Steele brushed past Archer, making his way out of the building—but not without shooting me an evil wink over his shoulder... like he was nowhere near done with me yet.
Shit. What have I started?
"I told you not to get drunk," Archer snapped at me, shifting his anger back in my direction now that Steele was gone.
I smiled as sweetly as I could. "And I told you where to shove your orders, sunshine. I'll give you a hint, in case you missed the subtext. It's where the sun doesn't shine." I gave him a highly condescending pat on the chest, then followed Steele out to the parking lot. Of the three devils I'd been saddled with for the near future, he was easily the least hateful.
Kody and Archer followed like dark clouds, and when Kody unlocked the G-Wagen, I slid straight into the backseat with Steele.
"Huh," Kody murmured, taking the driver's seat. "Note to self: Drunk Madison Kate is less combative than sober Madison Kate."
Archer paused outside the car, scowling at me in the backseat, then he looked at the empty shotgun position like he was confused as hell. But, shit, dude. I’d made my point on the way over. No sense in being uncomfortable as fuck the whole way home too.
After a moment, he sat his ass down in the vacant seat and shut the door with a heavy thunk. Typical fucking Archer, though, couldn't just leave it at that. He simply had to have the last word. Or try to.
"Nice to see you're capable of being trained after all, Princess Danvers." The scorn in his voice made it sound like he was talking about a dog.
Oh. Hell no.
Alcohol and adrenaline still coursed through my veins, mixing with the lingering endorphins from my recent orgasm—a potent mix at the best of times. And this? Well.
Sliding across the backseat, I swung a leg over Steele's lap, straddling him and bringing my lips to his for a bruising kiss. Shock only froze him for a fraction of a second before his hands grabbed my ass, grinding me down onto his already hardening cock and kissing me back with scary-level intensity.
So much so that I needed to seriously force myself to stop kissing him before tossing my hair and giving Archer a feral smile. "Or maybe I just prefer the company back here."
It took every ounce of my willpower to slide off Steele's lap and sit back in my seat, but the murderous look on Archer's face made it totally worthwhile.
Kody exhaled heavily, turned the ignition on and reversed out of the space we were in. "I take that statement back," he murmured. "Drunk Madison Kate is six million times more combative. Good to freaking know."
I bit my lip to keep from laughing, but Kody caught my eye in the rear-view mirror. The raw lust in his eyes was enough to make me second-guess my actions. These three were dangerous, unrepentant bastards, and I needed to remember that when I was dealing with them. They weren't just some cute—okay, fine, gorgeous—guys from my university. The three of them had made me into the Riot Night scapegoat and never looked back once.
I hated them, and I needed to stop forgetting that fact.
Messing around with Steele had been a huge step in the wrong direction, and it was one I needed to rectify. Tomorrow.
18
Sunlight streaming into my bedroom made everything... pinker. Sparklier. Maybe I shouldn't have turned down Steele's offer to repaint my room after all. If nothing else, I needed proper blackout curtains to block the light better.
Fuck. Thinking about him made me think about the night before. How we'd sat together, sharing drinks and talking like, well, like two people who didn't have the baggage we carried.
I groaned into my pillow, cringing at my own behavior. I had no idea what had gotten into me—other than Steele's way too talented fingers—and I couldn't even really blame the alcohol. Sure, we'd been a bit drunk, but I barely even had a hint of a hangover to justify my dumbass decisions.
"Dammit, MK," I whispered aloud, flipping onto my back and staring up at the ceiling. "Idiot."
Still, I was having a hard time getting him out of my head. The way his lips tasted or how he bit my breast or... shit, or the way Kody had looked at me with naked hunger in his gaze and Archer had glowered like I'd kicked a puppy.
Those three pricks were in my head and under my skin, and it was all getting too much to handle. I needed to step up my plan, starting today. I'd had too many misfires already, so to fix that? A three-way attack.
I rolled over in my huge bed, hunting for my phone, and finally found it tangled up in my sheets. I would need help for what I had in mind, and I knew just who could help me.
"Good morning, gorgeous," Bree drawled when she answered my call. "Have you called to tell me all about your date with the quarterback? I hear he has a massive cock. Verify."
I cringed. "Not exactly." My voice was a bit rough from raising it while talking to Steele over the crowd at the fight. "Long story. Come over? I've got a plan."
Bree laughed. "You have me intrigued. Anything I need to bring?"
"Yeah," I replied, grinning to myself. "Does Dallas still live in Shadow Grove?"
There was a pause on Bree's end, then she whistled. "I'm very intrigued, now. I haven't heard from him in a couple of months, but yeah, last I knew he was. Want me to pick him up?"
A small sigh of relief rushed out of me, quickly replaced by a buttload of anxiety. "Could you? I need his expertise for this one."
"Your wish is my command, Princess Danvers," she replied with a laugh.
"Ugh," I grimaced. "Don't call me that, girl. That's what Archer calls me, and I want to punch his teeth in every time he does it."
Bree howled with laughter down the phone. "No shit, babe, that's exactly why he's doing it. It's also super catchy."
"Fuck you, Brianna," I growled back, and she hissed a fake noise of pain before hanging up.
I tossed my phone onto the bedside table and started getting ready for the day with a hell of a lot more pep in my step than I'd woken up with. The sketchy plan I'd been thinking on all week was going to have to work, and Dallas was my best chance of that happening.
Better yet? His mere presence in the house would infuriate the guys to no end.
A fraction more effort went into my hair and makeup for the day, and I spent about an extra fifteen minutes deciding what to wear before finally settling on ripped jeans and a cropped tank that showed off my toned stomach, still golden-brown from the Cambodian sun.
I tried to tell myself the extra attention to my appearance was for Dallas's benefit, but deep down I was also conscious of running into Steele downstairs.
When I'd wasted every possible extra minute I could, I finally hunted out my big-girl panties and made my way down to the kitchen for breakfast. It'd be at least an hour before Bree and Dallas arrived, seeing as she'd need to drive all the way to the far side of what used to be West Shadow Grove to pick him up. My rumbling stomach wasn't going to wait that long, and besides, I wouldn't want the guys thinking I was hiding.
To my relief—and slight disappointment—the kitchen was empty when I got there. Based on the time, though, I'd guess they were in the gym. Yep, every damn morning, the three of them spent two full hours in the gym... if not more. Steele was usually the first to bow out, though, so it was no huge surprise when a single set of footsteps padded into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. Steele's unmistakable fingers stroked the hair back from my brow, his fingers lingering on my skin, and for a moment I leaned into him where he stood behind me.