by Laura Lee
What the hell?
My room faces the front of the house, so I have a direct view of the circular driveway. The same driveway where Kingston’s car is currently parked. What is he still doing here? It’s been almost an hour since I told him to leave.
I step out of my room and decide to investigate. I cover the entire basement level since that’s last where I saw him, but he’s nowhere to be found. Same thing for the main level. He must be in Peyton’s room which bothers me a lot more than I’d like to admit. After seeing how they interact with one another, I have no doubt he’s being honest when he says they’re not together, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still have something physical going on, despite his barbs at dinner last week. Hell, for all I know, he was so worked up from our make-out sesh, he decided to use her to finish the job. She’s made her willingness on that end quite apparent and Kingston’s morals seem loose at best.
Right before I’m about to head back to my room, I spot him slinking toward Sperm Donor’s end of the house.
What is he up to?
I silently trail behind Kingston, careful to look out for any staff members that could ruin my stealth. Kingston ducks into an alcove right outside my father’s study. When I reach him, he doesn’t look surprised in the least, as if he knew I was following him.
“What are—” I start to say.
I squeal when he bands his arms around my torso and slams a hand over my mouth, muffling my protests.
“Shut. Up,” he growls into my ear. “Trust me when I say neither one of us want to be caught here right now.”
The door to Charles’ office is only about five feet away. I can hear quiet murmurs, but I can’t make out anything clearly.
I squirm in his arms, trying to ignore the growing erection at my back.
Kingston tightens his hold. “Stop moving, goddammit. Are you trying to give me blue balls? Again?” I immediately halt all movement. “Now, if I let you go, do you promise not to say a word?”
I nod in agreement and gasp for air when he removes his hand from my mouth.
He holds a finger over his lips, telling me to be quiet as he creeps closer to the study. We’re right outside the door before I can make out any words.
“—think she knows?”
“I doubt it,” Charles answers. “I’m fairly certain her attitude is pure teenage rebellion but I’m keeping a close eye on it just in case.”
Kingston slowly shakes his head when he sees the questions bubbling beneath my lips.
“She looks just like her mother,” Preston says. “Exactly fucking like her. She was about the same age when you brought her in, right?”
“Yes,” my father answers. “Only about two months difference. The resemblance is... disconcerting, considering she’s my goddamn daughter. I may like ‘em young, but even I have limits.”
“Well, she’s not my daughter so I’m not disturbed by it in the least.” Kingston’s dad laughs.
Wait... what? Kingston’s eyes widen in warning when he sees my shock. Are they talking about me? And my mother? Peyton looks a lot like Madeline, but I am a perfect replica of my teenage mother.
“Too bad you knocked her mom up in the first goddamn month,” Preston muses. “She would have been in high demand.”
High demand for what?
“I know.” The stench of cigar smoke seeps through the crack at the bottom of the door before Charles speaks again. “If I recall correctly, it could’ve just as easily happened to you. You weren’t exactly careful about wrapping it either, and your wife was pregnant with twins at the time.”
“What can I say? She was pretty goddamn irresistible. So beautiful. Young. Naïve. Just how I like ‘em.” Kingston’s jaw clenches as his dad belts out a boisterous laugh. “I still can’t believe you didn’t force her to get rid of it and you gave her a fucking legitimate job on top of it.”
My father laughs. “Mahalia was certainly something special. Besides, once the kid came into play, she was twice as desperate and ready to please. We got a lot of good miles out of her between the two of us.”
Well, that squashes any possibility they were talking about an unknown third daughter. I still don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about though. Well, besides the fact that both men apparently had sex with my mother. I swallow back bile at the thought.
“I remember,” Preston says fondly. “Hell, if Jennifer would’ve gone for it, I would’ve given her a nanny job. Damn woman insisted we didn’t need one.”
Kingston’s fists are clenching so tightly, his knuckles are turning white.
“Well,” Preston begins. “This trip down memory lane has been fun but I need to get going. I have a conference call with one of my suppliers in less than an hour.”
Kingston grabs my hand and forcefully yanks me down the hall and into a guest bathroom. We listen as our fathers say goodbye to one another and wait a moment for his dad to leave. Once it’s safe, he drags me out of the bathroom.
“Your bedroom. Now.”
“What?” I have to speed walk to keep up with him. “What’s going on?”
“Just shut up until we get to your room.”
I want to tell him to fuck off but I’m more curious about what the hell we just heard so I follow. Once we’re safely behind a locked door, Kingston turns on the Bluetooth speaker I have on my desk and presses buttons on his phone until “The Drug in Me is You” by Falling in Reverse starts playing.
He starts pacing in a circle. “You cannot repeat a word of what you just heard.”
I take a seat on the edge of my bed. “I don’t even know what the hell I just heard.”
His angular jaw tics. “It’s better if it stays that way.”
“What does that—” I gasp when it hits me. “Holy shit, you do know what they were talking about, don’t you?”
Kingston runs his hands over his head until his hair is standing on end. “Jasmine, I’m fucking serious. Don’t dig into this and don’t tell anyone about it.”
“They were talking about my mom! I have every right to know why. And why are you not freaking out about the fact that your dad apparently had an affair with my mom? It sounded like our fathers were both sleeping with her at the same time. That’s just... gross. And so unlike the woman I knew.”
He stops pacing and closes the gap between us. I’m on my back with him hovering over me before he stops. I don’t miss the semi pressing into my thigh.
His hand wraps around my neck, but he doesn’t put any pressure on it. “I know your brain is running a mile a minute right now, but you have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
We both groan as he positions his hardness between my thighs and drops his weight on me. I’m wearing a pair of thin joggers, so I feel every inch of him as he rubs himself against my clit, growing bigger with each slide.
“Kingston,” I pant. “Quit trying to distract me. I need answers.”
He lifts his face from my neck and straightens his arms into a plank position. “I know. And I’ll give them to you when the time is right.” He puts his hand over my mouth when I try to speak. “Jazz, I give you my word. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to do it anyway. If you go running your mouth, you’ll put yourself in danger. Our fathers are not good men. They’ve done some really fucked up shit and you do not want to be on their radar.”
My eyes widen. He’s right; I have absolutely no reason to trust him. But the conviction in his voice, the fact that he actually looks scared right now, tells me I can. At least about this.
He moves his hand away from my mouth when I nod. “Okay.”
Kingston searches my eyes. “Okay?”
“Yes.” I push on his chest until he gets off me. “But I won’t wait forever.”
“That’s fair.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and runs his thumbs over the screen. When he’s done, my phone chimes with a text alert. How did he get my number? “I need to go. You have my number if you need to reach me. I’ll see you in th
e morning.”
I grab my phone after he leaves and check the messages. Sure enough, there’s a new message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Don’t be stupid. Keep your mouth shut.
I program his name into my phone and send a quick reply.
Me: *middle finger emoji*
I open my window as he approaches his car. Kingston pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the screen.
He looks up in my direction after reading the message. I can’t be sure from this distance, but I swear he just winked before getting in his car and driving away.
What the fuck did I just walk into?
WHEN I STEP OUTSIDE to meet Ainsley the next morning, she’s nowhere to be found. Instead, a matte black wet dream of a car is parked directly up front with a stupidly sexy guy leaning against it.
“What are you doing here?”
Kingston flashes a predatory grin. “Giving you a ride to school.”
I shake my head vehemently. “Nuh-uh. You must have me confused with Peyton.”
He takes his time perusing my body from head to toe before replying. “Trust me, sweetheart, I could never confuse you for Peyton.”
I ignore what that look does to my panties and pull out my phone to text Ainsley.
“Don’t bother,” Kingston says. “Ainsley’s car is getting detailed. Reed’s giving her a lift and I told her I’d pick you up.”
I stuff my phone in my backpack. “Why couldn’t you drive her since you live together? I’ll just ask Frank to drive me.”
“Because I wanted you to ride with me, not my sister. And tough luck, sweetheart, but Frank has the day off.”
I sigh, realizing I’m not going to win this argument. “How do you know that?”
A devilish grin lights up his face. “I have my sources.”
Kingston opens the weird ass door. It hinges forward until the entire thing is vertical above the ground. “Get in the car, princess.”
“I’d rather walk.”
That’s a total lie. I really want to ride in that car, but a girl’s gotta have some pride.
He gives me a wry look. “You’d rather walk ten miles?”
I prop a hand on my hip. “Maybe I don’t trust you behind the wheel of that thing.”
Kingston lovingly caresses the top of the vehicle. “That thing, is a Koenigsegg Agera RS. She’s a two-point-five-million dollar piece of performance machinery that can go from zero to sixty in two-point-nine seconds. Watch how you speak about her. You don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
My jaw drops. I can’t fathom paying that much money for a car. “Wow... you give new meaning to the word spoiled. Your dad must love you a lot.”
He narrows his eyes. “Actually, it was an eighteenth birthday present to myself.” Kingston grabs my hand and pulls me into him before whispering. “For the record, I wouldn’t take shit from that bastard. Not that I need to explain myself to you, but my mother left me a considerable inheritance. It’s old family money from her side. I get everything on my twenty-first birthday, but the trustee made an exception to release the funds to buy this. Two mill is nothing compared to what I have left.”
I pull away from him, suppressing a shiver from having his hot breath in my ear. “Is that supposed to impress me, rich boy?”
Kingston smirks. “Nah. I know it doesn’t impress you which is why I told you. It’s not exactly something I go around bragging about. I’m not a moron—that’d be asking for trouble. This trust thing goes both ways, Jazz.”
Shit. I have nothing to say to that.
He laughs. “You’re going to make us late if you don’t get your ass in the car. Now get in the damn car.”
I hate how my body responds to his commanding tone.
“Fine,” I huff. “But I’m finding my own way home.”
As he’s closing my door he says, “You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
Kingston rounds the front of the vehicle and gets in on the driver’s side.
Fuck, the whole car smells like leather and his spicy cologne. It’s doing all sorts of things to my girly parts, and I hate him for it.
He presses a button to start the engine and fastens his seat belt. “You ready?”
I hold my backpack on my lap as a shield. “Just drive the fucking car. The sooner I can get out of this thing, the better.”
I can’t resist smiling when he releases a deep belly laugh.
Kingston revs the engine. “Hold on, sweetheart.”
I’m glued to my seat as soon as Kingston starts driving, navigating the hills and curves in the road like a pro. I never dreamed I’d be sitting in a fine piece of machinery like this. The interior is matte black as well—save for the chrome center console—with subtle orange trim. I was never into flashy cars, but sitting in this one, feeling the power behind it, I can certainly see the appeal. I squeeze my thighs together as the throaty rumble of the engine causes my seat to vibrate. Thank God I’m wearing my school blazer because I’m pretty sure my nipples are hard right now. Fuck, this thing is sex on wheels.
Kingston gives me a knowing grin when I bite my lip to stifle a moan. “You doing okay over there, princess? You look flushed.”
I roll my eyes as the car hugs the pavement around another tight corner. “Fuck off, Davenport. Just because I happen to like the car doesn’t mean the driver is nearly as appealing.”
His cocky smirk tells me he knows that’s total bullshit. “You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
I stare straight ahead, tuning him out for the remainder of the short drive. I sigh in relief as we pull through the gates of Windsor Academy, knowing I’ll be out of this sexy as fuck car that smells even sexier because Kingston’s cologne permeates the air. My reprieve is short-lived though as I notice all eyes on us as we slowly make our way to a parking spot. I sink lower in my seat, wanting to crawl into a hole and hide. Why didn’t I think of this earlier? I should’ve had him drop me off right outside of the school grounds.
I groan.
Kingston pulls the car to a stop and glances my way. “Something wrong?”
“This is not going to go well.”
“Relax, Jazz. I just gave you a ride. No big deal.”
“Easy for you to say.” I cringe when I see Peyton approaching the car. “I can guarantee Peyton will think it’s a very big deal.”
He scoffs. “Peyton can go fuck herself.”
I shake my head as I open the door. “Might as well get this over with.”
The moment I step out of the car, shocked gasps and chatter spreads throughout the parking lot.
“What the hell is this?” Peyton shrieks.
“Calm your tits, Peyton,” Kingston growls.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she screams. “Don’t tell me to calm down when I see that skank step out of your car!”
Kingston hits a button on his key fob, locking the vehicle. He takes a page from Reed’s book and stands there looking bored out of his mind. “Don’t act like you own me, Peyton. You are nothing to me. We are nothing.”
Cue even more gasps and chatter.
The crowd’s attention has now fully shifted to them, so I take the opportunity to escape while I can. My eyes are trained on the pavement as I head toward the main building where my first class is held. Just as I think I’ll actually make it unscathed, Kingston shouts my name.
I freeze and look over my shoulder. “What?”
The asshole actually winks. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
Aaaaaannd now everyone’s attention is back on me. I hear the fucker laugh as I flip him off on my way into the building.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
KINGSTON
This new plan of mine is going even better than I thought. After what happened last night, I decided I need to keep a close eye on Jasmine to ensure she doesn’t go snooping around. The only feasible way I can see myself doing that is to switch gears and use this crazy chemistry we have as leverage. I can tell
she’s too smart to rely solely on that, so I need to bring her in a little, allow her to see a side of me that very few people get. If I can get her to actually like me, I think she’ll be a lot easier to control. And if I can convince her to fuck me in the process, even better.
First, I had to deal with the Peyton situation, which she made nice and easy by flipping her shit in front of half the student body. By the end of first period, word will spread to the other half. I knew Jazz would never fully be on board if Peyton and I were still together, even if it was strictly for appearances. Now, not only will the entire student body know Peyton and I broke up, rumors will fly about me and Jasmine. People will speculate as to whether or not their supposed king has taken an interest in the new girl.
Bentley and Reed approach me as the crowd of gawkers finally disperse.
Bentley’s lips curve into a grin. “You wanna tell me what that was about?”
I motion for them to walk with me so we’re not late for our first class. “Change of plans.”
“What exactly happened between you and Jazzy Jazz last night?” Bentley wiggles his brows. “You tap that?”
I roll my eyes. “No, dumbass. Not yet anyway.”
“So that means she’s still fair game?”
I shrug, trying to mask my annoyance. “Even if I had fucked her, she’d still be fair game. It’s not like I actually give a shit. She’s just a means to an end.”
Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I’ll believe it.
Reed laughs. “Right. You think we’re that stupid? We know you better than anyone, man. Drop the bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit.” I slap Bentley on the back, maybe a little harder than necessary. “You wanna hit it, be my guest. Just don’t get in my way if I do, too. I need her to trust me for this to work.”
Reed frowns. “How would banging her accomplish that?”
I scoff. “Please. We all know chicks can’t have sex without emotion, no matter how vehemently they deny it. If Jazz feels some sort of emotional attachment to me—any sort of attachment, really—she’ll be much more willing to trust me. More importantly, she won’t get in my way. If I need to feed her the D to make that happen, so be it. It’s not exactly a hardship.”