Chapter 38
Skye
You forgot my birthday?! That’s it, I’m disowning you.
I snorted and shook my head. There’s kind of a lot going on right now, I replied, although I didn’t exactly know how to explain any of it to my brother.
I’d come back to the apartment last night to find Aiden and Wyatt playing some video game involving car chases and drug dealers. As if that weren’t bizarre enough, Rafe had been munching on my shrimp chips while watching the other two.
They’d been playing so late, I’d eaten some leftover pasta and gone to bed before Wyatt or Rafe left.
Well. Before Wyatt left. I was nearly positive Rafe stayed in one of the other rooms.
Skye, I’m turning twenty-nine. It’s my last year before I become a decrepit old man. You have to be here to celebrate.
Decrepit old men still have birthday parties, I argued.
Zephyr sighed dramatically. My next party will be in a cemetery. It won’t be fun for any of us.
I laughed out loud, shocking myself. Luckily, I was alone, Aiden having left for class after eating me for breakfast. Now I was getting ready for the day inside my insane penthouse dormitory.
It still didn’t really feel like mine. I just felt like I was staying in some expensive hotel.
Who all am I supposed to be bringing? I asked.
Obviously Aiden, Zephyr replied. Bring all your loser friends if you want, I’m inviting some of the staff.
Wow, I said dryly. I wanted to invite Willow and Mia, but nevermind.
Wait, wait, Zephyr cried. I spoke too soon. They’re definitely not losers. Do not tell Mia I called them losers.
I laughed again as I went through my stupidly large closet, examining each of my t-shirts like it was an important decision. Zephyr hadn’t even met Willow and Mia, and he just knew Mia was the one to be afraid of.
Skye? Do not get me killed a year early. Do not tell Mia.
You’re safe, Zeph, even I don’t wanna see what she’s like when she’s mad.
Don’t get me wrong, I totally want her riled up, just not like that. And not toward me.
Ew, I replied in monotone, and my brother laughed.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced down to see a text from Willow.
Willow
Lunch??
I replied quickly, letting her know I’d meet her in the dining hall. I had plenty of time until my next class, and I’d already thought about skipping it, anyway.
I gotta go, Zephyr said, sounding irritated. There was some wave off of Alaska that has all the old people here a little on edge.
Alaska?
Alaska didn’t seem like the type of place to have tsunamis, even if it was on a large faultline.
I didn’t hear about an earthquake, I said.
No earthquake, Zephyr said. Big storm churned everything up off of Asia, I guess. They think it started as a rogue wave but then made it ashore.
That didn’t seem like it made much sense, but I wasn’t a weather expert. Zephyr left, and as I grabbed my bag to leave, I paused, staring at a garment bag hanging by the door. That hadn’t been there last night. I didn’t own anything that needed a garment bag.
Well, that wasn’t really true. Rafe had stocked my closet with all kinds of gowns and dresses, I just hadn’t bothered to look at any of them, since I’d never be wearing them anywhere.
Fucking Rafe.
I let the thought fall away as I approached the silky bag. I wouldn’t put it past Rafe to plan some huge event and then give me a gown as his way of informing me of said event. But as I unzipped the smooth, silk bag, a huge smile broke out across my face.
It was a coat.
It was long and black and it fit perfectly. I hurled my old hoodie across the room, a soft thump renting the air as it hit the wall in the foyer. I pulled on the new coat, running my hands up and down the suede material, then did a giddy little twirl.
Rafe got me a coat!
I practically skipped to the dining hall, my mind racing with all the different ways I could thank Rafe for the coat. My libido was out of control, so every idea I had involved his dick.
Rafe, I decided to reach out to him.
I felt his surprise, then his excitement.
Darling, he replied. Please tell me you’d like me to meet you at the dorm for some fun.
I snorted. Thank you for the coat.
Rafe hummed. It’s not from me, love. Wyatt mentioned you needed a coat, I just hung it up for him.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Wyatt had gotten this for me?
I resisted the urge to rub my face against the soft material.
All my earlier thoughts about sucking Rafe’s dick changed, and then I was imagining Wyatt, instead.
He’d probably be like Rafe, not letting me get down on my knees in front of him.
We’d probably be in the bed together, he’d look at me like I was the answer to all his problems, and I’d run my teeth along his thick cock because he was into that–
Well, that’s a beautiful picture, minus the part where you stopped imagining me.
My mind screamed to a halt, and then my cheeks heated. I’d left my mind open to Rafe too long and he’d seen the entire daydream.
Out of my head, I demanded.
Rafe’s chuckle filled my mind before I pushed him out, and I slipped around the corner to the dining hall, freezing when the doors pushed open and out stepped River Mac. I groaned out loud at the sight of him, and his blue eyes flashed when he locked onto me.
“I swear, every time I turn around, you’re right fucking there, not stalking me.” I sneered.
“Yeah, maybe you’re stalking me,” River said, his tone a little…teasing? He chewed his thumb for a second, then dropped his gaze. “New coat?”
“Yeah,” I replied awkwardly.
We stared at each other for a moment, and then River cleared his throat. “You look nice.”
My jaw hung open as he walked away.
Did…River just compliment me?
My heart fluttered, and I groaned out loud again before storming inside.
Days later, the party was in full swing.
Zephyr hadn’t invited a few of the café staff, he’d invited all of them. And they were mostly dudes.
I eyed them all suspiciously, wondering once again if my brother was a little into guys. None of them seemed like his type, though I didn’t exactly know what his type would be. Most of the staff were young, though, barely twenty years old, and I didn’t imagine Zephyr with an age-gap relationship.
“What the hell?” I hissed at Zephyr.
He snorted at my expression. “What? Teenagers are great. I haven’t worked a single weekend since you left.”
I ended up against a wall a few hours later. Aiden couldn’t help but glue himself to Zephyr’s side. They definitely would’ve been a problem together a few months ago, when my brother was man-whoring all over the islands and Aiden was man-whoring everywhere else.
A random prickle of irritation went down my spine, but I blew out a breath to calm down as I looked over to Rafe. He’d come to give me a kiss hello, but now he’d been staring at his phone for almost half an hour.
“Problem?” I asked.
Rafe looked at me, then looked around, lost. “No?”
I shrugged.
Rafe chewed his lip, looking down at his phone again.
I blinked.
“Bored with me already?” I tried.
“No, darling,” he replied, sounding a bit tired. “I’m just…I didn’t realize I was taking on a full time job when I decided I wanted to be in charge of disaster management.”
“Oh,” I said softly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to mock you.”
Rafe grinned. “You’re fine, of course.” He leaned in, kissing me behind the ear and making me shiver.
He ran a finger down my arm as he spoke, “Mock me any time, even if it’s rude.
I’m sorry I can’t give you more attention, but…
it looks like there’s someone here who might also need someone to talk to. ”
I furrowed my brow, then turned, following his dark gaze to–
Wyatt.
He sat alone on the couch, his drink cup full and forgotten on the coffee table. He looked deliciously casual in a gray t-shirt and some black joggers. He had his muscular arms crossed over his chest, and he was currently glaring at–
I barely held back a snort.
Willow and Mia were sitting in a booth, watching Zephyr with rapt attention while he animatedly told a story. Mia was tucked into Willow’s side, and Willow’s eyes were wide as she watched Zephyr.
Aiden stood, braced against the next table over, laughing at every punchline.
He’s the perfect wingman, hmm? Rafe said.
I shook my head. Zephyr knew better than to hook up with my friends, and Willow and Mia weren’t into men.
Well, Mia wasn’t…I was pretty sure.
I ran my fingers over Rafe’s tattooed arm, aiming to feel his muscle and instead raising my eyebrows at the jagged texture that met my fingers.
Rafe tensed, keeping his eyes on his phone but his fingers stopped typing.
He seemed to be holding his breath, waiting on my reaction to what I’d just felt.
I ran my hand down his arm, from his bicep to his wrist, then back up, following the uneven skin the whole way.
Was this why he only had one sleeve tattooed?
My hand trailed under his t-shirt sleeve, onto his shoulder, and then I ran my free hand over his neck.
Rafe was scarred.
There were only a few places of smooth skin on his arm, and none on his neck. The tattoo was placed just perfectly, the details obscuring the worst of the bumpy skin.
The back of my neck began to prickle with unease. Rafe didn’t react, his breathing calm but shallow while I continued to feel him up. This could’ve been hot, if I weren’t so horrified.
“What happened to you?” I whispered. I leaned in close, the dim light obscuring my vision slightly, but I was able to see some of the jagged skin beneath the ink. Whoever had done this work was beyond talented.
I was…in a fire, Rafe replied. In the military. It’s why I got out.
A fire.
Rafe had been in a fire.
I’d sort of known that. Aiden had told me a bit of what he knew, even though it was all speculation. He’d told me Rafe was hurt in action, pulled out of a burning building. The Crown Princess had fucked with everyone’s memories to make sure no one remembered what Rafe’s burnt body looked like.