Page 49 of The Royal Flame
“That’s not entirely true, but that wasn’t even what I was going to say.” He dithers. “Maddison, I want to date you so badly I can’t even think straight. I just… Can you be patient with me until I can get my father off my back?”
“I already said I would.”
“I know, but…” He slides his arm across the table, reaching for my hand. “I want to know that you’re mine and that I can be yours, that as soon as I blackmail my father, we can be together.” He skims his finger across my knuckles, the move a bit shaky and totally River.
Just to mess with him, and alleviate some of the intensity, I say, “What does that entail, though? Are we going to keep our hands off each other until you give the go ahead? Or do we meet up in our rooms and you can finger bang me again?”
A flush spreads across his cheeks, but he doesn’t look away. “What do you want?”
“I asked you first.”
“I think my answers pretty obvious. I’ve wanted to touch you like that since the first time I laid eyes on you.”
“In jail, huh?” I tease. “That turned you on?”
“You turned me on.” He sketches the back of my hand with his fingers again. “You’re beautiful, sweet, funny, and a total smartass, but I like it.”
Despite the gloominess clouding over me, his words make it feel like a ray of sunshine is spilling across from me.
A part of me remains conflicted, though. If I fool around with him behind closed doors, then aren’t I like every other north sider woman who became a Royal’s dirty little secret?
River isn’t like that, though. That is the one thing I’m certain of.
“You can do whatever you want with me, River Averson,” I tell him quietly.
It’s evident in the shift of his expression that he’s aware how big of a deal it is for me to say those words. He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles, his eyelids falling shut momentarily.
When he opens his eyes, he offers me the most beautiful smile. “Do you want finish our food and then go see if Noah can clear up that photo?”
I nod a bit shakily.
Because I basically declared my feelings to a Royal.
I hope it doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt.
15
CHAPTER
MADDISON
Noah isn’t in his dorm. River messages him and we discover he’s not at the Academy. He’s vague about his whereabouts, saying he’s doing a favor for someone. It makes me worried that the guys he owned drugs too came after him. While he was able to pay off his debt, that doesn’t mean much in the drug world, even the Royal drug world. Drugs make people do messed up things—both my parents were drug addicts. Or the people I believed were my parents. And even then, they were shells of the people they could be as they main goal was to stay high.
“You know what I wonder?” I ask River as we make our way back to River’s dorm from Noah’s.
He yanks his fingers through his hair. “What?”
“If my mother—the woman who I thought was my mother—knows the truth about why she raised me. Think about it. Ellie had to do something to convince her to raise me. Did she pay her? Bribe her? Blackmail her? I doubt she told her the truth.” I give River a look. “You saw how she screwed me over while I was in jail. If she knew I had Royal blood in me and that Royals were looking for me, she would’ve ratted me out for sure. And thenthere was the guy that was my,” I make air quotes, “ ‘father.’ He would’ve given me up the instant I was under his roof.”
Pity reflects through his stormy eyes. “Maddy,” he stars, taking my hand.
“No pitying me,” I tell him. “I’m just saying this aloud because I’m wondering if maybe I should try to track down my fake mother dearest and see if she knows anything. And she can’t do anything to me now that Drew’s isn’t after me.”
The corners of his pouty lips dip downward. “I don’t know about this plan. She tried to give you over to a guy that wanted to traffic you. How can we trust her?”
“We don’t have to trust her. And we can meet her someplace Royal. I can offer her an incentive to get her there.” I pause, contemplating. “I can offer her money. But it’ll be a lie.”
“You’re going to trick her?”
