Lords of Pain (The Royals of Forsyth University #1)(13)

“And neither will we,” I grind out. “She’s lying.”

He seems unbothered by this, lounging back. “So we make it a part of the contract. If we find out she’s lying, we bump her for an alternate.”

Rath asks, “And what about the sign?”

“What sign?”

He gives Tristian a long look. “The one that’s all red and flashing ‘hey, this is clearly a trap’?”

Tristian scoffs. “Like we said. We’re Teflon. Let her try.”

Rath rolls his eyes, but I see the gears turning. “She still does have that air about her.”

“All innocent and nervous. Fuck.” Tristian reaches down to squeeze his boner. “The Counts are going to lose their shit when they see what we’ve got.”

They aren’t getting anything, they’re just too dick-brained to see it. “It’s not happening.”

The two of them look at me, expressions hard.

“This isn’t just your decision, fuckwad. We decide this democratically.” Tristian raises a palm. “All in favor?”

Before Rath can raise a hand, I add, “He’s right, you know. Showing up on our doorstep three years later? That doesn’t sound like Story. Something’s going down here.”

“Maybe she got a taste of my cock and finally came back for more,” Tristian says, shrugging. “She wouldn’t be the first one.”

“You’re deluded.”

“And you’re too wrapped up in your bad blood to see this for what it is.” Tristian leans forward, leveling me with his gaze. “You can finally have her, Killer. We do this, and she’s ours—for real, this time. This isn’t some drunken high school fuck-around in your laundry room. Isn’t that why you’ve always hated her so much?” He shakes his head, looking both sympathetic and annoyed. “You always hate what you can’t have.”

“Who says I want her? I could have any girl in this whole fucking town. She’s nothing special.” I know instantly that they see through my bullshit.

Rath is the only one with balls to say it, though. “Give me a break. Find you a brunette to fuck from behind, and you come in like five minutes flat. I bet you still think of her when you jerk off, too.”

Tristian laughs. “He’s got a point.”

I flip him off. “Maybe I just don’t like blondes.”

Rath leans forward to flick that space on my bicep—the tattoo of the dark-haired girl. “Or maybe you’re just an obsessive psycho.” His words don’t have any bite to them. As if he’s in any position to throw stones here. “But look at it like this, right? If she’s our Lady, she’ll be right down the hall. Every night. Sleeping.”

Tristian immediately catches on, pitching forward to add, “We can take the lock away. Or, even better, we can give you the only key.”

I glower at them, but internally, I’m already imagining it. Sneaking into her room, looking at her there, all tucked into her bed. I remember the way her lips always looked, puckered in concentration as she dreamed. The way they felt around the hard tip of my dick, so soft and wet. The way I’d leave some of my come on them, spreading it around, marking her as my own. Story was always a hard sleeper. Barely anything could wake her. I was careful back then—too careful, moved too slow. But now?

Now, I could do anything to her.

Just like that, my dick is rock hard.

Fuckers. Complete, insufferable fuckers, the both of them.

Rath lifts a hand, saying, “I’m in,” and looks at me expectantly.

I thought she was mine the first time we met. I thought she was mine again that night in our old house, when I finally let myself have a piece of her, however small it might have seemed.

But that’s the thing about Story that these guys don’t realize. She’s like sand slipping through your fingers. Water through a sieve.

You can’t keep what you can never grasp.





4





Story



As much as I knew it was a long shot to become Lady, I’m still disappointed when I don’t hear anything by the next morning. Ideally, I wouldn’t have had to return to the room I’ve been renting under my mom’s name, other than to get my belongings.

If I can’t move into the Lords’ house, I’m going to have to make a decision quickly about what to do and where to go next. I can’t live by myself, and I can’t put just anyone in the position of living with me, either.

Not with Ted out there.

I walk over to the small desk in the corner of the room I’m renting and pull the envelope out of my suitcase. It’s plain and white, with my name typed across the front. I’d walked into my room at my boarding school and found it on my pillow.

Dear Sweet Cherry,

When you shut down your account, I was very disappointed. The connection we developed, your sexy words and photos…it’s all I think about. It’s all I dream about. But I know what your stepbrother and his friends did to you. I understand why you had to run. What I don’t understand is why you had to leave me, too. Did he find out? That must be it. We were perfect for one another. There has to be a reason you left.

Tell me? Are you still a virgin? I hope that by being at the all-girls school, you’re able to stay pure. I want to be the one that claims you. Now that I know where you are, I’ll be waiting and watching for my opportunity. I can be patient, for a bit...