Page 56 of Kingston
I point at the guys. “Yeah, sorry. Look, I really have to go.”
He nods with a slightly less-enthusiastic grin. “Sure. See you next week.”
I wave, then dash over to the guys. “Hey. Sorry. I’m ready to go. Are we headed back home?”
Archer winces, and my gaze moves rapidly from his to Kingston’s. He’s staring at me rather stonily, much like he has most of the week, but also shooting daggers across the hall at Patrick.
Fuck.Stupid rules. But I doubt Kingston cares about the fact that I think it’s stupid, because his rules and all the traditions of the brotherhood are very important to him. “That was a guy from my class. Harmless.”
He nods slowly. “Yeah. What did we tell you?”
I grimace and try to maintain eye contact. Kingston seems to respect me more when I don’t cower, like the day I flippantly told him I was going to pee and maybe he should think about his dumb rules while I was gone. It doesn’t seem like him thinking about them has helped me at all, though. Gritting my teeth, I answer. “Don’t talk to guys outside of the brotherhood.” He crosses his muscular arms over his chest. My eyes wander the veins in his forearms for several seconds before I pry them away. “We were talking about—” I pause, taking in the storm brewing in his green eyes. I’m sunk.
“Come on, man. It was obviously some clueless dude in her class.” Archer’s jaw twitches, eyeing Kingston. “You know damn well she meant nothing by it. She’s been doing great all week.”
Unfortunately, Kingston ignores Archer and instead lifts his brow as he waits for me to finish. “Talking about what?”
“Whether I’d eaten lunch. If I wanted to go with him. Tacos.” I cringe. “I said no. I said I couldn’t.” Frowning now, I wait. And wait some more.
His eyes flick somewhere past me. “Come here.”
I blink rapidly. “W-why?”
“K. Stop,” Archer hisses.
“No,” he bites out. “Now, initiate.” He points to the ground in front of him with one finger.
My heart rate ratchets up so high I wonder if my heart’s going to explode up and out of my throat. Or burst through my rib cage. Something. Whatever happens, it’s guaranteed to be catastrophic … like most of my interactions with Kingston have been lately.Fuck.Trying not to show fear, I close the distance between us.
He nods. “Good girl.” His eyes catch on something behind me, and mine follow, seeing Patrick still standing outside the classroom and looking on in odd fascination. My face flushes, and I’m distracted long enough I don’t see it coming. Kingston picks me up and turns with me, pressing my back to the wall behind me. All the airwhooshesfrom my lungs. I have no choice but to wrap my legs around his hips or let them dangle, so I cling to him, grabbing his shoulders for balance. His strong hand grips the back of my neck while his mouth slams down hard on mine. That devilish tongue of his plunders, forcing past my lips to lick at the inside of my mouth. The way he’s kissing me is different from the frantic passion I’d experienced the other night. It’s slow and sensuous, the steam factor shooting right off the charts.
It both confuses me and takes my breath away. Embarrassingly enough, I moan right into his mouth and tighten my legs around him. His cock is hard between us and rubs against me in a way I know is intended to arouse me. His fingers dig reflexively into the backs of my thighs near my ass.Jesus.My brain doesn’t remember where we are or how this happened… and I don’t think it cares much, giving over full authority of my body to him and what he’s making me feel.
I can’t help myself. I let out a whimper, melting against him. I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t enjoying what he was doing. After another moment, though, he drops me to my feet. It happens so fast my legs almost give out.
Kingston catches my chin with a few fingers, assuring I’m looking directly into his green eyes. “You’re ours. Period. End of the fucking story.”
“You may as well whip it out and piss on her.” Archer’s jaw is tense, and he rolls his eyes at his friend before catching my attention and pointing down the hall.
My eyes widen as they follow Patrick hurrying away as fast as two feet can carry a person. And then before I know it, Kingston stalks off in the opposite direction, leaving me alone with Archer. I stare at him, wide-eyed, fingers probing my kiss-swollen lips. “What the fuck was that?”
“Peaches, you’ve got him stirred up good I’m afraid.” He hooks his arm around my neck, shaking his head and throwing off some majorly exasperated vibes. “Come on. Let’s get home.”
“Okay, but let it be known that yourbrotherconfuses the fuck out of me. It’d be nice if I knew what he’s stewing over so I could steer clear of his brooding ass or do something to fix it.” I give Archer a hopeful look.
“Not a chance in hell, baby.”
Dammit.
THIRTY
ARCHER
Elliot has followedme all the way from the front door up the stairs. She’s relentless. I’m going to fucking kill Kingston. I know he’s having trouble right now but fuck. If he can’t even talk to me about it, then he should suck it up and talk to her to clear the air. Because somehow—and this is simply me putting together a theory after observing his behavior—I think he’s gotten Juliette twisted up with Elliot in his head. I haven’t a clue why. His sister was blonde and blue-eyed. A cheerleader. Popular. Outgoing, even, much like Kingston himself. The two seem nothing alike far as I can tell.
I scrub my fingers over my scalp, thinking, as we approach our bedrooms. All four doors are relatively close together, as the side-by-side rooms are mirror opposites of the other. “If I knew what to say, I’d say it. Why do you want to know, anyway? He’s been a shithead to you.” I let myself into my room and, sure enough, she follows instead of going to her own room and closes the door behind us.
Her brow furrows, and she wets her lips. “I’ve gotten this weird feeling from him ever since we”—she gestures with her hand—“you know.”
