“What happened then?”
“My parents apologized to your mom for all the drama and let her go home early. A few days later, Lindsay found her earrings and necklace tucked in the back of a jewelry box. We were all like, ‘duh, told you so’, because obviously she just forgot where she left them.”
“Right.”
His lips flattened. “Anyway, Lindsay was still suspicious of your mom after that. She told the house manager that she wasn’t allowed to clean her room anymore.”
“So she thought my mom sneaked the jewelry back into her room after almost getting caught?”
“Yup. She was pretty rude to her.” He exhaled deeply and shook his head. “It was so embarrassing. Your mom was completely mortified. She didn’t actually say anything, but I could tell just from looking at her.”
“Oh,” I said in a small voice. Mom never told me about any of this.
It suddenly occurred to me that it was quite strange that she’d never mentioned Lindsay’s death to me, either. If I worked at a place where my employer’s child died tragically, I’d probably mention it to someone close to me, just so I could process the sheer awfulness of the event.
But Mom never said a word. I didn’t even know Charles and Tinsley had a daughter who died tragically a year ago until I went to RFA and heard about it there.
“I’m sorry, Laney,” Adam said softly. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. Obviously your mom would never hurt a fly, let alone a person.”
I swallowed thickly. I knew that wasn’t true. After all, she delivered the finishing blow to my father when he was dying on our living room floor. So she was definitely capable of hurting a person—or even killing them—when push came to shove.
That was self-defense, I reminded myself. She wouldn’t kill a teenage girl over a theft accusation.
“It’s okay,” I finally murmured.
“No, it’s not. I don’t even know why I said anything,” Adam said, chin dipping to his chest.
“You said it because I asked about people who were potentially mad at Lindsay before she died,” I replied. “It’s not your fault.”
He sighed. “Well, like I said, I know your mom would never do anything to hurt anyone. So just forget the whole thing, okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded and looked down at the list again. “Is there anyone else you can think of?”
“I don’t think so.” His shoulders drooped, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you think we’re just wasting our time?”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged listlessly. “I mean we’re just high school students, not detectives. Do you really think we can figure out who killed my sister?”
I conjured up my most encouraging smile and reached over to squeeze his hand. “Yes. Whatever it takes, we’ll find them.”
27
Hunter
“You’ve been staring at that door for twenty minutes now,” Chris said, jostling me with his shoulder. “What the hell are you waiting for?”
I turned to him, one eyebrow raised. “None of your business.”
He smirked. “I think I already know. It’s her, right?”
“Fuck off.” I grinned and shoved him away from my locker.
We were back on our usual good terms, as long as he didn’t hit on Laney again. If he even tried that shit for a second, he’d be out of the crew permanently.
He grinned back at me and clapped a hand on my back. “Later, man.”
He turned and headed toward the cafeteria. I stayed by the lockers and checked the time on my phone, pulse racing.
Laney was late. She hadn’t messaged to explain herself, either.
Maybe she wasn’t coming. Maybe two cops were gonna walk through that entryway instead, cuffs at the ready. It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world. Wouldn’t be undeserved, either.
Three gangly guys from my homeroom stepped through the entryway, laughing with each other, and then suddenly she was there, stepping in a few yards behind them.
I froze in place, staring at the face of the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Her dark hair was down, fanning around her face and over her shoulders, and her skin looked radiant in the early morning light streaming into the hall. Her plush lips were parted, like she was slightly out of breath.
She caught sight of me and walked over to my locker, cheeks tinged with pink. Now that she was closer, I could see goosebumps peppering the bare parts of her skin.
I took my plaid school scarf off and wrapped it around her neck, taking my time so I could feel her silky hair on my fingertips. “You didn’t call the cops,” I said in a low voice, smile curving up my lips.
Laney smiled faintly in return, emerald eyes sparkling. “I told you I wasn’t going to.”
She probably should have.
After all the shit I did to her, she had no reason to forgive me. I tormented her at school for weeks, and then I moved the game up to literal abduction and torture. Anyone else would’ve called the fucking FBI as soon as they left my house. But instead of turning me in, Laney decided to give me a chance.
I wasn’t going to waste that chance. I was going to do anything and everything to win her trust and make her see how fucking sorry I was. How much I regretted everything I’d done, and how I would do anything for her now that I knew the truth about her. I wanted her to know it in every cell of her body, from the top of her head right down to the tips of her toes.
There was a beat of silence, and then Laney spoke up again. “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said in a tremulous voice.
“What is it?”
Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink. “Adam caught me leaving your house yesterday, and he took me to get a drink with him and Trina. They were really suspicious of why I was at your place, so I made something up, but they didn’t believe me,” she said, words tumbling out a mile a minute. “I needed to tell them something real to get them off my back, so I told them how we’re looking for the person who hurt Lindsay, and how you thought it was me. I didn’t tell them anything else, though. So you’re not in any trouble with anyone for what happened on the weekend. But I’m sorry for saying anything at all. I know you probably didn’t want anyone else to—”
I smiled again and pressed an index finger over her lips. “It’s okay. I already know.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “Adam came to talk to me about it this morning. He said you guys spent all afternoon working on a list.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you mad at me for telling them?”
“No. You didn’t really have a choice. You had to tell them something. And I’m actually glad Adam heard it from you instead of me.” I paused and ran a hand through my hair. “I think we both know I’m not the best communicator.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief, and she smiled again. The sight of it made my emotions churn like there was a fucking rollercoaster in my chest.
“That’s true,” she said. She tilted her chin to one side. “Anyway, why did you text me to meet up so early? Do you want to see the list?”
“You can show me later. Right now, there’s something else I need to do.” I reached down and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
The way she instantly nodded and let me touch her hand made hope swell in my chest. Hope that she felt the same way as me about us. Hope that there could actually be an us after everything that’d gone down over the last month.
I dropped her hand and directed her down the hall, heading for the cafeteria. Groups of students watched us with open mouths and wide eyes as we passed, but they didn’t dare to say anything about the two of us hanging out together. They wouldn’t. Not to me.
We stepped into the cafeteria, where at least half the school was gathered for coffee and food before classes began for the day. I raised my free hand and clicked my fingers. “Hey! Listen!”
Everyone went silent and turned to look at me. Surprise re
gistered in a multitude of faces as they saw Laney standing by my side.
“I need you all to know I made a mistake,” I said, raising my chin high. “Laney Collins is off the blacklist. From now on, you all leave her the fuck alone. Got it?"
Most of the students nodded mutely, but a few sitting toward the back whispered to each other behind their hands, foreheads creased in confused frowns.
I cut my eyes at them. “I’m serious. From this moment on, if any of you say or do anything to her—or if you even look at her the wrong way—your life here is fucking over,” I said. “Understood?”
Everyone nodded again.
I smiled thinly. “Good. That’s all.”
I turned and strode out of the cafeteria. Laney stayed at my side. “It’s amazing,” she said breathlessly. “The way they all listen to you.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
She came to an abrupt halt halfway down the hall and grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop as well. “Seriously, Hunter. Thank you for doing that,” she murmured. “It means a lot to me.”
I slid two fingers under her chin, making her look up at me again. “You shouldn’t thank me,” I said. “You never should’ve been on that fucking blacklist in the first place.”
“I know, but I’m grateful anyway. I just wanted you to know that,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. The expression on her beautiful face was so trusting. So earnest. So goddamned irresistible.
Fuck.
“Come with me,” I muttered. I grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall again, footsteps pounding fast and loud. About five yards before the exit that led out to the quad, I made a sharp left and took Laney into a narrower hallway that was always empty at this time.
When we were well and truly alone, I stopped and pushed her up against the wall, fingers digging into her shoulders as I towered over her. Her eyes widened, and her voice turned breathless. “Hunter… what are you doing?”
I lifted my hands to her face, stroking my thumbs over her cheekbones. Her breath butterflied over my lips as she stared up at me, sending a jolt of electricity through every cell in my body.
The air between us was heated. Pressurized. A few more seconds and I wouldn’t be able to stop my need for her from exploding right out of me.
“What are you doing?” she repeated.
“What I should’ve done yesterday,” I said, bowing my head to meet hers.
Then I finally kissed her.
28
Laney
Hunter’s lips were suddenly on mine, hot and needy.
I opened my mouth to utter a surprised moan, caught off-guard and unprepared, but that only encouraged him to kiss me harder. His tongue flirted with my lips and pushed inside, stroking mine, and I melted against him, allowing myself an intoxicating taste of his desire.
As he devoured my mouth, tongue dancing with mine in an urgent rhythm, I felt the same tingles racing up and down my spine as I did that night when I invited him to my dorm and kissed him on my bed. I was floating in the same heady fog of lust, too, the one that drowned out the part of my mind that begged me to stop.
Only this time, there was nothing telling me to stop.
I reached one hand up and put it on the back of Hunter’s neck, pulling him down to kiss me even harder. My other hand gripped his shoulders, relying on him to keep me standing because my legs were quivering, muscles melting like the rest of me.
He broke away a moment later and put his forehead against mine. “I probably should’ve asked before I did that,” he said softly.
“No, I was actually hoping you’d do it,” I whispered back, a tiny smile curving up my lips.
He grinned. “Really?”
I nodded. Then I surprised myself by putting both hands on his face and tilting my chin upward, taking charge of our next kiss.
I wanted his mouth on mine again more than anything. I wanted to prove something to myself, too. Prove that I could do this. I could let someone kiss me and touch me without fear or reservation, and I could do it right back to them.
Hunter groaned and crushed me to his body, tangling his fingers in my hair as our lips melded. We kissed like the world was on fire and these were our final moments before the end. My hands were all over him, exploring the ridges of muscle on his back and chest, and then his were all over me, touching my face, my neck, my arms, my hips, my ass. I could feel how hard he was as he pressed his body against mine, and when I thrust my hips forward, pushing myself even closer to him, he let out a quiet, tense pant of pleasure.
“Let’s go to my dorm,” I whispered, breaking our embrace. Heat was pooling in my core and electricity was surging through my body. I needed this now. I needed him. He made me feel alive and reckless in the best kind of way, and he was the only one who could do it.
Hunter slipped a hand under my blazer and shirt, cockily brushing his thumb along the sensitive skin of my stomach. “The bell is going to ring in ten minutes,” he murmured. “A good little student like you wouldn’t want to miss a class, right?”
“It’s just homeroom,” I said breathlessly. “No one cares about that.”
He drew back, crooking his brows. “Wait… you’re serious?”
I nodded fervently. “Take me back to my dorm, Hunter.”
I didn’t need to tell him again.
He took my hand and pulled me toward the nearest exit, and then we ran to Blair Hall, giddy with excitement, veins flooding with adrenaline. We stole kisses on the way, and the moment we stepped inside, kicked our shoes off and tumbled onto my bed, all bets were off.
Between frantic kisses, Hunter tore off his blazer, tie, and shirt. The feel of his hard muscles and bare skin beneath my fingertips stole my breath, and a little flare of pleasure sparked between my legs as he rolled his hips against mine. I had no idea such a small movement would feel so good. No idea I could want something or someone so much.
I let out a moan and shuddered, clawing at the back of Hunter’s head, needing more.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Laney,” he panted, his mouth barely an inch from mine. “Make that sound again and I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”
“Do whatever you want,” I whispered, hands fumbling with his belt.
Hesitation flickered in his eyes, and I saw a tendon straining in his neck as he tensed up. “No. Not like this,” he said, guiding my hand away from his pants.
“What do you mean?” I asked in a small voice, chest tightening. “You don’t want to?”
“Of course I fucking do,” he muttered, moving down to plant a torturous kiss on my collarbone. “But it needs to be about you. Not me.”
My body was on fire, nipples peaked so hard beneath my bra that they actually hurt. My raging desire for Hunter had been building up inside me for far too long, and I couldn’t wait. I knew I probably should, but I just couldn’t.
“I’ll be okay,” I said breathlessly. “I want it. I swear.”
I was sure about that. One hundred percent sure. The ugly memories that used to haunt me had faded away, and all I could see or think of was him.
He leaned down to kiss my collarbone again. “I know you do,” he replied in a soft murmur. “But if we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do it on your terms. I need you to feel safe.”
He got off the bed and stood by it, looking down at me with heavy-lidded eyes. I stayed on the soft blanket, panting with frustration as I sat up and braced myself on my elbows. “What are you doing?” I asked.
Hunter’s mouth curved upward in a soft smirk. “I’m watching you strip for me,” he said. “If that’s what you want.”
I took a deep breath. Then I took my cross-tie off and slowly unbuttoned my shirt, keeping my eyes on Hunter to gauge his reaction. His chest rose sharply as I pulled the shirt away and tossed it to the other side of the bed, revealing my lacy white bra. The bulge at the front of his pants was growing bigger by the second.
The sight of his arousal sent a hot surge of confidence through me, and I got o
ff the bed and unzipped my tartan skirt, letting it drop to the floor around my ankles.
“Do you want me to take these off too?” I asked with wide eyes, hooking my fingers into the lacy sides of my panties. I moved my hand up to my bra. “Or this?”
Hunter’s gaze didn’t waver from my face. A muscle was ticking in his jaw, and I could tell it was killing him to stay away from me right now. “I want you to do whatever you want,” he said, voice low and throaty with lust. “Whenever you want.”
Swallowing thickly, I unhooked my bra and let it fall away, exposing my bare breasts. I took a deep breath and finished the job, slipping my panties over my hips and down my legs.
No one had ever seen me naked before. I hadn’t allowed it until now. I thought I would feel embarrassed and vulnerable when I finally did it, but with Hunter around, I felt brave instead. Brave and free.
“Jesus, Laney,” he muttered. “You’re fucking perfect.”
He stepped forward, eyes coasting down my belly and over my thighs. I expected him to push me back onto the bed, but he sank to his knees instead, one hand sliding up my right leg, reverently caressing my skin.
He looked up at me and smiled deviously. Then he moved his hand to my ass and pulled me forward, hot tongue plunging between my legs. A dizzying wave of pleasure instantly soared through me, and I gasped. “Oh… oh, god…”
My legs trembled as Hunter’s tongue found the swollen bud of my clit and flicked over and around it, tasting and teasing me. He let out a growl from the very back of his throat, and the vibrations from the sound sent a jolt of electricity straight to my core.
“So fucking sweet,” he muttered, pulling back for a second. I could see myself on his lips, wet and shiny. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wondered what you taste like?”
Before I could respond, he buried his face between my legs again, licking and sucking until my legs felt like jelly. I rested my hands on the top of his head for support, so turned on I could barely stand it.
Savage Prince: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Royal Falls Elite Book 1) Page 34