Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
He wants to demand I show him more, and I want that even more, but it would lead to something else. We both know it. Suddenly, he glares, eyes flicking up to mine. “Damiano stays out of your wing. I will know if he doesn’t.”
The line goes dead, and I wait for the anger of his little rule to come, but it doesn’t.
Desire does instead, heat pooling between my legs and tugging low in my belly.
Closing my eyes, my hand drifts deep into the water, thoughts of my tattooed tyrant at the front of my mind, where he stays long after the girls go to bed, and I collapse into mine.
I have an inkling he may never leave.
The thought should terrify me, but it doesn’t.
And that … is terrifying.
Chapter 18
Rocklin
It’s Thursday morning when we pull up at school to find my sister already there, donning the uniform she gave up, pleated skirt rolled high at her hips, and for a moment, I wonder how many people look at her, assuming she is me.
“And so she has arrived,” Bronx muses. “Straight back to breaking the rules.”
I look her over from her silky blonde hair to her knee-high socks. “She is a fool.”
“And bold to stand there with the boys as if she deserves to walk alongside us.” Bronx leans forward.
“As if we are going to allow her to.” Delta grabs her bag.
Tension wraps around my ribs at their words, a small, teeny-tiny hint of me wanting to defend my sister, but that’s simply the last thread of loyalty, fringed and frayed, that won’t break, no matter how badly I want it to.
I’m not angry at the girls’ words. The sentiment is the same. I’m angry that we feel them.
Bronx and Delta might be my best friends, but Boston was a part of us too, albeit later and then not at all, though a part nonetheless.
I don’t wait for Sai to open the door but do it myself the moment the car rolls to a complete stop. Instantly, my sister’s eyes fly my way. She keeps her smile in place, I will give her that, but that’s all I will give. The girls and I step from the car, making our way to the stairs as we do every other day, smiling politely, spine straight, and uniforms worn as instructed. When we reach the point where the boys wait, I turn my back to Boston, facing the others as they look to me, sparing her no glance. They slip behind us, and, of course, she chooses to ride our tail all the way into the building but gets lucky when a familiar face realizes she’s not just seeing double, calling out her name. Boston pivots so fast I can’t help but laugh. Her need to be recognized as disgusting as her presence back in school is. She knows, as well as everyone else here, that to be a Greyson, you must complete your education regardless of the role you’ll take in life.
Future princesses don’t get a pass because their throne awaits them, and sons of the cartel aren’t permitted to leave for bigger, better, or whatever the hell it is their fathers put them on.
To wear the seal of a Greyson on your jacket, or earn the golden pin of a secret society member, and in turn, obtain access to The Enterprise later in life, should your family need it, you have to commit, show you’re capable of holding to the word you agreed to. It’s a test, just like everything else in this world.
Accepting a place in our school, which takes a spot from another, is a binding contract … as is the one my sister signed herself away in.
Her being back goes against everything we demand from the rest of the attendees. It’s a show of prejudice to allow a pass for my own bloodline.
Of course, as my father made sure to mention, the contractual marriage between my sister and Enzo Fikile had yet to go public. As far as we’re aware, no one knows about it.
I guess that’s still to be seen, but a lie is a lie, even if no one figures it out.
As expected, the whispers begin shortly after the first class bell rings. No one asks the direct question, but it is in the eyes of everyone around, all wondering where Boston disappeared to these last three months and why she’s back.
Once lunch break rolls around, the girls and I separate, going up to the Greyson den. The rest of the day is much the same, the three of us avoiding as many people as possible, just in case questions are asked.
Unfortunately for me, on my way to meet Sai, none other than Oliver Henshaw steps up beside me.
“Princess.”
“I am no more a princess than you are a prince.”