Page 89 of The Lost Kings
Gio had a cookie already in his mouth when we entered the hall, but before we could even ask what she wanted, she was pushing us into a bedroom.
“Hey!” I whispered while Gio made a muffled sound against being mauled by her.
She shut and locked the door then spun on us.
“What the fuck are you two doing?”
Gio continued eating his cookie while I stared at her. She was mostly dry now, but her hair was still wet, and little strands curled against her neck. Her skin was a warm tan from the sun, freckles appeared on her shoulder blades and across her nose. Her dark brows arched over blue eyes and thick lashes made her seem older than just eighteen. She looked so different yet the same as she always had. That mouth was the same, those lips and that chin…
“I’m eating my winnings,” my brother said, interrupting my thoughts.
I let out a sigh, knowing what she was actually asking and not having the patience for games. “We overheard Carter talking and wanted to join. What’s the problem?”
Her angry expression only worsened as she stepped closer to us then lowered her voice to a whisper. “The problem is, I don’t want you here.”
Gio smirked then tossed the bag of cookies onto the guest bed. The shade was drawn, so there was only a limited amount of light in the room.
“You know, Elvis…I’m starting to feel like you don’t even want to be friends anymore and that’s super shitty of you.”
She shook her head as her nose flared. “It was shitty of you when you left without so much as a goodbye, then stayed gone for almost two years.”
“We weren’t given the chance to say goodbye to you. I told you that,” Gio snapped irritably.
Presley’s fists curled at her sides, and her chin lifted. “If the roles were reversed, I would have done anything to get to you. I would have ruined my future if it meant I could have kept what we had.” Her voice cracked, and it only reminded me how much we’d fucked up…but we weren’t ready for her to make that choice. Not then, and she was barely ready to make that choice now.
“So we just aren’t allowed to be around you?” I challenged, raising my brow.
She turned the smallest amount of pink, and I loved getting to see her chest rise and fall so easily. Her tits kept pushing against that fabric of her swimsuit, and all I wanted to do was trace my tongue over the swell of her breast.
“I’m not saying that, but I don’t want you here when I need to focus on protecting this alliance.”
I stepped forward. “What happened to the girl who swore this wouldn’t be in her future, the one who said she’d never blindly follow Scotty’s orders?”
Rage burned in those irises, and it gave me pause. Was there something I was missing here?
Presley’s chin quivered. “You missed a lot while you were on vacation, including the moment I got over you both.”
“If you’re over us, then why do you care if we’re here?” Gio taunted, licking his fingers of cookie crumbs.
She scoffed and rubbed at her forehead. “Because if I can feel you watching me, then so can Adrian.”
“Wouldn’t it only help things along if he believes he has competition?” I asked playfully.
“Stop being idiots.”
Gio started toward her other side as I carefully stepped closer. “Adrian seems to think this thing with you is serious. But he also thinks we’ve fucked or have at least fooled around. You tell him anything?”
“Of course not…” She paused and then bit her lip. “I told him you abandoned me, but I only ever explained that we were best friends.”
“He’s extremely threatened by us.”
Pres let out a heavy sigh like this was taking all her energy. “I highly doubt that.”
“Why? You don’t think we’re intimidating enough to mess with a man like that?” I asked, but I partially didn’t want to hear the answer.
She tossed her shoulders back. “I think if Adrian wanted to kill you, he would. And guess what? There’s nothing I could do to stop him because we aren’t even close to being in a position to defy him or pick a fight with him. Please don’t challenge him and don’t make me witness him putting a bullet through your heads.”
I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “You would never choose him over us even if it was just to make peace. The second anyone placed a gun near our heads, your fucking super soldier skills would come out and you’d start killing people. You care about us, Presley. You want us to prove that we care, I’m about to dare you to prove that you still do too.”
