I shift uncomfortably, wondering what he has in mind. “Well, okay.”
Pleased with my answer, he takes my hand and leads me through the front door of the bar. It’s not as loud as the party we just came from but still has a pumping vibe. “You need your beauty sleep,” hesays, taking me right the way through and to the back stairs that lead up to the apartment. He uses his fingerprint to let me in.
Once inside, it’s surprisingly quiet. “How am I going to get myself in and out of this place if I need your fingerprint?”
“I’ll have Bodhi override the system in the morning. We can give you a code instead.”
I lean into the door, not sure what to do now. “Okay. Thanks for letting me in then. Guess I will see you in the morning.”
“You’re not going to invite me in for a drink?”
“Is that what you want? Come on, River, stop trying to act normal around me. I know you saw the stuff on my phone, you don’t have to pretend you’re not disgusted by me.”
“Is that what you think?”
“The three of you literally kicked me out the morning after you saw it. You didn’t even come to say goodbye. What else would I think?”
He pulls me into his solid chest. “Baby, fuck, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I don’t know what made you do it, but I’m not here to judge you. I meant what I said the other night. Nothing will make me change my mind about you.” He pulls back, taking my face in both his hands, and he kisses me quickly. “Get some sleep. You’re going to need it to beat me in the morning.”
Then he closes the door with a click. I stare at the empty space, trying to get my head and body to calm the fuck down. He’s gone, left me alone. Is that what I wanted? Did I want him to stay, is that why I now feel so empty? Or am I just so confused about everything that happened tonight?
Like a zombie, I pull the blanket off the bed and move over to the window with it wrapped around me, emptiness consuming me. I thought I made some new friends, thought I could be normal for once. But somehow, the Thrones are controlling my social life as well.I’m not even sure if any of the conversations I had with the girls over the last few days were real or some elaborate scheme to get close to me. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I have to work out why they are going to so much trouble to get close to me. I’m not just some girl they all want. Nope, there is more going on here. And when I work out what, they are all going to pay.
Chapter 19
River
With a yawn I stretch my arms over my head. My fist connects with something hard. Fuck, that hurt. I rub the side of my palm and glance around. That’s right, I fell asleep in the stairwell to my apartment.
I toss off the blanket I grabbed from the bar and sit up, flicking off the alarm that’s blaring at me from my phone. Six a.m. I have a bet to win.
Knocking on the door, I wait for Dove to respond. When she gives me nothing, I press my finger to the pad of the security system and let myself in. I find her curled up in a ball on the carpeted floor by the window. She’s wrapped the blanket from my bed around her like a little burrito. I can’t help but laugh. Neither of us used the bed last night, but she makes sleeping on the floor look adorable.
“What?” she grumbles, pulling the blanket up to cover her face.
“It’s six, you have a bet to lose,” I push, hoping that will get her going.
She peers up at me from under the blanket. “I need to stop making bets with you when I’ve been drinking.”
I hold a hand out for her to take. “Probably, but it’s too late to back out of this one now.” She lets me help her up, a few staples poppingopen on her dress as she stands, her massive tits nearly toppling out. I can’t help the cheeky grin that stretches across my face.
She jumps to cover herself up. “Oh my God, this dress wasn’t made to last the night.”
“I’m not complaining.” I grin back at her. She’s a goddess, even half asleep and with her hair all over the place and her slept-in make-up.
She swats me away. “Stop gawking at me like that.”
“Like what, baby?”
“You know what like,” she mutters as she moves through to the bathroom, closing me out. She curses a few times, and there is a lot of crunching and popping of bubble wrap. Then she bursts open the door, peering out. “Riv?”
“Yeah, Dove.” I smirk at her, loving that she needs my help and has to ask for it.
“Can you throw me a tee or something? The dress just died,” she grumbles.
I approach the door, staring her down. “You don’t need clothes for what I have planned.”
Her eyes go wide. “Shit, River, what is this bet?”
