by Ruby Vincent
Ezra moved first. I didn’t have time to react before he took my face in his hands and kissed me. My pain and uncertainty burned away in the heat of our clashing lips.
“Then why?” he asked when we broke apart. “Why did you kiss him?”
“I didn’t want to.” I took a shuddering breath. “I’m being blackmailed by someone who calls themselves Ace.”
“The fuck?” Jaxson pushed Ezra aside. “Blackmailed? For how long? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because they were there that day. They have a video of...” My voice trailed off as I looked over their shoulders. Darkness swallowed the rim of the cliff, but I knew what awaited me if I stepped to the edge. I knew who lay at the bottom.
Ryder followed my line of sight. I saw the moment when it hit him. He snapped his head around, nostrils flaring. “We need to go. Now.”
“But—” Ryder pushed through the boys, grabbed my hand, and dragged me off. The boys fell in line beside us. “Where are we going?”
“My room.”
Ryder kept a tight hold of my hand as we stomped through the woods. No one said anything as we went, but I did not question why. We knew now that someone was always listening and watching.
The junior dorm was ghostly quiet when we stepped inside and made our way to Ryder’s room. He set me down on his bed before the questioning began.
“Tell us everything.”
Ryder stood, but Jaxson and Maverick sat down on either side of me, relaxing me with their presence. Ezra claimed the desk chair and scooted close enough to take my hand. My heart pounded as he laced our fingers together. I was with my Knights. Everything would be okay.
I let out a steadying breath. “It all started the first week of school. I’ve been getting texts from a person who calls themselves Ace.”
Ryder stepped closer. “You said they have a video.”
“They do. Of the moment Scarlett went over the cliff.”
“Did you actually see it?” Jaxson asked. “How do you know they are for real?”
“They sent it to me.”
A tense silence followed my statement.
“They said they would send the video to the police if I didn’t do what they wanted.”
“This is what you were talking about before,” said Maverick. “That’s why you wanted to know if you could trace a number.”
“Yes.” I sighed. “Not that it worked. My hacker tried but the number led to a burner phone. She couldn’t help me.”
A finger caressed my cheek and I turned to see the concern etched into Jaxson’s face. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“They told me not to say anything about them.” I leaned into his touch. “I’m sorry. Tonight went too far and I couldn’t let you think that something was going on with me and Kai.” I shook my head. “I’ll have to talk to him too. Find a way to explain what happened.”
“Worry about him later.” Jaxson passed a hand over my fuzzy head. “Did that shit stain make you cut your hair too?”
I nodded.
His face tightened. “Fucking hell. Why?”
“I think... because of you.”
He blinked. “Me?”
“Yes.” I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. I tried to hand it to Jaxson, but Ryder bent down and intercepted it. He was quiet as he read Ace’s texts, although his face said so much more. The cool granite mask was nowhere to be found.
“She’s right,” he announced. “They mention how much Jaxson likes playing with her hair before telling her to cut it off. They get mad that it wasn’t enough to turn us away. Then they tell her to kiss Thomas in front of us.”
Cursing, Jaxson snatched the phone from his hands. “This is about us?! Why? Who is this fuck? Why would they care if we’re with Valentina?”
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Scarlett would care.”
Four pairs of eyes flew to me.
“Scarlett’s dead,” said Ezra, voice hard.
“I know she’s dead. There’s no way she survived that fall. But think of who she was. She was a Spade and you were the Knights that were going to make her problem go away: me. Instead, you chose me.” I gestured at my phone. “I’ve been thinking about this since Sofia told me the significance of that name. If they’re a Spade too, then they know their chosen Knights were connected to the death of one of them and took it on themselves to lift the mark.”
Ryder tossed his head. “This person doesn’t say anything about Knights, Spades, or marks, Val.”
“Yes, but why are they calling themselves Ace like the letter on the back of the marks?”
“Maybe they’re calling themselves Ace to freak you out.” This came from Maverick. He had finally spoken up. “That’s what it most likely is. You’ve seen the kind of damage a real Spade can do. They don’t have to play games like this when they can get others to do their dirty work. This can’t be them.”
“We don’t know that there is a them,” Ezra added. “We ended that with Scarlett, but clearly there was someone else in the woods that day. In the wrong place at the right time and they’re using this for some creepy crusade.”
“They don’t want me with you.”
“Tough shit.” Jaxson placed a kiss on my forehead. “You’re stuck with us.”
I cracked a smile. “I could be okay with that.”
“Seriously, guys.” Ezra rose to his feet. “What are we going to do? This person is sick. We can’t let them jerk around Valentina, but we can’t let that video get out either.”
Ryder inclined his head. “If they are trying to get between us and Val, we let them think this worked. We keep our distance.”
“What does keep our distance mean?” Jaxson demanded.
“You know what it means. No more hand-holding in the halls. No more visits to her dorm. No more whisking her away to the beach.”
My cheeks warmed. The boys really did talk.
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“It’s only to get them to back off while we—”
“While we find them,” Maverick finished. “I’ll track down whoever is doing this and stop it for real.”
I shivered. Maverick was my sweet, soft-spoken one. Hearing that hard edge to his voice was new for me. It was time for me to say something.
“Guys, I know you want to protect me, but I don’t want to see what happens if we push Ace. We’re all in trouble if that video gets out.”
“That’s why we need to find them and get rid of it,” Ezra argued. “Val, there’s no way we sit by and do nothing.”
Ryder’s gaze was unwavering as he nodded. “We promised we would protect you. That’s what we’re going to do.”
“But, guys, I can handle my—”
Jaxson tugged my arm and pulled me to his chest. I was enfolded into his sweet scent in a blink. “You’re not going to win this one, mama, so I’d give up now. We’re Knights. We’re your Knights. This is what we do.”
I should have argued more, but Jaxson felt so warm memories of us comfortable and giggling beneath my sheets flooded my mind. If moments like this were truly going to be rare from now on, I didn’t want to waste time fighting about it.
I burrowed into his side as we went back and forth, figuring out a plan. Two hours later, I was hoarse and feeling like the equivalent of a wrung-out dishrag, but still, we knew what we would do.
“So, Maverick, you’ll hook up with Valentina’s hacker and find out everything you can about this guy,” Ryder stated. “Ezra, ask around. Whoever it is was there at the promenade and the dance. We know it’s a junior or one of the junior professors.”
“If this has to do with the Spades,” I said, “then we need to look closer at the professors. Five came with us to chaperone.”
“That won’t be easy. They have no reason to tell us anything and getting to their files is impossible. Maverick tried everything to get into the system to find out more about Scarlett.”
“There has to be a
way.”
“If there is, we’ll find it. In the meantime”—Ryder fixed Jaxson with a look—“we keep our distance in public.”
“Don’t look at me,” Jaxson scoffed. “I won’t do anything to risk Val, but this shit’s not forcing us into a life of celibacy either.”
I tilted back and flicked his forehead. “Will you stop thinking about sex for a minute?”
He grinned. “Not likely. I’ve thought about sex with you every minute since I met you.”
Rolling my eyes, I slipped out of his arms and stood. “We know what we have to do. We’ll find them and end this.” I bent to gather my stuff.
“Where are you going?” asked Ezra.
“We don’t want anyone to see me here. I should head out before people come back from the party.”
“Wait.” A voice stopped me halfway to the door. “Val, don’t you remember...?”
“Oh.” I turned back to Maverick. A flush moved up my neck at the memory of what we planned at the dance. “Of course. I... still want to see it.”
Jaxson looked between me and him. “See what?”
Maverick came over and took my hand without answering. “Night, guys.”
Together, we left 208 and padded across to 204. Maverick didn’t bother to shield the keypad as he typed in his code. I hoped he couldn’t hear my erratic heartbeat. It sounded so loud in my ears I was sure it would wake the whole hall.
A soft chime and then Maverick was pushing into his bedroom. I stepped inside as he flicked on the lights, taking it all in. Maverick’s bedroom was the same layout as Ryder’s but that is where the similarities stopped. His room was a mess of parts, gadgets, tools, and electronics taking up every surface. It wasn’t that it was messy; it was just that there was so much he was creating and so little space.
“Sorry about all of this.” He stepped into the middle of his room. He stood there looking around with the cutest expression on his face. “I tried to clean up before the dance.”
I smiled. “You knew I was coming?”
“I hoped you would come.”
“What did you want to show me?” I brought my hand to my collarbone and gently brushed my strap off my shoulder. “I can’t wait to see it.”
Maverick’s eyes darted to my bare flesh. I saw his eyes darken as he licked his lips. “It’s uh... over here.”
He looked away with obvious reluctance and got on his knees. My seductive smirk disappeared as I watched him crawl to his bed and stick his head beneath the mattress.
Maybe this isn’t a sexy surprise. Am I about to be treated to some kind of deep secret?
“Hey, guys.”
Guys?
I knelt down as Maverick pulled out the basket. Gasping, I clapped my hand over my mouth. “Maverick, oh my gosh.” Nestled within the folds of a blanket, two balls of black and white fuzz blinked at me in the light. “They’re so cute.”
Maverick picked one of the kittens up and placed them in my waiting hands. “I found him and his sister near the gates last week. I’ve been checking on them, and when their mother stopped coming, I brought them in here.” He ducked his head. “I thought you’d like to see them.”
“I do.” I nuzzled the little furry head. The kitten mewled—a soft, weak sound that was accompanied by a rumbling purr. “It’s been so long since I’ve been around pets. Mom doesn’t want something else to look after and they’re not allowed here.” I grinned at him. “Speaking of which, is this another thing the Knights are allowed to get away with?”
He laughed. “No. I’m pretty sure I’d get in trouble too if anyone found these guys.” Maverick picked up the other kitten and held her against his chest. She was so tiny she fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. She must have found it comfortable too because she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. “I’m going to get a pass and bring them home this weekend.”
“Are your parents cool with that?”
“Mom and Dad are used to me bringing home strays. We’re up to five dogs, three cats, a turtle, and a cockatiel now.”
“I’ve got to come by your place and meet all these pets.”
“You can come with me this weekend.” Maverick moved closer until he was pressing against my side. “My parents will be home, but I’d like you to get to know them.”
“I’d like that too,” I confessed as I rubbed the purrball against my cheek. “But I’m going to Ezra’s this weekend to talk to his mom.”
“Next weekend then.” Maverick lowered his head and kissed my bare shoulder. The act made goose bumps erupt on my body. “It’s going to be next to impossible to hold myself back around you. At least if we’re off campus, we can still be together.”
“I have a feeling I’m going to be requesting a lot of weekend passes from now on,” I whispered. “Mom’s going to get suspicious.”
He shrugged. “Use them to visit her and your brother, but on the way up and down, you can take... detours.”
“Sexy and wicked smart. I always said you were dangerous, Maverick Beaumont.”
Maverick dropped kisses along my neck to my collarbone, laughing softly as he went. “Not me. I’m the harmless computer geek, introverted jock.” He pressed his lips to my neck and I leaned back, giving him better access.
“Next weekend,” I agreed. “Let’s take a detour.”
“We will.”
Maverick stopped his tantalizing journey up my neck. I looked at him in confusion until he reached for the sleeping kitten. He placed them gently in their basket and pushed it back under the bed. I now had his full attention.
I didn’t have time to get nervous before he was putting his arm around my waist and the other beneath my knees. I let out a soft exclamation as he hoisted me bridal style in his arms.
He set me on the comforter and I sank into its downy arms. My breath caught as Maverick shrugged off his jacket. He moved to his buttons and undid them with agonizing slowness, not looking away from me the whole time.
It was me that broke contact when his fingers moved to his belt. I didn’t want to miss this. The leather was pulled through the loop and dropped to the floor. His pants soon followed.
My breaths came quicker as my core pulsed with desire. We hadn’t started but I was already aching for him.
Maverick held his hand out to me. “Come here. I’ll help you with that.”
I rose to my knees and turned, giving him my back. My heart hammered in my chest as the sound of my zipper filled the room. This wasn’t Jaxson’s passionate eagerness or Ezra’s red-hot frenzy. Maverick acted as though he had all the time in the world to make love to me, and he would savor every second.
He pushed the dress down to my knees and I carefully stepped out of it. I knelt on the bed in nothing but my strapless bra, thong, and heels. Maverick brushed a finger on the nape of my neck and slowly traced a path down my spine. He reached my bra hooks but kept going. Moving over the curves of my ass, then my thighs, then my legs, and finally my heels.
I listened to the thud, thud as they fell to the floor. I reached behind me and grasped his hands. There were only two more things for him to take off, and I wanted them off now. His teasing was driving me crazy.
I placed his hands over my breasts. His breathing grew ragged and I knew I was having the same effect on him. I tilted my head back and his lips found mine instantly. As he kissed me, his expert hands made short work of my bra. We broke apart panting as he hooked his fingers through my panties.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “You are so incredible.”
I giggled. “Thank you. Just wait until you see what’s next.” I leaned forward and thrust my ass in the air. Maverick slipped my thong off with no more invitation.
Naked, I flipped over and lay before him. His eyes swept over my body the way a starving man looked at a buffet, and when those boxers finally came off, mine did the same.
His muscles rippled as he climbed onto the bed and stalked toward me. I was awarded a kiss on the lips before he began moving down. He passed thro
ugh the valley of my breasts, over my belly button, and then settled between my legs.
A moan ripped from my throat. I said this guy was dangerous. A geeky, introverted jock sure, but one that knew what he was doing. Again, he took his time, not stopping until he brought me to the edge and I crashed with a hoarse cry.
I watched him through a haze as he reached into the nightstand and pulled out the condom. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, not altogether sure if I was capable of speaking. He positioned himself between my legs and settled his body over me. His movements drove me out of my mind all on their own, but that on top of the hands traveling over every inch of me, the lips kissing my jaw, and the sweet nothings pouring from him; sunbursts were exploding in my mind before I knew it.
“W-wow.” My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. I threw my arms around his neck. “Let’s do that again.”
THE GENTLE TICKING of the clock was the only sound in the room as Maverick and I lay beneath his sheet. It told me that it was three a.m. Reminded me that I had to sneak out before anyone found out I was here, but its reminder wasn’t enough to pull me from his arms.
There was nothing about Maverick that was typical. He couldn’t be predicted. I said I had him all figured out, but the truth was he was constantly surprising me. What did I think sex with the rich boy jock would be but wild? Instead, Maverick treated me like precious porcelain. His touch was gentle. His every act meant to make me feel safe as well as pleasure.
His fingers drew slow circles on my hip. It was the power of his touch that I couldn’t fall asleep for that finger.
“Val?”
“Yes?” My head was tucked beneath his chin. His words vibrated in his chest as he spoke.
“I hope I measured up.”
A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it. “Maverick, haven’t you learned to ignore Jaxson by now? You have nothing to measure up to. My time with him and my time with you are special in their own ways. And this time was—what was the word you used—incredible.”