Page 49 of Lovely Deceit

“Oh, thisisme being tame right now.”

I don’t bother peeking behind me to witness their testosterone-fueled spat. Instead, I move my crutches quicker, attempting to gain ground on them. Oliver is right by my side, almost jogging to keep up. One crutch hits a divot in the ground, and I start to sprawl forward with a squeal. Oliver snatches one of my arms, but he can’t save my entire fall. The left half of my body hits the ground, but thankfully, I’m able to save my booted foot.

The three of them crowd around me as I grip the crutch that’s lying on the ground and wield it like a weapon, arcing it through the air. Leo and Alaric jump back before it collides with them. Unfortunately, I accidentally whack Oliver, and he yelps. “Fucking hell, babe!”

“Sorry,” I grind out. “I was aiming at those two.”

He helps me to my feet, then hands me the crutch so I can start forward again with just the slightest twinge of pain in my hip from the fall.

I’m pissed and annoyed more than anything. Deceived and shocked into telling my truth. I couldn’t even do it on my own terms, yet Alaric Barclay acts as if he was doing me a favor.

Goddamn.

What a barbaric torture device wrapped into a nice little word exchange.

On days like today, I wish I was the same selfish Eden, blissfully living her life on the other side of the continent without a care in the world.

Oliver opens the door to Jarvis Hall for me, and I swoop inside. The door slams, and Leo and Alaric immediately start going at it while I drop my crutches and use the stair railing to hop up the steps.

“Where are you going?” Alaric pleads.

I turn on the last step, my heart beating like crazy. Apart from Oliver, it sickens me to see these guys so close to me when they haven’t done anything to deserve it. Leo’s anger at Alaric is a slap to the face when he did just the same. And Alaric pushed my boundaries too damn much today. He overstepped, and if he can’t figure that out, the Knights still have a hold on him and he just doesn’t fucking realize it.

They each peer up at me and being in this power position sends a thrill through me. It’s as if they’re actually waiting on me to give them directions. I’m like a queen staring down at her subjects, and trust me when I say, I never feel this way. Especially not lately. Goosebumps spread over me like an electric current.

It’s fun to have the upper hand for once, and it makes me think these guys need a dose of their own medicine.

I cross my arms. “Here’s what’s going to happen.” I scour the room and get goosebumps when I spot the long coffee table. I lick my lips. “I’m going to lie on that table, knees spread nice and wide, and you’re going to attempt to make me come with your tongue. If you fail, you leave. Tonight.”

Leo glances at Alaric with a bristle, and I smirk.

The chances are slim that I’ll be able to hold my orgasm back, but it’s not about that. It’s about taking back control.

I peer at Oliver and find him smirking, too, which eases my conscience a little. The only concern that made me apprehensive was him believing this was all because he’s not enough for me, and that’s far from the truth.

I hobble down to the main floor, and Oliver scoops me up in his arms, delivering me into the living room where he sets me on the coffee table, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Give ‘em hell, love.”

I beam up at him before spreading my legs. My skirt inches up my thighs in the process. “I’d choose wisely about who goes second if I were you. If you care to work together at all, I mean. The first orgasm might be easy, but the second will take a while.”

“Not likely,” Leo boasts. “We could do this all night and have you screaming our names.”

Alaric backhands him across the chest to shut him up. I peer into his green eyes, wondering if he knows why I’m doing this. He claims to know me so well, so maybe he does. Or he’s full of shit just like Leo.

“We’ll see,” I tell Leo. “For your sake, I hope you’re right. It would be such a blow to get kicked out of the building that bears your name, wouldn’t it? Something to go down in the Carnegie history books.”

He glowers, and I hope I’ve gotten to him a little. I would love to see him taken down a peg or two.

I start to undress, but Alaric drops to his knees, almost startling me. “I’ll go first.”

Behind him, Leo smirks as if he’s won some sort of competition. If he ever wins any contest, it’ll be who’s the biggest dick.

Alaric stays my hand that’s on my skirt. His warmth greets me, and it’s difficult to look into his eyes this closely and not see the guy who’s betrayed me more than once now. “I’ll do that.”

I stick my chin in the air. “No, you won’t. But you can watch.”

I peel my clothes off as unsexy as possible, going through the motions as if I’m by myself in my room at night, discarding them to the left of the coffee table.

Once I’m naked, apart from my boot of course, Alaric hooks his hands under my thighs. I slap them away and scoot myself forward, letting my ass hang off the side of the coffee table before lying back.

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