Chapter 19 #2
I slid my palm slowly over his chest, soap catching in the thin hair dusting over it. Even with how carefully I touched him, he still winced.
“Will you promise me something?” I asked him.
He guided me over another bruise as we washed away the dried blood. Crimson swirled down the drain.
“No,” he said quietly. “I won’t make you a promise.”
I frowned, skating my nails over his shoulder. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask you to promise.”
“I’ve never promised anything before …” His hand rested over mine. “Except for one.”
“What was that?”
“It was a promise to myself that I’d choose you as my Fawn.”
For a second, I forgot my hand was still pressed to his chest.
I didn’t know if it was the sweetest thing he’d ever said or the cruelest.
Before I could ask, the old pipes groaned, and the water turned freezing. I jerked at the temperature change, my teeth now chattering.
“Come on,” he said, reaching past me to shut off the water. “Can’t have you turning into an ice cube on me.”
He wrapped a towel around my still-clothed body before grabbing one for himself. The shower had done him some good. He looked steadier now.
Before I could tell him it was time to go back to his dorm, he wandered into my bedroom and collapsed on my bed.
I followed him, and “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child played softly from my phone. I paused the music.
“You’re not sleeping here.” I pointed my phone at him, feeling a sense of déjà vu from when he’d done this in Calira. “I’m calling Enzo to come get you.”
Brooks scrubbed a hand through his damp hair. “He won’t.”
“Why?”
“He’s pissed at me.”
That caught me off guard. Brooks, Enzo, and Cedric were as thick as thieves. If one of them was that angry with the other, then they must’ve really screwed up.
He yawned. “Daphne …” My name came out rough with exhaustion. “I can’t go back to my dorm.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“I’ll end up hunting Cory down, but this time, I may not stop.”
His admission should’ve had me running from the room. It only made me move closer to him.
I believed him.
“Okay,” I said around a tired sigh. “But you’re not sleeping in the towel.”
He stood and let the towel fall.
I slapped a hand over my eyes and spun around, as if I hadn’t just showered with the man.
“And you’re not sleeping naked!” I stomped to Blair’s closet, stole a pair of Enzo’s shorts she’d claimed as her own, and threw them at Brooks.
He caught them one-handed and pulled them on without a word before making himself comfortable on my bed again. He sprawled across it, long legs stretched out, like he planned to lie there forever.
My brain chose that exact moment to remind me how many times I’d pictured him in this bed while getting myself off.
No, Daphne.
Don’t think of that right now.
I gestured across the room. “You’re sleeping in Blair’s bed.”
A look of genuine offense crossed his face. “Enzo would kill me.” He made a show of fluffing my pillow.
I glared at him. “Then you’re sleeping on the floor.”
“You’d do that to a wounded man?” He pressed a hand dramatically over his bruised chest.
“To a wounded you? Absolutely.”
“You cleaning me up in the shower directly contradicts that statement, Princess.” He crossed his arms behind his head, propping himself up against my headboard.
“Do you have something to drink?” He smacked his dry lips together.
I kicked one leg out. “I can grab you some of that rat poison you tried to pour down my throat.”
“Water, please. I need a drink.”
“And I need my tiara back. Bring it to me, and I’ll get you a water.”
“The tiara?” The corner of his battered mouth lifted. “That’s mine.”
“Then die of dehydration.” I marched to the mini fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and took the longest drink of my life.
“Mmm …” I moaned, holding up the bottle. “So refreshing.”
He crooked a finger. “Get your ass over here.”
I stepped closer to wave the bottle in front of his face.
He lunged for the bottle, but I jerked it out of his reach.
“Sorry.” I took another steady drink. “I don’t share with thieves.”
Before I could take another sip, he grabbed me around the waist and dragged me onto his lap.
“Hey!” I smacked the bottle against his injured shoulder.
He ignored me, stole the bottle, and dumped what was left over me.
Not that there was much. Most of it had already gone down my tank and collected inside my built-in bra.
I twisted, trying to break free, then froze. His erection pressed through the shorts exactly where I always craved him.
His stare dropped to my soaked tank.
The bottle hit the mattress.
He rolled his hips under me and slipped my tank strap down my shoulder. A chill swept over my nipples. He brushed his lips over the upper curve of my breast.
Goose bumps prickled across my skin as his tongue traced one slow line down my cleavage before he closed his mouth around my nipple.
His mouth drifted lower, licking up the water inside my tank until every last drop was gone.
“There.” He leaned back with the smallest hint of satisfaction. “All hydrated.”
He patted my side before nudging me off his lap. I landed beside him with a soft thud.
I needed something to do besides climb back on his lap, so I propped myself on one elbow and rested my cheek against my palm.
He rolled onto his side, mirroring me, close enough that our knees brushed.
For once, neither of us talked shit.
I splayed my hand over his bruised cheek. He leaned into it before he seemed to realize what he was doing.
“What happened with Cory?” I asked. “Who started the fight?”
He shook his head.
“Come on,” I coaxed. “Give me one hint. Payment for my nursing services.”
“His Initiation was tonight.”
Questions crowded my mind about the Initiation, but one thought drowned out all the others.
Mine was next.
“What are Initiations like?”
Another head shake.
“What about the Fawn Initiation?”
And another stupid head shake. He was like a freaking Bobblehead.
“That’s not fair.” I let my hand fall away.
His head followed it an inch before he caught himself. “Life isn’t fair, Princess.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re the one making the rules.”
“Some women would kill to become a Fawn.”
“Choose one of those women then.”
“Those women aren’t you.”
Something warm settled in my chest at the thought of being the most important thing in Brooks’s world. But I knew this was all we could ever be.
“Then why put us through an Initiation?” I asked him.
“It proves you’re strong.”
“Why do we have to be?”
“You learn our secrets.” His voice turned almost soothing. “About our lives. We have to know you won’t break under pressure.”
“Why would you make me your Fawn then? You said you don’t trust me.”
He slid his arm around my waist again to draw me closer. “I trust you with a few things.”
“Like?”
“Adelina. And I trust you not to betray the Sons or other Fawns.” He absentmindedly stroked my side with his thumb. “Your loyalty is one of the things I admire most about you.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “It’s also one of the things I hate.”
I smiled faintly. “That sure contradicts itself.”
“Not really.” He reached down, and I lost the heat of his hand when he pulled the blanket up our bodies. “You’re loyal to the people who hurt my family.”
I gathered the blanket tight in my fist. “I’ll never turn my back on my father. Or my family.”
He reached over to gently pry my fingers loose from the blanket. “Not even if they did something terrible?”
“Like your father hasn’t done terrible things?”
He looked away, focusing on the dark window behind me.
“You stand beside him, tell people to vote for him, knowing he isn’t the honorable man they think he is.” I ran my hand through his still-damp hair. “I love my father and will always defend him. That’s what makes you just like me.”
His one working eye stayed on me for a long second. “You have a point.” He rolled onto his back. “I think it’s time we get some sleep.”
I fell on my back beside him. I didn’t need sleep. I needed to finish my paper, but that no longer felt important. I wanted to stay right here.
I scooted closer, stealing some of his body heat, and closed my eyes.
Having him in my bed felt … good.
Brooks choosing me as his Fawn had dragged me back into his life.
And that terrified me more each day.