by Ruby Vincent
I flopped on my bed. “You’ll also be happy to know that I believe you. You didn’t know who I was.”
The mattress dipped. Preston laid out by my side. “What changed your mind?”
“Carter is leveraging a marriage proposal to make me tell you what happened between us. Which means he didn’t tell you himself.” A heaviness settled over me. After everything he’d done, I still couldn’t see Carter as anything other than what he was: the victim. “He really scrubbed me from his life after entering the academy, didn’t he?”
“If he spoke your name, it wasn’t to me.”
“And Nathan? Those summers he stayed in Bracknell. He didn’t mention me?”
“Bracknell? You mean that was you?” Preston propped himself on his elbow. “He never gave me a name, but he did talk about a girl he met over there that made his summer of exile bearable. After the second summer, I didn’t hear about that girl again.” He blew out a breath. “Wow.”
“What’s wow?”
“Three guys connected by one girl and they didn’t know it. Now we’re all thrown together again. I’d say it’s fate but I assume you have the same feelings toward that as you do for magic.”
“It’s not fate,” I confirmed. “We’re all in the community. Circumstances would’ve brought us together eventually. I just didn’t think they’d include listening to my ex have sex with another girl, sleeping with my ex-boyfriend’s best friend, or having my ex-best friend technically propose to me.”
“Nathan’s the ex-boyfriend and you and Carter were best friends. How did it end?”
“Stop fishing.” I rolled onto my side, bringing my knees to my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Then we won’t talk.” Preston pressed against me, laying his arm over my waist, and rested his head cheek to cheek. “Except for me to say one last thing.”
“What?”
“Projected time to make-up sex adjusted from seven days to twenty minutes.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “You are shockingly confident.”
“I know you’re craving freaky sex as much as I am. We can dip down to the kitchen right now.”
My giggles filled the room. “I thought we weren’t talking.”
“My lips are sealed for the next nineteen minutes.”
I rolled my eyes. I could’ve popped his bubble, but us lying together like that was nice. Reminded me of the night of the reception before everything went to hell.
Preston’s warmth seeped into my bones, lulling my eyes closed. He traced lazy circles down my arm, and carried the path up my leg and under my skirt—though he didn’t go too far. His promise to ravish me in fifteen minutes and counting aside, the gesture didn’t feel sexual so much as intimate.
Curious.
He wanted to touch my body and he wanted me to let him.
I nearly drifted to sleep when someone knocked on the door.
“Zion does not understand fuck off, does he?”
“Preston? Preston, are you in there?”
“Delilah? Belle, it’s okay,” he said, no doubt feeling me tense beneath him. “I’ll get rid of her.”
Delilah blew in just as he untangled himself from me. “Ivy said she saw you go in here. What the hell, Preston?!”
“Me? What the hell is wrong with you? Get out of here, Lilah.”
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? Think I’m going to put up with this?” Her shouting fled through the open door. “I forgave you for the other night and now two seconds later you’re back in this bitch’s bed. We’re engaged, Preston.”
“Delilah,” he hissed. “We’re not engaged. Last I checked, the ring is sitting in the safe upstairs. Don’t do this.”
I didn’t understand the tight, restrained anger curling his lips or why he kept his voice low. A head poked around the corner, followed by more onlookers. I stiffened as the drama unfolded with me as the center. My goal was to turn potential suitors away, but not like this. The last place I needed to be was in the middle of a turbulent relationship.
“Don’t do this?” she cried. “I’m supposed to let you make a fool of me. Sleeping around with your best friend’s girlfriend. Does Carter know you haven’t stopped?” She spun on me. “Let me make this clear for you—stay away from my fiancé! If I find you sniffing around him again, I will fuck you up!”
“Oh, I’d love to see that.” I vaulted off the bed. “Don’t wait. Stop talking big for your buddies and fuck me up right now.”
A flicker of surprise crossed her face, and she took an involuntary step back.
“That’s what I thought. Save your threats for someone else. You don’t need to worry about me and Preston.” I gave him a hard look. “We’re done.”
“Belle, no—”
“Yes, you are.” Delilah seized his sleeve. “Let’s go, Preston.”
Preston twisted, hooked her around the waist, and dumped her outside. He slammed the door on her shrieking.
I tore off to the bathroom. Preston chased me, sticking his foot in the jamb just in time. “Belle, can we not do this again? I explained our situation. It’s the truth even if Delilah won’t accept it.”
“It’s not about if I believe you.” My splotchy cheeks and tight lips taunted me in the mirror. “I do. You and Delilah have a different kind of arrangement and she thinks she owns you anyway.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“It’s like I said yesterday. It doesn’t work well for the person in the middle. I’m not having that girl busting into my room, screaming and threatening me all summer. I didn’t come here to stir up that kind of drama.”
“Belle—”
“No, Preston. You settle your crap with her or you can adjust your timetable to never.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Then show yourself out.”
PRESTON
I stormed out of the room, scattering guys who hung about to hear more of the show. Delilah was gone. I shadowed her assumed path upstairs to her room on the third floor. I busted in and found her sitting on the bed, shaking a bottle of nail polish.
“Oh.” She beamed. “Hey, Preston.”
“Fuck you!”
A low hiss breezed through her teeth. “Ouch. Someone’s testy.”
“What the hell was that, Delilah?”
“That was me doing what I had to do. You didn’t leave me much choice. Between that speech about waiting for Cinderella and mooning over that girl during speed-dating, people are getting the impression that you’re not as devoted to me as you claim to be.”
I placed my hands on the bed, glaring into her bored expression. “I’m not.”
She lifted her shoulders. “I know that and you know that. But no one else is supposed to catch on. I get what you see in her. She’s feisty. But we’re not blowing up our plans over a summer fling.”
“We can sleep with whoever we want, Delilah. That was the deal.”
“No, the deal was we discretely sleep with whoever we want. I can manage that. Why can’t you?”
“Belle isn’t the kind of girl to be anyone’s dirty little secret. How do I explain to her that we’re not dating, we’re not in love, we sleep around, but no one can know about it?”
Delilah pressed her finger between my brow and pushed me back. “That’s not my problem.”
“It is your problem, because I thought, at the very least, that we were friends.”
Finally, something akin to remorse cracked her smirk. She sighed. “We are friends. You know how much I appreciate you agreeing to all of this. Even with what you’re getting in return, ten out of ten guys would’ve said no. You’re better than all of them, Preston, and I want you to be happy... just not at my expense.
“No one can know just how fake this arrangement is. And it’ll be a pretty big hint if we watch you fall in love with someone else this summer.”
“Belle isn’t a threat to our impending nuptials. Did you miss her infamous reception speech?”<
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“No. I didn’t miss Carter’s speech this morning either. Apparently she is down to get married and I can’t risk her trading up for a husband that’s not dying.”
“Carter isn’t dying,” I scoffed. “That was a stream of bullshit from someone more calculating than you.”
“Wow. You do need better friends, don’t you?”
I chuckled mirthlessly. “I’m gonna get on that. Trust me.”
Delilah tried to hold my hand. “Just keep you and Belle quiet and everyone wins. Don’t forget what’s at stake. For you, not me. You’re going to throw everything away for some girl you barely know?”
“Don’t push me, Lilah. I’m the kind of privileged bastard that gets everything he wants. That’s not about to change for you.”
“Careful.” She rose up, squaring off with me. “You don’t want to battle with me over who has more to lose.”
“Oh, but I do. I really, really do.” Grinning, I flicked down. “Shit. I’m getting hard at the thought.”
Her shove came fast, though it didn’t move me an inch. I laughed at the attempt.
“Watch it, Preston! I will make your life a misery before and after the I dos.”
“You know what? I’m looking forward to it,” I said as I backed toward the door. “It’ll be fun watching you fight over me. I wonder what your side piece will think of that?”
She lobbed the nail polish at my head. It shattered on the wall, leaving a dripping, red splotch.
I strode out of the room, mentally recalculating my timetable.
BELLE
Day two and my plan was simultaneously working and going to shit. My suitor pool dried up quickly thanks to my lie. Trouble was Carter.
“Cute kids,” I mumbled. “Save it for the honeymoon.”
My thumb brushed my mouth. The gentle pressure of sweet, minty lips had yet to fade. Not to mention the five-minute scrubbing my ear received in the shower. It did little to stop his phantom tongue.
I wanted to believe he wouldn’t go through with it, but I experienced the total devotion he committed to making my life miserable in middle school. I hadn’t begun to plumb the depths of his desire for revenge.
Even so, Carter doesn’t have me over the barrel he thinks he does.
I took up my phone and dinner tray and carried it out to the balcony. The kitchen staff was kind enough to send my tray up, so I could avoid the swirling rumors. Marrying Carter but sneaking around with his best friend? That on top of the endless lies I’ve told in the past twenty-four hours. Dinner conversation would be interesting that night.
I’d have to set the record straight in the morning. Until then, I deserved a break.
“Looks like we had the same idea.”
It would appear that someone up there thinks I deserve nothing.
“Nathan.”
My sorta ex-boyfriend sat on the top rail of the patio chair, his socked feet on the seat. A growing collection of empty beer cans littered the table.
“Just you?” I sat down, laying out my creamy shrimp risotto and garlic bread. “Or will my dinner come with a porno?”
“I’m solo tonight but I can make that happen. You used to like watching me jerk off.”
I leaned back, nibbling on my bread. “Go on, then. I’m waiting.”
Nathan laughed. “I forgot there’s no point teasing you. You call everybody on their bluff.” He hopped down and reached for his belt buckle. “Seems you forgot I don’t back down either.”
My pulse picked up speed as he tugged his shirt over his head.
“I didn’t forget. I also remembered what drives your reckless need to prove yourself,” I said—a tad quickly as his pants hit the floor. “What’s wrong? Is your mom okay?”
Nathan halted his stripping, standing there in boxers, socks, and skin. “Why would you assume something is wrong?”
“You’re drunk at six in the afternoon.”
“Correction. I’m buzzed at six in the afternoon.”
“What’s wrong?” I repeated.
“You have to ask?” Nathan returned to his precarious seat, not bothering to put his clothes back on. “Knight staked his claim to marry my kinda ex. Isn’t that reason enough to get trashed?”
I wasn’t surprised that he did it too. Kinda. Sorta.
Nathan and I got close. Closer than I’d been with anybody. But we didn’t call our summers together anything more than a fling. It didn’t take a therapist to guess we were trying not to get hurt.
Didn’t work.
“You know me, Nathan. And you know Carter. The Huntington’s is made up. Why would anything else he said be true?”
“Was he lying about your parents cutting you off? Did he make up you having to choose among whoever proposes to you or end up on the streets?”
My spoon clattered to the bowl, spitting risotto at me. “He told you that?” I cried.
Course he did. You expect the guy essentially blackmailing you to keep your confidence?
“Yeah, he told us. You’re marrying him so you both get what you want.” Nathan fished out an unopened can. “Tell me something, Belle. Was it Carter? Was he the guy?”
I frowned. “Was he the guy what?”
“That you cheated on me with.”
My jaw dropped. Full-on, hanging-off-my-skull surprise. “Excuse me?”
“Was he the guy you were fucking while whispering in my ear that you loved me?”
“Are you kidding me, Nathan?!” Suddenly, I was on my feet.
Nakedness equaled vulnerability in any other person. Drunkenness reduced them to a wobbly moron. But Nathan Prince wasn’t built to conform to stereotypes. He faced me, gaze steadily blazing heat, arms rippled with tension, powerful body coiled to leap over the railings and finish this once and for all.
“I wasn’t fucking anyone! You were! You cheated on me.”
“I let one girl go down on me after it was over between us.”
“You just forgot to tell me it was over!”
“I didn’t have to,” he growled. “You knew it was when you bent over for that sappy bro you tried to hide from me. Was it Carter?!”
“It wasn’t anyone!” I was sure they could hear us down in the dining hall. “You’re not doing this, Nathan. Rewriting our history. Putting the blame on me. I did nothing wrong except fall for the lies from that pretty siren mouth.”
His mouth still looked pretty—twisted and snarling though it was.
We locked horns. Chests heaving. Nostrils flared. Fists balled.
Nathan broke first.
Lines smoothing, his face returned to his regularly scheduled handsome. Nathan released his grip and bent to pick up his dropped beer. “What are we even fighting about? Neither one of us cheated on the other. We weren’t exclusive. We didn’t ‘put labels on it.’ We had some fun a century ago and now it’s over.”
My nails dug half-moons into my forearms. I didn’t know what was worse. Nathan acting like what he did to us was no big deal. Or him using my own words to downplay it.
He twisted to leave.
“That’s it?” I snapped. “You accuse me of cheating, ruin my appetite, piss me off, and then I don’t even get the show?”
Nathan slowed. “Tonight’s not the night to call me on a bluff.”
“I’m waiting.”
Nathan didn’t move for a long stretch. I returned inside, grasping the drapes to draw them closed. A figure streaked across my vision. I got out a shriek at the reckless fool leaping across balconies when he grabbed my wrist and snapped me to his chest. The next thing I knew I was bent over my seat. I clutched the rails to catch myself, breath hitching as my skirt clasp came free.
“Did you miss the part where you’re doing this solo?”
“So are you,” he came back. “You don’t get something for nothing in this life, Adler. A guy needs the proper stimulation to perform.”
Warm air smacked my bare bottom. Nathan ripped my skirt and thong off in one swift move.
“Like
I’d finger myself for you! Lying, cheating, sack of shit!”
He licked me from pussy to ass. My scream caught on a hoarse moan.
“Do whatever you want.” Nathan spun and dropped me on the seat.
My chest heaved, bursting out of my shirt. He helped out by ripping it clean off my body.
I smacked him across the face.
“Starting this off right, baby,” he said, chuckling. He shoved his boxers to his ankles—amid the tatters of my favorite T-shirt.
“Socks,” I barked.
“Forgot you had a thing about that.” He bent to peel off the remains of his clothing. Finally whole and naked for me.
Nathan threw the last one over his shoulder and gripped my calves. I bit my lip hard as he spread my legs, draping them over the arms.
“I won’t give you the satisfaction.” Nathan pressed me in, the hairs on his arm tickling my temple as he grabbed the top rail. “For once, you’re giving me everything, Nathan. And getting nothing in return.”
I tasted his smirk on the breath teasing my lips. “Whatever you say.”
Nathan pulled back without releasing his hold on the chair. We locked eyes as he gripped his length. I saw him moving in my periphery, but didn’t look. Not yet.
Holding my breath, I pushed one strap off my shoulder, leading his attention down. The other followed and my bra joined my clothes on the floor. The challenge leaked from his expression.
“Shit, Belle.” It sounded like the words were ripped out of him. “You’re so beautiful.”
Now, I looked.
Nathan stroked from base to tip in slow, languid movements. Precum gathered on his crown, and my tongue darted out seeking a taste like it had so many times before.
Soft, guttural grunts filled the air, slipping into my ear and traveling the long journey to my core. My lower belly ignited in flames, heating the lifetime lock keeping out Nathan Prince. It melted with the shreds of my resolve.
My knuckles whitened clamping on the chair. Refusing to touch him or myself seemed like a good idea at the time. But all I kept thinking was a few feet down and a few inches forward, and he’d be inside of me.