Page 149 of Vengeful Princess

“And when you did stuff with me, was thatmeaninglesstoo?” Thea practically hummed with rage, and from the way Lan stiffened, he could sense exactly how much danger he was in if he played this wrong.

Assuming the role of peacekeeper was my usual thing, but he needed to figure this out on his own.

He sighed. “No. It meant everything, Thea.” He moved toward her, but she hopped off the sofa and took a step back toward me.

“I’m not sure I believe your pretty lies, Landon Fucking Rothmore.” Her words dripped with derision, but the fact she was angry told me it wasn’t hopeless. There was a thin line between anger and passion and it wouldn’t take much to tip the balance if Lan played it right.

“Elaine is in her room, drugged up to the eyeballs. I roofied the bitch so I didn’t have to touch her.” He edged closer, his entire attention focused on her. “She’ll wake up with a headache and message me asking what happened. I’ll reply saying she passed out, but we had fun. And the next time my father asks me to do this shit, he’ll be told in no uncertain terms that our little arrangement is over. He has no leverage over me now that Isla is married and out of his reach. The only reason I came here tonight was because he threatened to stop paying my college fees if I didn’t, but Cass and I have come to an arrangement over that, so I’m good.”

Thea didn't move, taking everything he’d told her on board. She stood so close to me I could smell her perfume. My hand itched to reach out and touch her.

“What arrangement?” She turned to face me, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the fire, some of the anger having dissipated.

“I promised Landon I’d cover his fees and expenses if his father threatens to withhold his allowance.”

“That’s very generous of you.” The sarcasm in her voice was hard to miss, but I wasn’t biting.

I shrugged. “Lan’s my oldest friend. We help each other. A problem shared and all that jazz.”

“Yes, wifey,” Landon said in a low, seductive voice as she turned back to face him. “We shareeverything.”

He stalked closer, shrugging off his suit jacket and tossing it over a chair, his focus on her. She could have evaded him; there was plenty of space in here. Instead, she took another step back.

Once she was within reach, my arm snaked around her waist, and she yelped with surprise.

“I hear you like being shared,” I whispered in her ear.

80

Thea

He’d heard I liked being shared? Had Landon and Kyril discussed our threesome? I threw a furious look at Landon, but he just smirked.

“We tell each other everything. I will not apologize for that.” He pressed against me, pushing me back into Cassian’s chest. The heat of the fire behind us was nothing compared to the inferno raging in my body. “Besides, I already told you I was down for sharing with my friends,” he continued.

“Have you and…Cassian…” My brain wanted to implode at the idea of being the filling in a Landon and Cassian sandwich. Would it be as hot as a Landon and Kyril sandwich? I had a feeling it might be.

Cassian was nothing like Kyril. He’d always been respectful. Controlled to the point of rigidity. A bit like Milo, but more closed off.

It felt as if Cassian was afraid to let go. Afraid to let anyone in. Milo was emotionally available with me. His issue centered on physical touch, but we’d made progress there.

My cheeks flushed when I thought back to the night in my room where we got physical with each other. What would Milo think if he could see me now, with Landon and Cassian? Would he want to watch? I had a feeling he would.

Milo loved to watch.

“Where did you go?” Landon stroked my cheek and leaned in, his breath hot against my lips. I could smell the alcohol he’d consumed, as well asthat woman’sperfume on his shirt.

It was a sharp reality check. Less than an hour ago, he had some other woman draped all over him, whispering sweet words in his ear while he flirted back. Sure, Cassian had explained why he had to do it, but it didn’t negate the sense of hurt I’d felt when I saw them together.

“Does it matter?” I snapped, trying to free myself from Cassian’s grip. OK, so I didn’t trythathard, but it was a token effort.

“You’re still pissed with me,” Landon surmised, scrubbing his jaw.

“Damn right I’m pissed!” I yelled. “I hated seeing you with that fucking cunt.” I hadn’t meant to admit that. Words had power. Landon didn’t need to know how strongly I felt about him. He was already smug as fuck that he only had to look at me in a certain way and I melted into a puddle.

“Would it make you feel better if I said she made my dick want to take a bleach bath?”

Cassian snorted with amusement. “You’ve had worse, brother.”

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