“Oh shit.” Colt replays the short clip, then sends it to the computer to start again. “This is in the same hall as your Ethics class?”
“Yeah. Isla said the statue doesn’t have a name, but a Latin phrase about keys to the kingdom. This talks about a castle and a king. The night I snuck around the warehouse, I overheard them talking about keys.”
I stiffen. Keys to the kingdom. Seize the kingdom. It’s too similar to my grandfather’s motto.
“You didn’t tell me this part.”
“It was an emotionally draining day and I was mad at you after.” Rowan sinks an elbow into my gut and I grunt. “I’ve been trying to research the keys symbol, but I haven’t gotten far. We need to find a way inside.”
“I’ll pull the full history of the campus’ schematics to look for it. If there’s one secret room, there could be more.” Colt types as he speaks, pausing only to swivel to address us. “How would you feel about adding a secret sliding library shelf to the Nest?”
“Is that really important right now?” Rowan asks in a strained tone.
“Focus,” Levi says.
“Right, right. Sorry, babe.” Colton taps his temple. “My brain tends to bounce around. I fire on all cylinders sometimes.”
With another sequence of keystrokes, Rowan’s photos of the wall fill another monitor.
“Foxy, how do you feel about a field trip? Bring Penn,” Colton says.
Fox grumbles about the nickname and swats at his foster brother.
“If there are others, this might be how they differentiate locations on the down low.” Jude strokes his chin in thought. “You said this statue had a plaque with the kingdom phrase?”
“Right.” Turning to me, Rowan licks her lips. “Do you think someone is holding Ethan in a hidden room since you haven’t been able to find any trace of him?”
An invisible iron band winds around my chest. The hunt hasn’t been entirely fruitless, but I can’t tell her about the glasses hidden in a safe in my room.
“Possibly.”
The answer tastes foul.
“He has to be,” she whispers to herself.
Rowan’s small voice is filled with so much determination and faith that her brother is still alive that it stabs into my gut.
Fuck. Fucking fuck.
The truth is going to destroy her. And there isn’t shit I can do about it to protect her from the earth-shattering pain.
Twenty-Six
Rowan
For the third time in Wren and Levi’s weight training session, my eyes drift from researching the history of Thorne Point University on my laptop to watch sweat roll down Wren’s hard body, mouth watering at the flex of his biceps while he bench presses twice my weight. The cotton workout shorts dip low on his hips, giving me the perfect view of the carved muscles there. Why did I think it was a good idea for my productivity to sit in here?
Uhhhh…
I give myself a mental shake from drooling at his glistening abs. Jesus. Jesus. A fantasy of straddling him on the bench and licking them fills my head.
After pestering Colton and threatening him with becoming an irritating barnacle if he didn’t give in—“Don’t threaten me with a good time, babe.”—he agreed to let me help, providing my research task. Their plan is to gather as much information as we can to find out how to enter the room I saw. An uneasy pit twists my stomach with the worry we’re wasting time when we could be doing, searching in person. Wren’s kept close watch and won’t let me go to campus alone. He’s figured out what I might try to pull on my own without them backing me up.
So far between the two of us we’ve guessed the location of two other rooms. Later tonight Fox is sweeping the campus to give us something more concrete to go on.
“Break for a circuit, then do another set,” Levi directs.
Wren emits a low groan and accepts the towel offered to him. Levi has worked him hard and I’ve enjoyed the show. Setting the weights on the bar, Wren sits up and swipes the towel over his sweaty skin.
He catches me watching from my spot on the mats on the floor and smirks. “Busy over there?”
“Yes.” Cheeks hot, I return to my research.
“No sex in the gym,” Levi deadpans.
My mouth drops open. “We weren’t—”
“Eye fucking counts. And you’ve been doing enough of it for the last twenty minutes.”
Levi dodges the rolled up towel I lob at him with a laugh. The guys continue their workout in the corner of the room while I click on another PDF from the campus library’s digital archive. The crest was established when the college was founded. Originally it admitted men only, much like most of the more elitist schools around the country.
I chew on my lip as I skim the information, noting down anything I think could be a connection to the triggers we’re looking for to access the hidden room. It still boggles my mind that the company Ethan has been researching is connected to this secret. He stumbled into this looking for corruption and got more than he bargained for.
The lack of information I’m able to find bugs me. I wish more than anything I could just call Ethan and ask what he does when he hits a research wall.
After Wren completes another set of weight lifting, the guys finish up. I pack up my laptop and follow them from the room.
“How much of the city’s history do we know?” I ask.
Wren hitches a shoulder. “I’m from a founding family. The founding family of the men who started this town. My name is on every damn business or historic building in town. But I’ve never heard of hidden rooms or passages, or any other secrets of the city that mine or any of the other founding families could keep buried.”
The bitterness in his tone makes me blink. He’s never seemed to hate the money he has, so I’m left wondering if there’s another reason he draws a line in the sand between himself and his family.
Something about watching the fight nights makes adrenaline race through me. It’s the best kind of foreplay. My tits have been tingling, nipples tight, and my skin flushed for half the night. Every time I met Wren’s eyes I’ve been eager to get him alone. Levi was the main fighter, but Wren took on a cocky challenger from the crowd. The guy hit on me and Wren knew it, letting his jealousy loose in the ring.
Knowing what seeing him fight does to me, he made sure I was watching before he laid out the frat boy after toying with him.
I needed tonight to forget, to shut my brain off from everything, otherwise I’ll continue to drive myself insane needing to act.
Jude and Colton are drunk, leaning heavily on each other when we arrive at their lair. Levi disappears into the gym and seconds later, angry music blasts from the speaker system. The other two trip over nothing and end up in a collapsed heap on the couch. Colton nuzzles into Jude’s shoulder.
“I’m hungry,” Jude slurs.
“You jus’ crushed my entire bag o’fries.”
“Leftovers,” he announces, making an attempt to move that goes nowhere.
“No,” Colton moans, clamping his arms around his friend’s waist. “Comfy.”
They’re both snoring less than a minute later. Wren goes to the kitchen and places two water bottles on the table before turning to pin me with a hooded leer.
We’ve been dancing around the electric heat simmering between us all night in an unspoken game of who snaps first. Instead of pressing against him like I want to, I keep one of the couches between us, flashing him a daring look.
The corner of his mouth hitches up. He moves and I dodge.
“Why do you prolong the inevitable?” he rumbles.
My breathing turns shallow, nipples hard from the way he stalks me around the room. I bite my lip.
“I love making you work for it.”
The chase is on again. This time I dart down the hall. A muted shriek escapes me when his big arms lock around my waist and haul me against his chest.
“Now you’re all mine,” he growls in my ear.
His voice is sinfu
l and full of gravel. My clit throbs.
Wren spins me and bends to put me over his shoulder, slapping my ass when I squirm. I run my hands over the firm muscles in his back as he weaves through the halls until we reach his room. Inside, he drops me to my feet and nudges me.
My back hits the wall and then he’s on me, the taste of alcohol on his tongue and the masculine scent of his musky sweat making me dizzy with want.
“Wren,” I gasp against his lips. “I need you. Right now.”
“I know what you need, kitten.” He cups my pussy through my cut off shorts, grinding the heel of his palm into my aching clit. “Mine.”
“Yes.”
Scrabbling for the hem of his Henley, I rip it up, exposing his abs and the barbell in his nipple that drives me crazy. He fists my hair and trails biting kisses down my neck. I arch into him and clench my thighs.
“Please,” I push out.
His teeth scrape my collarbone and he grabs my ass, lifting me again without stopping his attack on my neck. A moan bubbles out of me before I hit the bed. I struggle out of my leather jacket and shirt while he yanks my shorts and ripped tights off. Stepping back, he loses the rest of his clothes while leering at me. I spread my legs in invitation.
A rumble of approval vibrates in his throat. He joins me on the bed, grabbing the sides of my thong as leverage to grind his cock against me.
“Fuck!” My nails dig into his shoulders and I rock into the pressure. “I could come like this.”
He pulls harder on the sides of my underwear. “I’m going to fuck you through the mattress tonight, little kitten.”
Heat races over my skin. I hook my ankles behind him and reach up to twist the sheets while delicious pressure builds in my core. His movements light me up each time his erection teases me.
“Been wet for me all night, baby? These panties are so soaked I can smell how much you need me to fuck you right now.”
“Oh god.” I squeeze his hips with my legs as an orgasm ripples over me.
I sink my teeth into my lip and ride the wave.
“Time to get rid of these.”
Wren adjusts his grip and tears the lace. Air stutters out of me at the way his heated gaze drinks in my pussy. He brushes his knuckles over my folds, rewarding me with a firmer touch when I spread my legs wide again. Leaning over, he nips my hip. The sharp sting makes me cry out, but it’s forgotten when he moves to take a nipple in his mouth.
“Tonight I have you bare,” he rasps against my flushed skin. “Nothing between us.”
My stomach dips and I nod, burying my fingers in his hair as he returns to tormenting my nipples with tongue and teeth. Adjusting the angle of my hips and lifting my knees, he glides his cock over my slick folds until I’m squirming. Flashing me a savage grin, he enters me in one thrust that makes me scream.
“Fucking stunning.” He covers my body with his and moves. Pulling almost all the way out, he thrusts deep and hard with a rough groan. “You feel so good wrapped around my cock, baby.”
The fullness of him inside me is exquisite. Each snap of his hips elicits a spark of liquid fire that builds into an inferno. Another orgasm is imminent.
Wren’s attention fixates on the bounce of my tits. My eyes rove over him with equal admiration for the strength of his broad shoulders, the sharp line of his jaw, the alluring dominance in his eyes.
The ringing of his phone on the nightstand startles me. A short laugh slips out and I relax back into the sea of pleasure. I expect him to ignore it, but he surprises me by leaning over to grab the phone without breaking his pace.
He presses the phone to his ear and answers. “Yeah.”
I gape at him while he drives his cock into me. Brows furrowing, he looks away while listening, then glances down at me.
“No, now’s good, Penn. Tell me.” The smooth, business-like command in his tone makes my pussy clench and he smirks.
He doesn’t stop fucking me. Not a lazy pace, but the same forceful rhythm that has me trembling. It makes me wetter. The only indication he’s affected by my reaction is the darkening desire in his eyes.
Wren listens to Penn, absently playing with my clit in a way that makes me gasp. His gaze drops to the sight of his cock sliding in and out of me and he gathers some of my wetness to continue teasing my clit, alternating between rubbing it and pinching it when I least expect it. My panting could give me away and I clamp my lips together.
I’ve never been so turned on in my life from him taking me apart with precise control while carrying out business as if his cock isn’t buried inside me.
“Colt and Levi took care of security. You and Fox sweep the buildings and report back.”
When he angles his hips and the pleasure intensifies, I begin to whine. Flicking his cool gaze to me, he holds my throat and squeezes to cut off my desperate noises. His piercing eyes burn into mine while he continues to speak on the phone.
“Check it against the blueprints he sent.”
Finally, he hangs up and tosses the phone aside. Neither of us pay attention to where it lands.
Wren’s lips capture mine in a ravenous kiss and he swallows my cries as he brings me over the edge. I’ve never come so hard, my entire body riding the explosion of ecstasy. Tensing above me, he closes his eyes and fills me when he comes.
“That was…” I have no words for it.
“I always know what you need.”
The smooth tone and his words wrap around me in a blanket of contentment. At first Wren was a mystery I needed to unravel, then a challenge of authority that excited me, but now…he’s beginning to feel like something else. Something more.
Twenty-Seven
Rowan
In the morning, I wake to Wren sitting at the desk across the room. The locket is out, but today he doesn’t cradle it like the world is ending. It rests next to his expensive watch by his elbow, a comforting presence instead of a lifeline.
Drifting lazily between peaceful sleep and consciousness, I watch him typing on his phone, periodically sipping from a steaming mug of coffee. The aroma is heavenly, drawing a faint envious moan from me.
“There’s coffee brewed for you, caffeine demon. This one’s mine.”
He glances up, drinking me in. I slide my thighs together beneath the sheets. He must have cleaned me up after I fell asleep in his arms. Warmth expands in my chest.
“I’ll never tire of waking up to the sight of you in my bed.”
Another flutter moves through me. Thoughts from last night return. We aren’t just drawn to each other, but it’s the way we are around each other that’s grown how I feel about him. When he takes control, I’ve allowed my walls to come down and be vulnerable. At first his control was something I fought, but now it’s different, carrying a weight of importance I don’t want to resist.
“Can I explore the hotel today?” I ask.
He considers me over the rim of his mug. When we met, he was impossible to read, but subtle emotions flicker over his features as he comes to a decision.
“It’s safe here, so yes. Don’t stray too far, my curious kitten.”
Grinning, I stretch and get out of bed. Something else has changed since spending time at the Nest—I find it a lot less creepy. It almost feels like it could be a home. Insane, considering the decrepit state of the place upstairs, but somehow there’s connection here.
Half-dressed, he drags me over by his grip on my open oversized flannel shirt and gives me a coffee-flavored kiss. I lick his lips and hum at the crisp scent of aftershave.
“Mine,” he rumbles.
“Me or the coffee?” I tease, reaching for his mug to steal a sip.
He smacks my ass and grips it. “Both. Better get dressed fast, or I’m dragging you back to bed.”
For a moment, I’m frozen between my curiosity and climbing into his lap. I rake my teeth over my lip at his amused huff. The chance to discover more of the hotel wins out. I finish dressing, slipping into my Vans and swiping my phone.
Wren follows me to the main area. Colton is still sprawled on the couch, ass up and snoring, but Jude is awake, eating a chipotle-scented shredded chicken stew from a reused butter container. He lifts two fingers in greeting. I stop to pour a mug of coffee. At the tug on my braid, I angle my head back against Wren’s chest and accept another kiss.
“If you wander out there for too long, I’ll come to catch you again.”
A shiver moves down my spine. “Like the hedge maze?”
“And this time I won’t stop,” he promises in a low rasp.
Cheeks prickling with heat, I take my coffee and set off to look around. In the chilled light of day, I admit there’s a somber beauty to the overgrowth of vines creeping through broken windows, faded dusty paintings, and peeling wallpaper from a bygone era.
Without any students partying, the ballroom is an expansive room that was exquisite once. Sunlight streams in, creating dancing pools of dust motes. The ocean air gusts in on the breeze and a pair of gulls call to each other in the distance. Closing my eyes, I imagine it in its prime one hundred years ago.
Leaving my empty mug in the ballroom, I move down arched stone hallways and poke in unlocked rooms to sate my need for knowledge. A few creaks and the scurry of small animals make my heart race, but the eeriness no longer makes me uneasy. As I search the place, I try to view it through Wren’s eyes to understand what he sees.
The back of the building overlooking the sea has a beautiful solarium. A dome of glass extends high and the vines have made this their home, nature happily reclaiming the old greenhouse. I skim leaves as I pass, soaking in the peaceful stillness.
I move outside and descend the wide terrace steps. A weed-choked path takes me to the cliff’s edge.
This is the first time in days—weeks—things have slowed down enough to have a moment to myself.
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