Cruel Riches: A Dark Bully Romance (The Kings of Crestmoore Academy, Book 1)

by Elle East

  “When?” I whispered. “For how long?”

  “Since she was first diagnosed,” he said, and I felt sudden tears stinging the backs of my eyes.

  “How did you know?”

  “We kept tabs on you,” Grayson said. “Did you really think we wouldn’t?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “I thought you guys forgot about me.”

  “We’d never forget about you.” Archer met my eyes from across the table and it felt like I was seeing the real him again for the first time in a long while.

  I was suddenly overwhelmed. Brett had paid for my mom’s cancer treatments and my stepdad had stolen the money. We were always broke and barely scraping by while he was spending thousands of dollars on drugs.

  And they hadn’t forgotten about me.

  “I didn’t know,” I managed to whisper.

  “We thought you didn’t want us anymore,” Archer continued. “That’s why you never reached out to thank Brett.”

  “We thought you were ungrateful,” Grayson added. “We obviously didn’t know that your stepdad was spending it on himself and leaving you two in the dark.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I croaked.

  I was trying not to cry, but this was a lot. I took a deep breath so that I could finish.

  “So she’s in jail and that’s why I’m at Crestmoore. I have nowhere else to go and my marks were good enough to get me in here. I hope she gets acquitted but there are no guarantees, they haven’t even set her trial date yet. Just the thought of her in jail is so—” I had to stop, I could feel myself loosing control and the tears were coming.

  “We’re sorry, Maddy,” Archer said comfortingly and the soft voice he was using was almost enough to send me over the edge.

  Grayson stood up and came over to me. He wrapped me up in a hug. It was so unexpected that I couldn’t keep the tears at bay any longer and started crying quietly into his arms. He was the last guy I expected to hold me like that. His long, solid, tattooed arms wrapped me tightly. His body pressed firmly against mine. It was comforting. He stroked my hair gently.

  “We want to help,” his hot breath whispered into my hair. “Is there any way we could?”

  I slowly pulled back to look up into his face. He looked so sincere. Usually he had that stupid smirk on his face, but this was the most honest and genuine I’d ever seen him. I looked at the other two, both their faces were open, no walls separated us. They were there with me.

  I wiped the tears away from my cheeks. I was running out of options and getting desperate. I figured that my best shot was just to be honest with them and pray that they were being honest about wanting to help me.

  “There is a way for you guys to help me.”

  They all sat up, or stood a little straighter, waiting to hear what it was. I took a deep breath and jumped. I didn’t have much of a choice except to trust them even though it could be my downfall.

  “The police sent me here to spy on you guys.”

  They all visibly recoiled at that, and I didn’t blame them.

  “They made a deal with me that they would drop the charges against my mom if I was able to find out what illicit activities you guys were up to. They wanted to exploit our previous friendships—guess they didn’t factor in the scholarship student-and-Royalty dynamic.” I laughed hollowly, but the guys remained silent. “So that’s the only way I can save my mom, is if I turn you guys in.”

  I looked at all of their painfully handsome faces, but their expressions were unreadable.

  “I don’t have much evidence though,” I continued. “I know you guys are dealing drugs, I took a couple pictures of your texts and call logs—” They stiffened noticeably at that. “—but I don’t know if that would have been enough and also, despite everything, I guess the main reason I haven’t gone to the police yet with the little I do know is that I actually feel guilty. Despite how you guys treated me, I feel guilty about turning you in—even before I found out about Brett trying to pay for my mom’s treatment—how crazy is that?”

  They were silent for a long moment.

  “It’s not so crazy,” Archer said finally.

  “Is that all you know?” Grayson asked.

  “Yes. Months of effort and yet that’s all I’ve been able to get.”

  They did that thing I hated, the thing that made me feel like an outsider looking in, where they communicated by just a look.

  “We want to help, Maddy,” Brett said. “We’d be willing to go to the police with you if it means getting your mom out of jail.”

  My mouth dropped open in shock. I would have never in a million years expected that response. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes,” Brett answered.

  “Why would you do that for me?” I asked in disbelief.

  “You used to be one of us,” Archer said after a long silence. “Being around you again reminded us of that. We’re sorry about the way we treated you when you first came here, it wasn’t just because you were a scholarship student and we were Kings.”

  “We were still mad that when you left our old school, you never kept in touch. We were like the four musketeers, and then you just left and that was it,” Grayson continued.

  I turned to him in shock.

  “You abandoned us,” Brett said pointedly.

  “I—I,” I stuttered, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t mean to. My dad had just died, I was going through a really hard time. And you guys could have kept in touch, but you didn’t.”

  “You told us to give you space, remember? You said you’d come to us when you were ready,” Brett said, pain lacing his words. Suddenly I did remember saying that and was ashamed. “We were trying to respect your wishes.”

  “And then you just never came back,” Grayson finished.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I did say that, I remember now. I remember that even when I said it I hadn’t meant it, and I was upset you guys didn’t come to me still—but that’s not fair at all and I know it. I remember that my life was so crazy and I was so messed up when my dad died that I… didn’t handle things well.

  When my life finally calmed down again I thought about reaching out to you but, stupidly, I was mad at you for not reaching out harder to me when I needed you—even though I know that’s not fair. By that time I also felt like I didn’t belong in your lives anymore. You were all living in this big, fancy world, while I was just a poor public school girl. I thought we had nothing in common anymore and that you wouldn’t be interested in hanging out with me.”

  I hadn’t even realized that that was how I felt until it all came tumbling out of my mouth, but it was all true. I had been mad and resentful towards them for not being there for me when we were kids and I saw now how unfair that was of me.

  “We’re sorry, Sunny,” Archer said.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered back, saying it to all of them.

  “Don’t be, it was our fault,” Brett said, standing up to join Grayson and I.

  “No, it wasn’t your fault it was mine,” I said, almost on the brink of tears again.

  It felt so good that we were all being honest with each other after so long.

  Grayson wrapped me up in his comforting arms again and whispered into my hair. “I’m sorry.”

  Brett came and hugged me from behind, his large body wrapping around my back. Archer stood up, and I heard him come over and join us. The three of them maneuvered their bodies until I was enclosed in a big group hug.

  They were all touching me and I felt so protected in their warm embrace. I could have stayed like that forever. It felt so nice after feeling so stressed, so alone, so scared for so long to just finally have a moment of comfort. I felt like I could breathe again.

  I just held them and they held me. Eventually Brett reached under my legs and scooped me up. I grabbed on to his neck instinctively and lay my head against his large chest. I didn’t care where he was taking me as long as I was going there with them. He walked to the other side of the apartment, th
e side I hadn’t been on with their private apartments.

  We went into a dark room and then Brett was gently placing me down on a soft bed. I could barely see in the dim light but I could just make out the silhouettes of the other guys. All three of them crawled into bed with me, I grabbed them and pulled them to my body. They held me like they had by the dining table. We slowly lay down, and I hadn’t known until that moment that it was exactly what I needed. Grayson and Brett started out on either side of me, but I could feel Archer on the bed too.

  The three of them held me and comforted me. We would shift every once in a while and when I would go into someone’s arms, the guys without a word would switch off, so next it was Brett and Archer and then Grayson and Archer.

  I could tell all their bodies by feel. They had different ways of cuddling that matched their personalities. Brett’s body would surround me and shield me from everything in a warm embrace. Grayson was playful and would hold me in a way that made me feel like we were slow dancing. Archer was dominating, consuming, and made me feel so desired.

  In the dark, with their bodies next to mine, it felt like coming home.

  On the brink of sleep I felt safe to ask whatever I wanted.

  “What’s the drug dealing business you guys are wrapped up in?”

  I was in Archer’s arms and I felt him stiffen against me.

  “It’s nothing that bad,” Archer started. “We just deal to the students here. Make a bit of money on the side.”

  “Well, not a little bit, a lot of,” Grayson added with a laugh. “Rich kids are desperate to spend their parents’ money, there’s a very high demand for drugs here. Hard to get on an island.”

  “What type?” I asked, suddenly very curious.

  I turned to face him and in the dark I could see his sharp cheekbones outlined in the moonlight coming in through the window.

  “Just the normal high school variety,” Grayson said. “Weed and stuff.”

  “We aren’t dealing heroine or anything like that,” Brett growled.

  “Why would the government be that interested in small-time drug dealers they’d be willing to put all this effort into sending me here?” I asked.

  “It’s not exactly ‘small time’,” Grayson laughed.

  “I can’t believe that the police were actually able to figure out enough that they know we are somehow involved,” Archer said. “They have nothing on us, but we usually cover our tracks really well.”

  “Can you get in a lot of trouble for this?” I asked in concern.

  I realized that if the guys were going to help me and go to the police, then they could possibly get in a lot of trouble. I had just found them again, and I didn’t want to lose them.

  I felt Archer shrug. “Most people would, but we have the best lawyers in the world. We’ll give them just enough information to get your mom out of jail and then our lawyers will work up a deal to keep us clean. Your mom will be safe and we’ll be fine.”

  I relaxed even deeper into their arms. I turned and cuddled up to Grayson. Everything would finally be ok.

  “Don’t worry about anything,” said Brett.

  The guys shifted around and Brett slipped into Archer’s place and pulled me into his arms.

  We spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms. I drifted in and out of sleep, not wanting to be away from them for even a moment but unable to stop myself. At one point, in a half-dream state, I woke up to lips against mine. It felt so right that I kissed back, not even sure who it was for a few seconds but it didn’t matter.

  I felt strong hands on my hips and a body pressed tightly into me from behind. I wrapped my arms around the guy in front of me who I was kissing. I felt a hard erection pressed into my ass through my jeans. It excited me and I kissed harder.

  I felt hands everywhere. I was turned around and met a new pair of lips with a different, but no less amazing, style of kissing. I wrapped my body around his and felt the other guys press into me with desire. They all wanted me and it was intoxicating.

  I reached out to find the last guy and ran my fingers through his short hair. I brought his lips to mine in a passionate embrace. Someone started kissing my neck, and I moaned into someone else’s mouth.

  We continued like that for a long time. Just a jumble of hard bodies, wanting hands, demanding mouths, hard members, and me in the middle of it all being swept away. It was incredible, my body was humming and I felt drugged.

  “I want you,” Grayson whispered in my ear.

  “I want you,” I whispered back. “I want all of you.”

  Suddenly an ugly thought forced itself into my mind. One that I didn’t want to think about but now that it was there it wasn’t going away and I was forced to ask.

  “Do you guys do this with girls very often?”

  It pained me to think this wasn’t special for them like it was for me, that this was something that the three of them did together a lot.

  All of them pulled back. A second later Archer said, “We never do this.”

  “This is our first time,” Brett added.

  “There’s no one else we’ve even come close to doing this with. I don’t think we’ve ever even thought of this before. You’re special, Maddy, I guess you bring it out in us,” Grayson said before placing a kiss on my lips.

  “I’ve never done anything like this either,” I admitted.

  “Good,” they all said together.

  “We want this to be as special for you as it is for us,” Grayson added.

  It made me glow to hear that this was special for them.

  “Did Brett tell you we made out?” I didn’t know why I asked at that moment but I guess I felt like if we were building this strong connection then everything needed to be out on the table.

  “Yes, he told us,” Archer said. “We figured it was only fair since the both of us already got to make out with you at the yacht party.”

  “We want to be honest, Maddy, we aren’t sure if we can share,” Brett said. “We are all possessive guys who’ve never had to share a woman before.”

  “We aren’t sure if we can do it,” Archer said, and I felt Grayson nod against my neck.

  “Let’s not worry about it right now.” I didn’t want to ruin the amazing time that we were having. I didn’t want to spoil the moment with real world stuff. We’d figure it out. I was confident that together we could get through anything now.

  We cuddled and talked. Late into the night I finally fell into a deep, peaceful sleep in their arms. It felt so right.

  Chapter 31

  Morning came, and I awoke before the guys. It took me a couple seconds to remember where I was but then I looked over to see their relaxed sleeping faces and I knew. It had been so amazing that I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was all a dream. Seeing them lying around me, looking so innocent in sleep—something that none of them had ever looked when they were awake—made my heart ache in a pleasant way. My three protectors.

  They were going to help me get my mom out of jail, but they also weren’t going to leave me again. It was all finally going to be ok. I realized that I was falling for them, hard. I didn’t think it was possible to be in to so many guys at once, but my feelings for them were all equally strong.

  I looked over at a clock on the wall and jumped out of bed when I saw it. I needed to be in class in fifteen minutes. My frantic movements had woken the guys up and they were all blinking cutely in sleepy confusion—but I had no time to appreciate it because I needed to go ASAP.

  “We have class in fifteen minutes!”

  They all woke up the rest of the way immediately and jumped up.

  “I need to get back to my room and change,” I blurted as I rushed over to each one of them and kissed them goodbye.

  Grayson’s arms wrapped around me instinctively when I kissed him and I hated that I had to tear myself away, but I had to go.

  “I’ll see you guys later!” I called as I rushed out the door and over to the elevator, putting on
my shoes clumsily as I ran.

  I made it to class with seconds to spare. I was sure I looked like a mess; I didn’t have time to brush my hair or put on makeup, but I didn’t care, after the night I had I was sure I was glowing. I felt like I was in a dream and couldn’t stop smiling.

  Brett was in my first class. He came in late and our eyes met. My heart warmed at the smile that took over his face when he saw me.

  He took his normal seat at the back of the class and I was a bit disappointed, but I couldn’t read too much into it because all the seats around me were full so he couldn’t have sat with me even if he wanted to. I had trouble paying attention to what our English teacher was saying, I couldn’t stop daydreaming about strong hands on my hips, soft kisses on my lips, about warm bodies pressed against me and their arousal very obvious. I blushed and smiled. I was sure I looked like such an idiot but I didn’t care.

  About half way through class the teacher had given us a moment to silently read a piece of literature. I had trouble concentrating on the words and kept looking out the window. It was cold and barren outside. The leaves were all gone from the trees and the grass was turning brown. The ocean looked deadly cold. Inside the classroom it was warm and cozy. It reminded me of how I had felt last night, the outside world harsh and cold while with them, in that bed, I was warm and safe.

  The loudspeaker crackled and then a young female voice came on. She was reading something, but I barely noticed, I was still lost in my thoughts staring outside.

  “Everyone at this school is so used to being pampered that they have no idea what the real world is like. Bunch of spoiled, rich brats who are all so mean just so they can feel a bit better about themselves—it’s pathetic. I can’t wait until I don’t have to pretend to be friends with them anymore just to get close to the 'Kings’, such a dumb name lol.”

  My ears perked up at the word “Kings” and I looked back around the room. Everyone was frozen and staring at the speaker. I started listening and then slowly my blood ran cold.

  The girl was reading out texts I had sent to Dean.