Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
W hen I woke up the next morning, the first thing I saw was Kingston.
Sleeping soundly in the bed, with his arm cradling my head as I rested on his chest. His face was free of tension and without a trace of worry. He looked peaceful, and, judging by the hint of a smile on his lips, happy.
He looked how I felt.
Aside from a little sore.
I stretched out along the length of his body, curling into his side.
Suspecting I’d have to go back to my room before people started moving around the house, I used my time to examine the tattoo on his right shoulder.
When I flipped over onto my stomach to get a better look, my breasts pressed against him, and I smiled at the soft moan that snuck past his lips.
Tempted as I was to wake him up for more, I wanted to look my fill first. I never would’ve pegged him as a tattoo guy.
Another surprise.
He’d conveniently left his shirt on during his appointment, and that night in the cabin when I woke up to find the three of them there with me. Hiding it had to come naturally, and I hoped it was a tiny spark of rebellion he kept from his father.
I liked that thought, and it fit him. Fighting in secret, doing it quietly behind the scenes.
Carrying a weight so much heavier than I’d ever dreamed a person could bear alone. As my fingers traced over the design, I struggled to put my finger on why it felt familiar.
It was a kaleidoscope of color.
Undefined smudges that didn’t make sense.
Kingston woke up right as the answer came to me, his lips kissing my bare shoulder and drawing my eyes to his. “That’s the image in my charm.”
He nodded, eyes heavy with sleep but slowly brewing lust. And love . Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to mine, but he pulled back before deepening the kiss. Out of respect for my preference to clean breath before making out, I realized, when he sat up and reached into his bedside table.
I laughed, surprised again, but also touched. “You put mints in your bedside table for me?”
“It felt like a nice compromise.”
I kissed him before taking the mint, because it wasn’t like I’d stressed over it aside from our first sleepover. But that he’d come up with a temporary fix in case I didn’t want to get out of bed earned him the raw, unfiltered version of me.
Holding my breath, of course.
His soft laugh as he shook his head made me blush, and I redirected my gaze to his tattoo to distract him.
“Why here? I came up with a theory while you slept. Seems easier to hide if you don’t have to take off your shirt in front of anyone, so I was thinking it’s a silent middle finger to your father. ”
He kissed my cheek and smiled against my skin before shaking his head. “When blood pumps through our bodies, it travels back to the heart from the right side. Passes through the vessels here, so…”
I stared at the mix of colors on his shoulder as he trailed kisses down my neck between spilling secrets.
“I got the tattoo there, because that image has kept me going since I started painting it.”
“What is it?”
His lips twitched. “I plan to show it to you…”
I groaned and dropped my head against his chest, teasing him. “Not that again.”
“I do hope it’s worth the wait after all this buildup.”
“It better be.” I huffed, then smiled. “You definitely were.”
His expression tightened with emotion, like he hadn’t been expecting that. “You’ve been even more than I imagined, love.”
I pressed my lips to his, settling back onto his chest and enjoying the warmth of his arms around me.
“I wish we could stay like this. I wish we didn’t have to worry about anything else. The Quest, the statute, the…”
Exhaling heavily, I pushed up so I could see his face. “What happens now? I mean, we do the escape rooms and keep going with The Quest, but eventually, you have to make good on the deal with your father, right? Unless I win?”
“Even then, Elaine could…with her having the only claim, I’ll have to carry out all my plans to give us a chance to be together. Truly be together.”
“What can I do to help?”
“For now, stay safe. Stay focused on the challenge and…My father will be here before the next one. And there’s no way to avoid him meeting you this time.”
“I did promise to be on my best behavior.”
“I know. But I will also have to act like I’m on his side. Like I’m going along with his plans, and like you and Landon…”
“We know—Well, I know how you really feel. I won’t doubt you just because he’s here. Whatever happens. I’m with you.”
He searched my face for a hint of hesitation or doubt, but he wouldn’t find one.
“I suspect we’ll need to move you into Camelot Courtyard before the other families arrive.
My father won’t want them questioning why you’re still separated, even though there’s a reason.
Max and Landon will move down there with you, but they’ll be in their rooms, and… ”
“Kingston, it’s okay. I’m honestly surprised we’ve been allowed to stay up here as long as we have. The girls might start to see what’s going on between us if we’re not careful. Izzy may already suspect me and Max, but I think she’s on our side.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. And as long as my father doesn’t realize that sequestering you is for anything more than your protection, having Max up here, and by your side, helps.
He’s been able to keep his father—Well, not happy .
Merle wanted him to hide the drugging during the Honor Ceremony, but thankfully, Max shared it the way I’d hoped he would. ”
“What do you mean?”
“It fit him, to rebel like that, especially over something like what happened to you, but he was able to convince him he still hated Landon and me. So, he’s kept Merle satisfied for the time being that if there was anything going on between us, Max would report it to him.”
“But you don’t really think he would, right?”
Ready to jump to Max’s defense, I was glad I didn’t have to.
“No. One thing I can say for sure is that Max Dread’s loyalty has never been to his father. We have that in common.”
“You three have a lot in common, actually. You’re all just too stubborn to notice.” When his eyebrows rose, I conceded on that a little. “Okay, fine. You’ve noticed. The other two, though. I could paint it on my body and they still wouldn’t see it.”
Kingston chuckled softly. “Well, to be fair, love, I couldn’t really hold that against them.”
“True.” I smirked, stretching my toes down his leg beneath the covers.
But then, another thought occurred to me.
“When we were talking at the cemetery, you mentioned your father pulled Merle because of the attack, but he only pulled him after I was drugged. I thought you said you refused that option.”
“I did,” he said, his voice firm and clear.
“But I told you this is like chess, and much more than that, for a reason. In chess, there’s only one person whose moves you have to anticipate.
And here, there are more players on the board.
Each has their own motivations and intentions, playing off each other. ”
“Jesus.”
“Once you were attacked, I realized that I’d failed to consider that fully.
After the attack happened the way it did, once it spiraled, I feared something like that might happen again.
Something I couldn’t predict, and without that, couldn’t prevent.
So, I took precautions to make sure you’d be protected. No matter what happened.”
“What do you mean? What’d you do?”
He stared at me intently, straightening his spine as he said, “I bet on Max Dread.”
Realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. I opened my mouth to confirm it, but Kingston quickly shook his head, panic on his face signaling he’d slipped and said something he shouldn’t have said.
“Whatever you’re thinking, leave it for now. Please. All you can know is that I trusted that if he got you as his Match, you’d be safe.”
“But why Max? I mean, I’m not complaining because he was the right choice. Obviously. But you trusted him knowing how he felt about you and Landon?”
“Yes. I trusted that his feelings for you were stronger than any ill will or resentment he held against us.” He squeezed my hands. “And they were, Quinn. They are . I don’t doubt that.”
“But how did you know?”
“Which part?”
“When you bet on him, trusting that he’d protect me during the Honor Challenge, how did you know?”
“That Max had feelings for you, or that he was honorable and would do the right thing?”
“Both, I guess.”
Kingston smiled. “Well, to your first question, that’s really just the extended version of asking why me. ” His eyes sparkled as he teased me. “And to your second, I knew because of what I shared with you about the eleven sons.”
“What?”
“Max was the only other boy who refused my father more than once. In fact, if my father wasn’t as ruthless as he is, and the seats had already been claimed, everything could’ve been different…
Max could’ve been named my right hand before I ever met Landon.
” Kingston shook his head as he considered a future that never played out, running a hand through his hair.
“Instead, Max got to keep the one thing he coveted too much—the only thing that made him pick up the knife. Max Dread is a better person than anyone gives him credit for. Better than he gives himself credit for, and his resentment toward me and Landon...I understand it.”
“Oh, Max…” My heart ached for my giant burnt marshmallow. “Kingston, are you sure it’s not better for them to know all this? I mean, you considered telling Landon at one point, right? There must’ve been a reason that was one of two options.”