Page 148 of Cruel Legacy

“You got laid.”

Does it show? Thea and I weren’t holding back with each other, but nobody came in the room, and I think we were discreet when we were playing hide and seek.

We took turns hiding and every time Thea found me; she dared me to do something risky. Most of my dares involved her letting me give her pleasure or us taking a drink. She was hammered by the time our game ended and LJ dragged her back to the party.

“That’s generally what happens at any party we go to.”

He’s still assessing me, then nods and buries his head back in his book. I think that’s the end of the conversation, but then he says, “You weren’t with one of your usual girls.”

Damn Holden for his astute observations. He’s the hardest person to keep a secret from because he notices everything. “You’re not gonna ask me who it was?”

“Don’t need to.”

“You’re not even curious?”

He looks up at me again. His answer tumbles out at the end of a disgruntled sigh. I know he’s trying to read, but he’s the one who started this line of questioning. “If you need to talk about it, then Pax is probably the best person for you to compare notes with.”

“I don’t wanna compare notes. We’re not reading from the same book.” I grumble. Pax is the last person I want to discuss Thea with. With Holden, I know he has an interest in her, even if he hasn’t actually acknowledged it yet. Pax will just complain that I should have been working the party instead of working my dick inside Thea’s sweet pussy.

I look at the time and get to my feet, heading towards my bathroom.

“Where are you going?” Holden eyes me suspiciously. Probably worried I’m going back to bed.

“To shower before we head to class.”

“You’re never in a hurry to get to class on Monday unless there’s a project due or a test.”

He’s right, I’m not. But I am today, because I’m excited to see my pet.

Chapter62

Pax

Itry to avoid coming home as much as possible when school’s in session, but my father’s message was clear. It was imperative he talk to me, in person, first thing this morning.

Given the nature of our last conversation, I have some idea what it’s about. Even though we just saw each other on Saturday, I know the topic isn’t one he’d be willing to bring up with so many unaligned families around.

I’m skipping out on breakfast for this meeting. I had just enough time to shower and get here before he needs to leave for the office, or his business trip or whatever he has going on that meant this couldn’t wait until later on today.

The door to his study is open. He calls me in before I can even do a courtesy knock. I step inside, waiting for him to invite me to sit. You always wait for an invitation to sit. He waves his hand and I lower myself into the chair.

“Did you make any new contacts at the Breland’s?”

“I believe we have some good leads for next year’s freshman class, and a few people to liaison with when we’re closer to graduation.”

“Leads, and liaisons. Anything more concrete than that?”

“The Breland’s themselves.”

That catches him by surprise. “They’re still relatively new to the area, and have never expressed an interest in doing business with us before.”

“The wife, she shared that she’s interested in being more involved with various charities around town. Right now, she’s only able to write checks and wants to assist with coordinating a few functions in the upcoming season.”

There were plenty of lunch plans being made around the party that her daughter was excluded from. It’s a glaring reality that they’re disconnected from the powerful players in town.

Money can only get you so far. Alliances are important. We’re all happy to eat their food, drink their booze, and use the opportunity to make deals for ourselves, but nobody was really there to celebrate the Breland’s. Unless you count Thea and Austin who didn’t care about working the room.

That doesn’t mean they lacked attention. Thea’s dress caught all kinds of interest. More than once, I had to nudge a person’s attention back to the conversation we were having. And Finn couldn’t stop staring at her, no matter where she was in the room. I thought I was gonna have to drag him away when they started dancing. He’s fixated on this girl.

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