened her, but now, she was driven by pure lust. Nero was making her feel things she had never felt before, and Elle was sure it should scare her.

Nero had moved his hands up her back under her shirt
. She didn’t think they could feel any better than they did when she held them.
Oh, but they definitely do
.

Nero returned Elle’s favor from earlier
, kissing her down her chin to her neck. He licked the skin, making Elle let out a whimper from the sensitivity, giving her goose bumps.

Elle started
to breathe heavily; his touch was driving her crazy. He sucked her neck into his mouth, making Elle grip his hair, pulling him into her neck. Elle released a moan as he sucked another part into his mouth. Nero moved his hands to her abdomen at the sound, causing a trail of fire on her skin.

When Nero’s hand
rose higher, the spell she had been put under started wearing off. She managed to get out “Nero,” and she was certain it sounded like a moan, so she pulled his hair back.

Nero switched to the other side of her neck, licki
ng and sucking, giving the same care to the opposite side. Elle felt herself melt once more before his hands started going higher again, making her skin burn. He was getting too close to her bra. Even being in pure ecstasy, Elle wasn’t ready for that step.

She tried again
. “Nero.” She steadied her voice. “Please.” She thanked God it sounded less like a moan this time.

Elle could feel how bad he wanted to just lift his hands a little higher
; consequently, she dropped her hands to his arms. “I can’t.”

As
Nero rested his head in her neck, letting his breathing calm, Elle was able to slow her breath, as well. The cold air of the locker room made her shiver from the still-exposed skin of her belly. She knew he was probably continuing to debate feeling her boobs.

Elle let out a deep breath as his hands slowly traveled back down her stomach
. She might have regretted it a little bit, but she knew he was taking his time to make her regret it.
Well, it worked.

She did miss Nero’s face in her
neck as he stood straight up. He looked in her eyes, and she wondered if she made a good decision starting something like that with a guy like Nero. She knew he was like a wolf. The man was definitely an animal, and he looked at her only as food. Yet that excited a small part of Elle, and that was what scared her the most.

Nero returned to his original position by bracing his hands on the lockers
.
Really, did that just not happen?

“Put your jacket back on.” Elle didn’t know what to think when he said that, but she had made up her mind
that she would do as he asked if it meant he wouldn’t get in a fight because of her. Not to mention, she didn’t want to test him when he was a second away from ripping her clothes off.

Elle slid down the lockers with what little room Nero had
given her, keeping her eyes on his body, making sure he wasn’t going to pounce while she felt for her jacket on the ground. She felt Nero’s gaze too intently and looked up at his eyes, watching her crouched down at his feet. A shiver went down her spine. She had a feeling he’d had that planned.

Elle touched her jacket and took it in her hands,
wishing she could look away, but he held her eyes like he dared her to move them. There was no way Elle would take that dare. She slowly rose up from the ground, her own sexual desire growing between her thighs.

She
swallowed as she stared into his lustful eyes. For once, she knew exactly what he was thinking, the image he was playing through his mind. She had to get her jacket back on somehow in the confined space.

Her breasts met his still
-exposed chest through her thin bra and t-shirt as she pulled her jacket up her back. The moment it was on, Elle backed up as far as she could, wishing somehow she could melt into the lockers.

“Now button my shirt.” His voice still sounded rough
. Elle was afraid, when this was over, he would beat the shit out of someone to blow off some steam.

Elle decided to regretfully and politely ask, “When I do
, are you going to storm out of here and murder some—”

“Baby
.” His gruff voice sounded through her ear as he closed what little space she had left. “You really don’t want to try me right now.”

Elle squeezed her legs together
.
What is he doing to me?

As s
he picked up her hands and went to button the lowest one she had undone, Elle decided to lean in one last time for a taste. She was going to give him a reason to be at school tomorrow. She sweetly placed a kiss on the part of his chest she was about to conceal, then she buttoned it.

Nero clearly isn’t the sweet kind of guy
. Subsequently, this time, she ran her tongue up the small gap of chest about to be covered before she buttoned the final button.