Chapter 1
Chapter One
T rauma was a bitch.
Even waking up for the third night in a row sandwiched between two Knights of the Round Tableau hadn’t been enough to keep the nightmares away.
I hadn’t expected my trauma to be miraculously cured by their dicks, but I had hoped to sleep through one night during the break in The Quest.
Instead, I woke gasping for breath before the sun came up.
I clutched my heart. It raced beneath my palm as if it might beat out of my chest.
“Shhh. I’ve got you, Princess.”
Max’s arm tightened around me, the heavy weight dipping into my waist as I faced him on my side. He slipped his hand between me and Landon, fingers pressing gently into my lower back, and he pulled me against his chest.
My brow furrowed as he jostled my body, but I couldn’t catch the thread of a thought my brain wanted to unspool. And I let something go without knowing what it was, slowly waking up. It would come back to me, though.
At that moment, all I could think about—all I wanted to think about—was the warmth of Max Dread’s arms.
When I came to Camelot Court, my college’s elite fraternity and brotherhood of Knights, the last thing I expected to do was end up in bed with one of them, let alone two.
Especially the Dark Knight I’d claimed to hate.
He’d seemed like a reclusive asshole. The villain with a stupid, smug smirk on his face, ready to use me like a pawn after luring me in with lies and dark promises.
I’d been in a protective shell of denial.
But then the Honor Challenge changed everything.
For six days of The Quest—my ticket to what I’d thought I needed to survive—I shared a cabin with Max, where I learned he hadn’t been lying about a whole slew of things, and he pushed me to face my truth.
I wanted more than the cash prize offered by The Quest.
Answers. Three broody assholes. And a chance to burn Camelot Court to the ground— literally —if needed.
Two out of three broody assholes slept soundly in my bed. Operation yeet Camelot Court into a raging inferno brewed steadily in the back of my mind. And the answers…
Well, I was still working on those.
I didn’t know everything yet, but I’d learned enough after Landon caved and revealed some of the truth.
At the end of our twenty-one days together, he’d stood up in front of everyone at the Knights’ Quorum, and he claimed I didn’t have what it took to continue The Quest. He betrayed me for reasons he couldn’t seem to stand.
Making a move directed by Kingston D’Arthur, the King of Camelot Court, who’d sworn he’d be waiting for me at the end.
The closer I looked at what they’d done, the less it added up.
So, I hunted for the truth myself.
After bluffing my way back into their game, I got the answer I’d needed.
Landon and Kingston believed openly betraying me was their only move. A way to protect me from unseen threats inside their world. One I had shaken up simply by entering it.
A world someone wanted me to leave, whether by choice or by force.
And the list of suspects was long.
The other eleven pairs of Knights and Maidens had grown up together, along with Kingston and Landon. Their families had been members of the Camelot Society long before they were born. And they hadn’t rolled out the welcome mat when I’d arrived at the Maiden Selection.
In fact, I’d been turned away at the gate.
Maybe if I’d grown up with them, I would’ve been accepted with open arms. Maybe if I’d gone to Camelot Academy for high school, or spent my life preparing for The Quest, I wouldn’t have ruffled any feathers.
If I would’ve followed the rules without question, maybe the other Maidens and I would’ve become friends…
It did not play out like that.
But I secured my place in The Quest through the end, anyway. All for a chance to win the biggest prize. The one my Knights still couldn’t reveal without jeopardizing my ability to win it.
Stupid complicated rules.
Stupid sworn oaths.
Camelot Court had a lot of them, so I’d accepted that my Knights and Kingston couldn’t tell me everything right away.
But I’d agreed to stay and see The Quest through the end, as long as the secrets were put on the table, so I had a choice in what I could live with or without.
So I could decide when— if I had to walk away.
But I’d accepted I wasn’t going anywhere without a fight.
Which meant I relived nightmares as I fought for a dream of the future. Rolling with the punches as the hits kept on coming. And learning the truth by peeling back one layer at a time.
My initial panic faded as I snuggled deeper into Max’s hold.
One truth he’d shared that I couldn’t deny? The guy ran hot in his sleep.
Tonight made three nights in a row I’d gravitated toward Landon’s cooler internal temperature, but like I had every other time, I’d woken up searching for Max.
Needing them both. Wanting them both.
And missing the third piece of our unexpected puzzle.
If the three of them could resolve all the lingering hatred from their lifelong rivalry, so we could cuddle together, that’d be great. But, for now at least, Max and Landon had both put their enemies-hopefully-turned-lovers tension aside to sleep in my bed at night.
Either because they couldn’t stand us being apart, or, more likely, they were too bullheaded to leave the other one alone in my bed unsupervised.
Didn’t much matter to me, honestly.
As Max rubbed my back, his movements were rougher than Landon’s soothing circles, but just as reassuring. I burrowed into his chest, grateful for his natural body heat driving away the lingering chill of my nightmare.
He mumbled sleepily as his movements slowed. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”
I tipped my head up to stare at him, suddenly cold again as the nightmare came back to me.
It hadn’t been fear for myself that forced me awake.
My nightmare had been about him.
About them.
Darkness closing in around the three of them. Countless eyes and hands and whispers. Hissing voices dragging them away.
In my time at Camelot Court, I’d learned nothing was as it seemed, and dark, dangerous threats waited in the shadows. I’d already been attacked and drugged in attempts to get rid of me, so I should’ve been afraid for myself more than anyone.
But it was them—my three broody assholes, who’d grown up playing these twisted games—that I feared for most.
Dread drove their actions. Forces outside of their control steered their hands, pulling them in directions they didn’t want to go. And I couldn’t stop it.
I had to watch as I lost them, too.
“Max,” I whispered.
He muttered in his sleep but didn’t wake.
“Max!” I whispered louder.
Landon jolted behind me. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
The half-dazed urgency in Landon’s voice made my heart flip-flop.
He scooted in behind me, his hand sliding over my belly between my body and Max’s.
But he didn’t try to pull me away from Max.
He slid into place where we were, though it meant touching Max a bit more intimately than he must’ve realized.
Any lower and his hand would’ve pressed between my pubic bone and Max’s dick.
And yep…my nipples were hard.
If I’d worn panties to bed, they’d be soaked. But, seriously, wasn’t this a good sign that they might be open to sharing, or was I grasping at straws?
Better yet, was I grasping at two giant swords and trying to make them cross?
Landon’s casual touches jarred my memory from when Max had woken up. His arm had been slung over my body before he slid his hand between Landon and me. He hadn’t been touching my back.
He’d been reaching over both of us while he slept.
My eyes widened.
A wave of lust hit me, and I smothered a groan. Trying to stifle my excitement at the thought of Max cuddling Landon in his sleep, I bit my lip.
I wriggled in Max’s hold to turn over and face Landon. Conveniently wedging his hand between my ass and Max’s abs.
I stifled a giggle and snuggled into Landon’s chest, hoping to distract him so he wouldn’t notice. But he unwedged his hand and slid it up my back. And he watched me the whole time, gauging my feelings.
His eyebrows rose when he picked up on my mood.
Then, his eyes softened. “You had a bad dream.”
I arched a brow, feigning bravado because old habits died hard. “What makes you say that?”
Landon huffed a quiet laugh, bringing a hand to my restless hips and squeezing gently. I leaned into his touch, aware that made his point for him but too wound up to care.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head.
Max’s gruff voice rumbled in my ear. “We could order you to do it.”
“Psh.” I nudged my hips back into his, teasing, “I don’t take orders from you fools anymore. The first phase of The Quest is over, remember? I’m a Lady now.”
Max growled as his cock hardened against my ass. I swallowed, about to pant like a bitch in heat if one of them didn’t touch me. Landon’s lips twitched with a knowing grin.
“Oh, I have ways of making her talk.” He slid his palm off my hip, making room for Max’s hand to take its place.
“Do tell.”
My stomach muscles clenched.
While Max held me steady, Landon trailed his fingers up my body. He teased my side and over my breasts, and I pressed them into his chest.
I whimpered when his hand reached my throat.
Max’s grip tightened, quick like a reflex.
He didn’t know Landon had helped me through moments of anxiety by reminding me I had control over my breath—while naked—so Max only relaxed when Landon moved on and gripped my chin.
His dark amber eyes held mine. “Good girls get orgasms, beautiful.”
I whined, unabashedly desperate for their touch. Sandwiched between two out of three of the most gorgeous guys I’d ever met, no one in my position could resist feeling the same and not giving a damn who knew about it.
Anyone else would probably say yes, My Lord or please, Master if it meant getting orgasms from them.
I, myself, had dabbled in being a good girl when the mood struck me. But alas, my stubborn pride reared its ugly head, and I pressed my lips together.
“Good girls get orgasms?” Max snorted. “So, safe to assume you spent the first twenty-one days of The Quest with blue ovaries, huh, Princess?”
I scoffed, affronted, even though the three weeks had been sexually frustrating.
Max only laughed harder.
Pursing my lips, I glared over my shoulder. “I’ll have you know, Max Dread, I can be a very good girl when I want to be.”
The heat in his eyes rose about a hundred degrees, and I gave him a satisfied smirk before I turned back over. Snuggling against his dick just to be a brat. And because, as I’d established, I couldn’t resist rubbing my ass against him like a cat in heat.
Over my head, Max jerked a nod at Landon. “What happens to bad girls?”
I gulped, and a shiver raced down my spine as Landon’s lips curved, and—assuming Max had one on his face, which was a safe bet—they shared a smirk.
But then Landon’s disappeared.
He stared down at me, his eyes darkening. “Tell him.”
Arousal pooled between my thighs at his command, and I clenched my sleep shirt in my fists. Something about hearing his familiar order of tell me changed like that to include Max? It brought all kinds of fantasies to life inside my head.
And even though I’d just made the point that I didn’t take orders from them, I wet my lips and found myself complying all too easily. “Bad girls get punished.”
Max’s hand slapped my ass so quickly I hadn’t even registered his arm moving.
I yelped.
“Fuck,” he groaned in my ear. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a week.”
Turning onto my back to protect my ass, I shot him a pointed look. Skepticism had to be written on my face. Max rubbed the back of his head with a wry grin.
“Alright, fine. Over a month.”
My lips twitched with a smug smirk, but I hid my genuine smile from him.
I’d known our first meeting had affected Max as much as it had me, but I would’ve accepted that he’d wanted to do it for over a week, or if he’d admitted to two weeks, tops.
It hit different to hear he’d wanted me since we met.
God, I wanted him, too.
I wanted them both. And after the last few nights, I couldn’t help but think maybe…
Lying between them, it became impossible to stay still. I couldn’t keep my hands to myself or my mind from conjuring dirty thoughts. Thoughts it seemed only practical to act on.
“You know,” I said coyly. “Landon, you forgot to mention the counterpart to that rule of yours.”
I turned onto my side, glancing at Landon before I rolled over and lay on my stomach.
Landon eyed me warily, his sharp gaze trying to figure out what I was up to. Peeking over at Max, I found a similar wary look on his face.
And they thought I had trust issues.
Smirking, I kept my eyes on Max. His breathing slowed as I pushed up onto my knees. It caught in his throat when I rocked my hips, sinking onto my heels and coming forward again.
Arching my spine, I closed my eyes and bent my head back.
It was a simple stretch.
A warm-up , honestly.
But Max stared at me as if I were a snake charmer, completely entranced.
“Good boys get orgasms, too, Max.”
Glancing down at the growing—fucking hell, there was no way that thing was fitting inside me—bulge in his gray sweatpants, I darted my tongue out to wet my lips. His cock jumped as he watched me. When his arm came up to rest behind his head, I bit my lip and leaned in closer.
Max groaned, adjusting his position as I sat back on my heels. He cursed under his breath, but he held out on me. Being a stubborn mule and refusing to give me what I wanted. So, I stared expectantly, waiting for the question.
“Alright, I’ll bite…” he said, narrowing his eyes on me. “What happens to bad boys?”
My lips curved in a wicked smile. Trailing my hands over my breasts, running my fingers through my hair, and tossing my curls, I drew out the answer. Admittedly, even though I was totally rocking my sleep shirt right now, my little show would’ve been a lot sexier in lingerie.
But anticipation only heightened the experience, right?
And they stared at me like I was as good as naked.
I toyed with the hem of my pajamas, giving one final second of doubt to what I was about to do. It was risky. But you had to bet big to win big, I reckoned.
When I skated the fabric up my thigh, drawing a hiss from Landon as he adjusted himself on the bed, Max growled.
I purred like a black cat about to make him curse my name. “Bad boys don’t get to play.”
He shared a quick look with Landon before refocusing on me. As soon as he did, I pulled my sleep shirt over my head.
“Bad boys have to watch.”