Page 5 of Samhain

“Exactly. I’m writing a screenplay now. It’s called Fractured Crowns. I think you’d be great for one of the parts.”

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Are you offering me a job?”

He laughed and held up his hands. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I said I’m writing the screenplay. I still have to finish it and sell it. But stay in touch, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said, making a mental note to ensure I did.

But I was eighteen, and I’d just sucked a dick for the first time, so my mind was a million miles away. Like I said, I believed in the power of firsts. Lex Fairfax had rocked my world. Yeah, I knew who he was when I met him. I’d seen him on the cover of magazines my whole life.

But in person? Man, those hazel eyes hit differently, like they could peel you apart, layer by layer until they saw all the deep, dark shit you were made of. Matched with the cheekbones, the pouty lips, and the tattoos? The dude was a work of art.

My mother would have called it a meeting of souls and said Lex and I had been lovers in a past life. He looked at me like I lit up the sky at night, and no guy had ever looked at me like that before. Or if they had, I didn’t notice because I was too busy chasing pussy.

I noticed Lex.

Up until this point, I’d never considered the possibility that I might be bisexual. I liked girls a lot. But now? Shit, I’d give it all up for another night with him.

Was it his smile that made my heart beat faster than anyone before him? Was it how he rolled his eyes when he thought I was being facetious? Or maybe it was because he made me feel like I could be all he’d ever need?

I didn’t know, but I liked it, and I wanted to believe I was special, that he didn’t hook up with many guys, that I was somehow unique. Lex was a first for me in a multitude of ways.

Sentimental, remember?

I put my heart into that last performance of Henry V, praying the entire time that Lex was in the audience, watching with that hazel stare, waiting for his night with the king.

When I got off the stage and realized he hadn’t shown, the horrible truth settled in my gut. The experience had been eye-opening for me. Earth-shattering. Revelatory. But I’d been just another fuck to Lex Fairfax.

I didn’t think I’d see him again. Thomas Washington University had more than 300,000 students. Odds were, he’d go about his merry rich boy life, and I’d keep my place with the peasants. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the cafeteria the second day of being on campus and there he was. His hair was a little longer, and he had his arm around a brunette, but it was undeniably him. I bit back my reaction, my eyes shifting to the person in the seat beside him.

Princess Miriam.

I understood the situation immediately. Lex hadn’t called because he and Miriam were together. That made more sense than his interest in me. Who else could have a prince but an equally powerful princess? Why would he call piddly me when he had majestic her?

My focus drifted across the table, and my heart came to a standstill.

Ivy Washington.

The atmosphere changed, grew static and charged. Anticipation built in my chest, like magic had tried to tell me then, at this first meeting of the four of us, that we were destined for more. That we would weave a tale so wicked we could only experience it together.

I fell in love with her the first week of freshman term after a night spent studying in the library. It was late, just the two of us, and she’d disappeared into the 600 section some twenty minutes ago. The library announced they were closing soon, so I gathered my things and went to find her.

At that time of night, the racks had that eerie glow to them that made them spooky and haunted for how many lives were immortalized on their shelves. She stood in the last row, a copy of Introduction to BDSM: Kink and Fetishes in her hand. I watched her from the end of the aisle as she flipped through the pages, her cheeks pink, her focus captivated.

I should have let her have her moment, perhaps given her privacy. But the thought of Ivy and that book together made my blood heat, and I couldn’t stop myself.

“Hey, what’s that?” I said, going to stand next to her.

She startled and snapped it closed, hiding it behind her back like she’d been caught with her hand in the candy bin.

Adorable.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just some reading. What’s up?”

“Some reading?” I raised an eyebrow and smiled, taking a few steps closer. “Whatcha reading, Weeds?”

Ivy let out her nervous giggle and forced a smile, clearing her throat as she put the book back on its shelf.

“Oh,” I said. “A new interest or a refresher?”

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