Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ROWAN
I ’m doing something wrong—the itch beneath my skin proves it.
The problem is I’m not quite sure what I’m doing wrong. I have the girl. Everly is mine, goddamn it!
Sure, she’s a little pissed at me, but that doesn’t make her any less mine.
To be honest, she’s a little justified in her anger.
I’d be upset too, if I was kept in a cage for hours at a time—gold plated or not.
It’s not like I kept her in there all day yesterday, though.
I came back. Sure, I was gone a little longer than I thought I’d be.
But what’s eight hours in the grand scheme of things?
And I brought food! Dinner consisted of several different rolls of sushi, and dessert was chocolate fondue with an assortment of fruit.
Then I took her to get a massage by Chad, who’d come back last evening at my request. I even let her wear my favorite pajamas to bed—at least the second set of them. I wore the original.
You’d think that would be enough to appease her.
But nope. She was just as furious with me today when I told her to get into the cage.
The fight to get her into it had been both exhilarating and irritating.
I ended up sprinting out of the suite with a raging boner and an irritating, blazing-hot prickling beneath my skin as the itching flared to life.
I hate being late to anything, class most of all.
But I hate itching even more. Damn her.
“She’s being fucking ungrateful!” I complain to Sheldon as we stroll to our second class of the day.
Wednesdays are my busiest days of the week, and I should be focusing on my work, not the pretty little bitch sitting in my cage back in my suite.
But she’s all I can think about. Well, her and the full body itch making me miserable.
My back is on fire. All I want to do is reach back with both hands and drag my nails across all the flesh I can reach.
As it is, I hold back on giving in to the urge.
It’s all in my head .
Sheldon chuckles. “I’m sure you’ll figure this shit out. Bitches crave you.”
I open my mouth to agree, because they do, but choke as I consider that.
He’s right, women do crave me. So why the hell doesn’t Everly just bow to my every whim like every other woman?
I know I’m fucking hot, and I’ve given her a cushiony life.
Is it the lack of space in the cage? Maybe she needs to be let out a few hours a day.
I had a neighbor growing up who had a dog walker come by to let her little white poodle out twice a day.
Is that what Everly wants? To stretch her legs and a chance to pee throughout the day?
I guess I could get someone to run up and let her out…
For the duration of Economics, I mull over my situation with Everly. By the time I’m getting up to leave, I’m no closer to finding an idea and I’m covered in raised, red scratches up and down my arms, my ankles, and across the back of my hands.
“Hey, Row, we’re going to smoke some of the green Conner’s cousin dropped off last weekend, you comin’?” Jonathan asks as I follow him and Conner out of the door.
I glare at the back of his head. “Like I would ruin my lungs like that.”
“I got gummies,” Conner offers with a grin as I fall in step with them. “You can take a few back to the queen, maybe that will chill her out some.”
Anger spikes and my fists clench at my side. “I’m not drugging my woman to make her more compliant. And if you suggest drugging my queen again, I’ll take you into the woods, gut you, throw your body in the pond, and let the fish feast on your corpse.”
Sheldon steps up on his other side and nudges Conner. “Respect the queen, man.”
“Right,” Conner nods quickly, his face paling as he looks over at me. “Sorry, Rowan.”
I ignore his apology, my head already back on Everly as I cave and reach over my shoulder to scratch at my neck.
Why doesn’t Everly feel like mine? She should be adoring how well I’m treating her.
Maybe… maybe I’m missing something? What do I do with the other girls to get them to fall in line and adore me?
Immediately, my thoughts turn to Purdy. Now that’s an obsessed piece of ass.
I never had trouble earning her affections.
She happily comes back every time I snap my fingers.
An idea distracts me from my itching. My hand falls away from my skin as my feet stop moving.
“Where’s Purdy?” I ask the guys.
They all freeze and turn around when they realize I’m not following.
“Ah, I think she’s back in her room. She should’ve just got out of her scheduled therapy appointment,” Jonathan says.
Perfect.
“Have your fun, I’ll be back for next period,” I tell them, turning on my heels and heading off.
Fifteen minutes later, my knuckles are rapping against Purdy’s door.
“One second!” she calls.
I scowl. “Open it. Now .”
The hurried sound of footsteps is followed by the door being unlocked. It opens a second later. Purdy stands on the other side of the threshold, wearing only a towel. Her cheeks are pink, probably still warm from her shower, and her lips become wet as she sweeps her tongue over them.
“Rowy! I didn’t expect to see you today. What a wonderful surprise,” she purrs, her gaze raking over me. She steps back. “Come on in.”
I do, stomping into her room and doing a quick sweep of the clutter all over the place.
My body tenses at the sight of dirty clothes on her bed and floor.
There are empty cups everywhere, and her makeup is strewn all over the desk on the far side of the room.
Purdy comes from a well-to-do family who clearly wanted their daughter to be comfortable.
With a large room all to herself, Purdy has made herself at home.
“What’s up baby, miss me?” Purdy asks as she shuts the door.
I turn around to face her just in time to watch the towel flutter to the floor. Purdy’s perky tits, tight waist, and bald pussy are all suddenly on display. I take a moment to drink in my fill. At one point, I used to fuck this chick multiple times a day. Willing, wet, and talented—Purdy was easy.
Maybe that’s why I kept calling her back to me after pushing her away. Because it couldn’t be her looks. Sure, she’s pretty enough, but with Everly upstairs and in my possession, anything I was once attracted to about Purdy does nothing for me.
My dick is limp as shit.
“Cover up,” I order as I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not here for sex.”
Rather than do as she’s told, Purdy simply saunters over—a coy smile spreading across her face.
“What’s wrong, Rowy? Is your queen a bore?” she asks. “Is that why you’re here? Are you looking for someone else to be your queen?”
She stops in front of me and places her hands on my chest. Immediately, I reach up and grab her wrists in a biting grip.
“Ouch!” she whines, trying to pull away.
I don’t let her go as I glare down at her. “Why do you want me?”
“W-what do you mean?” she huffs, still trying to yank herself out of my hold.
“Tell me what makes me so alluring that you want my dick time and time again even though I throw you away like trash each time I’m done with you.”
Purdy’s lashes flutter with confusion and for a second, hurt, before she composes herself and attempts to relax in my grip.
“Rowan, you’re the finest man I have ever seen…
and fucked for that matter. Your popularity in and outside Serenity Falls is nearly unmatched—being under your spotlight is like being under my own.
The attention is just as addictive as your dick, baby.
So, if you want to call me names, spit on me, push me away only to pull me back?
Fine.” She gives me a smile though it lacks the confidence of the ones before it.
“Whatever you want, Rowy, I’ll give it to you. I just want to be yours.”
Anger flares through me. None of that is helpful. Everly is granted the same privilege of staring at me and basking under my umbrella of greatness, yet she’s not as starstruck as Purdy here. Maybe I’m going about this all wrong. If that’s the case, though, what am I going to do?
I let go of her wrists with disgust and step around her.
“You’re pathetic, you know that, right?” I tell her, my upper lip curling in disgust.
She bats her eyes, turning with me. “Do you like me pathetic, Rowy?”
I don’t entertain her with a response. Instead, I leave her room and slam the door shut behind me.
What a fucking waste of my time. Going to see Purdy didn’t help my cause.
She told me what I already knew. Men and women gravitate toward me, salivating at the chance to gain just a fraction of my attention; the attention of a god.
Everly is a one-off I don’t understand.
My fingernails rake against my jawline before I realize I’ve reached up to start scratching again. With a huff, I drop my hand away from my face and stomp down the hallway. One glance at my watch tells me that, if I get moving, I’ll make it to my next class with a few minutes to spare.
I make it to the staircase and descend them, I consider another variable to my conundrum.
Is this constant itch beneath my skin due to Everly’s lack of interest in being one of my most prized possessions?
None of the other pieces within The Collection have ever fought back.
Given that all of the pieces are inanimate objects, that makes sense.
Everly is the first living piece I’ve added.
Does my need to possess her also include taking into consideration her feelings?
My upper lip curls with derision.
That can’t be the case. Anyone with brains would see this opportunity I’ve granted them and bask in it. Then again, Everly has proven she’s not just anyone. I suppose if she was, she wouldn’t be part of The Collection.
The elevator doors open when I reach the first floor, and I stroll down the hallway lost in thought.
Maybe I need to find a way to make her content with her situation?
I frown as I contemplate this new angle.
If that’s the case, how do I get her to enjoy herself here?
To accept that she’s mine and be happy about it?
It’s strange, I’ve never before had to work to get people to like me. They simply just do.
When I step outside, the fresh air helps me think clearly.
With that clarity, an uncomfortable realization dawns on me.
If my face, money, and influence—the things I heavily rely on to get me what I want—doesn’t do it for Everly, what else do I have to offer her?
In exchange for her unwavering devotion, what am I willing to trade or give up? What else do I possibly have?
A twinge deep in my gut snags my attention.
At first, I think it’s a sense of desperation, but as I focus on it, I realize it’s a mixture of dread and uncertainty.
What am I other than pretty and rich? Is that solely what I boil down to?
There have to be other traits that define me.
I’m just floundering trying to think of them because I’ve put myself on the spot.
Or… I swallow hard as I consider the real reason I can’t think of anything else. Maybe I’ve let those things define me because I don’t have anything else of value, personality or otherwise, that make up who I am.
That twinge, which I now understand is insecurity, grows more noticeable.
I try to push it away but the feeling only intensifies.
This abrupt, deep dive into who I—Rowan Underhill—really am, is uncomfortable.
My teeth clench and my hands curl into fists as I realize this is Everly’s fault.
If she would just adore me, as others do, I wouldn’t be here having an existential crisis.
As Bowbrook comes into view, I wonder where the fuck my best friend is. Talking this out with him would be extremely helpful right about now. But Braum was MIA all day yesterday and again today. Where the fuck is he?
I look around, searching for signs of him on campus as if he’ll just appear now that I really need him.
Unfortunately, Braum doesn’t materialize.
I’ll have to ask members of our court if they’ve seen him.
It isn’t like Braum to disappear like this.
Something’s going on with him. But what? Why wouldn’t he just tell me?
Thoughts of my best friend fall away as my sides twitch painfully from the intensity of a new prickling of irritation. Unable to stop myself, I reach across my body and scratch fervently. My stomach twists anxiously. This scratching is only going to get worse.
I have to figure out my worth fast and make sure it’s enough for Everly. Because if she fights me and my possession of her much longer, I’ll be peeling off my skin sooner rather than later.