Beautiful Prince (Van der Borne University Book 1)

by Dakota Lee

  "Is that what you were really going to say?"

  "Yes." I roll over and check my phone. "Shit." I spring out of bed. "I need to head to my dorm to shower before my next class, since I didn't know lunch was going to end up like this."

  He flashes me a cocky grin. "Didn't you though?"

  I finish pulling my clothes on and lean over to kiss him. "I'll see you later?"

  He nods, and I bound through the door, a grin on my face. Yeah, he's right, I knew there was a chance lunch would end like this.

  I focus on what I have to do these next few days, instead of what I almost said in Logan's dorm room. The words were there, ready to spill from my lips. I didn't say them, not because I didn't mean them, but because I did. Somewhere along the way, I've fallen in love with Logan McKay.

  Jordanna scoots her chair away from me when I sit next to her in the library. Okay, that's odd. I study her body language. She's tense and distracted. I look around to see if one of my idiot friends or stalkers may have come over here and said something to upset her. I don't see anyone, but that doesn't mean they didn't.

  "Jordy." She pulls her hand away when I go to touch her. Shit. She said she was okay after what happened yesterday, but maybe I should have checked in with her again. I try again. "Jordy, what's going on?"

  "Nothing."

  "You won't let me touch you and I can see something is bothering you. Are you having second thoughts about what we did?"

  She shakes her head, no.

  "Then why are you upset with me?"

  "I'm not."

  "Don't lie. You can barely look at me. I'm sorry if I pushed too hard. I thought… I'm sorry."

  "Logan, it's not what we did. That was fun. I told you I liked it."

  "Then why-"

  "I love you." She blurts out. "I didn't know if I should say it, or not, and I wasn't going to. But it felt wrong not to. And then I was trying to work up the nerve to say it and started worrying that you were gonna hate hearing it, so. Now it's too late not to say anything, because we agreed to be honest and this is me being honest. I love you."

  I sit back in my chair as if knocked over with a wrecking ball. I suspected she was on the verge of saying it, but she didn't so I didn't want to push it. Because I didn't think I wanted to hear it.

  "I know it's too soon, and I don't expect for you to say anything back, but I just needed to get it off my chest, now let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything at all.”

  "I don't wanna pretend, Jordy."

  "You don't?"

  "No." I stroke the back of her hand.

  "It doesn't freak you out?"

  It should. It usually does, because I understand how serious those words are for women, even if sometimes I think they throw them out there indiscriminately.

  "Nope." I turn back to my book to study. Her knee resumes its bouncing under the table. I place my hand on it and pull her chair closer to me. "Look at me."

  She raises her eyes to meet mine, and I see the fear there. "Jordanna, I have never cared about anyone the way I do you. You are a breath of fresh air, and if I had my way, I'd keep you with me forever."

  I pull her into a gentle kiss which soon ratchets up to a hundred, and I have to tear my mouth away so I don't take her behind the stacks.

  Bella's exiting one of the sorority houses on the east end of campus when Jordanna and I are taking a walk after dinner. There's a chill in the air, and Jordanna's tucked close to my side. I know Bella sees us, but instead of walking over to start some shit, she makes a big display of checking the time on her watch.

  I turn us left on the sidewalk, leaving Bella's look of amusement behind us. My phone chimes and I ignore it until I get back to my room.

  You two look super cozy. You're so convincing in the role of doting boyfriend, that she'll never see your betrayal coming. Can't wait until we pull the rug out from under her. Tik-Tok

  My jaw ticks. I know she's right, I'm running out of time. Bella's letting me handle this my way, but I know she's getting suspicious and questioning my ability to see this through to the end. She's worried I'm getting caught up with Jordanna and that my feelings are real, and as we all know, an emotional attachment to any mark comes with irreversible consequences.

  Jordanna’s admitted that she loves me, and I'm that much closer to my end game. I know what's at stake, but hurting her has lost the appeal it had in the beginning.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Jordanna's phone rings, and she sends off a text, a small smile on her face.

  "Your mom?"

  "Uh, no. It's Tiff and Marina in our group chat, making fun of Robbie's latest date."

  "You're still in touch with him?"

  She looks up from her phone. "No. Not really. I mean, we're still in some of the same social media groups."

  "So just in those groups? Not offline?"

  "He's still in our friend chat too, and we're making strides to rebuild our friendship, but it's still a little weird."

  I grab her by the legs, pulling her close and turn us so my body presses into hers, my hands hold her arms above her head. "You belong to me Jordy."

  "Robbie doesn't want me, and even if he did, I don't want him. I'm in love with you."

  She looks away just like she does every time she says those words to me. As if she's ashamed of them and I know it's because I haven't said them back.

  "Jordy, I'm crazy about you."

  "I know."

  Her softly spoken words whisper across my skin. It doesn't fully express how I feel, but she's mine. Jordanna's hand strokes across my cheek and up to my hair, her eyes shining up at me.

  I kiss her, growling low from deep in my chest. Our clothes come off and I sink into her, she's always ready for me, but just like my words were not enough, neither is this. "I need more, Jordy."

  I pull out turning her around and she willingly goes to her knees, crossing her wrists behind her, and pressing her face in the mattress.

  I slam home, her muffled moans filling the air. I grab her hips, pounding into her. Taking from her. Owning her. Her tight pussy grips me, forcing me to acknowledge that a part of her owns me too.

  "Mine." I growl, rutting into her. The bedsprings squeaks and the heavy frame of the headboard knocks against the wall. "All. Fucking. Mine."

  I put my thumb in her mouth. "Wet it for me." I command. She does, and when I pull it out, I press it against her taint. We've played with the tip of my finger. Tonight, I'm wild, needing to know that she wants me. All of me. I press my thumb inside. She stiffens at the intrusion, her natural reaction is to fight me. "Relax your ass for me."

  "It burns."

  "I know. It'll feel good in a sec. I promise." I slow my strokes, bend down and add some of my own spit to the crack of her ass. Using it to work the digit around and inside. Slowly, back and forth. Her gasp of discomfort morphs into pleasure.

  "Agh."

  "That's it, baby. I told you it would feel good." I increase my stroke, letting her get used to the feeling of being spread from both ends. Her cunt clenches around my cock, while her ass squeezes around my thumb.

  "God, I can't wait to fuck you, here."

  "Me too." She says. That admission floors me and excites me. I quicken my strokes, pummeling her pussy, needing her to break apart for me. "Cum for me Jordy."

  She shatters around me, and I continue to fuck her, coaxing another out of her. When she spasms around me from deep inside, I push all the way up, letting my release take over. "Fuck, baby. Fuck." I collapse against her back, pushing her into the mattress.

  I manage to roll myself to the side, pulling her along with me. I stroke her hair, enjoying the quiet moments of just being near her.

  "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Tabitha teases as I take the seat next to her in the booth at the cafe. "Feels like I haven't seen you in days. Where you been hiding?"

  "I haven't been hiding. I've been at the studio, or the paper."

  "Or with, Jordanna." She adds.
r />   I tense, not wanting to talk about Jordanna with Tabitha, or anyone else for that matter. "What about you?" I ask, deflecting the conversation onto her. "What's new?"

  "Well, Cheryl's got this new and crazy idea to make a documentary. Can you believe it?" She rolls her eyes dramatically. "As if we don't already live in a fishbowl. I mean, who does she think hasn't heard of us or know our family history by now?"

  If there is anyone around still clueless about them, they're living under a rock.

  Hal and Frankie show up next, and we make small talk about the plans for our end of semester celebration. This one will be epic and the first introduction some people will get to The Rift. The parties thrown this semester were just a warmup.

  Bella finally arrives, and I go on high alert. She's calm and smiling, which is never good. "What's got you so happy?"

  "Oh, you know, I love when my dad is all apologetic for standing me up for lunch."

  I relax, leaning back in my seat. That means she's negotiating an expensive apology gift.

  "What are you asking for this time?" Hal asks, leaning over to read her messages.

  "I started with a condo in Maui. But I might be willing to settle for a Tesla, unless something else comes up." She lowers her phone. "I'll know the final outcome before I leave for Christmas break." She smiles at me. "It'll be a double celebration."

  Tabitha glances at me out the corner of her eye, and asks, "How do you mean?"

  "Because this game will finally come to an end, and the administration will see Jordanna for the blight she is on our reputation. She'll be ruined and bounced from school."

  Bella rubs her hands together. "I can't wait to see the look on her face when it all comes crashing down around her." She drops her smile. "You are still onboard with the bet, right Logan?"

  "And if I say I'm not, what are you really gonna do about it?"

  She narrows her eyes, and before she can answer, Hal jumps in. "Of course he is. This is Logan, we're talking about. There's no way he's not gonna win. Let you get one up on him for a piece of ass? That'll never happen."

  Frankie agrees, and Tabitha steers the conversation onto neutral ground. An hour later, we’ve finalized the guest list and rules for the end-of-year party. Bella makes one more snarky comment about the bet, and then everyone disperses to do their own thing.

  When Tabby and I are alone again, she reaches over to squeeze my hand. "Some days I hope she trips, hits her head in the shower, winds up in a coma, and wakes up months later with amnesia."

  "That's rough."

  "That's probably the only way she'd take time off from being a cold-hearted bitch."

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  "I thought we were having a relaxing weekend." Jordy says as I wait for her to put her toiletries in an overnight bag.

  "We are. We just won't be hanging out around campus."

  We've spent the last two weeks holed up in my dorm room or studio. Fucking and working. I thought it would be nice to get away from campus for a while. I nudge her towards the elevator and out of the building. She smiles and waves at the driver as he puts her bags in the trunk and I roll my eyes at how much taller he stands when she compliments his tie.

  She spent most of the ride trying to guess where we're going and even tried to seduce me into giving up my secret. I took over the torturing, and by the time we finished, I had her spilling a secret of her own about her relationship with her stepfather.

  "We'll be on our way in a few, I just have to check something out, real quick," I say when the car stops in front of the William Vale, Brooklyn. "You can come in with me if you want."

  I lead her past the front desk and usher her into the elevator. "Logan, why do you have a key to penthouse?" She asks when I swipe the card for the top floor.

  "A buddy of mine loaned it to me so we could look at the artwork on the walls." I unlock the door and follow her into the foyer.

  She steps closer to the painting just inside the entryway. "I recognize the name. This one is from a local artist." I detect the note of awe in her voice.

  We tour the penthouse in silence and I watch her go from one room to the other, listening as she narrates her journey or vocalizes her thoughts. When we're done, she turns and places a kiss on my cheek. "It was really nice of you to arrange for me to see these. Thank you." She says, before turning towards the door.

  “Where are you going?"

  "Back downstairs so the people renting this room can have their space back."

  I link our fingers together and pull her toward the table with the chilled champagne behind me. "Baby, The Vale Garden Residence is our home for the weekend."

  Her face goes through a myriad of emotions and she opens and closes her mouth like a guppy. "Is this good silence or is it I've overstepped my bounds silence?"

  She nods, "It's too much, Logan."

  "No, Jordy. It's not enough. You deserve to be spoiled, and this is the weekend I'm going to do it." I wrap my arms around her, resting my chin on top of her head. I'll spoil her rotten for the next two days, because unless I figure out a way to win the game and keep from hurting her, she'll never even look at me again.

  I lower myself to the edge of the jacuzzi, sitting the bottle of champagne beside me. The water from the jets swirl around my ankles. "Okay. Truth or dare?" I ask, refilling her glass.

  "Dare."

  "I dare you to take control."

  "Huh?" She flushes, and it's not from the heat from the water she's sitting in.

  "I want you to take control tonight. Whatever you want, you demand it. Whatever you want to do to me, whatever your fantasy is, don't think about whether you should, or shouldn't; just go with it."

  She sips her drink, thinking about my dare and balances the glass on the ledge behind her. I sit on the edge of the jacuzzi and watch, mesmerized as she discards her top, and wades through the water towards me.

  When she gets closer, she pushes her hands against my knees. I part my legs, giving her room to fit between them. I'm expecting her to kiss me, the way she did in the car. That's as far as she ever gets in initiating sex with us. Instead, she sinks to her knees and wraps her hand around my cock. My teeth clamp together when her mouth closes around my shaft.

  "Agh, fuck. That feels good."

  She eases into her cadence, and I hold her head against me. Now that she's started, I don't want her to stop. She pushes my hand aside, reminding me she's in control, and pops off with a loud slurp.

  Before I can complain she leans closer, to fondle and pet my balls, before sucking one into her mouth. Her tongue darts around it, while her hand pistons up and down my length, showing me she remembers what I taught her that first day in class. I pull her hand and mouth away, because if I let her keep this up, I'll be spilling in no time.

  I ease into the bubbling water and help her out of her panties.

  "What happened to I'm running things?”

  "Um, we'll get back to that later. Right now, I need to be inside you."

  Hurriedly, I roll on a condom, entering her with one fluid stroke, and with the backdrop of the city behind us; I pound into her, claiming her body as my own. The wind captures and carries away her screams as she falls apart.

  Once is not enough. It's never enough. I take her again and again. On the patio chair, against the floor to ceiling glass windows and in the rain shower, until her legs no longer support her weight. I lie her on the bed, both of us exhausted from good food, champagne and orgasms.

  In the quiet of the night, listening to her breath, I feel happier and more settled than I have in years. "I know I haven't said it, but you mean the world to me, Jordy."

  "I know."

  I tilt her head to look up at me. "No, you don't know. I've never felt this way about anyone, and I can't bear the thought of losing you."

  "You won't lose me, Logan."

  "There are things about me, you still don't know."

  "I know everything I need to. You're sweet and kind. And an infuriating assh
ole. But I know you care about me. You might not be able to say the words, but you treat me like you love me." She lays her head back down. "And that's all that matters."

  "Jordy." I say when her breathing levels off.

  "Hmm?"

  "I do love you."

  "I know."

  I listen to her sleep, trying to formulate a plan in my head. I'm the king of the school because I can outmaneuver anybody. There has to be a way I can keep this. Keep her and still come out on top.

  I wake with a jolt in the early morning, looking around the room. The sound of her soft snores soothe the remnants of my unsettling dream. She's here with me. Content. Safe. No one’s taking her from me, not tonight.

  I pull her close, burying my nose in her hair, holding her tight as if she might disappear at any minute. Her hand slides softly up and down my arm as she snuggles against my side. My hand cups her breast and I press against her. The desire to be closer claws at me.

  Leaning over, I claim her mouth, my hand going to her waist rolling her onto her back. She's kisses me back in her sleep. Always so receptive to my touch. My tongue plunders her mouth, looking for absolution there, while my fingers slip between her slick folds. Her breathy moan touches something inside me. She's barely awake when I sheath myself and slip into her welcoming heat.

  I slide in and out of her in slow, deep strokes. I've been giving her all of her firsts, but this is a first for me. Allowing myself to feel something. To acknowledge a connection. Making love to a woman.

  I'm buried deep inside her, and I know that this -letting myself feel something other than primal need- goes against everything I believe, and everything I've done. It could undo everything I work so hard to maintain control of, and yet; I'm afraid for this moment to end.

  Jordanna holds me against her body and still I'm not close enough. I’m the cruel devil she’s accused me of being and I want everything from her, but she’s demanding the same from me. In this moment, I concede control and fall under her spell. I tell myself it's just for tonight. That I'm stealing a piece of heaven for myself and things will go back to normal tomorrow.