Page 26 of Kings
She turned and stalked toward the other girl’s room when she heard the dorm door open. She turned to see Axel and Bishop striding toward her room and not arguing for once. When they spotted her, their blank expressions made her second guess the culprit.
“What are you doing back?” Axel demanded, sounding personally offended. “You’re supposed to be having coffee with Avery.”
Ella’s eyes narrowed. “She had to stay late after class. What, are you still getting intel from my best friend?”
“Of course not,” he scoffed. “I just read your texts.”
“Youwhat?” she cried, staring at him slack-jawed.
Bishop intervened, walking over to her. It was the first time she’d ever seen him in a T-shirt. “I know how this looks, but we can explain,” he said, pulling her into his arms.
“Great, because it looks like someone just robbed my room of everything including the bedsheets,” she said, folding her arms. She should’ve known better than to think that them working together would yield anything good.
“Moved, not robbed,” Axel argued. “We came to a compromise.”
Ella raised an eyebrow. “How exactly does you two compromising require moving all my stuff?”
Bishop sighed. “It’s hard to keep moving from one dorm to the other, and neither of us is willing to give up time with you,” he explained. “So, I found a place close to campus.”
“You found a place?” she echoed, looking between them. “You mean to live?”
She had expected Bishop to bring up the subject again, since she’d never actually given him an answer about moving into the Felidae House, but she couldn’t imagine Axel would ever agree tothat.
“No, just a fuck shack,” Axel said dryly.
Ella shot him a dirty look, and not just because of the vulgar remark, which was par for the course for him. Had he lost his mind? He knew she hadn’t found a way to tell Bishop about the pregnancy, and living with the both of them was going to make it impossible.
“I wish you’d talked to me first,” she said, unable to mask her irritation. She was used to toms being domineering, but this was a bit much even for them.
“I know, but promise you’ll just give it a chance before you say no,” Bishop said entreatingly.
“It’s not really like I have a choice,” she informed him. “All my shit’s over there already.”
He gave her an unapologetic smile and held out his hand. “Come on.”
Axel jumped in front of them to get the door. “Ladies first.”
Bishop flipped him off with his free hand and led Ella out to his car. She was surprised Axel was willing to put up with someone else driving, but when he pulled her into the back with him, she realized what he was up to.
“No,” she said, batting his hand away from her skirt as she buckled up. “You’re still in the doghouse.”
He huffed, but he folded his arms and settled back in his seat, which was as close as he ever came to behaving.
Ella watched as the rural landscape outside the Academy passed by. “Where is this place?”
“It’s remote,” Bishop said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “I heard about it through a connection at Felidae.”
“Where else?” Axel snorted.
Bishop shot him a dirty look and turned down a wooded path. Before long, a secluded house at the end of a long drive came into view. They were right about it being close, and rural. There was nothing but forest all around the refined Victorian property, and it would definitely give the guys space to let their cats free. That alone might be worth making the “compromise,” as they put it.
Axel opened the door and offered a hand to help her out of the car. He was usually engaged in a battle of chivalry with Bishop, but he’d been treating her like glass lately, and she could only hope the other tom didn’t notice.
“This is beautiful,” Ella murmured, looking around to take everything in. It wasn’t as big as the Hill residence, but that was a plus in her book. It was an old property full of character, and more than big enough for three people. Or five.
“I told you,” Bishop said, draping an arm around her shoulder to lead her in. “Wait until you see the living room.”
The moment they walked in, Ella was entranced by the antique furniture and the beautiful detailing on the walls. “Wow. This place is old.”
