Chapter 38 #4
“Why work at an art gallery?” I risk hedging a question, not sure if she’ll respond or just close up.
I’m rewarded with an answer.
“Because I’ve always loved art. I used to draw and paint a lot as a child,” she admits quietly. “I secretly wished?—”
A loud, ginormous splash on the other end of the pool cuts her off.
We both flinch at the sound. Everly freezes but I jerk her behind me as I turn to face the source of the noise, keeping her naked body from being on display.
I relax when I catch sight of Braum standing on the edge of the pool.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demand. “And where have you been?”
Braum looks up from whatever he’s staring at in the water but before he can answer, Everly gasps in alarm.
“Oh my god!” she grabs my arm and squeezes. “There’s a body floating in the pool!”
I turn my attention to the person floating face down on top of the water.
“ That is Jonathan,” Braum drawls as he crosses his arms over his chest. “He decided jerking off to our girl while she’s being fucked by her king was more important than acting as our security.”
I stiffen, immediately pissed off. “I already warned him this evening about coveting her.”
“You should’ve mentioned it earlier in the day because while he and Bastian watched her in the library earlier, he was discussing all the different ways he’d fuck her.” Braum scowls. “He didn’t realize I’d stop by for a bit and possibly overhear him.”
Anger mixes with confusion. Braum was in the library? Why didn’t he make himself known to either of us?
“So you killed him?!” Everly shrieks. She lets go of my arm but I turn, grabbing hers before she can swim for the edge of the pool. My grip on her is tight. I’m not willing to let her go just yet. We just had a moment, a real one. I’m not giving it up so quickly.
“He’s probably not dead… yet. I knocked him out and dragged him in here to take a swim.” Braum looks over his shoulder and calls out. “Hey, Sheldon, go get your buddy. He might not have drowned yet.”
Sheldon comes rushing in, his face ashen as he catches sight of Jonathan in the water. He doesn’t even spare us a glance as he dives in after his friend. Uninterested in the sudden activity on that side of the pool, Braum strolls toward us.
“Next time, before you two decide to fuck—,” he drawls, his voice lacking any inflection. “—get rid of your audience. They don’t get to admire what’s ours.”
I roll my eyes. “Right. Got it. Now where the hell have you been?”
He looks better than he did yesterday. Everyone at Serenity Falls cracks under the restrictive lifestyle at least once.
I broke pretty quickly, within the first three months of being here.
Going from total freedom to being watched twenty-four-seven really gets under your skin.
But, as far as I know, Braum’s never cracked.
Not until yesterday. While I’m glad he’s not fucking perfect, I don’t know if I trust him not to dive off the deep end like that again. Not when Everly’s safety is at risk.
“There was some excitement in the administrative building today. I thought I’d go investigate,” Braum drawls, his eyes sliding over me then to Everly. They’re clearer than I’ve ever seen them. “Turns out, your father came to visit Vick.”
“ What !?” Everly shrieks, causing us both to wince as the piercing sound echoes around the pool room. “Why was he here? What happened? Is Maverick okay?”
“Your father is looking for you and thought Vick would know where he’d find you,” Braum explains, his eyes not leaving her face. “Vick’s fine.”
Everly lets out a soft sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god.”
“Gee, glad to hear that asshole is okay,” I mutter.
“Did he… do you know if Maverick mentioned to Father that he’d seen me?” Everly asks, her voice softening.
Braum shakes his head. “He kept your whereabouts to himself. But that brings me to why I’m here this evening.
” His attention returns to me. “We need to have the coronation tomorrow night. Once everyone is introduced to their new queen, Everly will be more protected. Everyone in our court will have their eyes on her and alert us to any possible issues that might arise if Mr. Woodrow visits again.”
“Coronation?” Everly repeats, lifting her head to look at me. “You were being serious earlier?”
She’s ignored as Braum and I share a look with one another. There’s something he’s not telling me; I can feel it. Maybe it’s not all that important, or maybe it’s just not for Everly’s ears. Whatever his reason is for keeping it to himself, I trust that Braum will let me in on it soon enough.
I nod. “I’ll make sure preparations are made.”
“Also, tomorrow, Everly is mine,” Braum adds as he steps back, away from the edge of the pool. “And tonight, she sleeps with me. You’ve been hogging our queen, Rowan.”
I balk at the idea of missing out on touching her tonight and all day tomorrow.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I blurt out. “You lost your shit the last time?—”
“I wasn’t asking, Rowan,” Braum interrupts. Even from this distance, I can see the dare in his eyes as he challenges me.
I bristle. So he’s going to pull the Milligan card for this, is he?
Braum doesn’t pull this status shit often, hell he’s only done it once before and it was to claim Everly’s virginity, but being on the receiving end of it rubs me the wrong way.
We’re friends . Status is beneath us. Or at least, it should be.
“Last time I left her with you, she ended up covered in bruises and bloodied,” I remind him through clenched teeth.
Braum doesn’t even bother to spare me an affronted glare. Instead, he turns to Everly to reply.
“Your life is my number one concern. I’ve never been in a better headspace to see that.” Something in his face darkens as he adds. “You will never be safer than when you’re with me moving forward. Understood?”
There’s grim determination in Braum’s voice that sets off an internal alarm in my head.
What the fuck is going on here? Since when has Braum ever been so passionate about someone, let alone protective ?
The situation between the three of us has clearly taken a sharp turn somewhere.
Braum—for the first time for as long as I’ve known him—has lost interest in the voice in his head and is now giving his full attention to the girl in my arms. Something is going on with him.
Out of my peripheral vision, I see Everly nod. I wonder if she realizes she didn’t have a say in it either way.
“Fine,” I grumble. “But I’m joining you two in the bed tonight and you don’t get to keep her all to yourself tomorrow. I’ll be there when you can’t be. You have classes too.”
Braum nods. “Fine.”
He starts to move away, toward the exit. “I have something to do, but I’ll see you two back at the suite later this evening.”
He passes Sheldon, who rocks back on his heels, mid-CPR, as Jonathan starts to hack and cough on the ground. He pauses by the two of them and says, “If I so much as catch your head turned in her direction, at any fucking degree, I’ll make sure there’s no one there to save you, Jonathan.”
With that, he disappears.
“God, you two are intense,” Everly mutters.
I chuckle as I give her my attention again. “Princess, you have no idea.”