Page 44 of Kingston
I’m in the middle of slicking a little clear lip gloss over my lips and pondering what the hell to say to Kingston when a loud bang sounds outside my room. I cautiously open my door to find Cannon and Kingston staring daggers at each other with Archer between them, a hand on each of their chests.
Archer drops his hands the moment he sees me and shoots me a slightly off-kilter grin. “Morning, Peaches. Ready for class?” There’s an underlying tension in his voice that makes a lot of sense when my gaze pings first to Kingston’s bruise on the right side of his jaw, then to Cannon’s split knuckles on his left hand.Holy shit.When didthathappen? And how am I supposed to act? I’m not ready for this.
“Um. Yeah. Lemme grab my backpack.” Stunned, I pivot on my heel and purposefully take a few extra seconds rummaging in my bag, wondering if they’ll go back to whatever argument was going on out there when I interrupted.
Sure enough, Kingston’s rough voice is low as he grits out, “You guys should take her. She won’t want me there, and I need to separ—”
Archer cuts in, “No fucking way. United front. As always. People will notice otherwise.”
Seems like they’re having as many issues this morning as I am. Turning with my backpack in hand, I slap on a smile as I approach them. Weighing my options carefully, I decide I can’t just let this go. I wet my lips, searching Kingston’s eyes. “I’d like to start fresh this morning, if it’s okay with you all.” I exhale sharply. “I want you to hear me when I say I know I signed a contract, but I didn’t appreciate the breach of privacy. Or how difficult it’s going to make things for me. Because we all know you crossed a fucking line when you showcased my intimate moment to a room full of horny pricks. I never consented to my sexual moments being displayed like a badly edited porn movie.”
Kingston looks at me from under hooded eyes. “You have no privacy here. Do you recall your contract? There was a section in there about the cameras. All initiate rooms have them. You signed off on us using the footage in whatever capacity we see fit.” He waits. “Did you read before you signed on the dotted line—before you signed your life away to us?”
My jaw sets. I did read it. And promptly forgot about it until I saw my naked self on the big screen.
Archer’s gaze flicks from Kingston to Cannon before he chuckles. “He’s right—you gave consent the moment you signed the fucking contract. Tell you what, next time I’ll edit it, make it a higher quality.” He shrugs. “Come on, Peaches. It’s your first day of class. Let’s not ruin it.”
“You’re intolerable.”
The muscle in Kingston’s jaw twitches and pops. “A punishment is a punishment. If you don't want your cunt on the big screen for the brothers to see, then don't break the rules we put in place. It's that fucking simple.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment because even though I know it was wrong what they’d done… I’ll admit this to myself and myself alone… Ihadpurposefully and willfully gone directly against Kingston’s demand. I blow out a breath. “I’m in need of coffee before we go. Excuse me.”
Cannon reaches out, stopping me as I try to pass. His big hand cradles the back of my neck. I draw in an unsteady breath and let it go in a rush as I stare up at him. His brow quirks up. I think he’s asking me if I’m okay. Maybe.
“I’m fine.”
His bold blue eyes search mine, though I’m unsure what he’s looking for. Maybe he’s looking for signs of whether I’m about to flip out. Or wondering if I’d slept at all last night. Funny, but I do get the feeling he’s questioning my well-being. After interminable moments, he seems satisfied with whatever assessment he’s made, nods, then drops his hand from my neck.
“Well, if you’re fine, let’s go.” My head whips toward Kingston’s gritty voice in time to see him blink hard, his eyes trailing down my body. And dummy me, instead of remembering the awful way we parted, all I can think about is how his dirty mouth is capable of the most sinful, bruising, panty-melting kisses. How his thick cock filled my mouth last night. And how he fucked me so hard, I swear I’m going to feel it for days. A deep throb develops in my pussy, threatening to take my breath away the longer I stand near him.
And it doesn’t exactly help to have all three of these guys in such close proximity when I have the distinct impression they tell each other most everything. I assume they know exactly what went down between me and Kingston. My face flushes at the thought of it. And do they know Archer got naked in front of me while he was drunk off his ass?
“Do I have time to get coffee or not?”
Archer nods and gestures toward the stairs. Warily, his gaze pings from me to Cannon, then Kingston. “Sure, Peaches. Go on down. We’ll be there in a sec, then we’ll take off.”
I nod. “Okay. Wouldn’t want to be late on my first day, and I have no idea where I’m going.”
Kingston huffs, “We told you we’d take care of you.”
My brows draw together, wondering if he realizes the irony of his words. “So you did.” I nod, feeling three pairs of eyes on me as I walk gingerly to the top of the staircase, then proceed down. I haven’t a clue if they can tell my body is screaming at me, but it’s embarrassing all the same. Kingston was… rough.
In the kitchen, I don’t know if I’ve timed it exactly right, but I don’t run into anyone except Taggart, who stands at the counter with his coffee and a granola bar.
His eyes skim over me before he mumbles, “Morning.”
My heart sinks. There goes my hope that the other initiates wouldn’t become aware of the fucking video. I can’t do anything about it, but I can steer the conversation. “That was some game we got to play last night, huh?”
His mouth quirks up, and he chuckles. “Um, yeah. Good job, by the way. Your efforts were impressive.” He winks at me before he takes a bite of his breakfast, then sips on his coffee.
I shrug, heading for the coffee pot. “I figure they won’t all be easy for me, so better win while I can.”
“Yeah, maybe so. Um. Just so you know… Bridger left earlier. Had an eight o’clock class.” He pauses. “He’s pissed. Especially—”
I blink, glancing over at him as I fill my mug. “Especially, what?”
Taggart lets out a sigh. “Look, word travels, even if it’s not supposed to…” He looks at me pointedly, one brow arched. “We aren’t supposed to talk about it, though.”
