Page 22 of Wicked Heiress

I went from the best ten minutes of my life to one of the worst.

“Chill out, Marshall.” Rhys rolled his eyes. “You’re so uptight. We were only fucking around.”

“Why do you always think you’re above the law when everyone else has to follow it?”

“Don’t get mad at Rhys. I wanted to play the game.”

Cole ran his fingers through his hair, fuming with anger. “Grace, I’m not mad at you. Rhys knew what he was doing. He intentionally put you in a bad position.” His gaze drifted back to Rhys. “Get out of the pool, Vanderbilt. If I have to tell you again, I’ll drag you out of it.”

Rhys stepped out from between my thighs and glanced up at Cole. “We were playing a game. Deal with it.”

“You’re going back to California tonight,” Cole threatened. “Pack your bags.”

“Cole,” I interjected, “I think you’re taking this too far. It was only a kiss.”

“Only a kiss? Not quite, Grace.” A dark chuckle escaped his throat. “I could hear you moaning his name from the patio. I know what a woman looks and sounds like when she comes. You were doing more than kissing Rhys.”

“Are you jealous?”

Rhys snickered. “He’s green with envy.”

“I’m done being the responsible one,” he shot back, his tanned cheeks growing redder by the second. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care anymore.”

With that, Cole rushed back into the house, slamming the glass door so hard it rattled.

“We should apologize,” I suggested. “This is his house. And you two have been at each other’s throats since you arrived.”

“Because of you.” Rhys kissed my lips, a quick peck that left me wanting more. “Marshall wants you, too. But he won’t take the stick out of his ass. So you’re mine now, princess.” Another kiss. “All mine.”

Chapter Thirteen

COLE

All day, I couldn’t shake the sight of Grace and Rhys in the pool. I’d hated him before he arrived at Fort Marshall. And now that he was getting too close to Grace, I hated him even more.

I tried to convince my dad to send Rhys back to his family in California. But my dad wouldn’t cave and said I had to find a way to get along with him.

He didn’t believe that Rhys broke Fitzy’s rule and kissed Grace. They were doing much more than kissing from where I stood. His hand was down the front of her bikini bottoms, ripping a soft moan from her throat.

Was I jealous?

Fuck, yeah.

I waited until Grace was asleep to confront Rhys. He was fucking with the status quo and needed a reminder of his goal to protect her.

“What do you want, Marshall?” Rhys finished typing an email at his desk and hit send. Then, he spun around to face me, one of his usual smirks plastered on his stupid face. “If you’re here to lecture me again, get lost.”

My body shook from the anger surging through my veins like hot lava, so I folded my arms over my chest to stop myself from punching him. “We all took the same oath. You’re not the exception to the rule, Vanderbilt.”

We never called each other by our first names. At the academy, it was last names only.

Rhys rose from the chair, standing around the same height as me. Except I had a lot more muscle. “I make my own rules. And if Fitzy has his way, I won’t have to answer to The Founders anymore. So fuck off and get out of my room.”

I got in his face, our chests pressed together. “Listen up because I won’t repeat myself. Keep your hands off Grace. This isn’t about Fitzy or us. Grace is in danger. You’re a Knight. So fucking act like it.”

“You’re an idiot for doing anything Fitzy says. He doesn’t give a shit about any of us.”

As he gave me a shit-eating grin, I refrained from tackling him to the ground and beating his pretty boy face to a pulp. Rhys could turn on the charm and win anyone over. Of course, Grace liked him.

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