by Eva Ashwood
It’s been too long since I was able to just be out without having to worry about the guys breathing down my neck, and I order a large iced coffee and go to snag us a table near the front windows.
“Okay. Talk to me,” Scarlett says, plonking down into the seat opposite mine when she has her drink as well. “What’s been going on?”
We’ve seen each other on campus over the past week, but only briefly and always with Levi present, so we haven’t had a chance to really talk.
I open my mouth to tell her, but then close it again. Because where do I begin, honestly? It hasn’t been that long since the guys were dragging me out of Sapphire, but it feels like so much has happened. I lick my lips and take another sip of my drink.
“A lot, actually. So. I haven’t exactly been as careful as I should have been.”
It feels weird to admit that out loud, but Scarlett is my best friend and the one person I tell everything to. I can’t keep it from her, and honestly, I want to get it off my chest.
“What do you mean?” she asks, leaning over the table so she’s closer to me. “Have you been…” She waggles her eyebrows, and I don’t need her to elaborate to know what she’s getting at.
“Yeah, I guess so. There have been some… developments.”
Her eyes light up, and she has her fingers in a stranglehold around her cup. “Tell me! I need the details.”
“Okay, okay,” I say, gesturing for her to keep her voice down. “You know I hooked up with Levi, right? A year ago?” She nods. “Well, I thought that was that, but apparently he wanted more. And I know this because he burst into my room after we got back from being out and kissed me.”
“After they dragged you out of the club?”
“Same night, but we went somewhere else after that.” I fill her in about the training gym and the fight I got into and how pissed Sloan got. “He punched out the guy I was fighting in one hit and then stalked me to the locker room where I went to go cool off.”
“Mercy DeLeon, did you fuck him in a locker room?” Scar asks, wide eyed.
“No!” I shake my head vigorously, then bite my bottom lip. “I mean. We didn’t fuck. He just. He ate me out. While I was bent over the sink.”
She squeals, making a couple of people sitting close to us look over curiously. I kick her under the table, and she sighs.
“Sorry, sorry.” She holds up her hands. “I just… I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it was Sloan, of all people, either. He’s so… broody.”
“Yeah.” I snort. “And irritable. Anyway, that happened, and then Levi walked in before we could go any further.”
I still don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed about the interruption, but it’s best not to dwell on it, I figure. I’m not sure I would be happy with what I discovered if I thought too hard about how I feel about that night.
Scar nods, her eyes still wide. “And that’s why he kissed you after you got home? Levi?”
“Yeah. Well. I also kissed Rory after the Sloan thing, but that was just to prove a point.”
“You what?”
“I mean, it wasn’t the first time.”
Her eyebrows shoot up even higher, and she blinks twice, then shakes her head. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, hot stuff, I’m gonna need you to start from the beginning. How many times have you kissed these guys?”
I take another long sip of my coffee and try to get my thoughts in order, starting from the beginning. Levi and I hooked up a year ago, there was the kiss with Rory in the home gym, and then the whole mess with them at the training gym. Kissing Rory after meeting his family too.
By the time I finish laying it all out for her, I want to kick myself for being so fucking reckless, especially considering how I promised Scarlett I would be careful around them.
“Holy shit, Mercy. It’s like you’re building a harem or something,” she says when I stop speaking. “A harem of hot, dangerous men who seem to be especially attracted to you.” She lets out a breath that’s almost a wistful sigh.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I remind her, jamming my straw into the cup and swirling the ice around. “And it’s not a harem. It’s just… I don’t know. Three guys who drive me fucking nuts.”
“In a good way, it sounds like. I know they’re assholes for what they’re doing, but it seems like they like you. And I think you like them more than you want to admit.” Scarlett tips her head to the side. “I guess since you’re a girl, it would be more like a reverse harem.”
“That’s not a thing, Scar,” I tell her, knowing it’s probably pointless to argue about it.
“Sure it is. And if it’s not, then you’re just a pioneer. And I mean, it could be worse. They could be three ugly guys keeping you at their place.”
In spite of myself, I laugh. “Trust you to have your priorities in the right order,” I tease her, shaking my head. She’s right, but in a way it would be easier if they weren’t so damn attractive. At least then I could keep my focus better.
“Hey, I’m just trying to help you see the good spots in all of this. It’s the kind of situation where you could use a silver lining,” Scarlett points out. She props her chin up on her hand and gives me a look. “How’s your dad doing?”
That takes most of the teasing out of the conversation, and things turn serious. I keep swirling the ice in my cup, swallowing around the sudden lump in my throat.
In a way, I feel almost ashamed to admit I don’t know. I’m his daughter, all he has left, and there’s nothing I can do to help him beyond trying to dig up some kind of dirt on the men holding me as collateral. I don’t even know where he is or if he’s safe.
I glance up at Scarlett, and I know she can read all of that on my face.
“I just… I hope this works,” I tell her, my voice strained. “This bargain. Because they were going to kill him, Scarlett. They were ready to kill him that night, and they won’t give him another chance.”
She nods, looking solemn. “It’s a bad place to be. But he’s strong. He can do whatever it is they want him to do, right?”
“Probably? I mean, I have no idea what they want from him. And even if he does it, how do I know it’s not just delaying the inevitable, you know? How do I know this will be the end of it? It might go badly no matter what.”
Scarlett reaches over and pats my hand, and we finish our drinks and head back out. The ride back to the house is quiet, and I’m lost in thought when we pull up out front.
“Hey,” Scarlett says, reaching over to poke me in the shoulder. “It’ll be okay. I believe that. One way or another.”
I muster a smile for her. “Thanks, Scar. What would I do without you?”
“Oh, probably suffer and die horribly,” she shoots back, grinning and getting out of the car when I do. She pulls me into a big hug, and I bury my face in the crook of her neck for a second, taking comfort in her warmth and her smell. No matter what changes or goes to hell around me, Scarlett has always been there. Always been steady and constant. I hope to god she always will be.
I let go and wave when she gets back in her car to drive off, and then head inside the house. I can hear the guys talking loudly in the living room, and I walk through, intending to head up to my room and maybe take a nap or a bath or something. Something to get my mind off of the conversation about my dad and my worries.
“Hey, Hurricane!” Rory calls before I can get very far, his head popping up over the back of the couch. “Come here.”
I frown at him for being bossy, but I turn and make my way over. There’s some action movie on the screen, a car chase playing out with the music thumping through the surround sound speakers. There are beers and liquor bottles on the coffee table, and it’s clear the guys have had more than a couple of drinks already.
“Come hang out with us,” Rory says, giving me big puppy eyes.
I laugh and shake my head. “Nah, I’m just going to head upstairs. I’m tired.”
“Mercy,” Levi chimes in. “Come on. You spend so
I bite back the comment about how maybe that’s their fault and glance at Sloan. He’s looking back at me, and for once, he’s not scowling.
Before I can make a decision either way, Rory grabs my arm and pulls me down onto the couch between him and Sloan. I should tell him off for not listening to me, but the couch is comfortable, and watching a movie with them is probably better than spending the night in my room alone.
Probably.
Rory leans forward and snags a beer from the table and holds it out to me, wiggling it teasingly. I roll my eyes and snatch it up, making a show of using the edge of the coffee table to pop the cap off in a practiced gesture.
Levi laughs and Rory pretends to swoon. There’s even a little smile on Sloan’s face as we settle in to watch.
It’s a terrible movie, with bad effects and even worse acting. The car chase goes on for another twenty minutes, and Levi throws his bottle cap at the screen. “Catch this asshole already!” He snorts. “So we don’t have to watch you pretend to drive anymore.” He jerks an invisible steering wheel wildly to the left and right, imitating the main hero of the movie.
“It’s not about the driving,” Sloan says. “It’s about the car.”
“It’s not even that nice of a car,” I put in. “And it would be way more banged up if it was jumping over medians and shit like that.”
“She’s right,” Levi agrees, pointing at me. “She’s so right.”
“You’re so drunk,” Rory accuses with a laugh.
Levi flips him off and takes a pointed swig of his beer at the same time. I sip mine, keeping my eyes on the screen and not the way Levi’s mouth looks against the bottle.
The car chase finally ends, and the hero ends up crashing into a pond in the middle of a public park, which sparks more jeering from the guys and laughter from me.
The next scene has him walking up the stairs to an apartment building, and the music goes low and sultry. “Enter… the love interest,” Rory drawls, making his voice all breathy and soft.
He’s not wrong, and a blonde woman with huge tits wearing a bathrobe comes to the door.
“It’s four in the afternoon.” I frown, making a face. “Why is she in a bathrobe?”
“It’s called depression, Mercy,” Rory shoots back. “And I’d be depressed too if I was dating someone that bad at driving.”
“You are that bad at driving,” Sloan mutters from my other side. Rory misses it, but I smother a laugh.
It keeps going like that, the three of them giving each other shit and yelling at the screen as the movie goes on, and eventually I yawn and settle in to watch them watch the movie, letting my own comments drop out.
Before I know it, my eyes are closing, and I put my empty beer bottle on the table, deciding not to fight it.
I have no idea how much time passes, but when I open my eyes again, the screen is paused on the scrolling credits, and I blink blearily.
My head is pillowed on a strong chest, the soft material of a well-worn t-shirt under the skin of my cheek. I yawn and stretch a bit, trying to get my bearings while rubbing at my eyes with one hand. When it finally makes it through my tired brain that I’ve been sleeping on one of them, I stiffen and sit up quickly, cheeks immediately going pink in embarrassment.
It’s Sloan, because of course it’s Sloan.
If it was Rory, there would be some flirtatious teasing and that would be the end of it, but Sloan looks stiff and tense, and when I glance at his face, it’s unreadable.
For once, he doesn’t look like he’s a second away from punching a hole in a wall, but it’s clear he’s acting like nothing happened, like he doesn’t give a shit.
His eyes meet mine for all of a second, and then he’s back to staring at the TV again. He’s playing it cool, and he doesn’t say anything, but the fact remains that he let me curl up like that. He didn’t move me off of him while I was sleeping. Given how easily he’s been pushing me around and grabbing me when he wants to, if he didn’t want me there, he could have just pushed me off with no issue.
Instead of bringing any of that up, I yawn and stretch and get to my feet, hurrying up the stairs so I can curl up in my own bed and stop thinking about how broad and warm Sloan’s chest is.
I change into a comfy tank top and get under the covers, and it’s not hard to recapture that feeling of comfort and warmth that lulls me back to sleep easily enough. Just as I’m drifting off, I realize I can still smell him. That sharp, woodsy scent settles around me, clinging to me and now my sheets. I catch myself inhaling it deeply for a second, and then I frown.
Goddammit. Why is that smell so fucking addictive?
Why is he?
20
A few more days pass, and it’s almost weird how routine things have become. It was once so strange to be here, in their house, being trailed around by them whenever I wanted to do anything, but now it’s just mundane. It’s become a part of my life, and I can’t tell if I should be worried about that or not.
On Friday, I step out of my last class of the day with a relieved sigh. It’s been a long week, and I’m tired and ready for the weekend, even if all I manage to accomplish is doing some laundry and lying around. Maybe I’ll invite Scarlett over and we can have a movie night of our own, watching the rom-coms that are a guilty pleasure for me, and some of Scarlett’s favorites, with a few action films thrown in for good measure.
I’ve also been poking around the house a little more, careful not to draw attention to myself. It’s not like the guys are leaving important Black Rose memos all over the place, but I’m sure there’s gotta be some shit worth getting into somewhere in the massive house. I just need to find it.
When I leave the building where my class is held, Levi’s in his usual spot against the wall, arms folded, but he pushes off and grins at me when I walk over to him. I wait to see if he’s going to explain what he’s smiling about, but he doesn’t say anything.
I roll my eyes. “What are you so excited about? If being cooped up on my campus day in and day out bothers you so much that you’re literally giddy with joy at the end of the day, you could always just stop coming with me.”
He shakes his head and then rolls his eyes in turn. “That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
“It’s a surprise,” he says, his grin turning teasing. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
There was definitely a time when hearing that Levi or either of the other two had a surprise for me would make me immediately worried about what it was. But now I just feel curious, wondering what they’re all up to—because I don’t believe for a second that this is all Levi’s doing.
We walk back to the car and head home, and Levi just keeps smiling until I head upstairs to my room.
There, draped across the bed, is probably the sexiest, most elegant dress I’ve ever seen outside of like a magazine or the internet. It’s fiery red and long, probably almost floor length on me. The halter style neckline plunges low, designed to show off a lot of cleavage in the front and pretty much all of the back from what I can tell when I hold it up. It’s definitely not meant to be worn with a bra.
The material is silky and smooth in my hands when I touch it, except for a line of delicate beading along the waist that shimmers in the light.
It’s beautiful.
And I’m immediately suspicious.
I fold the dress over one arm and head back down the stairs to the kitchen where Sloan and Levi are talking.
“So what the fuck is this all about?” I ask, gesturing to the pile of fabric over my arm.
I expect Levi to finally come clean about whatever he’s been so smug about, but it’s Sloan who answers me, much to my surprise.
“There’s a party this weekend,” he says. “We’re all going, and you’re coming with us. We thought you might need something to wear.”
He casts a glance up and down my jeans and t-shirt, and I narrow my eyes at him.
��Are you sure you want me to come?” I ask him. “After the last time you guys took me out, you didn’t seem to approve of my behavior.” I let my voice go dry and sarcastic, so there’s no way he can miss just how I feel about that.
He narrows his eyes right back at me, heat springing into those storm gray depths.
“Then you’ll just have to be on your best behavior this time, won’t you?” he asks, and it’s not teasing even a little. It’s like he’s almost daring me to piss him off at this party, to give him another excuse to haul me into a room alone.
And fuck. I’ve been doing so well at not thinking about that, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing how fucking hot it still is that we did that. Even standing right there, I can feel that clench in my core, the desperate pull that makes me really want to test him, just to see what he’s going to do about it.
My tongue darts out to lick my lips, and I watch his gaze follow the motion, willing myself not to blush and give my own arousal away.
“I know I say this so much I sound like a broken record at this point,” I say, putting my free hand on my hip. “But you’re not the boss of me. I can do what I want.”
Before he can reply, I turn on my heel and go back upstairs with the dress, heart racing just a little.
As annoyed as I am by Sloan, I have to admit—to myself in my own head—that I’m looking forward to this party a little bit. For one thing, it’ll be with other Black Rose members, more than likely, which will give me another chance to learn about the organization and what they might be up to. Ever since I followed Rory to Jen’s house last weekend, my information gathering hasn’t gone anywhere, and this is a chance to fix that.
For another thing, I’m still a bit stir-crazy. I like the idea of going out, and looking nice while doing it.
The next night, the guys tell me to be ready by eight, and they disappear into their rooms to get ready while I do the same. I shower and shave and even take the time to put on some makeup and curl my hair.
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