Page 55 of Wicked Deceit
“Haven’t had the chance,” I whisper back, running my fingers over his cheek. Humming, he closes his eyes.
“Well, this should be fucking fun,” Seger mutters through an evil grin, rubbing his hands together.
“Yeah, we know about him,” Chase says, casually taking a sip.
My brother’s eyebrows raise, looking over at my equally confused sister. They gape at one another, and my sister waves a hand.
“She’s told you about him? Like, she has no idea who he is, you know that, right?” Callie says, scrunching up her face. “God, don’t tell me you added him to all this.” I wrinkle my nose at her judgmental statement.
Seger shrugs. “He’s actually here tonight.”
Bless these boys. Bless them so hard. I could kiss each one of them. Once this event is over, when my parents leave, I’m going to rock their worlds, showing them exactly how much I love them.
“What?” Bodhi’s deep voice fills our small circle, dipped in concern.
“Oh, Kace, is he… like, stalking you or something?” Callie asks in a hushed tone, staring around the massive ballroom full of people.
“Eh, kind of. He never leaves.” I snort, bringing her attention back to me. “Follows me around like a lost little puppy dog.”
“I fucking do not,” Seger huffs in fake outrage.
“What?” Callie whispers, staring at Seger with wide eyes.
“Right,” I say through a grin. “So, I accidentally met Tristan this year. They go to East Point, too.”
“They?” Bodhi asks, frowning.
“Accidentally?” Callie breathes, staring at me like I’m insane. “You mean—he’s not some sixty-year-old pervert living in his mom’s basement?”
“Not by a long shot,” Zepp says, stepping forward. “My brother and I were going through a rough time a few years ago. We stumbled upon Kaycee in an online battle of Angel Warrior and quickly became friends. Because of our dad’s fame, we vowed to stay anonymous. And well…. fate had other funny ideas.” The tips of his fingers brush against the small of my back, forcing shivers down my spine.
“The two of you?” Bodhi wiggles a finger between the twins. “Seriously?”
“You’ll catch flies, jerk,” I mumble, forcing my brother’s jaw closed. “It's all true.” I nod, ignoring his glare.
“Fuck, I need more to drink,” he mutters, taking a step and stopping. “Listen here, you little shits. I love my sister, even when she’s a pain in the ass. So don’t break her heart. You think my dad is scary? Well, you’ve got another thing coming. And for fuck’s sake, wear condoms, and be safe!” he cringes at his last remark, shaking his head. “And just… be good. Treat her with respect. Don’t hurt her, or I hurt you. Got it?”
All the boys nod, not wanting to argue with Bodhi before he stomps off toward the other end of the room towards the bar. His threatening gaze never leaves us as he grabs multiple drinks and downs them one after the other, and slams the glasses down with a scowl. Nothing puts the fear of God into someone’s boyfriends like having their idol tell them to wear condoms.
“Huh, never thought he’d resort to that,” Callie says through a smirk, watching him closely.
“All right, Cals, let’s leave these kids alone and go drink or something.” Dex’s arm wraps around Callie’s shoulders, pulling her into his side.
“I can’t believe Tristan is real and is….them,” my sister huffs out while walking away. Peeking over her shoulder, she examines the boys and me again, finally giving into Dex’s tugging.
Callie and Dex join Bodhi at the bar and then disappear, walking into an adjoining room to mingle. People in elegant clothes surround them, laughing and talking to one another. The once quiet ballroom fills with their small murmurs, belly laughs and soft giggles. Small groups of women draped in expensive ball gowns and men in ridiculous tuxedos loiter, filling the space with their private tales and gossiping about who-did-what. Or who is doing who? Or whatever the uber-rich talk about. I pull my thoughts away from my siblings, peek toward the exclusive room, and frown. It once had two guards standing outside it, but now it’s abandoned. And the long lines have vanished.
“Well, that went well,” Zepp says sarcastically with a scoff.
“Ah, yeah, not too bad. I think they like me,” Chase beams delusionally, rocking back on his heels with a huge grin.
“Your father is going to fucking murder me,” Carter hisses, running a hand down his sweating face. Worry lines form on his forehead as his eyes move back and forth, surveying the room.
We all turn toward Carter, who has another full drink in his trembling hand. His eyes scan the room again with a nervous tic forming in his jaw.
I wrap my hand around his wrist, stopping him from drinking again. “It’ll be fine,” I whisper, running my manicured nail down the side of his moist face, trying to soothe away the discomfort my father left behind. Of course, I’m lying through my damn teeth. He got caught with his hand up my damn skirt, for shit’s sake. He might as well have bent me over and screwed me right there. I’m not excited for the talk my father wants to have later.
“Yeah, man, it’ll be fine. A few years down the road, he’ll jokingly say, you’re the kid who couldn’t keep his hands to himself,” Seger laughs, discreetly drinking champagne.
