Page 99 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

“What game are you playing here?” He hisses, trying to keep his temper in check. “You’re not this fucking stupid.”

I don’t fight his hold, like I didn’t duck or punch back when he hit me earlier, even though I could lay him out in a second and we both know it.

“Neither are you,” I say, “and yet you put your mouth on her.”

He scoffs and pushes off me, releasing me. “I should have known this was about Six,” he says, laughing humorlessly. “Did you touch Thayer?”

The psychopath in me chooses revenge. I stretch out his pain a little longer instead of telling him that I didn’t touch her. “Why don’t you ask her? She’ll have a lot to say on the subject.”

His answering blow to my stomach lets me know what he thinks of my reply. It knocks the air out of my lungs and causes me to double over. Who knew Rhys could pack such a punch?

“You stay away from Thayer and I’ll stay away from Six. Deal?”

“Deal.” I say with a pained cough as I right myself.

He’s still glaring at me. “I thought that finally fucking Six would have made you less of a psycho about her.”

I’m not surprised he’s worked out that we’ve slept together.

“Funny, I thought the same about you with Thayer.”

His eyes narrow on me.

“Touché.” He admits, before shoving me off the door. He rips it open and marches in, slamming it shut behind him.

Chapter 30

Phoenix

Twenty minutes later, I arrive at The Pen with a split lip, bruised ribs, and an inexorable need to fuck Six until she screams my name.

Even though we’ve fucked a dozen times now, I’ve never been to her place.Of course, I’ve known where she’s lived as well as her exact room and the floorplan of her apartment since the day she moved in.

I could go in using the door but Thayer made it clear Six hasn’t told her, or any of the other girls, anything about me. It’d cause more questions if I just walked in through the front.

Plus, I enjoy having the element of surprise on her.

I walk around to the back of the building where I know her bedroom is located. It’s pitch black and I can barely see my hand in front of my face, but I’m familiar with the area.

I’m familiar with the tree I’m about to climb too. I may or may not have climbed it a few times over the years to watch her sleep.

To make sure she was being the good girl she claims to be.

Putting my phone in my pocket, I jump up and grab the lowest branch with one hand, heaving myself up onto its back with ease. I keep scaling the tree using its trunk and available branches until I’m right in front of her window. Her room is dark and the lights are off. I can’t make out whether or not she’s in her bed.

Reaching over from my position on the tree, I grab the handle on the window and start lifting it. It creaks a little and gets stuck. I lean further and tug it sharply with both hands. It unjams with a small noise and I’m able to open the window wide enough to get through.

I jump onto the windowsill, landing with light feet, and duck into her room.

Something’s off.

I can feel it by the way the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

I have only half a second before something, or more specifically someone, hits me from my right with a loud cry and a fumbled attempt at pulling a plastic bag of some kind over my head.

Sightlessly, I rip the bag out of her hands and grab her arms, using a submission move to drop her onto her back where I pin her beneath me.

A sliver of moonlight coming through the window partially illuminates the both of us.

---