The Ruthless Boys (Adamson All-Boys Academy #2)

by C. M. Stunich

  Dear JR, I think they know about us. There's not much left I can do. If you want to meet me, you know where to find me. I'll be waiting with the angels. Love, J.

  She left that in her room in the girls' dorm, along with her journal. The silver key that opened her door was hanging around her neck, but the gold key that lead to the catacombs was in her old room in the boys' dorm, aka my room.

  I draw myself a little picture, but it doesn't make things easier. No clues pop out to hit me in the face like they did the other night.

  Ranger's hand reaches over the seat and he carefully shuts my notebook. When I lift my eyes up, I find his sapphire ones staring at me in the dark, backlit by the lights on the dash.

  “Take a break from that for a minute,” he says, his fingers brushing up against mine. “We're here; you're safe. We'll worry about this later. I think we could all use a mood lightener.”

  “How long?” I ask, and at least I think Ranger knows what I'm talking about. He curls his fingers over mine and gives them a squeeze. There's nothing here, I tell myself, swallowing hard. There's nothing happening between us but friendship.

  “This trip, just three nights. But after, you have us for the whole summer. Now that we know it's not safe here either, I want you back at Adamson.”

  “We want you back at Adamson,” Church says in an almost cryptic sort of way. “And I think I've figured out a plan to make that happen.”

  I perk up at that, and Ranger withdraws his hand.

  “Which is?” I ask, setting my notebook aside for the time being.

  “You'll see.” Church's cryptic answer infuriates me to no end, but then I see the sign up ahead, and my mouth pops open in surprise.

  “Disneyland?” I ask, and his smile gets wide. Ranger, too, actually flashes a small, rare grin of his own.

  “Fucking Disneyland,” he says, and I swear, I squeal, throwing my arms around Ranger’s neck, and then Church's. Both boys stiffen up like I've slapped them, but I'm too excited to care. I've never been to Disneyland, despite my close proximity. It was never really in Dad's budget. That, and any of my friends who could've afforded to take me with them—like Monica for example—had no interest in going.

  “Really?” I ask as we make another turn and head straight for the Disneyland Hotel. “Are you guys messing with me?”

  “We've got something else for you,” Ranger says, grabbing a small velvet box from inside the dash and handing it back to me. My heart is thundering because it looks like he's trying to hand me a wedding ring. Of course, I know that's a bunch of bull, but there's still some weird part of me that likes the fantasy of it.

  “This is a Student Council pin,” I say, opening the box to find one of the little enamel pins featuring the Adamson Academy crest. It has a griffin inside a shield, and it's topped with a crown. “Why are you giving me this?”

  “Because Ross just graduated, and we need a new assistant.” Ranger throws a look my way, and I give him a narrow-eyed glare in return.

  “Wow, the privilege of being your assistant? How could I resist?” I take the pin out of the box anyway and hold it in the palm of my hand. “Besides, isn't the Student Council an elected position? Don't you have to get voted back in?”

  “We'll get voted back in,” Church says, turning into the parking lot. “And we get to choose our own assistant. Congratulations, Chuck the Micropenis.” He says this last part as he rolls the window down to greet the attendant. The man gives me a very curious sort of look over Church's shoulder, but I'm too excited to care.

  We pull up to the front of the hotel, and the first thing I do is give Tobias, Micah, and Spencer each a hug as a thank you.

  “Wait'll you see the room,” Micah says under his breath, giving me a grin. I swing my backpack onto my shoulder, and we wait as Church checks us in.

  “Are we even allowed to stay here by ourselves?” I ask, meandering over to the gift shop area. There's a sign announcing an early park closure tomorrow, an entire display of mouse ears in varying styles, and a sign discussing some of the history of the hotel.

  “Why wouldn't we be?” Tobias asks, putting a pair of rainbow Pride ears on my head. He teases my hair with his fingers for a moment, his green eyes bright under the white lights of the gift shop.

  “Don't you have to be, like, twenty-one to rent a hotel room?”

  Tobias grins at me as I grab a pair of rose-gold ears with a bow, and lift up on my tiptoes to put them on his head.

  “Maybe some people do. Not us. We have our ways.” He lets me adjust his red-orange hair around the ears, and then captures my wrists in his hands when I go to pull away. “Remember how we talked about that kissing course I was going to give you?”

  “Kissing course?” Spencer asks, putting on a red baseball cap with rainbow ears of its own as he looks between the two of us. The hat pushes strands of silver hair into his face, adding to that cheeky look of his.

  “I gave Chuck a kissing tutorial in the girls' dorm and promised we'd amp up the lessons later,” he explains, pulling me toward him. Our bodies line up together as Tobias drops his hands to my hips. As I look up at him, all those feelings come rushing back. “We should practice, you know, since we're on vacation and all.”

  “I …” I start, but I'm not sure if I can kiss Tobias when Spencer's standing right there. Luckily, I don't have to make the choice as Church reappears with our room keys.

  There's a flash of hurt on Tobias' face as I pull away, but I don't know what to do. As much as I like reading reverse harem books, or watching Japanese anime, I'm not sure how to do this in real life.

  “Hey,” Micah says, grabbing my arm and pulling me back a bit, so we can walk and talk at the same time. The paths here are surrounded by well-manicured foliage, lush and tropical, creating all these little private nooks around the courtyard. “You're all caught up in your head. You don't like it here?”

  “I love it, I just …” A brief tightness takes over my chest as I glance at Micah, just as handsome as his brother but with a different edge. Tobias' has this strong but gentle energy while Micah's all hard angles and smirks. They're both beautiful, and oh so different. “Do you ever feel like things are going too well? Like you're getting more than you feel you deserve?”

  “This is about us, and Spencer?” he asks, and I nod. Micah gives me a tight smile, and then laces his hands together behind his head as we walk into the downstairs seating area of the hotel. The way this place is set up, there's one main lobby in the first building, and then three separate hotels that surround a central swimming pool—complete with water slide and hot tubs.

  “I don't want to lose Spencer,” I admit, and Micah nods, his smile turning into a small smirk.

  “We wouldn't like you if you weren't concerned,” he says, but then he pulls me close and pushes me against a column, pinning me in with a hand on either side of my face. He's so tall that he has to lean forward to be on the same level as me. “But seriously, just trust us, Charlotte. You don't think you deserve all this. You know what though? You fucking do.”

  “You're ruthless,” I murmur, and he grins.

  “I can be. I will be, when I find out who's stalking you. Trust me. Now fucking kiss me before you hurt my feelings.”

  “Just kiss him, so he'll shut the hell up,” Spencer says, but my eyes go straight to Tobias. He notices me looking and then steps forward, pushing one of his brother's hands aside and putting his in its place, one twin on either side of me.

  “We never got a hello kiss,” they say in unison, leaning down with a pair of matching grins. “Let's correct that.”

  My heart is pounding, and there are a hell of a lot of families with little kids in here, gaping at the diorama of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that I can see behind the McCarthy twins.

  The tension between us is absurd, hot and lewd, definitely lascivious, definitely not appropriate for the moment. And yet when Tobias leans in and breathes near my ear, a small sigh of longing escapes my lips.

>   “Give it a try, Chuck,” he whispers, turning his head and capturing my mouth in this long, drawn-out sort of kiss. It feels so overdue, so forbidden yet so welcome. I lean in, and he kisses me deeper, harder, pushing my lips apart with his tongue.

  We're so going to get kicked out of the park, I think, but then Micah is kissing the edge of my mouth and turning my chin toward him. Before I even realize it, I'm kissing him instead of Tobias. The change is immediate, stark in the reality of its differences. Where Tobias kisses with a warm, hungry passion, his brother's kiss is as sharp as a knife.

  I pull back, putting my head against the column, panting like crazy.

  “Save the rest for the room,” Ranger growls, taking my arm and pulling me out from between the two of them. My head is spinning, and I feel a little dizzy. Not just from the kisses (although that's a huge part of it) but from everything. The boys showing up at my school, the surprise, and the speeches. I didn't expect any of this.

  My chest gets tight as we head up in the elevator and down the hall to a set of double doors.

  “This looks fancy as hell,” I whisper, my fingers reaching out to touch the plaque beside the door that says Fairy Tale Suite.

  “Oh, it is,” Ranger promises, unlocking the door with the key card and pushing his back against it to hold it open.

  My mouth drops open as I step into a room decorated in white and purple, sparkling flourishes everywhere, Sleeping Beauty art on the walls. A cheerful Tinker Bell sound goes off, and three images light up on the wall to my left, including a glowing castle. And that’s just the foyer.

  In the actual bedroom, there's an entire row of windows overlooking downtown Disney, and a bathroom with a tub big enough for two … or three or four even.

  There’s a canopied bed, velvet chaise lounges, and sheets like silk. I collapse onto them, but only for a second. Then I make a second round of the place, gaping at the size and grandeur of the damn room.

  “How much does this fucking cost?” I whisper, and Ranger and Church exchange a look. Spencer, meanwhile, is popping a bottle of champagne he got from the mini-bar and filling up several glasses.

  “It doesn't matter, does it?” Church asks, opening the door at a light knock and letting the doorman in with the boys' bags. All I have is my backpack, but if they say they're going to buy me new outfits, that's fine by me. Won't catch this chick resisting free clothes.

  I watch surreptitiously as Church tips the doorman, expecting maybe a dollar or two per bag. Instead, he gives him a hundred bucks, and I bite my lip. Having a mother as a maid has made me hyper-aware of how poorly those in the service industry can be treated. If Church had been rude, I'm not sure I could've looked at him the same way again.

  “Let's have a toast,” Spencer says, passing out the glasses, his fingers brushing mine. I can't help but wonder what the sleeping arrangements are going to be here. As far as I can see, there's only one bed. “To Chuck, our new assistant.”

  “To Spencer, for not being dead,” Micah adds, lifting his own glass.

  “And to Church for—” Tobias starts, and then pauses when Church levels him with a death glare, amber eyes cold. “Making the suggestion that we get two rooms: the Pirates of the Caribbean Suite, and this one, for Chuck.”

  “It's beautiful.” The words come out in a whisper, but I'm not sure what else to say. I'm living a literal dream right now, and all the bad stuff is just fading away. It's hard to remember that somebody wants to kill me when I'm twenty-nine floors up and surrounded by friends. “This is too much, you guys, thank you.” My cheeks heat as I clink my glass with theirs, and we all drink.

  Ranger drifts off to stare out at the view while Micah turns on the TV, pressing a button that starts an endless stream of Disney music. Go the Distance, from the movie Hercules is currently playing.

  “Not too childish?” Church asks me, elegantly cradling his glass in one hand and gesturing at the lavish room with his other. I give him a look.

  “A magical, free trip to Disneyland, in the princess suite, with champagne and good company? You're joking, right?” He smiles at me as I sit back down on the edge of the bed, pulling out my phone to text Monica. She is never going to believe this shit.

  Of course, there's also a message from Dad demanding that I call him back. I debate on that for a moment, and then send him a text, letting him know that I'm okay. If he wants to control my whole life, maybe he should have thought about keeping me at Adamson? I'll see my mom while I'm here; that'll placate him a bit.

  “What's the plan to get me back to Adamson next year?” I ask casually, but Church ignores me, gazing out the window at the crowds streaming down the main thoroughfare.

  “This is summer vacation—vacation. Relax, Chuck.” Micah drops onto the bed and kicks his shoes off, finishing his champagne, and setting the glass aside. “Alright, so how are we bunking up? I say me and Tobias in here for two nights, then Spencer for the last one. It’s only fair.”

  “You assume Charlotte even wants you in her room,” Ranger says, crossing his arms over his chest. He cuts a pretty intimidating picture, standing there with the skyline at his back, dressed all in black with his tattoo showing.

  “It's probably best you don't stay here alone, just in case,” Church muses, sitting down on the chaise and crossing his long legs. “Of course, you can always assign one of us to this couch. It's comfortable enough.”

  “Why would you guys get two nights anyway?” Spencer inserts, slumping into one of the purple chairs and then grabbing a bag that's sitting on the table, wrapped in plastic and topped with a bow. I set my champagne down, and he tosses it over to me. Inside, there's an array of themed snacks. Fancy.

  “Because there are two of us,” the McCarthy boys say, sticking their tongues out in unison. Tobias sits on my right side and snags a snack-sized bag of popcorn.

  “How long are you guys going to do this twin thing?” I ask, genuinely curious. Tobias meets my look and raises an eyebrow. “I mean, like the talking in unison thing, or … the dating in unison thing.”

  “We want to marry the same girl,” they say, and it's my turn to raise my brows.

  “Isn't that, like, illegal?” I ask as Spencer retrieves the complimentary bottle of Ketel One vodka and some juice to mix with it. He then snatches the ice bucket up and heads for the hall.

  “Only if you both try to get marriage licenses.” Tobias shrugs, and then smiles, looking down at his lap. “We just work better when we're together. The way we did things in the past … ripped us apart.”

  “And besides,” Micah adds, yawning and then pulling his shirt over his head. He tosses it onto the floor like he's about to get cozy up in my room. I remember thinking that the twins were almost alarmingly comfortable at Dad's house, like they take over everything without even realizing it. This time, however, I can actually observe them, take it all in, without worrying about Spencer. “Monogamy is dead. Look what it did to our parents? No, thank you.”

  “Have you ever tried dating identical twins?” I ask, and I swear, both boys cringe.

  “We have,” they say, and then Tobias exchanges a look over his shoulder with his brother.

  “We hate twins, to be honest,” Micah says, turning to look at me, and shrugging one, sexy, perfect shoulder. His cherry tattoo draws my eye, and then it's a downhill slide from there as I check out the bulging shapes of his biceps, the flatness of his chest, the way his gray sweats are riding down and flashing those gorgeous lower abs.

  Good god, I'm a thirsty bitch, I think, turning back to the door as Spencer comes in with ice.

  “Why do you hate twins?” I ask, and he chuckles.

  “They're too much by themselves. You think they can handle another set of their own bullshit? Trust me: they're much better off this way.” Spencer plops some cubes into my cup and then mixes me up a drink, handing it over with a smirking little smile on his beautiful face. His beautiful, definitely-not-dead face.

  “We've dated a pair of identi
cal twins before. It’s just tiresome,” Tobias says, narrowing his green eyes slightly. “Have you seen that reality show where the two identical twin women marry the two identical twin men? It's a fucking train wreck. That's what it was like.”

  “So you'd rather share a girlfriend then?” I ask, downing my drink so quick that I end up with a nice little buzz. It makes me feel bolder, braver. I lean back on the bed, laying my head on Micah's flat stomach. His fingers dance in my hair, and I shiver.

  “Much rather,” he says, giving the sun-bleached locks a tug. “Dude, you look so different. I mean, I know we've been doing the video chat thing, but I swear, I barely recognized you when you walked outside.”

  I flash a grin as Ranger sits beside Church on the chaise and accepts a drink from Spencer.

  “I've been living in the sun,” I admit, sighing and closing my eyes. It's been a long day, and I'm happily sated, buzzing and wrapped in the safety of friends. I could fall asleep right now. Instead, I force my eyes open. No way am I letting this perfect moment slip away just yet. “I'll have to take you guys surfing sometime soon.”

  “Spencer will probably beef it hard, and end up dead,” Tobias says, letting his friend punch him playfully on the shoulder. It's nice to see them back to their usual selves. The last thing I'd ever want to do is break this group up.

  “Please.” Spencer snorts and rolls his eyes, taking a swig directly from the vodka bottle. “You'll be lucky if you can stand up on the board.”

  “Make a bet out of it?” Tobias goads as Ranger tosses a Minnie Mouse cookie across the room, nailing Micah perfectly in the center of his chest with it. He comes to with a snort, and I realize that I'm not the only one falling asleep.

  “Let's figure out the room arrangements, so we can get this luggage moved,” Ranger says, rising to his feet and stretching.

  “Tweedledum over there is already passed-out,” Spencer says, turning his attention from Micah to me. “If it's okay with Charlotte, the McCarthy dicks can stay tonight.”