Page 78 of Kings & Chaos

She eyed the Balenciaga bags piled on one side of my room. “Damn, girl.”

“I know.” I almost broke out into hives thinking about the price tag on all the clothes Neo had bought me, the way he’d casually handed over his credit card like he was paying for coffee instead of the equivalent of a new car.

A nice one.

She looked at the lingerie on my bed. “You’re joking right?”

“What’s wrong with them?” I asked.

“Nothing, but this is an easy call.” She picked up the black nightgown. “This is great for sex night with your husband in twenty years.” She tossed it aside and pointed at the bustier set. “That is what you want to make the Kings hot. Wait… youdowant to make the Kings hot right?”

I drew in a breath. “You know what? Yeah, I do.”

The time for playing it safe was seeming further and further in the past. I was already way out of my comfort zone on basically everything.

Might as well go all in.

Claire grinned. “Then I think you know what to do. Come on, I’ll help you with your makeup.”

Chapter29

Willa

Itook a deep breath as I stepped into the hall alone. Claire had insisted I needed to make a grand entrance alone for my birthday, and my stomach fluttered with nerves as I looped around to the front staircase wearing the bustier, panties, garters and stockings, and the clear acrylic come-fuck-me heels Neo had silently thrown on the pile after our sexy moment at Balenciaga.

Fuck.

Attention wasnotmy thing. I wasn’t used to being in the spotlight, wasn’t even sure I wanted to be in the spotlight.

On the other hand, it was my birthday. If not now, when?

The third floor was quiet — probably the whole campus knew they’d be dead if they went into the Kings’ private quarters — but music thumped from the first floor, the sound of laughter and conversation winding its way upstairs.

I paused and leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs, wishing I’d had Claire bring me a shot or three while we were getting ready. I tried to psych myself out, telling myself I looked hot.

The outfit spoke for itself, and Claire, a makeup guru, had done an amazing job with my face, giving me smoky, morning-after eyes and a pouty, glossy pink lip. I’d teased and tousled my hair into a mane of blonde waves, a contrast to the black lingerie.

I hadn’t bothered with jewelry. Nothing I had was a good fit for the outfit, and Claire had said it would just be a distraction anyway.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the hall, then started down the stairs.

From there, I had a bird’s-eye view of the party, and it was raging. The living room was packed, bodies draped over the Kings’ expensive furniture, their cups and bottles littering the coffee table and end tables.

I cringed inwardly, then felt a flush of warmth for the three men I used to despise.

Oscar and Rock weren’t shy about expressing their feelings — or at least their lust — for me. But there was no sign more obvious that Neo didn’t hate me as much as he claimed than the fact that he was allowing Aventine’s peasants to make out on his designer furniture and leave their coaster-less drinks on the tables.

I reached the second-floor landing and kept going. I had zero desire to pause like some kind of prom queen, giving everyone a chance to see that I was on my way downstairs.

But it didn’t matter, I’d only taken two steps when wolf whistles and catcalls started to break out among the crowd, everyone turning to look at me as I descended, trying not to break my neck in the heels.

My face heated, but I kept my head up, because that was the one good thing my mom had taught Emma and me after our dad had disappeared in disgrace.

Keep your chin up, girls. Don’t you dare let them see you embarrassed.

I searched the crowd until I found what I was looking for: Rock and Oscar, looking up at me from the living room, Oscar’s gaze liquid with hunger, Rock’s blue eyes adoring.

And next to them, Neo, staring up at me, his eyes filled with turmoil, his body on full display in black silk boxers small enough to highlight his humongous dick. I knew what he looked like naked now, and I couldn’t unsee it.

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