BITTER PRINCE | A DARK COLLEGE BULLY ROMANCE: HEIRS OF HAVOC

by Winters, Vanessa

  I slid my hands up her stomach, loving the tightness of it, loving how strong she was. “Let’s get this damn thing off you,” I growled, ripping at the seams of her maid uniform. She didn’t fight me, seeming more turned on as the thin piece of cotton ripped apart.

  “Roll over,” I commanded.

  She did. I finished tearing the uniform and made sure she saw me rip it completely in half.

  “You’ll never wear this again,” I promised in a dark voice. In that moment, I had no idea how, but I would make sure it was true.

  I massaged her back, her shoulders, then reached around her held her breasts, making her push herself against me.

  She whispered my name.

  I took my time, teasing her, tasting her, letting her enjoy each second of the time we had been given, as I let it build up. And when I entered her, she was ready.

  We moved together, our sounds mixing together. And right as she finished, I whispered in her ear, in a voice as much of a threat as it was a promise.

  “You. Are. Mine.”

  27

  Brooklyn

  We spent the night entwined together, his breath on my neck. His words echoing in my ears all night long. He had called me his, and I knew he meant it. Say what you would about Jude Carlisle, but he’d never been a liar.

  When the sky lightened, he insisted I help him up. We hobbled together out onto his patio, leaning against the cold iron railing and watched the sunrise. The cold air brought some color into his cheeks, and he looked more clear-eyed and focused than I had ever seen him. I got him settled into an armchair in his room so I could strip his bedding.

  He cleared his throat. “On your way down, can you get Lila in here?”

  I blinked. “You want me to wake up your sister?”

  She and I may have made some progress, but I didn’t want to push it.

  “She’ll deal.” He was different today, sharp and determined. I didn’t know what he was planning, but there was definitely something going on.

  I agreed and tapped on Lila’s door. “Lila,” I said quietly as I poked my head in. “Jude is asking for you.”

  I hadn’t needed to bother being quiet. When I looked in, I saw her cross-legged and fully dressed on top of her made bed. Another new development. Since when had the Wonder Twins ever made their own beds?

  “Is he okay?” She jumped up.

  I nodded. “He’s fine. Actually, he seems really good. I think he just wants to talk to you.”

  She smiled softly. “Thanks, Brooklyn.”

  That might have been the first ever ‘thank you’ I had ever gotten from her. Things really were changing around here.

  I wondered how long it would last before our bubble would burst, though.

  28

  Lila

  I hadn’t slept much at all the night before. Margeaux had completely thrown me for a loop last night. But, the only thing that stunned me more was my own actions. Even after everything, I had still held onto our relationship. She and I had been best friends since before we could string together full sentences, but even I knew this had gone much too far. I saw her shortcomings. I knew what she was like. But, I still loved her. Was that wrong of me?

  I still wasn’t sure.

  I had always tried to stay out of the Margeaux-Jude situation because there was nothing I could do. I mean, when our mother decreed something, it was carried through without exception. I had assumed Jude would get over it eventually. Maybe even a part of me--one that I wasn’t particularly proud of--had been secretly glad that it wasn’t me in the forced marriage. And maybe that’s why I had kept out of it, for fear of bringing it on myself.

  For fear that Mother would turn that arranged marriage bullshit onto me and leave me in Jude’s same position.

  But going to Margeaux as her best friend? Saying that I needed her, and having her shut me down like that had me reevaluating? Did she even care at all about Jude or me? Or was she just living her best life, making ‘Daddy’ happy, setting up her future, and to hell with everyone else?

  While my anger at last night drove my thoughts, I knew that wasn’t completely true. Margeaux had been in love with Jude for as long as I could remember, and it had driven her crazy that he’d never returned the feelings. He was fine with using her for a quick hook up, and she hadn’t helped herself by being always available to him. But there had never once been feelings there on his end of things. We had grown up, side by side, but he had always seen through her pretty ‘Miss Manners’ exterior to the narcissism that lay beneath.

  What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?

  I pressed the heels of my hands into my tired eyes. I hated the question that popped up in my mind because I didn’t have an answer. But, I was even more ashamed at the feeling that blossomed in the pit of my gut. What about me, in all of this? It seemed like such a selfish question, but it was one that I still wanted an answer to. I mean, was Margeaux going to marry Jude and disappear from my life altogether? Taking my brother and our friendship with her? Part of the reason I had done what I had with Merritt and Brooklyn was to protect my best friend. But, it was becoming clear that I wouldn’t be able to expect the same from her.

  And what was worse, I saw how little she actually cared for my brother.

  Hell, she’d brought in alcohol for him when everyone else tried to keep Jude away from it during his recuperation. And while I could hear her justifications in my head on behalf of Margeaux, I also found myself sick and tired of making excuses for her. Margeaux had a rough home life, yes. Her dad was a piece of work, sure. But, it wasn’t as if my life or Jude’s life was any sort of a cake walk. And we didn’t go around ruining people’s lives like we didn’t care!

  Did we…?

  I trained my thoughts back on Margeaux. Back on her disgusting ways. That girl lashed out by winning, holding herself high above everyone else, and making sure she always came out on top. For the first time, I thought about what that would mean for Jude if he tied their lives together in marriage. And what it would mean for me.

  When Brooklyn interrupted my spiral by letting me know Jude needed to talk to me, I was relieved. Maybe we could sort through some of this together.

  I can only hope.

  My brother was sitting up in a leather recliner when I came in.

  “I need your help,” he said.

  I cocked my head. “Is this about Margeaux?”

  “Yes.” He took a deep breath. “But, I need you to vow silence until we can figure this out.”

  I walked over to him, taking his hand. “I’m all ears, Jude. What is it?”

  I waited on baited breath as I hoped he’d utter those words. I waited as his eyes searched mine, trying to read any sort of lie on my face. He wouldn’t find any, though. I had pledged my silence, and that’s exactly what he’d get.

  Especially when he uttered the words that tugged a smile across my face.

  “I’m not going to marry Margeaux, Lila. And I need your help.”

  29

  Jude

  Opening up to Lila was a risk. We were the only two people we fully trusted, but still, she had always been silent about my marriage. And, Margeaux was her best friend. It was a risk I had to take, however, because I couldn’t do this alone.

  Lila smiled slowly at me. “Okay, so we need a plan.”

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  “Have you considered the other, easier option?”

  “What option is that?”

  She released my hand and backtracked to close the door. Then, she perched her hip against my desk near the window. “There’s the traditional way. What guys have been doing for centuries. You could always set Brooklyn up in an apartment, give her a stipend, and stay with her whenever you can get away from Margeaux and your home together. You just have two lives, one with Brooklyn and one with Margeaux. Everyone wins.”

  “Everyone wins, my ass. I’m not doing that. Besides, do you think Margeaux would let that happen? And what about when we had ki
ds? You and I had to grow up without a father. I’m not giving my kids half a dad.”

  She nodded. “I figured you’d feel that way, but just wanted to make the suggestion in case you were looking for an easy way out.”

  I pinned her with a look. “I’m not looking for an easy way out. I want to be done with this. Done with our mother, done with Margeaux. I want to live my own life. With Brooklyn.”

  “Okay. Well, what if you and Brooklyn disappear? Take as much money out as you can for the next few weeks, sell the car, and go lay low somewhere. Work dead-end jobs until the fallout blows over. You know I’d send you money whenever I could.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not asking Brooklyn to give up everything. It’s not fair to her. She’s worked too hard to run away now, especially when she’s only a semester away from graduating. She wants to be a journalist, not a waitress in a diner somewhere in the backend of nowhere. Plus, I wouldn’t want to leave you alone amidst all that fallout.”

  She nodded slowly while the two of us tried to come up with a plan. And we were quiet for a while, until she finally spoke again.

  “Here’s a thought,” she mused. “But it’s a dark one.”

  I snickered. “I’m down for anything at this point.”

  “Brooklyn may not have been spying on us to the extent that I made her out to be, but she was working to bring Mother down. She published that article and was holding those rallies. What if we teamed up with her?”

  My eyebrows slowly rose. “Teamed up with her to… what? Bring the congresswoman down?”

  “Exactly.”

  I sat up straighter. “Find dirt on her, release it to the public, watch her career go down the drain, and her face public humiliation. Could we do that to our own mother?”

  Lila’s eyes glinted. “I know I could.”

  I felt a real flash of hope for the first time since I had made my decision. Cut Mother off from her source of power so we could take ours back. It was genius. And risky beyond belief. Margeaux would probably leave me herself if the Carlisle name was sullied, and she no longer had the chance of being the daughter-in-law to the President of the United States. I tapped a finger to my lips. The question of whether there was dirt on Mother was moot. We both knew there would be plenty. The problem was finding it, and having it be major enough to actually bring her down.

  “Let’s talk to Brooklyn,” I said. “I bet she’s got some ideas.”

  And with her bright smile, I knew exactly what side of the line Lila stood on.

  I’d need to find a way to thank her later, once Brooklyn and I had a future of our own to live out.

  30

  Brooklyn

  Walking in on twin faces of anticipation was intimidating, to say the least.

  “Uh… what’s up, you guys?” I asked, putting down the breakfast tray I’d brought up.

  “We need to talk to you,” said Lila.

  “About what?”

  “Sit.” She gestured to a chair she must have brought over from her room just for this.

  I twisted my fingers as I sat. “You guys want some coffee? I brought up an extra mug for you, too, Lila,” I said, trying to break the tension.

  She smiled. “Actually, that would be amazing.”

  I went to stand, but she put a hand up to stop me. “Relax. I’ll get it.”

  I gaped at her as she took the carafe and filled up three mugs.

  Lila peeked over her shoulder at me. “How do you take it, Brooklyn?”

  “Light and sweet,” I said.

  Was I dreaming, or was Lila Carlisle serving me coffee right now? I looked at Jude, who was trying not to laugh.

  “Relax, Rosie,” Jude finally said, catching my attention. “We just want to talk to you.”

  Lila brought me my coffee and sat back down. “And first, I want to apologize. I treated you badly. Setting that situation up with Merritt was cruel, and I’m so, so sorry for it.”

  Simple but effective. I could have thrown the effects of what she had done in her face. How I hadn’t been able to sleep for weeks or the nightmares I’d had about Merritt all over my body and feeling helpless to stop him. But what was the point? An apology from her, an admission in front of Jude that it had all been a lie, felt like enough. “Thanks, Lila.”

  She looked relieved, which surprised me. Did she actually care what I thought?

  Still, Lila pressed on. “Now, we have something else we want to talk to you about. Something related.”

  Jude jumped in. “Before we start, though, please don’t assume the worst. We’re not trying to accuse you of anything. We just want to talk.”

  Now they were really freaking me out. “Just say what you have to say.”

  “It’s about our mother,” Lila said. “I know I tried to make you look like a spy, but there was some truth to that, wasn’t there?”

  I flushed, feeling defensive. “I am not a spy—”

  “We’re not trying to say you are, honestly,” Jude rushed to say. “But you were looking for something, something to use against her, weren’t you?”

  I looked down at my lap, unsure. What did they want from me? Could I be honest? Would telling the truth get me kicked out on my ass and penniless? I had only one semester left before I graduated, and admitting to this could cost me my scholarship.

  It could cost me my career.

  “Hey,” Jude said softly. “Look at me.”

  I did, and what I saw there made the decision clear.

  “Yes,” I said, looking them both straight in the eye. “Your mother has had a terrible impact on this community. I know she’s a dirty politician. I know she takes bribes and sells out the town to help herself. I’m sorry if this offends you as she is your mother, but she’s bad for Hampshire.”

  The twins exchanged a glance I couldn’t read.

  Then, Lila asked a curious question. “Did you ever find anything?”

  For the first time since this catastrophic whirlwind of events had taken place, I remembered the recording on my phone. With everything going on, I had completely forgotten to check and see if it had picked up anything usable. With Tae across the ocean and school still not in session and being lost in Jude, the only thing I had been using my phone for was to handle the Margeaux’s communications and demands.

  “I never really found anything, no,” I said hesitantly. “The bribes I talked about at the rallies last year was information I gleaned from working here. I never had hard evidence of anything.”

  “How hard were you looking?” she asked. “Was anyone helping you?”

  I swallowed hard. “I have to be honest, this feels a little strange. I don’t mind telling you guys everything, but this is making me really uncomfortable.” I ran a hand through my hair. “It’s starting to feel like that part in the movie where they figure out everything the person knows, and if anyone else knows anything so they can kill them.”

  “I get it,” Jude said. “Maybe it will help if we tell you why we’re asking.”

  He and Lila exchanged another quick look before her voice filled my ears.

  “We want to bring the congresswoman down,” she said

  I blinked. “Your mother? You want to take down your mom?” I asked, startled. This was not where I had seen this going.

  “With your help,” Lila said.

  Jude took my hand. “Brooklyn, these past few days have been amazing. What I said to you last night, I meant. I don’t ever want you in that stupid maid uniform again. I don’t want you with anyone else but me. And I never want to be in the position that I was in last night again, with Margeaux crawling over me, and all I can think about is you. I love you, and I want to be with you. Openly. I’m not going to marry Margeaux in June. But I also don’t want to derail your life. Lila and I think that this could be the way that you and I could be together without running away.”

  “Jude…” My eyes became misty. “You can’t do something like this for me. It’s your family, your name, your whole life. If you and I
want to be together, we could run away, start over somewhere else.”

  “There’s nowhere far enough out of their reach,” he said. “And I won’t have you scraping by somewhere without a degree and without a hope of working in your field because of me.”

  “Besides,” said Lila, “it wouldn’t just be for you. You’ve worked here a long time, so I imagine you have a pretty good idea of the kind of mother we have and what our relationship with her is like.”

  She had a point. I had never seen one soft moment between them and their mother. She was always focused on her job, above all else. I had seen further evidence of that the night I had been with Jude in the hospital. All she had cared about was covering up his mistake. She hadn’t even walked up to his bed or listened to the doctor who suggested he stay in the hospital longer.

  “And it’s worse than you might have realized,” Jude added. “She’s abusive and sociopathic. Which is a recipe for disaster, given her career trajectory. She has a great chance of becoming president one day. Even if she doesn’t, she’ll spend the rest of her life making choices that hurt the people below her. The ones she represents. And she won’t care as long as she’s getting rich, and no one knows any better.”

  Lila sighed. “So, with that being said, I’ll ask you again. Did you ever find anything?”

  “I never found anything meaningful,” I said regretfully. “Your mother runs a tight ship.”