Savage Royals

by Callie Rose

  By the time the bell rang, I wasn’t ready to go. I packed up my things reluctantly, tugging on a sweatshirt over my leotard and slipping on my tennis shoes.

  “I’ll bring the stuff with me tomorrow,” Finn said as he patted his bag.

  I smiled. “That would be amazing. My legs have never felt this good before.”

  “Told you.” He smirked. “I know what I’m talking about.”

  I watched him head out. He even raised a hand and waved as he slipped out of the doors. My heart pounded heavily in my chest, and I scolded it.

  Don’t get used to this, Tal. It’s not fucking real.

  Repeating those words like a mantra in my head, I quickly grabbed my bag and pushed open the door of the studio. I needed to haul ass to make it to my English Lit class on time.

  As I walked across campus, I tried to prepare my heart and mind for the next time I saw Finn in mixed company, when he’d inevitably revert back to tormenting me. The relaxed, almost sweet way he’d acted in the abandoned studio wouldn’t last. I knew that.

  What happens in Switzerland stays in Switzerland.

  Chapter 12

  I actually didn’t see Finn at all for the rest of the day. I only had two more periods—English Lit and Chemistry—and afterwards, Leah came back to the Wastelands to study with me and Maggie.

  Maybe it was because there hadn’t been a chance for him to break the spell, to prove that nothing had really changed between us outside that small room, but I looked forward to sixth period more than ever the next day.

  I still wanted to focus on practicing dance and pushing myself, but I was also sort of dying to see Finn again. The thought of his smile and how it reached his bright, golden-brown eyes made something warm spark in my belly, and I pressed a hand to my stomach to calm the butterflies as I walked up to the second floor of the gymnasium.

  As I’d lain in bed the previous night trying to fall asleep, I could’ve sworn I still felt his fingers on my skin, working their way up my legs, massaging with gentle possessiveness.

  I wanted more of that.

  More of him.

  I stopped suddenly at the top of the stairs, blowing out a frustrated breath.

  Oh my God. Please stop fantasizing about Finn Whittaker. It was awkward and strange, but I couldn’t figure out how to shut down the feelings. I just wanted his sunshine, his eyes, his smile.

  Shoving those thoughts away, I headed for the studio and pushed inside.

  Empty.

  For the first time in weeks, the studio was completely barren, and the warmth in my gut twisted into a knot and hardened. I’d gotten so used to pushing through the doors and seeing Finn as he sat inside, knees up and back resting casually against the wall.

  He always beat me to the studio, and every time I walked in, it somehow felt like he was waiting for me. But today, he was just… gone.

  I sighed, gnawing on my lip. Maybe he’s late.

  That was possible. He could’ve gotten wrapped up in getting a blowjob from some girl somewhere else.

  That thought made a spike of anger flare in my chest, even though I wasn’t quite sure why. Did I really expect anything different from him?

  I threw my bag on the floor and walked to the barre quickly before starting my stretches. Don’t think about him, Tal. Don’t think about anything. Just dance.

  Usually, I worked in quiet, but since Finn wasn’t here to be annoyed by it or mock my playlist or anything, I pulled up music on my phone and let it carry me away. I stopped doing drills and just danced, falling into old routines and ignoring the irritating pull in my chest.

  He never showed up, and even though getting lost in the music helped, my heart still felt strangely battered when the hour was up.

  As soon as class was over, I headed for the locker room. I set my bag down on the bench and pulled my uniform out of the locker as a group of senior girls gossiped and laughed behind me—though not about me, for once.

  I yanked off my sweatshirt and was just about to tug down the straps of my leotard when a deep voice echoed through the room.

  “Get out. Now.”

  My head whipped around at the sound of Cole’s voice. He strode heavily into the locker room like he owned the place, ignoring the incensed shrieks that greeted him. He still hadn’t put his shirt back on after playing basketball all period, and his tattooed chest glistened with a sheen of sweat.

  “I said out!” he barked, jerking his head toward the door.

  A jet-black lock of hair fell over his forehead, and he shoved it out of the way as the girls all scrambled to leave.

  Grabbing my bag, I abandoned my open locker and made a beeline for the exit, but Cole’s arm shot out, his palm slamming into the wall ahead of me, blocking my way. I stumbled to a halt, turning my head to meet his gaze.

  “I—I thought you wanted everyone to leave.”

  I couldn’t tell if I was whispering or shouting, could hardly hear myself over the blood rushing in my ears. Cole always radiated strength and feral danger, but today, something else was pouring off of him in waves.

  Anger.

  “Not. You.” His voice was a low growl as his hands pressed against the wall on either side of my head.

  My heart throbbed in my chest, beating so hard and fast it hurt.

  What the hell does he want?

  He looked me over closely before he leaned in, his massive, shirtless frame dwarfing mine, and my throat closed up, choking off my breath. I shrank back against the hard concrete, my nerves on fire. I could feel him everywhere, even though no part of him was touching me. He smelled like musk and pine and a hint of ginger, and a trail of sweat trickled down the black ink that wove across his chest.

  “What…” I swallowed, forcing my voice to work. “What do you want?”

  “What do I want?” His eyes narrowed as he chuckled darkly. His irises were bright blue on the inside near the pupil, but darker blue on the outside edges… something I hadn’t noticed until our faces were only a few inches apart. “I want to know what the hell you think you’re doing, Legs.”

  My stomach lurched at his use of the nickname. Only Finn had ever called me that.

  Had Finn told the other Princes about the dance studio? Why would he do that?

  Pressing away from the wall slightly, I straightened my spine. “You mean what am I doing in the girls’ locker room? Nothing. I was just getting dressed.”

  I tried to push past him, but he moved with me, planting his hands on either side of me again and boxing me in.

  “Wrong guess, little dancer,” he murmured. “That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it. What do you think you’re doing with Finn? Are you really gonna try to get us all off your back by seducing him? You think slutting your way through this school will help you?”

  My jaw dropped open, and I gaped at him in shock.

  Seduce him?

  That was fucking bullshit. I hadn’t tried to seduce anybody. We’d talked like normal people for once. That was it. I wanted to point that out to Cole, but it was hard to think straight with his body still hovering so close to mine, his broad muscles tensed and bunched.

  I couldn’t stop picturing him in the woods, moving like some kind of machine or deadly predator as he systematically destroyed the other boy. He wouldn’t hit me—I kept telling myself that over and over—but it didn’t change the fact that in this moment, he controlled me completely. That thought made my breath come faster as fear mixed with a strange, irrational heat in my lower belly.

  “I wasn’t trying to seduce him,” I scoffed, trying to affix a bored look to my face. “We talked. So what? It wasn’t a big deal. And it’s not even like we talked about sex or anything like that. Just football and… random stuff.”

  “Are you sure?” Cole pressed in closer, so close our noses were almost touching, as his gaze flicked between my eyes, searching for the lie. His voice softened slightly, still thick and dark but slightly less gruff. One hand came off the wall, and he dragge
d a knuckle down the side of my face, running it along the curve of my jaw. “I’m giving you a chance to come clean here, Talia. Tell me what the fuck you were doing.”

  “I’m sure,” I shot back, squirming as an ache built in my core. Jesus. Stop it, Talia. You fucking hate him. “Why would I want to seduce anyone, least of all him? That’s not the kind of girl I am, so just knock it off!”

  Cole paused and drew back slightly, his fingertips still ghosting over my cheek as he looked me up and down. I was torn between conflicting desires to slap his hand away and to lean into his touch, as if the same thing that terrified me could somehow save me too. I clamped my bottom lip between my teeth, trying hard to slow my breath.

  “Why the hell are you so turned on?” he asked, his voice throaty and deep. “Your body is responding to every word I say. Your pupils are blown out. Your skin is flushed. What? Did Finn not do it for you? You need more than that?”

  “I didn’t do anything with Finn. And… I’m not!” I shot back, my voice almost as raspy as his.

  His other hand came off the wall suddenly, moving down to grip my waist, and I jolted. I squeezed my legs together as my breath burst from my lungs in short gasps. Everything in me screamed of danger and dark desire in equal measure as he tugged me toward him lightly, making my chest brush against his. My nipples peaked, sparks of sensation zapping through me.

  It wasn’t fair. How did such a fucking asshole make my body react like this? How did he break down every defensive wall I had?

  “Then why are you breathing like that?” he asked, pressing his cheek against mine as his lips brushed my ear. “Why are your nipples so fucking hard they could shred that little piece of spandex you’re wearing? Why are you rubbing your thighs together like you wish there was something between them?”

  Don’t do this, Tal. Fucking stop and think.

  I wanted to scream at my body that it was attracted to the wrong things, the wrong people. There had to be some nice guys on campus who wouldn’t put my emotions through a meat-grinder every time I saw them. Decent guys. Regular guys.

  So why did I find myself inexorably drawn to the four psychos who were hell-bent on making my life miserable?

  What is wrong with me?

  I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry as a desert. Cole’s hand slid up my body, his fingers moving lightly over my ribs, the side of my breast, my neck, until he cupped my face with both hands, cradling it like something precious and fragile.

  “Cole…” I whispered. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Make you tell the truth?” he whispered back.

  The muscles of his broad jaw rippled, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips, making the ache in my body intensify. He lowered his head, moving in closer until our mouths were almost touching.

  And then he waited.

  The fucking asshole waited.

  He made me come to him, and it was worse that way, so much worse. Because it took away my last defense—the ability to pretend I didn’t want this.

  The chance to deny I had a choice when I thought about this later.

  A whimper that sounded like defeat even to my own ears fell from my lips a half-second before I pressed forward, erasing the last bit of space between us as I kissed him.

  He tasted like sweat and peppermint, like hate and burning desire. A soft, rough noise rumbled in his chest as his tongue plunged into my mouth, no longer asking permission now that I’d opened the floodgates. I opened my lips, allowing him in, running my tongue over his as I gasped for air. Cole’s large hands still cradled my head, fingers threading into my hair as he slid his leg between mine, his body pushing against me. I could feel him reacting to me, warm and hard, and it terrified and thrilled me.

  We kissed as if we were going into battle, as if our tongues and teeth were weapons. As if we were each trying to steal the other’s soul before we lost our own.

  He kissed me until I couldn’t see straight. Couldn’t think straight. Until the only word in the English language I could remember was Cole.

  Then, slowly, he pulled back.

  My eyes had fallen shut sometime during our kiss, and I clung to his forearms as he drew away, blinking up at him in a daze.

  But it was like someone had flipped a switch. The warmth—or at least the heat—I’d seen in his piercing blue eyes was gone, replaced by pure, dark hate.

  What the hell?

  He’d shifted so quickly it gave me whiplash, and I dropped my hands from his arms like he’d burned me.

  “That’s how I know you can’t be trusted.” His nostril flared as his lip, still swollen from our kiss, curled. “Because you’re willing to take whatever scraps you can get. Doesn’t matter which one of us it is. As long as you can get ahead, you’ll offer yourself up to whoever will have you.” The shutters fell back over his eyes, the blank look returning as he shoved himself away from the wall. “Stay away from my friends, Legs.”

  I stared after him in shock as he walked away. The locker room door banged closed, and I jumped before tears burned my eyes. My heart felt like a dead thing in my chest, useless and rotten.

  Is he right? An hour ago, I was thinking of Finn.

  Will I just take any of them?

  Cole’s words echoed in my head as I fled the locker room. Seventh period had already started, but it hardly mattered because I wasn’t going. I didn’t care if they called my grandmother.

  I couldn’t stand another face, another class… another Prince.

  Chapter 13

  I felt sick. My stomach pitched and rolled as I laid my head on the wall of my dorm bathroom and tried not to vomit.

  I hate this fucking place.

  It was worse than being back home. At least there, my father had never pretended to be anything he wasn’t. He’d been a crude, cruel man who’d hated my guts, but he’d never smiled in my face and twisted my emotions like this.

  My hand fumbled with the toilet paper as I rolled off a wad of it. I quickly wiped at my eyes and my nose, willing myself to stop crying. Something had snapped in me as I’d run from the locker room, still wearing my leotard and sneakers and clutching my bag and rumpled uniform in my arms. Halfway across campus, the tears had started to fall, and even though I’d put my head down and walked faster, I knew everyone on the quad had seen them.

  They hadn’t stopped when I’d reached my room either, building into harsh, painful sobs that ripped from my lungs and tore at my throat. Every painful emotion I hadn’t let myself fully experience over the past decade seemed to rear up all at once, forming a tidal wave so strong it’d pulled me under. I’d never cried so much in my life.

  With a grunt of irritation, I quickly tossed the toilet paper away and forced myself to my feet. Resting my hands on the sink, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were lined with red, and I looked tired and defeated.

  Who the hell is that?

  I’d always been determined, strong. My dad had put me through hell, but despite everything he’d done, I’d come out the other side. Now I felt like I was falling apart at the seams. I turned on the tap and splashed cold water on my face, ignoring the way Cole’s words kept trying to worm their way into my brain.

  “Get it together Talia,” I hissed at my reflection. “Are you really going to let these rich assholes drive you out of this school?”

  I had the opportunity of a lifetime here. Having a school like Oak Park on my application would put me in the running at colleges I’d never even dreamed of. It would give me the opportunity to take charge of my own destiny so no one could tell me what to do. No one could crack a whip or dangle a carrot and make me play along.

  Not my grandparents. Not the Princes. Nobody.

  I’m not going to give up because those fuckwads want me to.

  I snatched up a towel and dried my eyes and hair. Once I’d scrubbed what felt like half my face off, I hung it up and walked back into my room. I’d ditched my last two classes of the day, but if I got a jump on the next sections we’d b
e covering, I wouldn’t get too far behind.

  “Fuck you, Cole,” I muttered. “Eat a fucking dick.”

  The crippling sadness that had gripped me was fading, changing into what always lay underneath.

  Determination. Discipline. Survival.

  That was all I’d had to go on for most of my life, and it wasn’t going to change just because I’d been enrolled in a fancy prep academy. The Princes might think they were better than me in every way possible, but I knew something they didn’t. I knew how to survive without money, notoriety, or Mommy and Daddy.

  I only had myself in the world.

  And that would be enough.

  Over the next few weeks, I threw myself into my studies.

  We had four days off for Thanksgiving, and I spent it with my grandparents, but other than that, I didn’t go off campus much. I also did everything I could to avoid the Princes, or at least to avoid being anywhere alone with any of them.

  When I wasn’t in class, I had my face buried in a textbook. The small amount of sleep I got during the week propelled me forward, and on the weekends, I hung out with Leah, Maggie, and a new transfer student named Dan. Because he’d arrived so late in the semester, he’d been relegated to the Wastelands too. He was sweet and geeky and didn’t judge anyone. I liked that about him. It was clear his family had money, but not as much as the Princes—and I loved that about him.

  “What are we doing this weekend?” he asked as we walked across campus on the first Friday of December. It was weird to live in a place where the weather changed only moderately with the seasons, but I didn’t hate it.

  Dan didn’t care about my trash status either. Or the fact that the Princes could make his life hell if they wanted to, just for associating with me. I tried to warn him, but all he did was shrug, adjust his glasses, and follow me and Leah around anyway.

  His level of apathy about the whole thing was inspirational, actually.

  “I need to study, that’s first.” I kicked a small pebble off the path. “Finals are gonna kick my ass. And then I thought we could download a bunch of horrible movies and watch them.”