Page 188 of Vexatious Queen

“And if you agree to give me what I want…” She looked me up and down, and I groaned like it was her hand touching me. “Then I could be persuaded to find a closet, or a spare room, a storage room, or even a laundry room, whenever you have the urge.”

I blinked as my brain tried to process what she just said.

“You want me to agree to group sex, and in return, I can have you whenever I want?”

She pressed her lips together as she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Within reason. You can’t drag me out of class, you can’t steal me away from one of the other guys, and it can’t get me expelled, fired, humiliated, or lead to me naked on the news.”

“Damn, I was hoping to have you all over the news,” I said, and a slow smile spread across my face. “How many times do you want to do this group thing?”

Ren flicked her hair over her shoulder. The move was as seductive as everything else about her.

“Whenever I want.”

I sucked in a deep breath and tried to picture what it would be like. I’d been with multiple girls at a time, but this was different. It was one thing to know she was with my guys, and another thing to witness it.

But the offer of whenever and wherever I wanted…that was tempting, like the Devil whispering in my ear, tempting. I’d always wanted to fuck her in the limo or in one of the classrooms. Hell, even on the bar at Volatile while I licked whiskey off her body.

“Done. It’s a deal.”

“You can’t get all weird and punch any of them, even if they deserve it,” she ordered, stepping backward toward the door. “And you can’t back out and sulk. We are in this. They are a part of me and our life, as much as you are. And what I want…is all of you.”

“This will make you happy,” I asked, following her as she continued to retreat like she was pulling me along with an invisible rope.

“Very.”

“Then I’ll do it. You haven’t scratched the surface of my depravity. I’m going to make you so tired that these group sessions are all they ever get.”

I smiled as she rolled her eyes.

“Big talk, Collier.”

We stepped out of the bedroom, and I traced her bottom lip with my thumb. There wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t feel alive when she was near me. I offered Ren my elbow.

“It’s only big talk if I can’t follow through. And Princess…I can follow through. You have no idea what you have unleashed.”

“I can’t wait to find out,” she said.

“Who are you and what have you done with my wife,” I asked, teasing her.

“What can I say…you’ve all corrupted me.”

She smiled, and my heart stopped altogether. I’d started this whole thing believing love was nothing more than leverage to hold over someone, that it was something you controlled or lost.

Somewhere along the way, Ren had rewired me completely. I still wanted her with a violence that scared me, still burned to be the one she reached for first, last, always—but now I knew the difference between possession and protection.

Princess wasn’t mine because I claimed her. She was mine because she chose me. And that made everything else acceptable.

Whatever was circling us hadn’t shown its face yet. I could feel it lurking in the shadows. It reverberated in my bones, that low thrum before impact, that moment right before blood hit the ground. I didn’t need names or proof to prepare. I’d already crossed the line into darkness from which there was no return. And if someone dared come for Ren…it wouldn’t be a fight. It would be an ending.

MARCH 7 – SATURDAY 5:00 PM

Liam

The party hadn’t officially started, but the games were already underway. Dimitri and Ronan had arrived forty minutes early. Apparently, they were staying in town for a few days. I wasn’t sure I liked that idea. Dimitri was always out for himself. So, my question was…what angle was he playing?

Ronan was eyeing every maid and server who walked by like they were lunch, despite being here to meet Vicky. Walking in on him fucking someone up against a wall wasn’t my idea of a good time.