Page 23 of Wicked Heiress

Most women did.

“You’re still a Founder,” I reminded him.

Rhys hated Grace’s grandfather. Whatever game he was playing with Grace had nothing to do with her and everything about his hatred for Fitzy.

“You’re too much of a pussy to touch her.” He laughed in my face. “You really should let go, Marshall. Her pussy is so tight. It’s all I’ve thought about today. Maybe I’ll let you play with her if you’re a good boy.”

Slamming my palms into his chest, I pushed him across the room. “Stay the fuck away from her. I won’t tell you again.”

He plopped onto the king-size bed and leaned back on his elbows. “When will you learn that your threats don’t scare me? They didn’t work at the academy and won’t work now. You know what I think?”

“I don’t care what you think.”

He kicked off his shoes and got comfortable on the bed. “I think you want her. But you’re too scared to defy The Founders.”

“Following orders got me to where I am.”

He snickered. “Deny it all you want, but I see how you look at Grace. Don’t come in here and jump down my throat because you’re a coward. I wanted her, so I took her. It’s that simple.”

“She’s not yours.”

“I’m growing bored of this conversation.” He raised his hand to his mouth and yawned, but it was fake. “It’s late. Don’t you have to be in bed by a certain time, Colonel? I wouldn’t want you to mess up your routine.”

I was ten minutes late for my bedtime ritual. Yeah, I was a bit of a control freak. After living at a military academy for the past ten years, I craved structure. I had terrible anxiety if I couldn’t complete my daily routines.

Rhys wanted to get under my skin to see if I would snap. He was good at provoking me and knew all of my weaknesses. That was one of his hidden talents. I bet that was how he talked Grace into making out with him in the pool. She was so inexperienced that she didn’t know any better. Someone like Rhys could easily manipulate a sweet girl like Grace.

So I had to protect her.

“If you don’t stop pursuing Grace,” I told him, “I’ll go straight to Fitzy and tell him what you’ve done.”

He sat up and swung his long legs off the side of the bed. “It was a kiss. Relax.”

“That was more than a kiss. And for your sake, it better stay that way.”

Before he could get in another retort, I left the room and didn’t stop until I was in my bedroom. Rhys was right about a lot of things. I wanted her and was afraid to cross The Founders. But if anyone should have been worried about pissing off Fitzy, it should have been Rhys.

His family needed the lifeline. What game was he playing? And what did it have to do with Grace?

Chapter Fourteen

COLE

At breakfast, I had to watch Rhys flirt with Grace. She giggled as he brushed against her arm and whispered something into her ear. A different side of Grace came out with him.

I hated seeing them together but had to shut my mouth unless he stepped out of line. Grace was angry with me for getting involved. We’d barely spoken more than a few words since Rhys arrived at Fort Marshall.

The kitchen staff emerged from the scullery, lining the banquet table with plates of food. My younger brothers were awake at this hour and hanging out at the end of the table, staring at Knox’s cell phone.

The twins were my father’s spitting image. They had the same jaw, the same black, wavy hair, and almost the same height. But they were nothing like him. While I was the model cadet, they wasted time at the academy and didn’t take anything seriously.

It seemed like I was the only person who gave a damn. Why did my father insist I followed the rules when no one else did? The twins would become Knights. They would be as lazy as Rhys, not cut from the same cloth as me.

Rhys grabbed an apple from the bowl and bit into it, eyes on me. “Forbidden fruit tastes so much sweeter,” he said low enough for me to hear. “Don’t you think, Marshall?”

“I wouldn’t know. I take my oaths seriously.”

He snickered and wiped the juice from his chin. “Yeah, you do. That’s why this time, you’re going to lose.”

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