“Fuck. I’m coming. Open your mouth.”
I opened my mouth wider, welcoming him inside. His hands grabbed a fistful of my hair while his hips thrust forward. He came with a loud growl. Hot liquid coated my tongue, and I savored the feeling. He needed this. I needed this.
Keaton slowly pulled away then dropped to his knees in front of me, cupping my face in his hands. “Let me stay with you tonight.” His voice was soft. Gentle. Pleading.
“You know that’s not what we do.”
“Why?” His tone grew louder with each word that followed. “Why can’t it be what we do?”
I swallowed hard. Because I don’t want to be stuck here. I didn’t want to be trapped in a world where I didn’t belong. My heart couldn’t handle another pregnancy scare.
Things weren’t always like this between me and Keaton. We used to have sex. Lots of it. We’d both agreed it was only casual, that it would always be casual. Until I’d missed my period (due to stress and exhaustion, I later found out) and everything changed. That was over a month ago, and we hadn’t had sex since. We still stole moments now and then. We still helped each other escape. We were simply more careful now. I was happy with the way things were. Why couldn’t he be happy too?
“I want more,” he continued as though he was answering my unspoken question. “I want more than blow jobs in the library or hand jobs in the bathroom. I want you, Katie.” He leaned his forehead against mine. His breath danced across my face. “I want us.”
There was no us. We never agreed there would ever be an us. We’d always been on the same page. This was not Keaton talking, it was his jealousy.
“Is this because of today? Because of what people are saying? Is it some kind of pissing contest? Because I swear—”
He closed his eyes and cut me off. “This has nothing to do with Sutton Thorne.”
I placed my hands on top of his, prompting his eyes open again. “Good,” I said even though I didn’t believe him. Then I kissed the tip of his nose. Kissed one corner of his mouth. Then the other corner. “Because he doesn’t matter. This…” I kissed his lips. “This is all that matters.”
He smiled against my mouth. “I taste me on you.”
I kissed him again.
Keaton licked the seam of my lips. “And I fucking love it.”
I moved my hands into his thick brown curls as he parted my lips with his tongue. For a split second, something caught the corner of my eye. I glanced over Keaton’s shoulder right as he slid his tongue over mine. That’s when I noticed the door… wide open.
I could’ve sworn it was closed five minutes ago.
Her name was Katie. At least that’s what he called her.
Right after she swallowed his dick.
I never went to the library. Nobody ever went to the fucking library. Which was exactly why I went to the library. I needed to put some distance between me and Julianna, between me and my dad, between me and the rest of the world right now. No one would look for me in the library. I never imagined that she would be there. And I damn sure wasn’t expecting to see her pouty, pink lips wrapped around some other guy’s cock.
It was wrong to stand here and watch, but I was infatuated with her, with her hands and her mouth and the way her eyes grew dark the minute she tasted him. The darkness that lurked in the depths of my soul bared its teeth. That should be me. Jealousy, rage, and curiosity all blended together in a raging, boiling, and dangerous cocktail. It should’ve been me fucking her mouth. My fists wrapped in her hair. My cum on her tongue.
She stirred my demons, and I hated it. I hated that she took my power to shackle the green-eyed monster called jealousy and held it in her tiny little hands.
I leaned against the wall right outside the library and waited. Maybe it would be her, or perhaps him, but one of them had to come out sooner or later. God help us both if it was her.
It was him.
He walked out still tucking his white polo shirt into his jeans. Motherfucker. Of all the dicks in Torryn, Katie had to suck the one that belonged to Keaton Valetta, royal guard and resident badass. I didn’t mean your everyday, run-of-the-mill badass either. Keaton was a House Guard, the head House Guard. That made him King Badass, for lack of a better word.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Fuck him… and his occupation. The only person I bowed to was my father. Keaton may have been ex-military—all the guards were—but so was I. Consider it part of my Future King Deluxe Training Package. Two years in Torryn’s military. I stood up straight and pretended I hadn’t been hanging around like a groupie at a Harry Styles concert.
Keaton bowed his head as he approached me. “Your Royal Highness,” he said through a forced smile.
“Keaton,” I replied, throwing an arm over his shoulder. He tossed me a curious glance.
Royals weren’t affectionate, not to each other and definitely not to other people. We shook hands—one shake, two at most. We didn’t drape our arms over anyone’s shoulders. And we sure as fuck didn’t suck cupcake icing off their fingers. Like I said, I never was one to follow the rules.
“How are…” I paused, staring at the fork in the road and deciding which path to take. “Things?” I took the easy one.
He tilted his head as though he were staring at that same fork in that same road. “Things are exactly where they’re supposed to be.” He took the one covered in gasoline.
I started walking again, leading him down the hall with my arm around his shoulder. The intimate melody of the cello’s song was joined by the piano. The passion between them grew louder, spilling into the Great Hall as we got closer to the Ambassador’s Room. I stopped walking when we reached the first open archway and skimmed the crowd of guests. “These parties… It’s always the same faces. The same people. Same boring conversations.” I exaggerated a sigh. “I think next time I’ll bring someone new. What do you think?”
“Depends on the someone.” His bright eyes bore into mine, challenging me to cross the line he drew.
I knew he was trying to warn me, but all he did was fuel my appetite. I dropped my arm from his shoulder and widened my stance. “I think you know who.”
A wide, almost menacing grin spread across his face. The bitter energy radiating off him was potent enough to bottle and sell to soldiers going to war. “Katie doesn’t do parties. She’s more of a one-on-one kind of girl.”
Power wasn’t a privilege. It was a state of mind, and mine was resolute.
“So, no parties then.” I smiled back, catching his gaze and making sure not to look away. I clasped a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”
“Right.” He straightened his spine, bringing his frame an inch taller than mine. Still not intimidated.
He opened his mouth then snapped it shut again. For a minute, I thought he might actually tell me to fuck off. I wouldn’t blame him if he did. I wanted something that belonged to him, and we both knew I would eventually have it.
“I should get going,” he said after seconds of silence.
I laughed and nodded toward the gala. “Come inside. Have a drink.” I narrowed my eyes and studied his face. “Unless you have other plans…”