Page 7 of King

I cringe looking in the mirror at my new getup. A tight shirt and tighter shorts. Cindy’s right, my average rack looks huge in this. Great.

Moving out of the bathroom, I head back to the main room to break the news to my sister. That’s when my heart fails me, breath stopping in my throat.

My eyes lock with one of the guys in a velvet booth not too far behind Willow. Like he knows I’m staring, those kaleidoscope eyes lock with mine. I grip onto the cold counter, my legs wobbly.

Damien King.

He’s sitting beside a brunette, hair down to what looks like an inflated chest. She looks no older than me, flipping her silky strands behind her shoulder. The gesture reveals sparkling Chanel earrings. A match for the pristine white blazer hanging off her slender frame.

My eyes don’t stay on her for long though. Oh no. No matter how blinding her jewelry is. I’m too distracted by Damien.

His eyes bore into me as if he’s trying to read my mind, threading that silver coin through his fingers. He’s in all black again, shirt clinging to his tight body. His sleeves rolled up to his elbows reveal more tattoos. I try to make them out but I’m damn near breathless with the way he’s looking at me. It’s like everyone else around us fades into darkness. Like we’re back in that hallway again. Alone. Damien and I.

I can hear my heart in my chest, my mind playing that moment over in my head.

You don’t belong here. And don’t you think for a second you can enter my world.

Laughter from the table pulls me out of my trance before the guy with shiny curls next to Damien pats him on the back. Damien’s gaze doesn’t waiver and I can’t tell if there’s a spark. Or if he’s still angry from our run-in at the train station.

There’s another guy at the end of the booth, tan skin, eyes like emeralds and he’s laughing with Shiny Curls. Another girl sits next to Lea with smooth porcelain skin, a green headband, furry looking sweater. She has jewels on her fingers, long red nails to her face as they whisper to each other.

This group looks like an ad for an upscale department store but while they look engaged, Damien seems…distant.

“Jo?” I don’t notice my sister standing in front of me until she tugs on my shirt. “How’d it go?”

“Good!” I pull my eyes away from the table before I put my sister's shoulders between my palms. I smile down at her. “So good that I’m starting right away!" I wince, "Would you hate hanging here in the meantime?”

“No! This is great!” Willow’s voice becomes muffled, my gaze back on the table.

Damien’s eyes are still on me. This time they look bluer. I try not to smile but I can’t help it, especially when I remember his coffee-stained hoodie.

“Jo!”

“Yeah?” I whip my eyes back to my sister, but not without a glance at the table first.

He looks so smug sitting there. Like the royalty he claims and I can’t settle on my feelings. I want to tell him where to shove it but I also can’t take my eyes off those supple-looking lips.

My sister tugs on my shirt, bringing me the couple of inches down to her level. “Don’t.”

I look her in her eyes, they’re wide. Agitated. “What?”

“You don’t want to talk to those guys, they’re the Kings of Elite Royal Academy.”

Jerking my head back I snort, “The what now?”

The whole table looks our way, the brunette twisting her lips.

Willow rolls her eyes, something she got from me. “The Kings!” Her voice is a hushed whisper but she sounds annoyed. As if I’m supposed to know all this when we only got here last night. “The one in the black is Damien. Next to him is Isaac and Christian. Everyone at The Academy knows them as the Kings.”

I smirk at a realization. “Damien, Isaac and Christian? Doesn’t that spell DIC like...Dick?”

Willow looks like she can't help but crack a smile. “Well from what I hear, they kind of are. Nobody messes with them. If they do, they're blacklisted."

My head cocks to the side. “The hell? Hear from who?”

She points her chin to the tablet on the counter. “You can find out a lot from QuickToc.”

“They don’t look that threatening.” I take another peek around Willow’s head, my eyes catching Damien's again. “And the one with the dark cloud over his head keeps checking me out.”

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