Page 18 of Lethal Truths

Prudence sighs, covering her face with her hands. “I think I’m broken,” she mutters.

Gently prying her hands away, I offer a soft smile. “We all are. What is life if not a series of beat downs and bad lessons? The important thing is to find someone who’s just as broken as you are so that you can be whole together.”

Frowning up at me, her nose scrunched up in a fucking adorable way, she says, “It’s far too early for your gloomy insights right now.” With a little shove, she gets my hands off her and then sits up, holding the sheet to her bare chest. Oh yeah, I practically shredded her clothes last night after round one. “You owe me a conversation. Start talking,” she demands.

Her words sober me up, and I join her, sitting against my headboard. “Like I said, Prudence. All my secrets are yours to know. But if you want my help, I need the same from you. I can’t blindly poke around in The Celestials’ business. I have to know what I’m searching for.”

She rolls her brilliant eyes, tucking her sex and sleep messed hair behind her ears. Prudence chews on her bottom lip, giving me a very cryptic look. As much as I want to do… something to move this conversation along, I force myself to be patient. I won’t get to keep her if I don’t try to understand and respect the way she feels and goes about things. Finally, she gives me a slow nod. “Fine. That’s fair.”

“So,” I start, letting the word drag on in the empty space between us. “We’re good? You trust me, you’ll talk to me?” I try hard to keep my excited smile to myself. I try and fail.

“So…” she mimics before taking a deep breath. “I’ll try. It’s, um, about my… my mom,” she explains softly, almost hesitantly.

I’m not sure if it’s the nervous expression she’s wearing or the way her voice breaks when she says the word mom, but I curl my arm around her shoulders, pull her into my chest, and settle in for a tough conversation.

We’ve missed enough classes this semester, what’s one more?

Forty-five minutes and a few tears later, and Prudence has just finished talking. And now, knowing her background and what she’s actually here for, I have more questions than ever.

Squinting at my ceiling, I leisurely stroke my fingers over her scalp, pleased with the goosebumps that spread across her skin from my touch. “Even knowing what they did to your mom, you showed up at this college alone and unarmed, and what? Thought you’d find out the truth and walk off into the sunset, easy-peasy?” I ask, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

Honestly, though, what the hell had she been thinking? Oh, here’s a group of dangerous people who are possibly the reason behind my mother’s unstable mind, but I can take them! Christ. I could spank her ass right now, except that her cheeks are still red and wet from the tears she’s shed throughout her story.

Another time, maybe.

Prudence throws her elbow into my ribs, just hard enough to have me grunting in shock. “I didn’t realize I’d be fighting for my goddamn life, Creed,” she explains lowly. “I’m not an idiot. If I had any clue what would happen to me here, I probably never would have bothered. But now it’s too late. I’m here, and I’m right on the brink of finding out everything I need to know. I can feel it. And after what I’ve endured and what they’ve put me through, I’m more positive than ever that The Celestials were behind my mom’s condition… that she didn’t make it all up like her doctors say.”

My chest tightens painfully at the thought of her mom suffering on her own for so long. I know firsthand how useless doctors can be. If they think you’re certifiable, nothing else matters. Everything you say is shrugged off like it’s just another delusion. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my thoughts from straying back to my lengthy stint in a padded room. By the time I’m able to focus on Prudence once more, the hot burst of blood along my tastebuds is hard to ignore.

Brushing my hand through her fiery waves and down her back, I murmur, “Well, even if it’s been the worst few months of your life, it’s been the most exciting of mine.” I catch the stubborn roll of her eyes, but before she can say a word, I quickly bring my thoughts back on track and continue. “I’ll help however I can, but I want you to step back for now, okay?”

She swings an incredulous glare my way. “Step back?” she repeats carefully. “And what? Be a normal college girl, getting drunk at parties and drowning in homework?” she says sarcastically.

“And fucking your boyfriend every chance you get,” I tease, licking my lips provocatively. “Meanwhile, I’ll do the dirty work and see what kind of damning evidence I can dig up for you. It’s too dangerous for you to be more involved than you already are. Someone already tried to kill you, and I’ll be damned if I go through that twice.” My words are thick with emotion, but I try to keep my expression light. Should I say that Griff thinks Heather was behind the attack? Will telling her help ease the last of the nightmares I know she has about Fright Night? Or will it only freak her out more, knowing that Heather has enough sway to convince a group of guys to do her bidding?

Fuck, I don’t know, and that’s the most frustrating thing of all. Griffin must have some answers, or at least strong working theories behind his claims about Heather. I’ll need to speak with him and see what kind of nasty truths the two of us can uncover.

She hums, gaze far off into the distance like she’s deep in thought. Then a soft, reluctant smile blooms across her face. “Awfully presumptuous of you to claim the title of boyfriend,” Prudence scolds, though I can hear the amusement in her voice.

I stare down at her with a playful, filthy smirk. “Awfully naughty of you to try to deny me such a title,” I counter, smoothing my hand under my sheets, down her bare chest and stomach. Cupping her pussy, I whisper, “Especially after what you let me do to you last night.”

Prudence’s cheeks flame, though I can’t tell if it’s anger, embarrassment, or lust staining her pale skin. She slowly reaches down, holding my gaze the entire time. Just when I think I might be lucky enough for that fourth round, Prudence wraps her hand around my wrist and digs her nails in just hard enough to sting. “If you hope to do it again, then don’t push it. I’m sore, and honestly, more worried about the threats on my life than the fucked up things you can do to me with that dick,” she says, oh so sweetly.

With a shocked, but not displeased, bark of laughter, I pull my hand from her perfect skin. “Got it. No more sex, for now.“ Pressing a kiss to her head, I add, “You’re in charge here, Ember. What’s your plan and how can I help?”

The slow smile that spreads across her gorgeous face is enough to have my cock throbbing and a chill darting down my spine simultaneously. She’s a fucking trip. I don’t know if I want to warn the world that Prudence Cate Sexton is on a warpath or if I want to let her destroy every last thing in her way and then fuck her in the ashes once she’s done.

“With you helping me, my devious bastard of a boyfriend,” she muses with a wicked twinkle in her hazel eyes. “I want to rip the elder members apart and burn their society down on top of them. No one who had a hand in my mom’s pain will be left unscathed.” She tilts her head. “I want them exposed, beaten, bankrupt, and then I want them dead.”

I groan, equally excited and unbearably horny. “Can’t fucking wait,” I say, smiling when she laughs me off. I grab her waist and pull her down the bed until her back is flat against my sheets and I’m hovering above her sinfully sexy body. “Like I said,” I rasp as I lean in close until our noses are almost brushing. “I’m yours, baby. Snap your fingers and I’ll spill oceans of blood at your command.”

The shudder of dark delight that works its way through my bones when Prudence kisses me is almost enough to have me declaring my love and undying devotion to this woman. All I can think as our tongues tangle together is this: I will slaughter, slay, and sacrifice whoever I need to so I can keep Prudence for good.

12

Prudence

“Holy shit,” Annie breathes, her spoon hanging in the air in front of her mouth. She blinks her dark eyes a few times, as if she’s trying to sort her thoughts. “What the actual— Jesus, I mean—“ She shakes her head, studying me with wide, concerned eyes and a deep frown. “Why are you still here? Why return to campus after all of that? If it were me that got attacked and almost killed in those woods, you can bet your ass I’d hightail it out of Black Creek and never look back,” she stammers, her words rushing out of her.

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