Page 113 of Notorious Park Avenue Prince

It was so fucking hot.

My father’s nostrils flared, and after a long, tense silence, he folded the envelope and tucked it back into his jacket pocket. Then he strolled toward the door like he hadn’t just been dressed down and threatened by someone he thought was only a professor.

King angled his body in front of mine, and when my father stopped at the door, he gave me a severe look. “I’ll call you later.Son.”

And then he left. Just like that, without another word, taking whatever he’d been trying to palm off on me with him. I didn’t know what was in that envelope, and I didn’t want to.

The second he was out of sight, King turned to face me, all that built-up rage still simmering beneath the surface.He cupped my jaw, and I leaned into his hand. Dark eyes roamed over my face, searching for any sign of distress, but I wasn’t thinking about my father anymore.

No, all I could think about now was that King cared enough to stand up to him. To stand up for me. No one ever did that. I never let them, because that would be a sign of weakness, and us Easton men were the top of the food chain.

At least, that was what I always thought. Until today.

But King had stepped up for me, and so had Zac. Neither of them had to, and they did it anyway. I wasn’t an easy person to navigate, and now that I didn’t have shit to offer either of them, I knew it wasn’t my money or status they cared about.

Fuck.My heart hammered as emotions threatened to overwhelm me, especially as I watched the hard set of King’s jaw and shoulders begin to ease.

“My office, little prince,” he said quietly, but still full of authority that set my body on fire. “Now.”

FORTY-TWO

king

I SHUT THE door behind East as he stepped inside my office, doing my best to get a handle on my emotions before I spoke.

It wasn’t often that I lost my temper, especially here on Astor’s grounds. But when I’d seen Niles Easton towering over East in a way meant to intimidate, something inside me had snapped. Something I’d been unable to rein in.

I hadn’t thought twice about stepping in to defend East, and while I wanted to believe I’d do the same for any of my students, I knew there was more to it than that. Where I might stand up for them or help them out of a difficult situation, this drive to protect East was accompanied by a much more primal urge—the need to claim and possess.

I’d wanted Niles to know East was mine, and that if he came sniffing around him again, it would bemehe had to deal with.

The motherfucking king.

“You didn’t have to do that out there,” East said, trailing his fingers over my desk as he walked around to stand behind my chair. “I was handling it.”

“I know you were.” I leaned back against the door, holding the handle in a death grip. It was either that or punch the wall. “But you shouldn’t have had to. He shouldn’t have come toyou here. Nor should he have been able to get to you. I made it clear no one was to get through the gates unless they had identification.”

And whoever had failed to upholdthatparticular rule was going to get an ear lashing from me, and possibly their walking papers.

“You were pretty worked up out there…” East looked at me from across the room, his eyes hooded. “You know, for one of your students.”

I knew he was testing me, pushing to see if I’d admit to our relationship now that we were back at school.

“You and I both know you’re a hell of a lot more than one of my students.” I turned the lock on the door. “Did Zac catch up with you?”

“He did. Right before I ran into my father.”

The weariness from the last couple of days was now only a faint blemish on East’s otherwise perfect features, and when I took his face between my hands and leaned in to capture his lips with mine, he slid his hands under the lapels of my jacket to rest against my chest.

I knew I shouldn’t be doing this here and now, but just as it had been with Zac, the temptation of having East near was too much to resist, and I realized that somewhere along the way I’d started to think of them asmine.

I swept my tongue around the sweet interior of East’s mouth, swallowing the delicious moan that bubbled up out of him as I laid claim in the only way available to me here. I wanted to comfort him, reassure and soothe him, and when I lifted my head, the expression in his eyes told me he felt all those things.

Something I was sure he’d be horrified to realize.

I brushed my thumb across his kiss-swollen lips, then reached for my chair and took a seat. East moved between me and the desk, leaning back against it.

“Zac said you wanted to see me.”

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