Dallas sighed and tugged me into another tight hug. "Ain't that the truth, girl."
"Come on, lovebird," Bree said, poking Dallas in the side and heading out of my bedroom. "Work waits for no man. Especially an ex-con."
I followed them downstairs to see them out and was all too aware of Archer, Kody, and Steele playing video games in the den... in full view of the foyer.
Apparently Dallas noticed them, too, because the hug he gave me at the front door lingered and his hands caressed my back in a less than platonic kind of way. His chest vibrated with a dark chuckle, and I knew he was messing with our audience. Or I thought that was what he was doing.
"It was good catching up, Kate," he told me when he put me back on the floor. "Let's hang out this week. Just like old times." The wink he gave me was evil as fuck, and I didn't hold back my answering chuckle.
Dallas headed out of the house, swaggering his fine ass toward Bree's convertible while she air-kissed my cheeks and said goodbye.
"What old times is Moore referring to, Princess Danvers?" Archer demanded, tossing his PlayStation controller on the couch and stalking over to where I stood in the foyer. "Sure as shit sounded like you have history there."
Bree, bless her heart, had paused in the doorway at the sound of his voice and whipped around with her blonde hair flying. "Oh, Archer, honey," she answered for me, laughing a throaty sound, "I'm sure Dallas just meant how the three of us used to hang out and get milkshakes while MK was supposed to be at vocal lessons."
I breathed a small sigh of relief that was all she said.
Too soon, though.
"Then again, maybe he's talking about the times he climbed through MK's window and, you know, spent the night." She waggled her brows suggestively. "You're capable of reading between the lines there, right?"
I'm going to kill her.
Then again, based on the way Archer's vein over his temple was throbbing again, maybe I'd give her a high-five instead.
"'Kay, cool, I'll leave you to play that scenario out inside your head." Her smile at Archer was wicked as sin, and I snorted a laugh. "Bye, babe. Let me know if you go through with the thing." She gave me a pointed stare, and I nodded.
"Oh, Bree babe, you'll know." I closed the door after her, then turned to race back upstairs, only to find my path blocked by a bad-tempered douchecanoe. "Oh, what now?" I drawled. "The whole big-man intimidation bullshit is getting tired, Archer; pick a new tactic."
I stepped around him, making it up two steps before he replied.
"Have you fucked him?"
Turning slowly, I glared pure death at him. "Excuse me?"
Archer's eyes sparked with something frightening. Disgust, maybe? "You heard me, Princess. Bree just implied you and Moore have sexual history, so is she stirring shit or have you fucked him?" His question was dark and threaded with warning. Every instinct screamed at me not to poke the bear... but what the fuck did they know?
"Not that it's any of your business, Archer, but yes. Multiple times. And I'm really looking forward to catching up on old times with him again soon. I hope you sleep deeply ‘cause I'm a screamer." I smirked pure, smug satisfaction and left him standing there with a dumbstruck look on his face as I scurried up the stairs.
I paused when I turned the corner, out of sight, and took a moment to catch my breath. My heart was thumping wildly from the confrontation and from my half-truth, but it was thanks to that momentary pause that I heard the solid thump and cursed shout of Archer punching a wall.
The rush of emotions that flooded through me were too complex to even try and unpack, so I rushed into my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. My fingers trembled as I clicked "send" on my computer, but I knew it needed to be done. I needed to hit them harder, if only to make them hit me back. Make it easier for me to hold onto all my hate.
Somehow I managed to avoid all three guys all weekend, choosing to eat in my room for dinner—thank goodness for my father's household staff—and duck out early to hang with Bree all Sunday. Not that I would have run into the guys, anyway, seeing as they’d left before dawn for some photoshoot.
By Monday morning, the pictures I'd emailed out to the entire SGU mailing list had gone damn near viral.
"Madison Kate!" The enraged roar echoed down the corridor as I made my way to class, and I flinched. Fuck.
I'd known it was coming, obviously. I was actually shocked they hadn't seen it sooner. Then again, I'd sent the blast to everyone's student address, and I guessed not many people used that email over the weekend.
Spinning on my heel, I pasted an innocent expression on my face. "Yes, Archer?"
The fact that he'd actually used my name and not "Princess Danvers" should have been my first clue about how pissed off he was. Then again, I didn't give a crap.
"Spare me the bullshit; I know this was you," he snarled, holding his phone up for me to see.
Faking confusion, I took the device from him and peered at the screen, then let out a low whistle. "Wow, Arch. I knew you three were close but not this close. No judgments here, though. Why are you showing me your home porn?" I held his phone back out to him, and he snatched it back. “Also, I should probably point out that its against SGU policy to have mobile phones on campus. You could get in trouble for that, you know?”
"I'm through playing nice, Madison Kate," he hissed, pointing a menacing finger at me. "You'll pay for this." He started to turn away, then swung back around and stepped in close enough that our chests touched. "And we both know I'd be on top."
Laughter bubbled up in my throat as he stomped away like a bear with a bee sting, and I only just swallowed it before Kody and Steele appeared from around the corner.
"Look, if you've come to tell me about your ménage relationship with Archer, he's already filled me in. I think it's so great you're all exploring your sexuality like this, but it's a bit in bad taste to share the pictures around campus, you know?" I kept my face as straight as I possibly could, but a hint of laughter wove into my voice.
Steele just shook his head, looking... disappointed as he walked away, following in the direction Archer had gone.
Kody, though, he was eyeing me up with those intuitive eyes of his.
"How'd you do it?" he asked, looking considerably less annoyed than I'd really hoped. "I mean, it's obviously a good photo manipulation, but shit, babe, you even got our tatts right. How'd you manage that?"
A surge of satisfaction zapped through me. That'd been the best part of my plan, and the part which made the images so very convincing. When I'd told Dallas what I wanted him to do, he couldn't decide whether it was hilarious or diabolical. I think both.
"Well, if you're trying to tell me it's a prank and not something leaked from your personal archives, I'm not so sure I believe you. Nor will lots of people. But if such a prank were to be executed so beautifully... I might question just how many nearly nude images there are of you floating around the internet." I shrugged, grinning. "But hey, at least now I know why Archer is so threatened by me. You really should stop flirting with me in front of your boyfriend."