Page 14 of Tantalizing Kings

“There is a reason why we’ve kept our distance from her all these years,” Declan reminds, perching on the arm of the couch.

“Right, as if we haven’t been doing a shit job at that.” I snort. “Like you haven’t left little gifts for her for years. Or went into the kitchen to put aside a piece of her favorite cheesecake every time they served it to make sure she got some since she always ran late.” I raise a brow, and he blushes, looking away but not denying the truth.

“And you.” I toss my hand in Preston’s direction. He looks up from his computer and glares at me. “Don’t think I haven’t seen you leaving that chapel, Sadie leaving not long after. I don’t know what you two did in there, but that’s not exactly keeping away from her.”

Preston slams his laptop shut. “Like you have room to talk. You flirted with her every chance you could. Would go out of your way to at least see her once a day.”

“Yeah, but I’m not denying it. We all had trouble doing what we agreed to. But none of us pursued her like we promised.”

These guys and I, we weren’t friends growing up. We all had our own circles that we ran with. But the one thing we had in common was Sadie Evans; we have all wanted her for as long as I can remember. The only thing stopping any of us was that we all had our future planned out for us from the time we were born.

Each of us is arranged to marry a woman of our parent's choosing. Someone to form strong family alliances with.

It’s something we grew to accept, knowing that's how our world works. Only, none of us were expecting this sandy blonde, twelve-year-old girl to catch our eyes.

Preston saw how me and Declan looked at her and cornered us one day when we were around fourteen. He reminded us what our future was, and that she wasn’t part of the same world we were. That she should be with someone who wouldn’t have to break her heart and leave her someday to be with another woman.I partly think he was saying that just because he didn’t want one of us to be with her if he couldn’t.But he made a good point. She deserved better than what we could offer her. So we agreed to stay away.

We watched her from a distance for a while, but it didn’t take long before we all needed to interact with her in some way.

For me, at first, I just wanted to see her smile. But as we got older, the more I craved her, I needed to see if she saw me in the same way, even if it was just a little. So the smile became blushes, and I became addicted.

It stopped when we got moved from the high school to the University building. Her walking into our club room was everything I didn’t know I needed in my life.

And when she told us what she was here for, I almost came in my pants.

“This is the loophole we’ve all been dreaming of,” I point out.

Declan’s brows crease. “What do you mean?”

“We can’t pursue a relationship with her, we know that. But this is the once in a lifetime chance to act on every dirty fantasy we ever wanted with her. We can act like the boyfriends we wish we could be for her, treat her the way she deserves to be treated.” Unlike how her fucking dumbass of an ex did. He’s someone I plan on having a fucking word with soon. “And there's no expectations. No broken hearts. Well, at least not hers.”

Because once this is over, and our time with her is done, I know I’ll never be able to truly walk away. Doesn’t matter who I marry, she will always be the one I’m thinking of.

“I didn’t think of it like that.” Declan looks off into the distance.

“I should have stuck with no,” Preston grumbles as he stands up and starts to pace around the room. “This is no life for her. By us agreeing to this, we are bringing her into something much darker. What she’s asking for, we can’t do it here. We don’t offer the services she’s asking for as the Host Club.”

Well, me and Declan don’t do anything more than maybe a make out session if they tip well; but Preston breaks the rules sometimes for the right price.

“We have to reveal our biggest kept secret. What makes you think she won’t tell anyone?”

“She won’t.” I shake my head. “Sadie isn’t like that.”

Preston stops his pacing, whirling around to face me. “You don’t even know the girl! She was a teenage fantasy we all wanted but that's it. None of us know her, outside of what we’ve seen from a distance.”

That's what he thinks. I have my dirty little secrets. I know a lot more about my little pet than they do. But I’ll keep that little bit of information to myself.

“Then we make her sign a waiver, like we do with everyone else who enters,” Declan suggests, stepping toward Preston like he’s some wild animal. Poor sap has it bad for Preston, but Preston is too damaged to see it. Not that it would matter. Something tells me I don’t think Declan would like to be anyone's side piece.

“Fine,” he growls out through gritted teeth. “I’ll have something made up for her to sign. In the meantime, I’ll be thinking up ways for her to pay off her debts. I’ve been meaning to get myself a little lapdog.”

“Be nice, P,” I warn him. “Just because you're a raging asshole doesn’t mean you can fuck with her. She did nothing to you.”

“Except exist,” he mutters, pushing past us and heading out of the room for his next class.

“You don’t think he’s going to be cruel, do you?” Declan asks, walking up next to me as we watch Preston go.

“I think he’s pissed at himself because he wants something he can't have. I think he has such a fucked up home life that he takes it out on people he shouldn’t. He hates Sadie because he can’t have her.”

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