by Sofia Daniel
“When’s an officer coming down to the school?” I asked.
“We’re experiencing a heavy volume of calls today, but someone may visit you this week or next to discuss the incident. Can I confirm your phone number, so they can arrange an appointment if they’re free?”
My mouth fell open. In all the times I had called the police, they hadn’t brushed away my concerns. “You don’t understand. This is a long case of bullying—”
“Have you told a teacher?”
“Of course, I have.”
“We don’t deal with school bullying incidents unless they’re severe, but I suggest that you go through your headteacher or deputy the next time the girls give you trouble.”
I clenched my teeth. What was the point of telling her that the headmistress had long given up on combatting the bullies, and the only person who had ever cared about stopping the bullies had tried to murder me? Twice.
“Thanks,” I snapped.
The operator hung up.
“Bloody hell.” I tapped the incident number into my smartphone. “No one’s taking this seriously at all.”
One morning during breakfast, Sebastian received a thick envelope from Mr. Pinkerton. It contained a receipt for a hundred and fifty thousand pounds signed by Ashley, all the documentation related to the transfer of Ashley’s share of the house to me, and a letter from Ashley stating that her memory from the assault had sharpened, and Prakash definitely wasn’t her attacker.
As Sebastian sorted through the mail and handed me the items relevant to the house, I asked, “Why haven’t the police released him, then?”
Leopold craned his neck to read the lawyer’s cover letter. “She needs to go into the police station to change her statement.” He reached into the envelope and pulled out a postcard-sized envelope. “This is for you.”
I opened it and unfolded a letter written in Ashley’s handwriting.
W
Thanks for finally doing the right thing and releasing my birthright. I can’t say it’s been a pleasure being your sister because it hasn’t.
Bones and I are emigrating to Ibiza, where we will live out our dreams. When the kings dump you, they, the queens, and the knights will dish out a spectacle that will eclipse what I suffered.
Quadruple it, and that will describe the daily shame and anguish I endured as your twin.
Dad always said, you reap what you sow. I wish you the life you deserve,
A
I stared at her note until the letters blurred, but there was no surge of emotions, and no tears pricked the back of my eyes. Why would they, when Ashley’s actions had already conveyed her resentment?
Sebastian leaned across the table and read over my shoulder. “She’s just writing that to hurt you. And in case you’re wondering, we’re not planning anything.”
With an absent nod, I slid the letter across the table to Leopold and nodded. “Yes, I know.”
Chapter 6
Days later, we sat at breakfast. Sebastian received a letter that drained the color from his face. He flared his nostrils, thinned his lips, and breathed hard. His fingers clutched the paper so tight, it warped.
My stomach flip-flopped. If something happened to Prakash while he was in the juvenile detention center... I gave my head a little shake and asked, “What’s happened?”
“Your fucking sister,” he growled.
My pulse quickened, and my gaze darted to Leopold, who sat opposite and stared at me with curious, aquamarine eyes. I placed my hands on my lap to stop them from shaking. “W-what did she do?”
“Mr. Pinkerton escorted her to the police station to retract her statement. They wouldn’t let him into the interview room be—”
“Because of a conflict of interest,” Leopold snapped. “What did Ashley do?”
Sebastian’s broad chest expanded and contracted like bellows with each breath, making my breakfast curdle in my stomach. Rage blazed in his green eyes, and he directed all his ire at me.
I shrank into my seat. “What happened?”
“She told the police she stood by her original statement,” Sebastian spat. “Then she had the gall to walk out, tell Mr. Pinkerton that she had told them the truth, and signed the fucking papers for the transfer of her share of your house.”
His words were like a kick to the gut, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob. Tears blurred my vision. “I’m sorry.”
Sebastian crumpled the letter and stormed out of the dining room.
I bowed my head and breathed hard. What the hell did this mean? That Prakash really attacked her? My eyelids fluttered closed, and tears streamed down my cheeks. Ashley’s resentment went beyond financial disputes. She would do anything she could to strike back, including securing the incarceration of an innocent boy.
“Wills.” Leopold scooted over to Sebastian’s seat and placed a large hand on my arm. “Seb isn’t angry with you. He directed his comments your way because you’ve had a lifetime of dealing with that girl.”
Some of the tension left my shoulders. It made sense, I suppose. With a nod, I whispered, “Right.”
I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand and stood. People from other tables were already gaping at us. There was no point in giving them a further show. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
His blond brows drew together. “Wills—”
“I’ve got to go.” I spun on my heel and rushed out of the dining room.
The scraping of Leopold’s chair legs against the floor told me he would follow. As much as I tried to hold back a full-blown breakdown, tears flowed down my cheeks by the time I stepped into the hallway. If ever I saw Ashley again, I would strangle her with my bare hands.
A group of third-year girls gaped at me as they walked past.
“Do you think she got pigged like her sister?” asked a blonde.
“The kings would want to one-up the knights,” replied a red-haired girl. “She wouldn’t escape with her hair and uniform intact.”
The blonde giggled. “That’s for sure!”
I clenched my teeth. Where was the compassion for a fellow female suffering such a heinous act? They seemed to think it was some kind of joke.
“If anyone’s going to be pigged,” Leopold snarled, “it will be three little girls who can’t keep their mouths shut!”
The trio of third years scampered down the hallway, screaming like happy toddlers playing monster. When they reached the door to the stairwell, one of them wiggled her ass while her friend gave it a few spanks. Whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean.
I tried pulling Leopold away, but he kept snarling at the girls over his shoulder, which made them run closer, tap him on the back, and sprint back to the stairwell.
We continued to the other end of the hallway toward the west wing.
“Leopold,” said one of the girls from behind. “Karen Penfold fancies you!”
“No, I don’t!” her friend shrieked.
“Don’t push me.”
“She does! Karen said she wants to—” muffled sounds echoed down the hallway, presumably from Karen Penfold clamping a hand over her so-called friend’s mouth.
“Annoying little brats,” Leopold snarled.
A door opened, letting in cool, blossom-scented air. Sebastian stepped inside, holding his phone. He glanced from Leopold to the taunting girls and shook his head. “Don’t give them attention unless you want half the underage population following you back to your room.”
He placed an arm around my shoulder, enveloping me in his warmth. “I don’t blame you for any of this.”
The words were a balm to my troubled soul, and the rest of my tension unknotted. I placed my hand over his heart. “Thank you.”
“Did you call Pinkerton?” asked Leopold.
“Just cashed in on the insurance policy I set up earlier,” said Sebastian. I was about to ask what he meant, but he added, “We’ll talk later.”
The girls followed us down the hallway, up the stairs,
and into the top floor of the east wing. With each annoying shriek, they attracted more little girls until the sounds of their merriment made my head throb.
It wasn’t until Cormac stepped out of his room and dished out detentions that they scattered into the stairwells, cupboards, and through the door leading to the central part of the building.
Cormac narrowed his eyes at me before turning back to dealing with the girls. My heart sank. Bruce Wilmington and his fists had set off a whole series of calamities, and the one suffering the most was Prakash.
Leopold opened the door to his room and stepped inside. Unlike Prakash’s bedroom, which was adorned with beautiful pictures of India, or Cormac’s award-laden walls, Leopold adorned his walls with posters of a graffiti artist’s work.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Leopold asked, “What insurance policy?”
“I asked Gilbert to give Prakash an alibi.”
“Who’s Gilbert?” I asked.
“The club’s butler.” Leopold turned back to Sebastian. “What?”
Sebastian ran a hand through his hair. “We worked it out together that first time we stayed over at the club. Gilbert drove down to the academy to return something that Kash left in one of the club’s drawing rooms. He also delivered champagne and absinthe to his room, stopped for a cup of tea, and Kash walked him out.”
“But wouldn’t that make Prakash’s statement to the police inconsistent?” I asked.
“Mr. Pinkerton said the police didn’t believe Kash was wandering around the school grounds, looking for an unspecified item he had lost.”
“Ashley’s blackmail material,” I muttered.
My shoulders slumped. Of course, Prakash couldn’t elaborate to the police. First of all, it would arouse their curiosity about the supposed evidence, and secondly, admitting that Ashley possessed these items would prove that he had a motive for the attack.
Sebastian nodded. “Now, Mr. Pinkerton can reveal that Kash was covering up for Gilbert’s illicit delivery of alcohol to a school.”
“Will the butler get into trouble?”
“No, but the sum I’ve transferred to his account should cover any reprimands the club gives him to satisfy the police.”
Warmth filled my heart, and my chest felt like it would burst with happiness. With this alibi, the police would have to release Prakash. I gazed at Sebastian through tear-filled eyes.
How much had he spent to help his friend? Mr. Pinkerton’s legal fees couldn’t be cheap, and neither could the bribe he had paid Gilbert the butler. And he’d also bought out Ashley’s share of the house for a ridiculous amount of money.
“Thank you!” I threw an arm around Sebastian’s shoulders and trailed the other down his chest.
Sebastian gave me a bemused smile but pressed a kiss on my lips.
The touch of his lips on mine sent a zing of sensation straight between my legs, and my lips parted for a moan. Sebastian’s arm tightened around my waist, bringing us closer. He slipped his tongue in my mouth and caressed mine with sensual, dizzying strokes.
My breaths quickened, and heat rippled through my insides, making me feel overdressed. My uniform became too tight, like being wrapped in a straight jacket when all I wanted was to strip it all off.
After loosening my tie and unbuttoning my shirt, I slipped a hand under Sebastian’s blazer and placed it on his hard, muscular chest. His cotton shirt covered the flesh I craved, but it was enough… For now.
An approving rumble reverberated on my palm as my hand slid over the bulge of his pec, down his defined abs, and to his leather belt. My other hand slid down from his neck to work on the metal buckle.
Sebastian drew back from the kiss. “We’ve got classes in twenty minutes. What are you doing?”
My tongue darted out to lick my lips. “I want to show my appreciation.”
Sebastian’s breath caught, and his eyes dropped from my lips to my busy hands. “Have you done this before?”
Behind us, Leopold let out a low chuckle. “A gentleman never tells.”
“When?” Sebastian’s brow furrowed.
“The night Leo and I searched my house for blackmail material,” I replied.
“The morning after.” Leopold pressed his hard body to my back and wrapped his arms around my waist. His hardness pressed into my ass, making me squeeze my thighs together. “Don’t leave me out.”
“Bugger off, Brunswick,” Sebastian snarled. “This is my reward.”
His silent laugh resounded against my back. “No, no, my good sir.” His hands cupped my breasts. “I wouldn’t dream of encroaching on your fellatio.”
One corner of Sebastian’s lips curled into an amused smirk. But the hardness in his eyes told me he was prepared to ditch Leopold if he got in the way of his blow job. “I’m listening.”
Leopold stepped back, withdrawing his warmth from my back. He kicked off his shoes and lay on his mattress with his head at the foot of his bed and his feet on the pillows. “I will provide a comfortable receptacle on which our young lady will sit while she fellates your right honorable member.”
Sebastian snickered, but my jaw dropped. “You want me to sit on your face?”
Leopold beckoned me with both hands. “Smother me with your divine derrière.”
I bit down on my lip. Was that safe? What if he couldn’t breathe, or I suffocated him to death? Leopold’s erection tented from his bottle-green pants, indicating that he found the idea of my bare ass on his face arousing, but the whole thing sounded far-fetched.
Sebastian’s hands snaked up my skirt, and he tugged at the sides of my thong. “That sounds like an acceptable arrangement.”
Spluttering, I twisted to meet Sebastian’s gaze. “What about me?”
His green eyes twinkled with a mixture of hunger and mirth.“You get Leo going down on you while you go down on me. It’s the best of both.”
“Oh!” I wriggled out of my panties.
Sebastian pulled off my tie and unfastened the rest of my buttons, exposing my lacy, cream bra. He ran his hands over my breasts and said, “I never get tired of those.”
The clink of a belt unbuckling caught my attention. I turned around to find Leopold massaging his thick erection with long, languid strokes. A bead of precum glistened at the tip. My tongue darted out to lick my lips.
Sebastian chuckled. “Wrong penis.” He wrapped his larger hand around mine and guided it to his crotch. “This one requires your immediate attention.”
“Right.” I tore my gaze away from the tantalizing sight and fixed it on the bulge in Sebastian’s pants. With fingers that wouldn’t stop trembling with anticipation, I undid his fly and pulled down the waist of his boxer briefs.
The erection that greeted me made my mouth water. A bulbous, rose-colored head popped out of his waistband, supported by a shaft so thick and long, it made the muscles of my core clench with need.
The pulse between my legs pounded, and wetness gathered between my folds. I wrapped my fingers around the hot, pulsing organ and tried to imagine what it would feel like, stretching me open.
“Do you like what you see?” asked Sebastian.
“Yes,” I rasped.
“Then, do be seated.” Impatience tinged Leopold’s voice. “On my face.”
Sebastian backed me toward the edge of the bed and hiked up my skirt, exposing my bare ass to the slight draft in the room.
Behind me, Leopold groaned. His fingertips brushed against the outside of my thighs, urging me to get on the bed and sit on his face. Ignoring him, I continued kissing Sebastian, who reached around and unhooked my bra.
He pulled the straps off my shoulders and dropped the garment to the floor. A moment later, he broke the kiss to let his gaze rove my bare breasts. “So fucking beautiful.”
I smirked. “Try not to climax before I get a taste of you.”
He closed his eyes and placed his forearm over them for good measure. “Already have a counter that will make me last for hours.”
Wit
h a snort and with the help of Sebastian holding me for balance, I placed one knee beside Leopold’s head and then the other. He scooted down the mattress to position himself under my ass and held my hips with both hands.
My heart skipped a beat. It was one thing to lie on my back while a boy went down on me, but another to suffocate him with my ass and genitals. Leopold didn’t give me time to back out, because he raised his head and swiped his tongue down the length of my slit.
Pleasure exploded from my nub, and I cried out. Whatever resistance that held my thighs away from Leopold dissolved, and I lowered myself onto his face.
Leopold’s exaggerated suffocation sounds morphed into satisfied rumbles, and he dug his fingers into my hips and pushed me further down onto his head. His tongue… My eyes rolled back. It was impossible to describe the intensity of what he did with that wet, dextrous organ.
Gravity, multiplied by the weight of my upper body, to the power of his enthusiastic licks and swirls and flicks, magnified every sensation exponentially and to the point of torture.
My breaths became labored, and sweat beaded on my temples. If he didn’t stop, my muscles would rupture, and I would pee all over his face. I tried raising my hips, but his hands clamped down on my thighs, keeping me in place.
Sebastian chuckled. “Are you alright?”
“I…” My throat convulsed in time with the clenching and rippling of my core. “I don’t know!”
Leopold settled into a series of rhythmic tongue strokes that stretched from clit to opening. I sank further into his face and forced my muscles to relax.
My gaze drifted to Sebastian’s erection. Precum glistened from his slit, and his bulbous head darkened to an angry purple. I licked my lips.
Sebastian groaned in response. “Fuck, Willow.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” I tried not to laugh at the agitation in his voice and wrapped my fingers around him at the base.
Sebastian shuddered, which only added to the intensity of what Leopold was doing between my legs. I slid my hand up and down his pulsing length, enjoying how even more precum would ooze out of his slit when I got close to his tip.
