Auryn (Graveyard Kings #5)

CHAPTER ONE

RIPLEY

I wasn’t sure why I let Athena talk me into this.

I should have been at home studying. Instead, I was at a frat house with my roommate and a few of our friends.

Athena was always up for a party. She could always be found anywhere there was a lot of men.

Since I had tonight off work, she’d insisted that I come along.

I was always up for a good party. However, tonight was one of very few nights I had to myself. Drinking and partying with my friends wasn’t going to help me get ahead with my to do list.

“Finally, we get some quality girl time.” Athena shook her finger at Storm, Codie, and Luna.

The five of us were seated on an L-shaped sectional couch in the large living room of the frat house.

“When school is out we need to make this a priority. If we don’t commit to staying besties, we’ll never see each other again.

You’ll all be playing house with your men. ”

Athena wrinkled her nose, making Codie laugh.

I had to agree. The quality girl time had really been reduced since Storm got married and Codie got engaged.

Luna wasn’t far behind. I loved that my friends were happy, even if I worried about their choice of partner.

It took a strong woman to love a Graveyard King.

The Kings were known for their black market activities. They lived a dangerous life. My friends had learned just how dangerous firsthand. But they were in love. Sometimes I worried about them, and sometimes I envied them.

“We can’t party with frat guys forever,” Luna said, twirling a finger in her pink and purple locks. “Graduation isn’t all that far away. Then we’ll be forced into the real world.”

Athena scoffed. “There are still hot guys and hook ups in the real world. I’m way too young to settle down and be all domestic and shit with some man. I can’t imagine fucking the same guy for the rest of my life.”

Luna rolled her eyes, taking a drink of her vodka and ginger ale.

Storm and Codie exchanged a glance, smirking to themselves.

No matter how happy they were, they would never convince Athena that life was for her.

She bounced from guy to guy, taking what she wanted before tossing them aside.

I respected that she knew exactly what she wanted out of life right now. I wished I could say the same.

“I swear you must’ve been a man in a previous life,” Storm laughed, giving Athena a playful shove. The two of them had been friends for a long time, even though Storm was relatively newer to our friend group. She’d transferred to our school last year.

Athena accepted her remark as if it were a compliment. “Nothing wrong with having a healthy sexual appetite and wanting to sample everything at the buffet.”

She made a show of perusing the guys around us as if choosing which one she would have that night. There was no judgment here. Even though I wasn’t quite the player Athena was, I enjoyed men as well. Unfortunately, that didn’t always work out in my favor.

“One day you’ll sample that one that you just can’t get enough of, and all others will pale in comparison,” Codie said, stirring her drink with her straw.

Athena pursed her lips, making a pfft sound. “Don’t bet on it.”

“What about you, Ripley?” Codie turned her attention to me. “Weren’t you seeing that guy from your psych class? You haven’t said much about that recently. What was his name again?”

My face scrunched up as I was unpleasantly reminded about that mistake. “Jamie Carson. Yeah, there’s a reason I haven’t said much about that. There isn’t much to say. We went out a few times, and he got weird. I’ve been trying to avoid him. Having a class with him doesn’t make that easy.”

Storm frowned, tucking a strand of dark red hair behind her ear. “Weird like how?”

I had the sudden urge to fiddle with my own hair. Since I’d clipped my shoulder length blonde layers up on top of my head, I had nothing within reach. The pill I had taken earlier today wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I took an extra-long pull on my straw, draining my Jack and Coke dry.

“He keeps trying to get me to go out with him again, even though I told him I thought we would be better as friends. He tries to sit next to me in class and run into me on campus. He just won’t accept my decision.

It’s getting a little creepy.” That was putting it lightly.

Jamie had also been texting me endlessly to the point that I had to block his number.

Only then he started texting me from a whole new number.

At first, Jamie had seemed like a decent guy.

He let me copy his notes one day when I missed class.

Our first date had been typical. Dinner and a movie.

By our third date he started talking as if we were seriously committed.

Making plans for us to attend graduation together and randomly showing up at the restaurant where I worked.

When I asked him to back off a little, he didn’t take it well.

His entire demeanor changed. Instead of being friendly and over-the-top polite, he became stiff and a little scary.

I’d been doing my best to avoid him, even getting to class early enough to sit near some girls I’d become acquaintances with, hoping he wouldn’t get a seat next to me.

“Do you want us to get the Kings to chase him off?” Codie asked. “I’m sure they would be happy to talk to him.”

I waved a hand, quickly dismissing that idea. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I don’t want to involve them in this.”

A cheeky little grin slid across Athena’s face, lighting up her dark green eyes. “If you change your mind, I’m sure that Auryn would be more than happy to step in on your behalf. Every time he’s around he practically eye fucks you.”

“Oh my God, don’t talk like that.” My face flamed with heat. “He does not.”

“He absolutely does,” Codie jumped in with a vigorous nod. “Stray told me that he asked about you once. Since he’s kind of a manwhore, Stray told him to stay away from you.”

Auryn Brewer was one of the Graveyard Kings.

I didn’t really know him. Since three of my friends were involved with the Kings, we had all hung out in a group setting several times, although he and I never really had any one-on-one interactions.

I thought I’d noticed him checking me out but assumed that was just Auryn. He really did get around.

“He asked about me?” I sat up straighter in my seat. “Why?”

“Because he wants to nail you, dumbass.” Athena giggled, getting to her feet. “I’m going to peruse this buffet of men on my way to the kitchen for a refill. Wanna come, Rips?”

Since my cup was empty and I needed a refill anyway, I joined her. “Might as well.”

I wondered if I would be able to pop another pill without any of the girls noticing. Since my purse spilled at a party several months back and my pill bottle fell out, I’d been working harder to keep it to myself. They wouldn’t understand.

The pills helped a lot when I hurt my back at work last year after lifting a heavy case of liquor bottles.

Now they simply helped me get through each day.

Making it a little easier. I didn’t take too many, and it had never become a problem, so I didn’t see a reason to bring attention to it.

Everyone around us was drinking and doing street drugs. That was far worse in my opinion.

While Athena flashed her come hither smile at several guys, we made our way through the room. One of the hockey players caught her eye. She couldn’t resist stopping to gush over a recent game the university team had won. After giving him her number, we continued on to the kitchen.

I couldn’t help but be impressed by Athena. She was so bold. She never let anything stop her from going after what she wanted. Although I wasn’t the shy type, I didn’t have the confidence to approach men the way she did.

We entered the large kitchen, squeezing through people to the counter where a fantastic array of alcohol had been laid out. We topped up our drinks, lingering so Athena could scrutinize every man in the vicinity.

Several people were packed around a large table in the attached dining area. A few of the Kings were there playing poker, including Auryn Brewer. I couldn’t resist giving him a curious onceover.

Platinum blonde with a short, stylish haircut, he had deep brown eyes that would draw any woman under his spell. While not huge or bulky, he had a moderate build. Firm like he had muscle in the right places. A guy that ran a black market business couldn’t let himself go.

Too bad he was such a player. Even though I wasn’t on the hunt for a boyfriend, I wasn’t interested in being a conquest either.

Feeling my gaze upon him, Auryn glanced up, making eye contact. Shit. He caught me. Well, that was embarrassing.

I quickly redirected my attention back to Athena, feeling my cheeks turn pink.

She was chattering about some guy in one of her classes.

Wondering if she should go talk to him. Then deciding against it since she didn’t want to make it weird in class.

I nodded along, doing my best to resist the urge to glance back at Auryn to see if he was still looking at me.

It shouldn’t have mattered anyway. I’d never looked twice at him. That shouldn’t change just because he’d asked about me.

“I told you he wants you.” Athena subtly inclined her head in his direction. “He’s hard-core checking you out. Good thing I told you to wear that skirt tonight. It makes your ass look divine.”

I glanced down at the pleated black skirt I wore. It fell to mid-thigh, showing off my legs. I’d paired it with a long-sleeved red top made of soft material that hugged my body just right.

“I’m not looking for a one night stand,” I protested. “The last one was a disaster.”

And how. My last one night stand had been after a drunken night out at a concert. The guy was a total hottie. A guitarist for the band. I’d expected it to be amazing. Instead, he’d grunted like a pig before coming after a few thrusts and promptly passing out. Gross.

“Auryn has far too much ego to be a disaster in bed. Give it a go. You might have a good time.” Athena gave me a push. “I’m going to go chat up the sexy British guy that transferred here earlier this year. I love his accent. I’ll meet you back at the couch with the girls.”

She was gone before I could stop her. Driven by her latest conquest. I guess a sexy accent beat out the hot hockey player. Having no intention of hanging around, I turned to go back into the living room. And ran right into Jamie.

Fuck me. What was he doing here?

His dark eyes swept over me, lingering on my short skirt. “I didn’t expect to run into you here. Do you come to these parties often?”

That was really none of his damn business. Instead of saying as much, I said, “I’m here with my friends. They’re waiting for me in the other room.”

“That’s cool. We should hang out sometime soon. Maybe we can stay in this time. You could come to my place. When would be a good time for you?” He swigged from the beer bottle he held, awaiting my response like this was a completely normal conversation to have.

My brows shot up. I gaped at him in disbelief. Was this guy for real?

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Jamie. Like I said before, I think we would be better off as friends.” Since he was blocking my path to the living room, I couldn’t easily slip past him. I would have given anything for Athena or one of the other girls to come save me right then.

“So come over and we’ll hang out as friends.” Jamie shrugged, like it was that simple.

“Maybe some other time.” Not knowing how to handle this conversation, I tried to let him down easy. “I’m pretty busy with graduation coming up in a couple months and work. I don’t have a lot of time.”

Hopefully after graduation I would never see him again. Too bad he knew where I worked.

“I don’t feel like you gave us a real chance. Get to know me a little. I have a feeling we would be really great together.” He reached to take my hand.

My automatic reaction was to jerk away. I even went so far as to take a step back. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I told you how I feel. Please respect that.”

He shoved a hand through his short brown hair, huffing out an angry breath. “Why do you have to be so difficult? I’m a nice guy. I deserve a chance at the very least.”

“I gave you a chance. We went out. Maybe you are a nice guy, but I’m not feeling what you’re feeling.

” I clutched the cup in my hand so tight the plastic began to crack.

No matter what I said, he refused to accept it.

The only thing that kept me from panicking completely was that we were surrounded by so many people.

Jamie took a step toward me that felt menacing. Like he would’ve grabbed for me again if we’d been alone. “You need to give me another chance. Give me some time to prove myself to you, Ripley. I know we can be so good together. Why won’t you just—”

“You’re not harassing my girl, are you? Otherwise, we are going to have a big problem.”

An arm slid around my shoulders as Auryn appeared beside me. He pulled me close against him, tucking me in next to his warm, hard body.