Chapter 35
35
“H ey, hot stuff,” the guy said, his breath so full of whisky it stung my eyes. “We haven’t met, I’m Bartholomew Criterion. Like the financial institution. You’ve heard of us, I bet.”
I had, but no way was I stroking his ego when he was physically assaulting me. I shoved against his chest, trying to extract myself from his hands on my ass. It was fairly fruitless, though, as he seemed to take it as encouragement to grind his flaccid cock against my hip.
“I’m not interested,” I snapped, “take your hands off me. Now.”
He laughed, not taking me seriously in the least. “You’re cute. And this pussy must be dripping narcotics or something to lock down D’Arenberg so tight. He owns this fucking palace and he’s slumming it with you in the guest rooms? Must be worth it.” He leaned in closer, like he was trying to kiss me and I ducked.
“Seriously. Get the fuck away from me!” I was scared now, but I knew Carly would be out any second now so that helped me keep my head. No need to scream when it could be handled more diplomatically, right?
Flashes of Paris crossed my mind, and I shuddered. Had Carter really killed that guy? What would he do to Bartholomew if I screamed? Assuming he cared…
The drunk guy just laughed like I was playing games, pinning me to the wall. “I heard you like getting passed around. Everyone’s talking about how you’re spreading these legs for everyone in the Nevaeh chapter. Why don’t you show me what’s got everyone so worked up, huh?”
“Fuck off!” I shouted, shoving as hard as possible. My panic spiked dramatically when he barely moved a couple of inches. Drunk or not, he was stronger, bigger and heavier…and he had his mind set on getting what he wanted.
Carly chose that moment to exit the restroom and did a double take. “Whoa, Bart, you need to take your hands off my friend immediately.”
Bartholomew shifted his slightly unfocused gaze to my friend and sneered. “Oh yeah? Are you going to make me, Carly?”
Her brows rose like she was shocked at his actual audacity. “No,” she admitted, folding her arms with a small smile playing at her lips. “But he will.”
I saw the fist coming just milliseconds before it connected with the side of Bart’s head. He released me so abruptly I nearly tumbled with him if not for Carly grabbing my arm and jerking me into the doorway with her.
Shocked, I watched Bartholomew Criterion of the financial Criterion Group get his manners corrected in the form of an ass-kicking. But the violence wasn’t the shocking part…it was who was dealing it out.
Not Carter…but Nate.
“Stop!” I finally managed to shout, wrenching free of Carly’s grip to intervene. “That’s enough. Nate, stop !”
He spun to glare at me, breathing heavily, then glanced back at Bart who was moaning in pain and attempting to crawl away on hands and knees. Nate’s eyes narrowed and he used his foot to send Bart sprawling once more.
“Nate! Enough!” I shouted, grabbing his arm to pull him away.
His venomous glare shifted back to me, and for a long moment we just locked eyes. No words exchanged. Then he turned to Carly with a furious twist to his lips.
“Where the fuck were you?” he spat.
Carly turned white as a sheet. “I was?—”
“This isn’t her fault,” I snapped, tugging his arm again to draw the ire away from my friend.
He swung that inferno fury my way. “No. It’s yours. Maybe think about how it looks when you’re sharing a room with Royce and sucking face with Heath during the day, I’m shocked this didn’t happen sooner.”
I dropped his arm, taking a step back in shock. “Victim-blaming is a bad look, Essex.”
He shrugged. “Act like a cheap slut, don’t be surprised when people treat you accordingly.” Fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, he stalked away from us without another word. His shoulders remained rigid and his stride clipped with barely restrained violence just bursting to get out.
For a moment, neither Carly nor I said anything. Then she took my hand in hers and gave me a tug in the direction Nate had just gone. “Come on,” she said softly. “Let’s go find Royce.”
I was too shaken up from the whole incident to even make a joke about Royce giving us grief. Talk about proving his point that I couldn’t be out of his sight for five minutes. Then again, this wasn’t the same as when someone in the society kidnapped me. That had been a deliberate, planned out challenge. Bart was just a drunk sleazebag who’d been raised so entitled he didn’t comprehend consent.
They weren’t the same thing, but Royce wouldn’t care.
We found him at the roulette tables with Heath and Carter both. Nate was nowhere to be seen.
Carter saw me first, rising halfway out of his seat in alarm, which told me I wasn’t hiding my shock very well. Hell, I probably looked like I’d just seen a ghost with how drained I felt.
For a moment, I thought he would come to me and hold me like he’d done in the elevator after I was mugged. How he wrapped me up in his arms and whispered that I was safe. But he checked himself and lowered himself back into his seat as Royce and Heath turned my way.
“What happened?” Heath asked, alarmed. He leapt up and gathered me up in his arms, offering his strength and causing tears to prick at my eyes. Against my better judgment, I glanced over Heath’s shoulder to where Carter sat. He stared back at me, but after a tense moment turned his gaze back to the roulette table. Dismissed.
That cut deeper than I’d have liked, considering I was literally wrapped up in Heath’s embrace.
Carly quickly recounted what had happened, and Royce ordered us a round of drinks. The waitress brought them over quickly…much quicker than expected given how many people were in attendance and needing service. Which only made me remember what Bart had said while breathing all over me. Royce owned this palace-replica? Surely not. I must have misheard, or Bart was too drunk to make sense.
Still, I made a mental note to ask Royce later.
“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Heath asked softly as Carly finished explaining everything. “We don’t have to stay at this thing.”
“Let’s go swimming,” Royce suggested, totally off-the-cuff.
Heath scowled. “I meant just me and Ashley…”
“And he meant his bedroom,” Carly added with a smirk. “Roycey, why you gotta cockblock your friends so hard?”
She had a good question. Royce just smirked his mischief smile. “Isn’t it obvious? I desperately want Ashley to fall in love with me so letting Heath get his dick wet is totally counterproductive to my evil plans. Keep up, Carly babe, it’s a long game.”
I rolled my eyes at his heavy sarcasm. “Remind me why I haven’t smothered you with a pillow yet?”
His grin spread wider. “Because the plan is working.”
“I’m up for swimming,” Carter announced, inserting himself into our conversation suddenly. “Let’s go.”
Royce shrugged and pushed out of his seat. “You heard the man. Drink those first, though.” He gestured to the shots of tequila sitting between Carly and me. “It’ll help settle the shock.”
With logic like that, I wasn’t going to argue. Carly picked up her shot glass and clinked it against mine. “Cheers, girl.”
I sighed, and nodded, then tossed the shot back. It burned down my throat and I coughed, but the resulting warmth wasn’t unwelcome. In fact, it was quite nice. I accepted the chaser of soda that Heath offered me, anyway.
“Swimming in this weather doesn’t sound particularly appealing,” I admitted as the five of us left the casino party. The guys all seemed to know exactly where they were going, which didn’t surprise me at all. This was apparently a yearly trip for the Devil’s Backbone Society.
Heath had his arm around my waist as we walked, and I happily leaned into his side. “You’ll see,” he told me, dropping a kiss on my hair. “But if you’d rather privacy…”
Did I want to go back to Heath’s room and finally take things further than kissing? God yes. So badly, yes. But the hard look Carter tossed over his shoulder right at that moment made me hesitate.
Then Nate’s words echoed back through my head. Act like a cheap slut and people treat you accordingly. He was an asshole of the highest degree, but maybe he had a point.
“It’s cool, I’m happy to hang out. Just don’t expect me to swim because I really don’t want to catch frostbite.”
Carly laughed at that and shook her head. Which made sense when a few minutes later Royce pushed open the double doors to the indoor and heated pool room. There were already a few other people in there, sitting on the edge with drinks in hand, but it was still a shitload quieter than the casino hall.
“Uh, did I miss the memo about wearing a swimsuit under my dress?” I asked as Carter pulled open a huge double door fridge and pulled out an armful of bottles.
Royce just laughed and started stripping out of his suit, tossing the garments onto one of the lounger beds. “Swimsuits are just glorified underwear, Squirrel. You are wearing underwear…aren’t you?”
His curious stare as he stripped right down to his boxers made me blush way too fucking hard. Only Heath’s hand on my waist brought me back to earth and I forced a weak laugh. “Of course I am, pervert.”
Royce shrugged. “That’s a pity.” Then he whooped and cannonballed into the pool, sending a huge splash all over us.
Carter handed Heath a beer, then placed a pair of champagne flutes down on the small drink table beside the lounger while he opened a bottle for Carly and I. Kind of sweet, I guessed?
“You coming in?” Heath asked, already unbuttoning his shirt.
I shook my head, sitting down on the side of a lounger. “Uh, I’m good here. You go for it, though.”
Another heavy splash sent a wave of water over us again and I grinned to see Carly in the pool and trying to drown Royce. What a queen.
Heath arched a brow, untucking his shirt from his pants in a downright seductive way. I wet my lips, watching as he unbuckled his pants. “You sure?”
I glanced from him to the pool where Royce was splashing Carly in the face, like she was his annoying little sister. Cute as hell, but given how mixed up my hormones had been from waking up in Royce’s arms…I really didn’t need to be basically naked in the pool with him and Heath right now.
“Yep. I’ll hang out here.” I assured him, then nearly choked on my own breath when he stripped out of his pants and shoes. He knew it too, shooting me a smirk before doing a run up bomb into the water right on top of Royce.
Carter offered me a glass of champagne, silently sitting on the lounger I was perched on the edge of. I took it without a word and sipped the bubbly wine nervously. Had I just made the wrong choice? I’d assumed Carter would be joining the other boys in the pool, not lurking on the edge with me.
“Spark…” he said softly, his fingertip trailing down the line of my thigh ever so softly. The motion was so subtle that no one else could have seen it, but my breath caught nonetheless.
I shook my head, shifting so my back was to him. “Don’t.”
“I can’t help it,” he muttered in response. “This is torture.”
Irritation flared up and I quickly downed my entire glass of champagne. “You know what? I changed my mind.” I stood up, turning to glare at him while I unzipped my cheap black dress and let it fall to the floor. It left me wearing just a sheer lace bra and panty set, and Carter visibly stopped breathing as he stared. “How’s that for torture?”
He swallowed hard, his deep blue eyes dripping regret but he said nothing. I shook my head and extended my middle finger before turning and diving into the pool.
“Ashley’s here!” Carly called out in glee, swimming over to me. “What did Carter say?” She asked it quietly as she approached, keeping her voice low as the steam from the pool created an illusion of privacy around us.
I swiped water from my face, trying to remember if I used waterproof mascara or not. Carly’s makeup was halfway down her face, but she still managed to look beautiful. “Nothing. I just didn’t want to miss the fun. Wait, where’s Royc?—”
My question cut off with a squeak as the prankster himself launched me out of the water. I flopped like a whale, so very graceful, and tried to hold my laughter while underwater so I wouldn’t drown.
Another impact rocked the water around us while I swam beneath the surface to escape Royce’s antics, and I popped back up to find myself face to face with Nate.
Where the hell had he just come from? Then again, these were his friends, so it stood to reason he might want to hang out with them…
Frowning, I watched a swirl of red wash from his hands as he ducked back below the surface. Was that blood?
Heath glided over and scooped me up in his arms, instantly allowing my mind to totally dismiss Nate. My legs wrapped around Heath’s waist as he held me in the warm water, and he gave a small groan of frustration.
I smiled, looping my arms around his neck. “Maybe I do need to come check out your room tonight,” I whispered, brushing a teasing kiss across his lips. Fuck Nate and his slut-shaming, I was doing nothing wrong with Heath.
“Shit,” he murmured, returning my light kiss with one of his own. His hands slid lower to hold my ass and he gave a moan when he realized I wore a thong. “Now I won’t be able to get out of the water without everyone seeing what you do to me.”
I chuckled, then kissed him properly. His hand moved to my head, fingers tangling in my wet hair as he claimed my mouth with a desperate hunger that nearly made me forget where we were.
“No fucking in the pool,” Royce announced, splashing us both. “It’s bad for the chemical balance.”
Heath groaned and cursed, but did turn down the heat between us a few notches. Mainly, I suspected, because he too remembered we had spectators.
Sure enough, when I swiveled in his arms, more than one set of eyes were on us. The surprising part, though, was how it stoked the fire within me rather than extinguishing it. Especially the way Carter stared.
We all swam and drank for a while longer and shockingly Nate was not as insufferable as he often was. He didn’t apologize for the shit he’d said earlier, and I didn’t expect him to. But I did overhear him expressing some kind of remorse to Carly over how things had gone down between them the year before.
It was right as we were all heading to our rooms, wrapped in towels and more than a little drunk, and Carly was so shocked that I heard her agreeing to let sleeping dogs lie. She did add that he needed to get Paige and Jade under control and I was proud of her for standing her ground on that.
Nate didn’t agree outright, but he also didn’t disagree . He just nodded thoughtfully and headed off in the direction of his own room. Or maybe Paige’s? I hadn’t seen her at all this weekend, but she must be somewhere in the enormous mansion.
“Are you coming to my room?” Heath asked in a sexy whisper as he kissed my neck. We’d been stealing more sneaky kisses since Royce splashed us, and it had me insanely turned on. So much that I could have happily orgasmed just from the way his fingers intertwined with mine while we walked the halls.
I nodded, incapable of words that weren’t going to make me sound like a bitch in heat.
We were almost at my and Royce’s room, though, so I paused to unlock the door for Royce. He was still arguing that I shouldn’t sleep in Heath’s room for safety , but the argument was weak enough we were both ignoring him.
“Let me just grab some dry clothes,” I murmured, pushing open the door. The moment it opened, a smell hit my nose and I reeled back. It wasn’t overpowering but it was…different. Our room usually smelled distinctively Royce thanks to his unique cologne but right now the room smelled bad .
“What the fuck?” Royce said, clearly smelling the same thing. He flicked the lights on, and immediately swiveled to step in front of me, trying to block the view of the room. He was too slow, though. I’d already seen the very dead, very bloody decapitated corpse stretched out across the bed.
The eyes of the detached head stared right at me, right through me from where it sat on the nightstand, and I recognized the victim.
Bart. Sleazy Bart. Dead and naked in my bed.