Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Izzy wasn’t in the room when we went inside. Landon set my stuff by the foot of the bed as I took off my crossbody and set it on the dresser.
“If everything Max told me during our time together was a lie, he had the chance to get rid of me.”
“What do you mean?”
“We crossed some lines.” I frowned, needing to rip the Band-Aid off.
“We’d been holding back from certain things because of the statute.
But if Percy voted in favor of it, then Vivian was in the clear either way.
So, if Max had been playing the long game, manipulating me to eventually do all this with her, he could’ve cleared an obstacle from his darling V’s path.
He could’ve tried, at least. But he didn’t. ”
“Okay…”
“More than that, he specifically said after The Quest he planned to do that. To take what was his. It didn’t register at the time, but he had it in his head.
Me needing to stay a virgin. Not him wanting it.
Before that, the idea of you and me sleeping together had come up, and he got weird about it. ”
“Like, he got jealous?”
“No, it wasn’t jealousy, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.”
“So, what are you saying?”
I sat on the bed, running my hands through my hair.
“At the time, Max believed I still had that statute as protection. With the way he reacted when Morty told him the truth, what if he’d been depending on me having that trump card?
What if his reaction wasn’t because we’d slept together, but because I didn’t have that protection anymore? ”
Landon stiffened. “You think they’re threatening you to get him to go through with the engagement?”
I shrugged as he sat down beside me. “With what we know now about his inheritance, it’s possible, right?”
He let out a heavy breath. “Yeah, it is.”
I dug into my pocket for my phone. “I need to run it by Gia.”
Once I got her up to speed and shared my logic, she was on board. She hadn’t seen, heard, or felt what I had during my time with Max, but she trusted my gut.
And one thing I was sure of? Max had learned a valuable lesson during our six days in the cabin. Something he’d already taken to heart.
Language mattered.
Words had meaning.
During the Nobility Introduction, I believed he’d used that to try and help me see what was going on with him.
“Which side do you need me on?” Gia asked. “Angel on the left shoulder or devil’s advocate on the right?”
“Landon knows some things we can’t share, and he’s on board, so you play devil’s advocate for me.”
“You got it. Hit me.”
“I think he’s doing what he did the first night in the Round Tableau, saying one thing but hoping I’ll uncover what he really wants to share.”
Landon bristled. “Wait. What did he do?”
“Unimportant. But he said very few nice things that night.”
Gia donned her role. “A bit of a red flag, if you ask me…”
When Landon nodded, I jerked my thumb at him. “Compared to the one giant red flag he waved in front of everyone? Perhaps you both remember, it sounded like No.”
I shot him a look, and he put up his hands between us.
“Yeah, she has you there.” Gia snorted. “Plus, that’s what we said about The Quest and your contract.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but those red flags were actual red flags, Gia. That isn’t helping. Now, don’t distract me.”
She mimed zipping her lips.
“Look, if I hadn’t trusted my gut and believed more was going on with you, Landon, I would’ve walked away.
But once you didn’t say anything at the Maiden Appeal, I gave you the benefit of the doubt.
I wouldn’t admit it to myself at the time, but I held onto hope at the first sign there was more going on beneath the surface.
Max deserves the same. I won’t give him any less than that. ”
“You’re right,” he said softly. “I get it.”
“Thank you.” I huffed. “Now, of the conveniently limited options, he used the word trapped once. Right after he’d come into the room and, more importantly, before Vivian walked in and threatened to get his father, which is when he started saying the…less nice things.”
“What did he say at first?”
“He told me I was safe.”
Landon’s expression communicated his doubt, and even Gia looked skeptical. And yes, maybe I was grasping at straws, but I had other points to make.
“Max also didn’t clarify which first night he meant. Not when he said that. He could’ve said in the Round Tableau. Or at the Maiden Selection. But he just said the first night.”
“Semantics,” Gia said to poke fake holes in my theory.
“Maybe. But our first night in the cabin, I had a nightmare. He got me off the couch and brought me into the room with him, and he held me so I could fall asleep.”
I grimaced at Landon’s pained expression, but he shook his head and encouraged me to go on.
“He told me the same thing that night, too. He said I was safe now.” My heart clenched at the memory. “And he wouldn’t let anything hurt me.”
Landon’s eyebrows jumped, and Gia held up a Post-it with #JusticeforMaxDread written on it.
“And you really think he’d do that?” Landon asked. “Try to send you a message that way?”
“After Kingston pointed out that I took things literally and I made his ass wait two hours before I followed his orders that didn’t specify a timeframe? Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Gia chuckled. “You’re my hero.”
I smiled. “He also took something else Kingston said to heart that night, so I believe he’s hoping I’ll see that.
” I sighed, needing to at least voice this fear.
“At least, for now. If he does anything that proves otherwise, I’ll regroup.
But as long as I can find clues in what he’s saying, and they make sense, I won’t give up on him. ”
“Hear! Hear!” Gia cried, holding up another Post-it with my stick figure doppelg?nger climbing a weirdly attractive man-tree wearing a smirk.
Laughing, I shook my head at her before turning to Landon, unable to keep the hope off my face.
He nodded, pulling me into his arms. “We’ll figure out a way to help him out of this.”
“Thank you, Buns.”
Gia sighed dreamily before she refocused. “So, what’s the plan then? How are you going to get your man?”
“Well, the Nobility Challenge’s training structure helps. My plan is to get him alone during our sessions to try and get the answers out of him. But that’s all I’ve got.”
Gia rubbed her hands together. “Well, it just so happens I devised a plan, and I prepared you for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Check the zipper pocket in the back of your suitcase.”
Bringing the phone with me, I pulled my unpacked suitcase out of the closet. I rustled through it, shoving my dirty laundry bag aside, until I found what Gia meant. Holding up the items, I stared between them and her with my Resting Skeptic Face firmly in place.
“Gia, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
She laughed. “If you want to make him lose control and tell you anything you want to know, that is how you’re going to do it. Honestly, I packed it for you to use on Kingston, but he’s been surprisingly forthcoming as of late.”
“Gia! I can’t wear this to training.”
“Says who?”
My mouth twisted into a frown, but when I held it up for Landon to see, his eyebrows shot up. He coughed to clear his throat as he adjusted his position on the bed.
I gave the point to Gia. “Alright, fine. You win. And, for the record, you’re unhinged.”
She blew me a kiss. “And you love me.”
“I really, really do.”
After we said our goodbyes, I brought my surprise over to the bed, thinking through my plan. Worry over Max would keep me up all night if I didn’t find a way to relax.
As I twisted the fabric in my grip, Landon examined the outfit up close, and his eyes grew progressively wider.
“Oh, just spit it out.”
He chuckled, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me between his legs. “It’ll be effective, that’s for sure.”
“Oh yeah?” I smirked, leaning into the moment with him. Despite the stress of everything else, when he kissed my neck, the tension in my shoulders eased. “Should I try it on?”
At his enthusiastic nod, I laughed, but sharing a moment with my White Knight seemed like the perfect way to relax.
I went into the bathroom and put on the way too revealing pieces, then called Landon to come check it out.
He ran his gaze over me, gripping the doorframe so hard, it creaked. “Off,” he ordered, nodding at the sheer leggings.
My pulse quickened. I shimmied the leggings off and leaned against the sink as Landon shut the door and locked it.
As I held onto the edge, he grabbed my waist and lifted me onto the counter. He hooked my legs over his arms and dragged my hips forward, grinding his erection against my panties. Leaning in, his lips found my neck and sucked deeply.
I moaned and held on tighter, arousal flooding my senses as soon as he touched me. “Landon, I need you.” I panted, scooting my butt closer. “Help me forget about all this, please.”
When I locked my ankles around his back, he pushed his pants down with one hand. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted. As he tore it off, I did the same with my bra. Flinging it aside. Arching back as his lips found my breasts. And groaning when he pressed his hips harder between my legs.
Taking his cock in my hand, I stroked along his length.
“Condom,” he panted.
Thankfully, I’d prepared for having to sneak in moments with my guys. “Makeup bag. Right drawer.”
As he secured the condom, I pushed my panties aside. He lined up with my entrance, not wasting any time before driving inside me.
We groaned in unison, eyes closing as our bodies joined.
They flew open when someone walked into the room, and Izzy and Tristan’s voices filtered through the bathroom door.
“Oh, shit.” I smothered a laugh into his chest.
“Shh,” he whispered into my hair. “Should we stop?”
I leaned back against the mirror and met his gaze, his pupils blown and every trace of amber gone from his eyes.
“No,” I breathed, my body tingling with excitement. “Don’t stop, Landon. Please.”
He scanned the bathroom, reached into the shower, and flipped the water on to cover the sound. His eyes lit up with elated desire, and he crashed his lips into mine.
Withdrawing only to slam his hips against mine, driving hard and fast, he gave me exactly what I needed. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as each thrust hit deep inside me. He didn’t stop or slow until my whole body tightened in his arms.
As my climax tore through me, he dragged my legs higher, putting them over his shoulders as he leaned in close.
He muffled my cry with his lips, breathing in each gasp of my pleasure as everything released.
“You’re perfect, Maiden.” He kissed my temple, his mouth trailing a path down the side of my face and neck as he chased his own climax. “So beautiful when you let go.”
I bit back another moan at his whispered praise.
“Such a good fucking girl.”
My core tightened at his words, and Landon’s teeth sank into my shoulder as his body shuddered with release.
Panting, clutching each other tightly, we stayed like that until our hearts settled. Then our eyes met and smiles we desperately needed grew wide on both our faces.
“Holy shit,” I breathed as he pressed his forehead to mine.
When we collected ourselves, Landon redressed while I wrapped myself in a towel. I crept into the room first, finding Izzy already asleep in her bed, and breathed a sigh of relief. I snuck Landon out with one last kiss goodbye.
I climbed into bed, relaxed and ready for the next day.
As much as I’d wanted to toss and turn with worry over Max, I didn’t need to do that anymore. Not only did I have a clear head and a plan that had proven effective already, but I’d have the opportunity I needed.
Because every day, for the next week at least, Max Dread’s ass was mine for sixty minutes.
And I planned to use my time well.