The Prince and the Pawn

by Reid, B. B.

  After Ever tipped the manager generously and Four made him apologize, we were back on the road an hour later. Wren had elected to take over driving while Lou stubbornly reclaimed her seat in the back. Feeling like it was the wise thing to do, I volunteered to keep Wren company and hopped in the front passenger seat. Since it was the middle of the night and everyone seemed to be emotionally exhausted for individual reasons, it didn’t take long for them to count sheep. We were only a couple of hours out, but I figured it was for the best. Even snake-in-the-grass Selena had lost her fight with consciousness.

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” I whispered after making sure everyone was deep in their sleep, “what are you waiting for?”

  After a couple of minutes passed of Wren not speaking, I almost gave up on learning the answer.

  “When I ask her,” he finally spoke, “I want to offer her more than just my name.”

  I scoffed at that. “Lou doesn’t care about money.” I was living proof that people were always better off without it anyway.

  “I’m not talking about money. Fox,” he said, referring to his former boss, “wants her dead, and as long as he’s alive, he’ll never stop.” Wren’s hands tightened around the steering wheel as he gritted his teeth. “Neither will I.”

  “So that’s why she’s rabid one minute and pouting the next? You’re out there trying to get yourself killed, man?”

  He smirked at that. “I’ve been on the streets since I was fifteen, and so has she. I know how to handle myself, and she knows that, too. Lou’s just stubborn and spoiled. Besides…I’m not hunting him alone.”

  “What do you mean? Who’s helping you?”

  Wren’s blue eyes darted to the rearview mirror, and I wondered whether he was ensuring himself that Lou was asleep or Ever. “My father.”

  “Don’t you mean ‘our’ father? We were all there when Ever’s pop told him you two were brothers. The question I’d like answered is, why the hell didn’t you tell him yourself?”

  “Ever doesn’t know this yet, but he got a dealt a winning hand. In fact, he dodged a fucking bullet.”

  “Explain.”

  Wren took his eyes off the road to study me, his expression one part incredulous and two parts hostile. “What makes you think I owe you an explanation?”

  “Because before you came along, I was the closest thing Ever had to a brother besides Jamie.”

  My reason seemed to be enough for Wren, so he nodded and sighed. “My father is the ‘love ’em and leave ’em’ type. He did it to Thomas, he did it to my mom, and he did it to Evelyn…”

  “And then he did it to you.”

  It was still jarring finding out that Mr. McNamara played for both teams. I wondered if he’d been afraid to share that part of himself with his son. It would never matter to Ever, but I could understand his father’s hesitance. Of course, anything would have been better than Jamie outing his uncle mid-temper tantrum.

  “I won’t stand by and watch him do that to Ever,” Wren vowed.

  “Mr. McNamara said Sean wants to meet Ever. How do you plan to stop him?”

  “By giving him something he wants more. Our father co-founded Exiled. If we can find Fox and overthrow him—”

  “He’ll ghost again and be out of your hair forever.” At Wren’s nod, I admitted to myself that it was a pretty good plan…if not slightly harebrained. “So why don’t you just tell Lou this instead of letting her worry?”

  Wren grunted at that. “She’ll do that anyway, and then she’ll try to talk me out of it.”

  “You think she can?”

  I watched what suspiciously looked like a rare grin from Wren. It kind of freaked me out a little. “She has her ways.”

  Two hours later, I was starting to nod off when Wren punched me in the arm like a dick. “Wake the hell up. We’re here.”

  “Here” was a large lakefront cabin that Ever had rented for the next couple of days. I wasn’t sure how since most rentals didn’t welcome guests under twenty-five, but I didn’t care enough to ask questions. Sleeping in the woods with only the leaves as bedding was better than being back home. I almost hadn’t come until I considered the alternative. It had been three days since Colombia, and the smug look my father gave me when I returned still hadn’t left my mind.

  So I left Blackwood Keep, hoping to run from it.

  Wren hopped out, slamming the door behind him, which woke everyone else up. I followed him out into the chilly summer night and started helping him with our bags while Ever looked for the lockbox where the owner left the key. Once we got the doors unlocked and everything unloaded inside, I grabbed a beer from the melted ice water in the cooler and dropped onto the recliner in the corner. I’d chosen it for the unobstructed view it gave me of Tyra.

  “There are five bedrooms,” Ever announced. He paused, his lips flattening before shooting me a dirty look.

  Yup, he’s still pissed.

  “I guess Tyra and Selena can bunk together,” Ever continued.

  “Don’t you think Tyra will want to stay with Vaughn?” Four pointed out.

  Excellent question.

  I took advantage of the sudden awkward silence as they all waited for an answer and popped the top on my beer. After I’d loudly slurped my first sip, Tyra met my gaze, and I lifted my beer in salute. Breaking up—off—had been her idea. She could explain it to them herself because I wasn’t saying shit.

  “Vaughn and I…we’re not…”

  I thought I’d enjoy watching her struggle to tell them, but instead, it made me feel like shit. It seemed more like I’d hurt her than the other way around.

  “My sister decided she could do better,” Selena said when Tyra became mute. She then crossed her toned arms over her tits as she met my gaze. “Much better.”

  You didn’t seem to think that when you were slipping me the tongue, bitch.

  “That’s not exactly true,” Tyra said, finally finding her goddamn voice. “It’s just that Vaughn and I want different things, and I think we both deserve better than to string each other along anymore.” I forgot all about her poisonous sister when Tyra’s pleading gaze met mine. “Right?”

  I didn’t realize I’d been crushing the beer can in my hand as Tyra spoke until I felt the cold liquid spill out and onto my lap. Shooting up, I started toward the stairs under the guise of cleaning up, and as I was about to pass Tyra, I stopped. I wanted to smirk when her lips opened and parted like a fish, but smug was the last thing I was feeling.

  “You’re way off course, pip.” I’d whispered it for her ears only, but I knew by the black look in Selena’s eyes that she’d heard every word.

  Good.

  WHAT THE HELL HAD VAUGHN meant by that?

  I told myself that sleeping most of the drive up was the reason it evaded me now. With a sigh, I stood and stretched. After a glance at my sister sleeping soundly on the twin bed next to mine, I slipped from the room. The cabin was quiet and dark. I guessed none of my friends had problems falling asleep. The old wood creaked underneath my bare feet as I blindly made my way to the stairs in the dark. I’d been too emotionally hungover to explore when we arrived, so I had no idea where I was going. My only hope was that no one woke. My prayers went unanswered a moment later when I heard Bee’s gentle voice float from one of the bedrooms.

  “Who’s a good boy?” she cooed. “Who’s a good boy?”

  Thinking maybe Jay D was bunking with Jamie and Bee since Ever was such a pompous asshole, I waited to hear one of his enthusiastic barks. Instead, what I heard stopped me in my tracks.

  “I’m a good boy.”

  I didn’t even want to know what they were up to in there. Of course, the voice had belonged to none other than Jamie’s goofy ass. I shook my head as I moved past their room. To each their own, I suppose.

  Downstairs, I caught the view of the lake through the sliding glass doors and couldn’t help but gravitate toward them. Maybe it was the moonlight causing the water to shimmer. Whatever it was, I felt
like I had to be a part of it. As soon as I stepped outside, I realized what had drawn me out here was just my bad luck flaring up again.

  Just two feet away, Vaughn leaned against the balcony railing. His head was thrown back in ecstasy as the same moonlight I was admiring made his skin glow. His green and white boxers, the only piece of clothing he wore, was shoved below his ass as he pumped his dick. Even in the dark, I could see the angry veins running the long length of his dick, the piercing glinting in the light, and the pearly drop of fluid threatening to spill onto the deck. It was a sight no woman could look away from. Even one who’d convinced herself she didn’t want to be in love with him anymore.

  I was spellbound by each slow stroke of his dick. It almost seemed sacrilegious that Vaughn had to pleasure himself. I wanted to fall to my knees like a good girl and tell him how wrong I was to let him go and then prove it by wrapping my lips around him until he came. Instead, I backed away, fearing that I’d do just that. I turned to go at the last moment. Since his eyes were closed, he couldn’t have seen me…

  But I must have made a sound.

  One moment, I was fighting with myself to walk away, and the next, I was being hauled back against my will. I was convinced nothing felt better than Vaughn’s dick against my spine or his arm around my waist.

  “Going so soon?” he sexily hummed in my ear. “The show was just about to start.”

  “Vaughn, let me go.”

  To my surprise, he obliged, but I should have known better. Setting me on my feet, he quickly turned me around. The moment I faced him, Vaughn’s hands claimed me once more, holding my hips this time.

  “Enjoy the view?”

  “If I had, I wouldn’t have been running to wash my eyes out.”

  He scoffed at that while looking slightly pissed. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

  “My view was a lot rosier back then.”

  “Pip-squeak—”

  “Fuck you,” I spat before he could finish. I couldn’t handle any more of his lies.

  With a determined glint in his eye, he backed me onto the picnic table a few feet away and stepped between my legs after forcing them open. Seriously, who kept these on a goddamn balcony anyway? And one sturdy enough to hold the both of us…

  “Say yes to me, and I’ll do better than that,” he promised on a whisper. “I’ll fuck you.”

  “Is that your final offer? Losing my virginity on a moldy, old picnic table?” I tried to suppress an eye roll even though I was tempted and failed. “How romantic.”

  Taking my chin, he made me meet his gaze. “Under the moon, gazing at the stars…with me.” His voice almost broke on the last. I didn’t even get a chance to question the pain in his eyes when he dropped his head on my shoulder, hiding his face in my neck. “I feel like I’m slipping away, and there’s nothing to hold to. Nothing but you. I need you so fucking much, pip.”

  Feeling his entire body tremble, I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck of my own free will. If he needed me to hold onto him, I would. Nothing else mattered. My own emotions bubbled up, and I found myself demanding answers. “What happened to you?” My frantic tone split the quiet night.

  I felt his lips pressing against the small sliver of skin peeking through my T-shirt just before he shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

  Rather than get upset, I clung to him tighter. “Did someone hurt you?”

  He seemed to think about that for a moment before lifting and shaking his head again. “Not on the outside.”

  “Was it your father?”

  His lips tightened, giving me my answer even before he denied me. “I don’t want to talk about him.” I felt his hands sliding underneath my shirt, reaching for the waistband of my shorts. “I just want to forget,” he said before kissing me hard. “Please make me forget.”

  I couldn’t deny him the plea he’d whispered against my lips. At that moment, I would have given anything to take his pain away, so when he started pulling my shorts down, I didn’t stop him. I was even willing to risk getting a few splinters in my ass.

  “Lift up,” he whispered.

  I did as he ordered, and then my shorts were gone. I nervously watched as he pushed his boxers down and stepped out of them. Just like that, he was completely naked while I had only my shirt shielding me from prying eyes. As if only just remembering that we weren’t here alone, my gaze darted to the still partially opened sliding door. I couldn’t see that well inside, but the coast seemed to be clear.

  Closing his eyes and throwing his head back in aggravation, Vaughn groaned before padding back inside the cabin.

  I watched, trembling with anticipation and fear, as he grabbed a duffel bag with USC’s logo on the side. How hadn’t I noticed that before? The gears in my mind turned and tumbled as he rifled through it almost desperately before tossing it aside. Next, he grabbed Jamie’s bag since everyone had pretty much left theirs. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. He then grabbed the knit throw adorning the back of the sectional and stepped back onto the balcony, tossing a box of condoms onto the tabletop.

  “You’re going to USC?” I asked as if I weren’t half-naked and out in the open for anyone to see.

  His lips tightened before he responded. “Yeah.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” And why didn’t he sound excited? The only time Vaughn didn’t look like he was two seconds from dozing was when he was on the field…or alone locked away inside of the beach house.

  “Because I’m not sure I’m even going.”

  “Your father?”

  He shook his head as his grip tightened around the blanket he was still holding. “Because of you.” At my startled look, he said almost impatiently, “I can’t stand the thought of being that far away from you, Tyra. Don’t you know that by now?”

  “But you have to go.” I wisely chose to ignore his question. “It’s your dream.”

  “I have to go,” he agreed with a nod. “But not because it’s my dream.”

  I knew instantly what he meant, and I swear I never hated anyone as much as I did Franklin Rees. Someone I’d never even met. For all I knew, Vaughn could just be running game. A flawless one at that. One look in his desolate eyes, however, and I knew that he couldn’t be. His fears and frustrations that he was trying so hard to hide were very real.

  Jaw tight, he stared down into my eyes, willing me to do something. I didn’t know what until he spoke. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

  “No,” I agreed after some time. “I guess it doesn’t.”

  Tonight wouldn’t change my decision unless he changed his. Feeling like I was falling into trouble, I leaned up to kiss him, hoping he could keep me in the clouds for a little while longer. He hesitated to kiss me back, but when he finally did, I was soaring. It had barely been a week since he last kissed me, and I was already dying. How could I possibly endure the rest of my life without it? Vaughn was the only boy I’d ever kissed, but I was convinced no lips were softer, no one else as skilled, gentle, and greedy all at once.

  When we finally came up for air, Vaughn laid the blanket on the table underneath me before removing my T-shirt.

  “Lie back.”

  I was shaking too hard to do as he asked at first, but when I finally did, Vaughn wasted no time rewarding me. Leaning down, he flicked his tongue out, teasing my nipple before closing his lips around it while his hand caressed my knee. I held him there as his hand rose higher on my thigh until I was writhing mess. By the time he moved on to my other nipple, my desperate moans were competing with the sound of his hungry groans. When I felt like I’d reached the edge of the earth, another greedy lick and gentle bite away from coming, he pushed my leg up and out, opening me for him. My next breath stuttered out of me when he moved. His head was suddenly between my legs, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt him kiss me there.

  Why was I so nervous? He’d eaten me out before.

  “Relax.” After kissing my pussy once
more, he met my gaze, his green eyes glittering with the command. “You were always meant to be here, Tyra. Like this. For me.”

  My response, which was probably only a jumbled mix of sounds anyway, got caught in my throat when he reached for a condom. I watched him tear it open and slowly sheathe himself with bated breath. Had he always been that big? I couldn’t recall.

  Noticing my trepidation, the corner of his lips turned up, and if I weren’t frozen in place, I would have broken his nose. “Not tonight, pip-squeak,” he whispered before kissing me. “I won’t fuck you just yet.”

  I expected to feel relief at his promise, but all I felt was disappointment flowing through me. I never had any doubts that Vaughn was meant to be my first. If only he could let himself be my only.

  Hearing something, my heard turned toward the house where the sound had come from. Oblivious, Vaughn began pushing inside me, and the rest of the world ceased to exist.

  Even with Vaughn’s amazing restraint, I felt full.

  My pussy tightened around the tip of his pierced cock, greedily working to pull him deeper. The harsh dip of his brows as he watched himself move in and out of me drew my gaze from the sexy flex of his sculpted abs. He withdrew, and once I lifted onto my elbows, a gasp fell from my lips when I saw the condom coated with my arousal. Vaughn began pushing inside of me once more, our breathing growing heavier, and his lids lowering with every inch he buried. His eyes were slits, and his mouth set in a firm line by the time he withdrew again. I lifted, wanting to kiss the grimness from his lips. At the same time, I felt his fingers digging into my hips. I winced, but he didn’t seem to notice as his grip tightened even more.

  Something was definitely wrong.

  The torment and need on his face were so vivid it set my heart pounding as he transformed before my eyes. I touched his cheek to no avail and no reaction. It was like he was no longer here with me but somewhere else. Someplace that turned his green irises black.