CHARLOTTEI laid on my back and stared at the ceiling.My thoughts and emotions were a mess, a jumbled-up mix of feelings I didn’t want to get into. I let one of my hands fall to my neck until my fingers brushed over my mark, over the smooth plane of healed skin, only disturbed slightly by its prese
CHARLOTTE“What if we crash?” I whispered to Madeline, my fingers clutching the wheel of the very expensive car almost fearfully.Madeline laughed and whipped out her phone to take a picture of my nervous but excited face. I frowned at her, but at least she wasn’t grumbling about how inane it was to
Disgusting.I hid any reaction I might have at that, but even when he left I couldn’t stop the creeping feeling that slid down my spine at his stare.Men were weird.I busied myself with sorting through tomorrow’s reservation until I was interrupted by a woman’s voice calling out to me. My manager g
CHARLOTTE I stepped closer and eyed the books. They were all textbooks, textbooks and materials that fit into the course I was taking. What the…? My hands trailed over the spines. A few of them were books I couldn’t even find in the library. But here they were, sitting pretty on the shelf, brand
I returned to my room and continued my assessment of the shelf and the books on it. From the larger textbooks to the smaller ones, everything was carefully ordered and stacked. The intentionality behind this struck me hard. I looked away. My gaze shifted around my room, landing on the table where C
CHARLOTTEThe scent of coffee lured me into the kitchen.I smiled when I saw the pot of coffee being brewed as it always was. It was a little thing, but it was something that I’d started looking forward to every morning since the first time I had it. I walked off to the fridge first to get myself s
“What’s in the cup?” He asked, his tone wasn’t particularly friendly. Reigh bit down on his lower lip to keep from bursting out into a laugh and giving her away. “Water,” Sarah said in an extremely high-pitched note. I couldn’t tell if Taide believed her or not, but he looked away from her and mut
King Auric smiled, but it was was cold and filled with absolutely no warmth.When Sarah and I stepped away from behind Reigh, his attention immediately locked on me, scrutinizing, judging and scanning me from head to toe. It wasn’t in a lecherous way, more like he was picking apart every bit of me a
CHARLOTTE I stepped out of Taide’s bathroom when I was done brushing my teeth. I gently shut the door as I exited, careful not to disturb the man still lying on his stomach, asleep on Taide’s bed, a sheet covering the lower half of his body. My eyes drifted over him—down the toned lines of his br
My thighs clamped around his head. I was so sensitive from the last two orgasms, and I could already feel a third building up.“Fuck!” Reigh breathed, tweaking my nipples between his fingers. “This is so hot!”Taide hummed, and I felt the vibrations against my core. I panted, my chest heaving as I l
“You.” I panted, “The both of you.”I turned my neck, seeing as Taide stood in the middle of the room. Waiting.I pushed away from Reigh as I reached for his hand and pulled him along. Towards the bed. When I let go, I climbed onto the soft foam, my hands and knees sinking into it before I looked at
CHARLOTTETaide took off his suit jacket as he strode away from the door.I turned to Reigh, seeing him slide his hand into his pockets.I showed him the back of my dress. “Can you unzip me?”His footsteps came next, drawing closer.Taide looked up, now dressed down to just a vest and dress shirt as
I let my head rest on his chest, just like I did with Taide, but this time, I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat.It grounded me, the steady thump thump thump of his heart.When the song ended, we pulled away from each other. It honestly felt like it all ended too soon. But wh
I was about to whisper something to him when Reigh reached us. He was dressed the same way Taide was, his long hair pulled back in a neat, low ponytail. His hands were in his pockets, and he seemed almost awkward with the two of us. Everything about this atmosphere was weird.After a few seconds of
CHARLOTTEI spent the next day with a feeling of semi-constant doom hanging over me. I had my meals in my room and remained holed up there until the evening when the ball was about to start.I could hear bustling and shuffling about as I got ready, and that combined with the amount of chattering I
In my periphery, I could see Caeson looking down at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. But I could see it tear at him. He didn’t want Taide to know. “Let’s go,” Taide said, clasping my hand and leading me out. “Wait,” Caeson said, reaching for me. But Taide slapped his hand away, and I
As I hurriedly explained what had just happened, I watched his face. Concern melted into understanding, and while I was glad he understood what I was saying, I felt a twinge of horror when I realized that he did not look the slightest bit… surprised. I pulled away from him, my hands balling into fi