Page 40 of Gilded Fake

“No,” I say, scowling at him as I dig out my lighter.

He watches my finger dip into my pocket, searching, curling around the lighter. He keeps watching as I bring it to my lips and flick it open to ignite the flame.

“Shouldn’t you be down there reveling with your subjects?” he taunts. “Grinding on your girlfriend’s juicy ass? I know you were pissed when I started fucking with her on stage.”

“I wasn’t,” I say, holding out the flame to Gloria to light her cigarette.

When I finish, Duke grabs me and shoves me back against the railing, making my guts clench into knots at the knowledge of the drop behind me. “She’s down there grinding on any dick she can find and pretending to give a shit about you,” he says, rolling his hips in an exaggerated motions as he raises his voice to a high, mocking tone to imitate my girlfriend. “Oh, DeShaun, you’re so funny, hee-hee! I wonder where Colt is. Come here, Cotton, sandwich me so I can feel both your dicks at once. Colt’s not keeping me satisfied.”

He grinds his dick against mine as he speaks, laughing in his belligerent, drunken way while I try to shove him back. Royal grabs the back of his neck and drags him off me. “What the fuck?” he says, gesturing at me with the tip of a blunt. “He’s on our side now.”

I want to laugh at that, since I’ll never be on the Dolces’ side, and he’s got a lot of balls calling it that. If anything, they’ve knuckled under to our side.

“I’m just fucking with him,” Duke says, shrugging him off. “We’re friends. He knows I’m joking. We understand each other. Don’t we, Darling boy? Huh?”

I frown and then nod reluctantly, tapping my cigarette and leaning my elbow on the railing like the drop doesn’t bother me any more than the fact that Duke just shoved his dick up against me—and it was definitely affected by the contact.

I cast a guilty glance at Gloria as I blow out smoke. The smell of her pussy is still in my nose, making me dizzy with lust. Nothing Duke or Dixie could do can make me want anyone but her.

“Seriously man,” Duke says, picking up a beer and taking a swig. “Why aren’t you down there dancing and soaking it up? Everyone loves you again. You’re the ‘hot couple’ or whatever bullshit Dixie’s calling it. You’re supposed to dance all night and close out the party.”

I shrug. “Guess I’m too old for that shit. I should have graduated last year. It’s not the same anymore.”

“Or you’re chasing some new tail,” he says, narrowing his eyes at Gloria.

“I’m not,” I grit out.

“Then I guess you won’t care if I set her up to be tonight’s entertainment. What do you say, Glory Hole? Want to share that pussy with the whole party this time?”

“I thought I was too fat for you now,” she says, her tone edged with bitterness.

“More cushion for the pushin’,” he says, palming his crotch and pumping into his hand. “Besides, it looks like it’s mostly in your tits, where it belongs. Maybe they’re finally big enough for a tittie fuck.”

“Leave her alone,” I warn.

“So you are trying to add a body to your count,” he says, finishing off his beer and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “I don’t blame you. The pussy’s top tier. It’s so pretty, man. And that’s not something I’d say about most, y’know? Swampy ax wound is more like it. But hers is baby pink and so smooth it’s like silk when you eat it. We got all the hair lasered off for her, so you can thank me for that when you get to pound town.”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I growl.

“The only one that can compare is your sister’s,” Duke taunts with a sloppy grin, cracking another beer. “Too bad she’s not here. I’d make them grind on my dick at the same time, slime me all the way down to my balls, and then do a little scissoring at the tip. Slosh those juicy pussies together while I cum between them.”

My fist connects with his nose before my brain catches up, before I remember that I’m on a balcony sixteen floors up from a concrete parking lot, and the guy who almost killed me the last time is standing two feet away, watching his brother provoke me, probably waiting for me to do just what I did so he can finish the job he started last year.

“Motherfucker,” Duke howls, stumbling back, covering his nose with a look of dismay that’s nothing short of comical. The crown on his head tumbles off, disappearing over the balcony. Blood seeps between his fingers as he stares at me in shock. At least I get a laugh before I die.

“Took you long enough,” Royal rumbles, clapping my back firmly. Then he turns to Harper, who appears at his elbow and takes in the scene.

“Everything okay?” she asks, looking from Royal, to me, to where Duke is spitting blood over the railing while a handful of Dolce girls fuss over him like he’s on his deathbed.

“Fine,” Royals says. “Want to get out of here?”

“Where you going?” Lo asks.

“We thought we’d take a field trip to school, since prom isn’t held there,” Harper says, giving Royal a coy little smile over her shoulder as she leans back into him. “Do a little light B&E.”

He slides a hand around her, spreading it possessively over her abdomen to pull her tighter to him.

“Why?” Gloria asks.

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