Page 130 of Wicked Minds
Twice.
On the third loop, I explode, trembling against his solid form as he follows me over the edge. I can feel our combined release seeping out of me, the thrashing of his heart against my shoulder blade.
The only sound in the room is our haggard breaths as I sag against him, the two of us enjoying the last remnants of our high.
“I can’t feel my legs,” I eventually push out between breaths.
He huffs a breathless laugh, gently lowering me to the duvet before dropping onto the mattress beside me. Staring at the ceiling, his left hand rests over his heart, and I roll onto my side, watching him.
After a moment, he turns his head toward me. His eyes are back to their usual color, but the frigid coldness that normally resides in their depths is gone. The warmth shining back at me steals my breath, and I lie there, frozen in place as I wait to see what his next move will be.
He reaches out an arm in a silent invitation, and I huddle into his side, my hand resting on his stomach as his heat bats away the chill that was starting to seep in. He presses a kiss to the top of my head, but otherwise, we don’t say anything. Neither of us feels the need to fill the space between us with words. Not when our bodies have already done all the talking.
My eyes grow heavy, exhaustion tugging me down, yet sleep remains elusive.
“He used to call me hisgood girl,” I whisper in a fragile voice, noting how Royce tenses beneath me. “I think that’s why I like it so much when you degrade me.” I swallow roughly. “What he did… he was so tender in his violation. It confused me. Made me feel as though what he was doing wasn’t wrong, yet it never feltright...” I trail off, trying to remember where I was going. Did I even have a point when I began? I’m no longer sure. Weariness is tugging at my bones, my words a faint whisper. “It feels right with you. I like being your dirty slut.”
In my half-asleep state, I feel him press another chaste kiss to my hairline, one hand stroking along the strands. “Go to sleep, Ry. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Mm, so good,” I mumble. After we woke up and went for another hard and fast round of incredible sex, we needed to refuel. It must be after midnight, and we’re sitting on the kitchen countertop, sharing a tub of ice cream between us—okay, so I’m mostly eating the ice cream while Royce watches me with a hungry look in his eyes that I’m pretty sure has nothing to do with Rocky Road ice cream.
I hold the tub out to him, but he shakes his head, a raw vulnerability in his eyes before he says, “Melissa was acheerleader at my high school.” The ice cream turns sour in my mouth as I set the tub down on the countertop, watching him intently and knowing how hard this is for him to tell me. “We grew up together. Had classes together. Partied together. I…knewher.” His brows furrow as he frowns. “IthoughtI knew her.” He sighs despondently as he stares into space. “It was our senior year, and she’d been flirting with me for several months, but I wasn’t interested in starting anything with anyone when I was about to leave for college.”
“So, what happened?” I ask when he trails off, my voice sounding loud in the otherwise silent room.
His gaze shifts to mine, his face pinching with the memory. “We’d just won the championship game, and there was a huge party. I was wasted and riding the adrenaline high of our win when Melissa came over. She flirted the way she always did at these things, and instead of politely turning her down like usual, I reciprocated.” He sighs, shaking his head. “The next thing I remember is waking up naked and alone the next morning in a stranger’s bed with the hangover from hell. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Not until Dad called me into his office and chastised me fornot cleaning up my own mess.He was more furious at having to pay off Melissa’s family and the potential scandal of it all than he was concerned about hearing me out or getting to the truth of it all.”
My nose wrinkles. “So wait, you don’t actually remember having… sex with her?”
He shakes his head. “It’s a total blank in my memory.”
“So you don’t actually know if you did…”
He shrugs. “The evidence would suggest that I did. She claimed she hadn’t realized how drunk I was, and that when she said no, I got angry. That I used my weight to pin her to the bed…” His shoulders curl in as he shrugs. “I mean, it’s possible.”
“Royce King,” I bark, jumping down from the countertop and closing the distance until I’m standing directly in front of him. “Even black-out drunk, there is no way in hell you laid a finger on that girl to hurt her. Just because you have the ability to do something like that doesn’t mean youdid.” Reaching up, I press my palm into his chest over his heart. “You might physically have the power to hurt others, but you don’t have the heart to do it.”
He shakes his head, his weight leaning into my touch. “For some reason, Ry, you somehow see something in me that no one else sees, even myself.”
Pressing up on my toes, I wind my arms around his neck, bringing our bodies flush. “That’s because I’m the only one who dares to look past the bulging muscles and frowning face and see you for who you really are,” I murmur. “But you're wrong, Logan and Grayson see it.” I give him a small, optimistic smile. “And with time, you’ll see it too.”
He reaches a hand up to brush a strand of hair away from my face before stroking his thumb along my cheek as he stares reverently into my eyes.
“I don’t understand, though. If that all happened your senior year, then why were you kicked off Halston’s football team last year?”
He sighs, pulling me closer until my cheek is pressed against his chest, and he rests his head on mine. “Because Melissa’s family didn’t like seeing me doing so well. When they saw me on the TV after our championship win, they contacted the school and tried to get me expelled. My father stepped in and got it reduced with a generous donation, so I was only kicked off the team.” He huffs out an aggravated breath as he squeezes me tighter.
We stand there in silence, holding one another together as I process his words, trying to make sense of it all. I knew Roycewasn’t capable of what those idiots in the library accused him of, but this… For all we know, that girl could have set him up!
Eventually, he sighs, loosening his hold on me, and when I step back, I find him frowning down at me. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sounds ominous,” I muse as I haul myself back onto the counter and retrieve my ice cream and spoon, sensing I’ll need it for this conversation.
“I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to, but we haven’t ever really talked about it?—”
“You want me to tell Grayson,” I interject before spooning the chocolatey goodness into my mouth.
“Yes,” he answers, sighing.
