by Muse, M. W.
“And?” Calli asked cautiously. It was obvious she wasn’t sure if Legacy wanted to get into the specifics of it.
She didn’t, but she could generalize. “And nothing. He understands why I broke up with him.”
“He’s not fighting you on this?” she asked incredulously and then flashed her eyes at River, realizing that she probably shouldn’t have asked that with their audience.
Legacy laughed lightly. “Well, of course he is.” She looked over at River, and he was watching her like a hawk. “Wouldn’t you?” she asked him.
“Er, what?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
“If we were together and I broke up with you, wouldn’t you try to convince me to change my mind?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
She looked back at Calli. “I can’t really blame him for trying.”
“What did he try, I mean, say?” River asked.
Her eyes flashed to his. “Oh, you know. We love each other. He doesn’t care that I could kill him. He’d rather live a short and happy life with me than a long and miserable life without me. If I didn’t know I was truly capable of inflicting that kind of harm, I probably would’ve caved.” She looked over at Calli and tried not to smirk. “He tried other ways of persuasion too.” She couldn’t help but add that little bit of info for River’s benefit. He sighed heavily as he crossed his arms, so Legacy looked over at him. “Oh, and I told him you kissed me.”
His head popped up. She realized that she sounded a little arrogant and needed to change her tone. She sighed and looked down, shrugging. “I figured if he knew,” she whispered, “he might accept how things are. I also told him I’d understand if he turned to Venus. You know, since I’m pushing him away, I really don’t know what that’ll mean about…things.” She shook her head and took a drink.
“What did he say?” River asked evenly.
“About this kiss?” she asked with smile. “Um, he commented that you didn’t waste any time, but then he didn’t fault you for trying. He said he knows what it’s like kissing me.”
“He wasn’t mad?” Calli asked.
She looked over at her BFF. “No. He’s not my boyfriend anymore. He knows I’m completely within my rights to kiss whomever I want.”
“Yeah, but he loves you, Legacy.”
“So do I,” River said quickly. “I know what it’s like knowing you’re kissing another man. If he’s anything like me, he’s mad,” River said, looking away.
Jealous much? He obviously understood what she meant when she’d mentioned the other ways of persuasion. Good. “But he’s not like you, is he?” she asked, looking at River.
“No,” he said calmly, watching her eyes, seeming as if he were trying to decipher the meaning of her question.
“If he were like you,” she said, “our relationship wouldn’t be a problem. You’re a god, and I’m going to be a goddess. Adin is mortal, so he’s going to die. Even if we were free to be together now, it’d be short-lived.”
River nodded. “Is that why you sound so bitter?” he asked in an irritated tone.
She suppressed a growl. It would not do for him to get an attitude with her! She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Do I sound bitter?” she asked calmly.
“Something’s wrong,” River acknowledged.
He was definitely perceptive, but she wasn’t ready to confront him. She needed to play her cards just right. And with that thought, she realized how she was going to do that.
She sighed, shaking her head. “I-I’m sorry.” She glanced at him and looked away. “I don’t mean to sound like that. It’s just that…so much has happened. I think I’m just…confused,” she barely whispered.
River once told her that he thought she was confused about how he made her feel, so picking that word to describe her feelings seemed to disarm him.
“You’re right. You’ve been through a lot. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She looked up at him, and he looked genuinely sad. “Don’t be sorry. I’m just trying to take everything in.” More than this jerk realized.
“I should go,” River whispered as he started to stand up. “You obviously came here to vent, and I’m interrupting. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
She nodded as she stood up. Calli stood up too. River started out the kitchen, and they followed him. He turned around and hugged Calli. After she pulled away, she walked back toward the kitchen, but then looked over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at school.”
He smiled softly and nodded. He wasn’t making a move to hug Legacy, so she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. His breath caught as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She felt her heart race as he gently caressed her back, so she knew he could feel it too. She held onto him much longer than she normally did, and when he realized she wasn’t pulling away, he leaned his head down and kissed the top of her head. He kept his face buried in her hair, and she could feel his hot breath saturating every strand.
She squeezed him tighter, and he kissed her hair again.
“I’m really sorry for how I acted in the kitchen. I shouldn’t have brought up Adin,” she whispered. “I just saw you smiling, and I knew you were thinking about…about the other day. I just wasn’t ready to deal with that.”
“Shhh…” River whispered as he nuzzled her hair. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I know you’re going through a hard time right now, baby.”
She nodded against his chest. “I wish this didn’t feel…so…nice,” she breathed.
“Mmm, I’m glad it feels that way to you.” He kissed her head again. “You know it feels that way to me too.”
She nodded as she pulled away from his embrace. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” he whispered as she stepped away from him, but he let his hand slide down her arm as she walked away and clasped his hand onto hers briefly before letting her go. He turned to walk out the door, and she closed it behind him. When she turned to walk back into the kitchen, she saw Calli standing in the doorway, close enough to witness what just happened with River without being seen.
“What the hell was that all about?” she asked incredulously.
“Damage control.”
“What does that mean?”
“When I apologized for my behavior in the kitchen, I realized I was being a bit too hateful toward River.”
“Er, because you were furious with him.”
Legacy looked at her BFF with a coy smile. “Oh, I still am. It’s taking all my strength not to suffocate the life out of him.”
“Then why in the world did you hug him like that?”
“You’ve heard the saying ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer,’ haven’t you?”
“Yeah,” Calli said slowly.
“Well, I’ve decided that it’s time to give River a taste of his own medicine.”
“I don’t like this sound of this. What do you mean by that?”
“He wants me all to himself, so I think I’m going to let him believe that he’s winning me over.” She laughed, shaking her head. “Why didn’t I think of this before?”
“Legacy, you can’t do that. I know you’re mad at him, but you can’t do that!” Calli looked panicked.
“Calli, it’s River’s fault that I’m a danger to Adin, and I still believe River—not Medusa—has been behind the covert attacks against me so far. Adin was right. River is a monster.”
“Lying to River isn’t going to help you.”
“That’s not true. As much as I hate to admit it, I still need his help with Medusa, and I probably still need his help with my change. If I cut ties with him completely, there’s no telling what he’d do, so that’s really not a risk I should take. Besides he needs to pay for what he did to me.”
“And how exactly is he going to pay?” Calli asked timidly.
“It’s his turn to be played.”
Chapter Two
“You still have time t
o change your mind,” Calli said as she and Legacy walked from the parking lot to school.
Calli had pleaded with her all afternoon about her plan to hurt River as much as he’d hurt her. She’d kept telling Legacy that River was a friend to them both and he’d helped both in the past. She didn’t want her hurting him, but she understood why Legacy felt she had to do this.
“We’ve been over this. Now, how do I look?” she asked as she smoothed her hair.
She wore stiletto boots, a mini-jean skirt, and a form-fitting, low-cut cashmere sweater. She also wore her hair up, so River would be able to smell her perfume on her neck. She kept her makeup casual—she didn’t want it to be too obvious she was dressing up.
“Like a knockout,” Calli said, but her tone was wistful. Her BFF really didn’t like her plan.
Legacy smiled and wagged her eyebrows as they neared the picnic table where they’d always gathered before school. River’s car was already here, so she figured he’d be there waiting for them. Normally, she and Calli made it to school before he did, but Legacy took her time getting ready. If she wanted this little plan of hers to work, she’d need to be careful about how much time she spent with him. If she was around him too much, she might be tempted to lay it on too thick or let her real irritation show through. If either of those things happened, he’d see right through her. She needed to gradually get used to spending more time with him, which would make it seem like their relationship developed naturally. That way, he wouldn’t suspect a thing.
He was already at the picnic table and had his back to them as they approached.
“Good morning,” Calli said to River as she walked around him to sit down.
He twisted around and looked at her. “Morning.” Then he looked at Legacy. His jaw dropped. That was a good sign. She kept her expression even.
“Good morning,” she said as she stepped around him.
It was apparent he was at a momentary loss for words as he watched her take her seat. She smiled at him as she sat down. “Er, good morning,” he finally said.
“What are you working on?” she asked, taking in his open books.
“Um.” He glanced down at his books as if they were foreign objects that just appeared on the table. “Calculus,” he said, looking back at Legacy.
She nodded, letting the corner of her mouth twitch. The bell rang then, and they all got up and made their way to chemistry. River carried Legacy’s books, as always.
She made small talk with Calli, so she wouldn’t be forced to make conversation with River, but when they got into class, a sub was standing in the front. Great.
The substitute teacher handed out worksheets and allowed them to work together quietly. She’d been hoping to save any lengthy conversation with River until lunch, but now that wouldn’t be the case. At least she’d have Calli here.
“Why don’t we work together, Calli?” Ellen suggested eagerly.
Crap. Oh well, Legacy would have to get used to being alone with River anyway. No time like the present to start working on that comfort.
Calli glanced at Legacy with wide eyes, obviously seeking some kind of guidance. Legacy shrugged and turned to her worksheet, working on it alone. She figured she wore the alluring outfit—that was enough of a first step. Legacy had no doubt that River would come over and work with her, so she waited for him to make that move. A sexy outfit and eagerness to work together would be too transparent.
“Do you, umm …” Legacy glanced to her side, acknowledging the deep voice. River was standing beside her, holding his worksheet. “Want to work together?”
“Sure.” She moved her books over to make room for him, and he sat down and opened his book.
“I’ve already found the answer to the first one. It’s on page three-oh-two,” she said, looking down as she wrote her answer.
River thumbed in his book and scribbled his reply. They worked diligently, talking about their responses to the questions until they finished and not talking about anything else.
Apparently, they’d worked so efficiently that they finished before everyone else and still had twenty minutes left in class.
River took their papers up to the teacher, and when he came back, he pulled his chair closer to her as he sat down. He tried to be casual about it, but she knew what he was doing.
He put his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together in front of his face. She heard him sigh, and then he looked at her, keeping his hands up as if he were covering his face from everyone else’s view.
“You look beautiful,” he breathed.
She turned her head to look at him fully; his eyes gleamed that beautiful emerald green color. River was a very attractive man. Too bad his personality didn’t mirror his looks. “Thanks.”
She kept her eyes locked on his until he started to smile softly. “What’s the occasion?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked, feigning puzzlement.
“Why are you dressed up?” He cocked his head to the side, leaning against his folded hands.
She shrugged. “I’ve worn all this before, just not together. Well, I think I might have worn it all together last year.”
“Oh.” He nodded.
“Why? Does it look like I’m dressed up to you?” She already knew the answer to that question.
“Yeah,” he whispered. He looked as if he were about to say something else, but Calli walked up.
“You finished early,” her BFF said as she leaned against the table.
“Yep. We worked hard to get it done,” Legacy said.
They kept talking until the bell rang, and then River walked her to their business class. Thankfully, the teacher was there, so they were busy. When he walked her to Spanish class, Calli met up with them, so River hadn’t really talked much since chemistry, but she knew after this Spanish class with Calli, she and River would be together again during history, followed by lunch. The rest of the day would be easy since the only other class she’d be around him in was during gym last period, but since he was on the basketball team, she knew he’d be busy. Getting through school would really be about getting through the first half of the days.
Legacy and Calli talked during Spanish, but there wasn’t much to report. When Spanish was over, River quickly met up with her and took her books while he walked her to history class. Thankfully, they were both busy taking lecture notes all period, so they didn’t have time to talk during that class either.
Then the bell rang for lunch.
Showtime.
River walked to her desk and grabbed her books. They walked to their lockers before meeting up with Calli. Since they were all on the honor roll, they were allowed to leave campus for lunch, but they needed to ditch their books.
“Ellen said they’re all going to Beef’s for lunch. Want to go?” Calli asked as she and River approached.
“I don’t care,” she said as she looked at River.
“That’s fine with me,” he said. “I’ll drive.”
They walked toward River’s car. “Shotgun,” Calli called out as River reached the passenger door. Legacy figured she did this to keep her from having to sit right next to him.
River lifted the seat so Legacy could get in. Then he moved it so Calli could get in front.
The lunch hangout was just right down the road, but on the way there, Legacy saw River watching her in his rearview mirror. She didn’t look at him, though. She talked to Calli about the new routine the cheerleading squad was going to be debuting during the first basketball game.
At the restaurant, they all squeezed around a table that really needed to be a little bigger to accommodate all ten of them. River sat next to Legacy, of course. She knew he would make sure that’d happen, especially after Calli rode up front in his car. At least part of her plan would be easy since he was so willing to be around her.
Because of how close they were sitting, when she crossed her legs, her right leg brushed up against River’s leg as it dangled over her left one.
River scooted his right leg a little closer to hers, apparently so that it’d be easier for her to brush up against, which she did as her leg bounced easily.
Oh, this was going to be too easy.
Calli sat on the other side of Legacy, so as she leaned over toward her BFF and asked her what she was going to order, Legacy’s leg pressed up against River’s. He leaned back and put his hands on his legs, looking over at the girls.
“I guess the chef salad,” Calli responded.
“I think I’m just going to get a baked potato.” She leaned back in her seat and looked at River. “What do you want?” she whispered, hoping the innuendo had come through loud and clear.
He stared at her while his breathing accelerated, but his expression never changed. “A cheeseburger.”
She nodded and looked down while she crossed her arms just to have something to do.
The waiter came and took their orders, and they all talked to each other and in groups throughout lunch. Why the hell Alex and Laos were here, she didn’t know. But if they didn’t shut up about which one was going to nail Laurel, Legacy was going to reach across the table and stab them with her fork. Hmm… or she could just send a little jolt their way. She shook that thought away so she could stay focused on her object. Seducing River.
After they finished eating, they still had about ten minutes before they had to leave to make it back to school on time. Seth sat to the left of River, so Legacy figured she could use that to her advantage.
She leaned over River, and his eyes flashed to her, watching closely. “Hey, Seth, you ready for Friday?”
“Hell yeah!” Everyone laughed at his enthusiasm.
But then River turned his head so that he was facing Legacy’s direction, putting his nose in line with her neck. She heard a soft groan escape his lips, so she knew he’d gotten a whiff of her perfume. While she was still leaning over him, she lifted her hand up to the side of her neck and gently rubbed it, causing her arm to brush against his chest.
“Who do they play again?” she asked Seth.
“The Bears.”
“Right.” She nodded as she leaned back into her seat.