Wicked Plans

by C. Morgan

  At the same time, I really just couldn’t muster up the energy to actually do anything about it. The mere thought of hauling my sorry ass out of this bed made me feel even more miserable than I already was.

  Hadley would have known how to handle this. She’d had her fair share of wallowing last year before Dax had pulled his head out of his ass. Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t here.

  After the dinner last night, she’d gone back to the frat house with Daxton and I didn’t know when she was planning on coming back. From experience, I knew that it might not be until tomorrow. If I called her, I knew she’d be here in a heartbeat, but when I picked up the phone to make the call, I kept putting it back down again. Over and over.

  There was a significant part of me that was happy about the space and the solitude. It gave me time to think, which in turn made me feel like I was worse off for not having my roommate around because thinking sucked. Such a vicious circle.

  Covering my eyes with the heels of my hands, I groaned and rolled over to face the wall again. Silent tears slid down my face to soak my pillow even more than it already had been from the same thing happening earlier.

  It happened every time I thought about how Brysen had looked at me last night. Like I was the enemy. Like he’d have tossed me into the flames of hell himself if he’d been given half a chance.

  Why did I do that? I’d fucked everything up by pushing him so hard. I knew he was fragile, especially when it came to all things related to his family. They’d done so much damage to him, and there I’d gone telling him he didn’t even need them. What an arrogant, thoughtless, detached thing to say.

  Regardless of how messed up they were, they were still his parents. I knew I certainly would’ve reacted the same way if anyone had said something like that about my family. They had their quirks and hang ups, sure, but I adored them all the same. I needed them all the same and nothing they did would ever change that.

  A knock on my door made me open my eyes again. I frowned, but since Hadley had her own keys and there was absolutely no one who would be showing up at my door right now who I actually wanted to see, I didn’t move.

  “Go away,” I called with as much meaning as I was capable of injecting into my voice. “I’m sleeping!”

  Whoever was out there didn’t listen to me. The knocking became even louder and more insistent than before when I ordered them away.

  Scowling as I sat up, I kicked the covers off my legs and dragged myself out of bed. I hope you know what you’ve just done, buddy. I’m not going to go easy on you for this.

  Wearing only my oversized sleeping shirt, makeup from last night, and no pants, I yanked open the door with every intention of giving the intruder a solid earful. The verbal lashing I’d been about to give died on my tongue when the last person I’d expected to see here grinned down at me.

  “Good morning,” Brysen said. “Mind if I come in?”

  I stared at him for a beat, not entirely sure that I wasn’t hallucinating that he was here and looking happy instead of seeming like he wanted to feed me to a pack of hungry vampires. When he quirked his head at me after I failed to answer his question, I sighed and stepped aside.

  It only occurred to me once I’d let him in that I wasn’t even wearing pants. While there was no point in even trying to pull myself together with him already being in the room, he was freshly showered, smelling all masculine and clean, and looking as rakishly handsome as ever.

  Go figure. Asshole.

  Slumping back down on my bed when I reached it, I buried my face in my hands. I couldn’t keep looking at him. Not when he looked better than he had in weeks when I felt and looked like shit.

  “What do you want?” I asked, my voice coming out raspy from all the crying I’d been doing.

  While I couldn’t see him, I felt him move as he crouched down in front of me. He covered my hands in his, gently prying them away from my face until I looked at him.

  There was a light in his eyes I’d never seen before. A brightness that overpowered the dark guardedness that usually lived in his gaze.

  Curious.

  Taking a closer look, I realized it wasn’t only his eyes that were different. His features somehow seemed different as well. Like they’d lost the inherent tension and tightness that always made him look like he was just about to scowl.

  That’s what it is. He doesn’t seem broody anymore.

  If anything, his expression was open, honest, and relaxed. It puzzled the crap out of me, but that was nothing to the confusion and surprise that hit me when he opened his mouth.

  “You were right,” he said.

  “Huh?” My chin dropped. “What did you just say?”

  A knowing grin only just touched the corners of his full lips as he inclined his head. “You heard me. You. Were. Right.”

  “About what?” And what the heck is happening right now?

  Why did he suddenly look so sweet and speak in such a gentle tone? What is going on here?

  “I’ve always been a reckless idiot,” he said, still crouching down in front of me with my hands in his and his eyes staring into mine so deeply it was like he could see all the way to my soul. “That’s my identity. I’m the guy who takes chances and makes mistakes.”

  While I wanted to ask him where he was going with this, I realized he was probably getting there. Instead of interrupting him, I just let him keep talking. “I’m the guy who doesn’t think before he tries something new. Who isn’t afraid of a bit of trouble.”

  A flicker of the darkness I was so used to seeing from him rose up in his eyes, but he blinked it away again. “My father has been trying to smother that part of me, but it’s always been there. Front and center. That’s always been who I am and he’s never been able to stomp it out of me.”

  “Okay,” I said softly. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I’ve made the most reckless decision of my life and I’m hoping that you’ll be sticking around once the moves to execute my decision are made.”

  My heartrate kicked up a notch. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to cancel my own trust. Cancel it, sign it away, or whatever it’s called. I’m giving it up. Walking away from it and not looking back.”

  Every word I’d ever learned vanished from my mind as shock set in. Brysen seemed sure of himself, though. More sure than he’d ever seemed before.

  “I’m going to carve out my own life,” he said, and suddenly that light in his eyes started making more sense. “I’m going to start fresh and so is my sister. We’re done taking my father’s shit and his money. It’s over, Ruby. You were right. I don’t need my parents to live my life. In fact, I think the only way I’m really going to be able to live it is if they’re not in it.”

  Words… What are those again? For a few long seconds, all I could do was gape at him. I couldn’t believe he was serious about this. Just last night, he’d been so convinced that he was nothing without his parents… and now this?

  “What?” I finally managed to get out.

  He squeezed my hands, sucking in a deep breath before he nodded. “I’m doing it. I’m giving it all up and starting from scratch. By myself. Without strings or puppet-masters.”

  “How?” I whispered. “Have you thought this all the way through? Do you know what you’re getting into? Because I don’t, Brysen. I might’ve said all those things last night and I believe you can be your own man without them, but that’s just the ideal. It’s not a practically executable plan. I don’t know how to come up with one of those for you.”

  “You don’t need to know,” he said. “Honestly? I don’t know either, but I have thought it through and I am doing it. All I know is that I don’t care how messy it gets, I only need two things to have the courage to do this.”

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “You and my sister by my side,” he said, releasing one of my hands to place his on the side of my neck instead. “What do you say? Do I have you?”

>   Mind. Blown.

  Wow. It was difficult to believe that any of this was really happening, but the warmth of his skin everywhere it was touching mine confirmed it.

  He was here.

  This was real.

  And he was asking me if I was in it with him.

  “Hell yes,” I said, but the words came out as a breathy choke. Fresh tears gathered in my eyes and started streaming down my cheeks. “Of course you have me. I’m all the way in this with you.”

  “Yeah?” he asked, and he couldn’t hide the hope that sparked behind his eyes when he said it.

  Still tearful, I nodded and caught his face between my hands. “Yeah. Yes. Of course. Always.”

  He grinned as he brought his head closer to mine. “I’m sorry about being an ass last night. You’re nothing like my father. I know that. I don’t even know why I said it. I’m sorry.”

  “So am I,” I whispered, moving my head forward until my lips were moving against his. “I shouldn’t have spoken about your family like they don’t even matter. It was insensitive. I’m really proud of you for having the balls to do what you’re about to do, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t impacted your life or that this is going to be easy at all.”

  “How about we just agree to forgive each other and move on?” he asked, running his nose along the length of mine before planting a peck of a kiss on my lips.

  I hummed my agreement, and he grinned before his hand slid from the side of my neck to my nape. He pulled me to him to close the distance between us and I went willingly, opening my mouth for him when he slanted his lips over mine.

  I still couldn’t quite believe any of this was happening, but I sure was behind him if it was. There was nothing that could tear me away if he was really determined to do this.

  Because this guy? The one with the determination and resolve shining from his eyes? The one who was willing to take the road less traveled and more difficult to stand up for what he wanted? He was a guy I could give my heart to. A guy I could really see myself building a future with.

  Maybe.

  If it actually lasted.

  For now, I was just glad to have the chance to support him and to know we were okay again. That was enough. More than enough, actually. It was everything.

  Chapter 36

  BRYSEN

  Looks like she really does forgive me. When I first decided to come over here without calling or texting first, I wasn’t sure she would forgive me. Hell, I hadn’t even been sure I’d have forgiven me.

  At least not without a fuck ton of groveling and some promises about creative ways of making up for having been such a fucking asshole. It’d only been a few minutes, a few sentences, but a part of me had been downright terrified that I’d blown it with her for good.

  Without her, I didn’t know if I’d ever have had the clarity I had right now. I also didn’t know if I’d have had the balls to really walk away from it all.

  It was knowing what she and others like her had achieved that’d made me realize that I could do it too. It was, without a doubt, going to be the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I was convinced it would also be the most worthwhile.

  Tommy always made me feel like shit. He treated me like a lesser being for not wanting to be an extension of himself, and I was over it. Gone were my days of having to fall in line or else. I was tired of the constant threats and feeling like I had an ax dangling over my head.

  There was only one way to get rid of it all, and that was by stealing the axe he was holding right out of his hands. If I denounced my trust fund and everything else I’d have been entitled to that was administered by him, he wouldn’t have that trump card anymore.

  I’d be free and so would Emily. So that was what I was doing.

  At the end of the day, I realized I’d rather have to work as hard as so many of my peers did than have it all handed to me on a platter filled with thorns. I wanted to be my own man, and this was the way to do it.

  If I kept taking money or anything else from Tommy Burke, I’d not only remain the little bug he could toy with while threatening to squish, I’d also be condoning what he’d said to Emily. And I could never do that.

  My sister was awesome. She was my best friend and my closest confidant—at least she had been both of those things until I’d met Ruby. Now, the two girls were fast starting to share both of those spots.

  There was no way I was going to let Tommy force Emily into being someone she wasn’t anymore. I also definitely wasn’t going to stand by and watch him manipulate her into a sham of a marriage that he arranged for her. No one had mentioned that, but I knew how my dad thought.

  If she wouldn’t fall in line, apologize for what she’d said, and go back to pretending she was someone else, there wasn’t a trick in the book he wouldn’t try to get her to where he wanted her. Which included many awful options, but boarding school in Europe and eventually an arranged marriage would definitely be among them.

  So I was stepping in. Stepping up.

  I had no idea how yet, but that wouldn’t stop me. Stupid things like logistics never had. Sure, I’d always had my family’s money and my name backing me and I wouldn’t have either of those things now, but I still wouldn’t let it stop me.

  This was the start of my new chapter, and I was actually fucking excited about it. Especially as Ruby wound her arms around my neck and pulled me to her, pressing her chest to mine and kissing me like I was the air she needed to breathe.

  Well, that’s probably more of an accurate description of the way I feel about her than how she feels about me. Somewhere along the line, Ruby had become almost like oxygen to me. I needed her and when I didn’t have her, it felt like the world was coming to an end. Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I’ve never felt anything like this before so I don’t really have anything to compare it to.

  All I knew was that I needed her if I was going to make this work. Snaking my free arm around her waist, I held her close and kissed her back just as passionately as she was doing to me. I hadn’t come here for sex, though.

  “When’s Hadley getting back?” I murmured between kisses.

  She shrugged against me. “She’s with Dax. Could be in a minute or a day. I never know.”

  “Let me get the door,” I said before pulling away from her. Pushing to my feet, I crossed their small room and flicked the lock, but I paused before going back to her. “We don’t have to do anything. This is the biggest, most important decision I’ve ever made. I didn’t come here to tell you about it just so you’d fuck me.”

  She watched me closely as I started moving back toward the bed. There was heat in her eyes and her skin was flushed, but her expression was also soft and understanding.

  “I know it’s not what you came here for and I know that we weren’t, nor are we now, officially together or anything, but I’ve heard make up sex is the best kind. I’m pretty sure there doesn’t have to be a formal or official breakup involved for it to qualify as us making up.”

  “I like the way you think, Sprite.” When I reached the edge of her mattress, I bent over and kissed her again before crawling onto the bed with her and laying her down as I went.

  Without taking my mouth off hers, I grabbed a fistful of my shirt at the nape of my neck and pulled it off over my head, only breaking apart from her for as long as it took for the fabric to pass between us. Tossing the shirt to the floor, I toed off my shoes and planted my knees between hers.

  She hooked her legs around my hips, arching her back to help when I slid her massive nightshirt off and dropped it on the floor as well. We were both breathing heavily, but neither of us seemed interested in slowing down to catch our breaths and putting an end to what we were doing.

  With her shirt no longer between us, I felt her hard nipples on my chest when I lowered myself back down on her. I groaned, pulling away to nip at her lower lip before grinning against her mouth. “You know, this is the first time we’re doing this on a bed since our f
irst time.”

  She stroked her fingers through my hair gently, like she actually cared about me. Her tone was teasing, though. Light. “Aww, you’re not getting sentimental on me now, are you?”

  “Fuck no,” I growled and decided that, apparently, I had to stop talking. Because she’s right. That really did sound sentimental. And I don’t do sentimental, but especially not when it’s about sex.

  Something about that thought niggled at the back of my mind, bothering me until I faced the fact that the truth was I never used to do sentiment but that with her, anything was possible. Besides, this also wasn’t feeling like the start of just sex. I didn’t really know what else to call it, but it felt like there was something between us now that wasn’t only about physical satisfaction.

  I’ll figure it out later. All I wanted to do right now was to worship her body the way it deserved to be worshiped—the way she deserved to be worshiped.

  I spent the rest of the morning doing just that. With her dorm room door locked and the key still in the lock, there was no way anyone could walk in on us. For the first time in a long time, we didn’t have to worry about getting caught and we didn’t have to rush.

  Unlike what’d happened the last time we’d hooked up in one of our dorm rooms, I wasn’t itching to get the job done before booting her out. If she left her bed at all today, it wouldn’t be long before I’d be bringing her right back.

  Her skin was smooth under my fingertips as they glided down her sides, her moans breathy when I finally reached between us to touch her over her panties. Briefly turning it over in my mind, I decided not to tease her too much like that today. Again, it just didn’t feel like that kind of sex.

  Hooking my hands into her waistband, I lifted my weight off her so I could pull the fabric off. Once it was gone, I didn’t waste any time getting my hand back to where it’d been before. She was so fucking wet for me that I moaned as I slid my fingers into her, but I didn’t say anything. For some reason, pointing it out and talking dirty to her didn’t feel right today either.