Page 19 of Brutal Prince

“You coming to the job tonight?” I asked Darryn after Josh and Ridge left with their plates to play Grand Theft in the living room.

“Isn’t that part of the plan?” he bit. “Playing the protector,” as he gorilla pummeled his chest.

He read my expression of concern.

“Don’t worry I won’t encroach on your territory,” he added, now using the fork to comb his auburn hair. He’s got that Scottish freckly complexion where his skin always looked sun burnt. When he is actually sun burnt, he blisters like bubble wrap.

“Better fucking not,” I mumbled. I’d never been much of a curser until I came to KVU as an innocent eighteen year old. Heck, in my first year here I lost my virginity, tasted snow amongst other illegal substances, played my part in more than one orgy, and started swearing like a fucking pirate. Three years later and I’m bored with whole party scene and I’ll be pleased to graduate and leave this godforsaken town forever.

I came from a close-knit family, where we rarely keep secrets from one another. It wasn’t until I came here did I realize that so many families are not like mine. Many kids suffer in silence with nowhere to turn - or if they’re anything like Cody Harrington, they sort their problems by beating the living shit out of them. I had to admire the guy and I honestly hoped with all of my heart, the cops don’t find out what he did. Poetic justice at its finest.

However, my background is vastly different to Cody’s and many others here. If I got in deep trouble, my parents would bust their guts to help me out. Yet, I was keeping big ugly secrets from them, and my parents and aunt and uncle were starting to ask questions. They’ve seen a change in me, especially since Sweeney’s disappearance last fall. It started way before then, but Sweeney’s disappearance, followed by Liam’s Greene’s murder only brought it to the surface. And now they discovered that Sweeney had been dead the whole time. No surprises there.

Finally I get to sit down and eat my grub, after feeding the village. There was a message from Gretta that I hadn’t applied to asking when we’ll be picking her up tonight. The destination is the same. Grand’Mere Hotel, but I was fully aware that the task given to her will be vastly different to cleaning vomit off bed sheets and binning syringes.

TEN

Gretta

I hesitated before I opened the door to Room 23 in Grand’Mere Hotel.

It wasn’t because I was worried for what catastrophe that lay beyond the wood, instead it was a quick exchange between Ollie and Darryn that made my hair stand up on end. It was only for a second, but I started question everything including their motives. My hand hovered above the door handle before Ollie stepped in and asked if I was okay.

“Um, I’m just a little nervous,” I lied. Actually, it wasn’t a lie. I was nervous.

“I’ll come in with you,” he offered. “There were no rules this time that stated that you couldn’t bring someone else in.”

“True.” In fact, the instructions were for me to go to Room 23 and wait for a deliveryman to drop off a parcel.

The room was completely empty and clean, just how I left it. Stepping to the ranch slider, I felt Ollie’s breath on the back of my head and desire shivered through my body. The drapes were open, the lights were on and our reflections shimmied back at us over the ocean of city lights.

He towered over me, the top of my head only reaching his shoulder and when he buried his face in my hair, I leaned back into his embrace.

“What do you reckon?” he whispered.

“Huh?”

He jerked his head towards the bed. “What doya say?”

“What if the delivery guy turns up?”

“I’ll answer the door and take the parcel and then close the door on his face.”

“Yeah, but I’m supposed to be doing a job of some sort.”

“So? I won’t take long and we’ll make the bed afterwards. They won’t notice a thing.”

My eyes naturally gravitated to the corners of the room as the feeling I was being watched weighed down on me. His lips found my neck and his hands traveled down to my breasts, giving my nipples a tweak. I guess this was what I always needed from Ollie, yet his actions seemed a little contrived, forced even.

“C’mon,” he breathed into my ear, running his hand down to mine and leading me to the large bed. “Loosen up.”

The Ollie I was seeing before me was vastly different to the Ollie I’d known for a few months. Hungry hormones and sex can do that to the most docile of creatures.

He parked himself on the edge of the bed and cupped my butt cheeks pulling me on top of him. Lying back, he held me so close, his grasp, unyielding. However my paranoia was a placing a wedge between us and just couldn’t get into it.

That didn’t stop Ollie. Nothing could stop Ollie at that moment.

“Live a little, babe,” he urged when I stiffened within his clutches. “No one will know.”

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