Page 73 of Kings & Corruption

Rock sat on the roof, looking off into the woods surrounding campus like he didn’t have a care in the world, his jeans tight around thighs that looked like they could crack a walnut.

Jesus. How was any mortal girl supposed to resist?

“Fucking finally,” Neo said when I got within a few feet of the Hummer.

I gave him a saccharine smile, grateful for the reminder that he was a royal dick. “Aw, the King of Aventine isn’t used to being kept waiting by a girl?”

He glared at me and slid into the driver’s seat while Rock hopped off the roof of the Hummer with surprising ease for a guy his size.

“Have a good day?” Oscar asked.

My stomach fluttered when he took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I did.”

I climbed into the Hummer and squeaked when Rock squeezed my ass under my skirt. “You were a good girl today.”

“Only because I had no choice,” I said, settling next to him in the back seat.

“I’d be happy to make the hardship up to you later,” he said. “In my bed. Or yours.”

I ignored the innuendo, still not sure how to navigate the whole wanting-to-fuck-two-friends thing, especially when they were both right there in the car. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Rock alone since my orgasm in the projector room with Oscar. That conversation needed to happen sooner rather than later, because I was beyond confused about how to handle them both in a way that wasn’t gross or hurtful.

The guys talked about the stakeout to figure out who had the keys to the glass case in the staff lounge. They decided on Saturday, figuring the admin and teaching staff would be less likely to work extra hours over the weekend.

My stomach churned with nerves as I listened to them plan. I kept hoping they’d let me off the hook, but then Neo met my eyes in the rearview mirror and asked, “Saturday good for you, Jezebel?”

“Fine,” I said, turning my face to the window. I didn’t like the way he looked at me, a confusing blend of hate and hunger that was a mirror to my feelings about him.

By the time we got home, I just wanted to escape into my room. The late night at the Orpheum had taken its toll in more ways than one, and I was eager for some comfy clothes and a whole lot of alone time.

I jumped out of the car first and headed into the house, hoping to miss the other guys. I’d noticed Matt’s Civic parked out front, plus a Corvette I worried belonged to Enzo, and I had no desire to make chitchat with the former or field insults from the latter.

The guys talked in low voices behind me as I climbed the steps to the house, but when I stepped into the kitchen, it wasn’t Matt or Enzo who was there but Reva, humming as she wiped down the counters with vigorous strokes.

“Hello,” I said.

She looked up and broke into a smile when she saw me standing there. “Hey there darlin’. How goes it?”

I smiled. “It… goes.”

She laughed and I felt my smile widen. “Better than the alternative, I suppose. That’s what my mother used to say anyway.”

She looked genuinely happy to see me, and it probably said a lot about my relationship with my mom that her use of the worddarlin'made me feel all warm inside.

I didn't have time to say much though because Rock stepped into the kitchen behind me, took one look at Reva, and sighed dramatically. "Thank god. Someone needs to clean up after these pigs.”

I had a hard time hiding my skepticism — the Kings were the cleanest men I'd ever met, and I'd stayed with men all over the world in the hostels I'd occupied during my trip — but the way Reva blushed with pleasure made me think Rock just wanted to make her feel useful.

A year ago. I wouldn’t have believed any of the Kings would do something just to make someone else feel good. Now it seemed they were all capable of being nice at least occasionally, and quite often in the case of Rock and Oscar.

I had to remind myself that I’d only been at Aventine for a couple weeks, and one thing I knew to be true about our world was that everyone had secrets and no one was really what they seemed.

"Stop it now," Reva said to Rock. "You're all neat as pins, and you know it. You hardly need me here.”

"You underestimate yourself,” Oscar said. “We'd fall apart without you.”

"Don't blow sunshine up my ass," Reva said. "I know you don't need me for much, and I know this one here," she hooked a thumb at Rock, who was looking through the fridge, “is the chef in the house, but sometimes even the chef needs a break." I wondered why Oscar looked stricken but didn't have time to ask about it before Reva continued. "And I know how much you boys like my lasagna, so I put two trays of it in the fridge for you today. All you have to do is put it in the oven for an hour.”

Rock was standing behind her looking like she’d just issued his death sentence.

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