AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve been on edge waiting for the society to tell me what’s next and they seem to have gone silent. I know there’s more coming because I still have a key I’ve never used. Not to mention, I’m dreading how fucking hard it’s going to be to keep my distance from Iris. She’s obviously still going to be mad at me and I don’t blame her. But fuck if her hot temper doesn’t get me going.
I watched her with King by the pool and she’s different with him. She’s soft and quiet, always smiling. I’ve earned my share of her smiles in the past but not as constant as I saw on her face just now.Maybe it was for show. Maybe she’s trying to make me jealous in hopes I’ll feel like shit for the way I treated her, or maybe she can see King for who he really is. He’s good at hiding himself from others, but if you look close enough, he has two different sides to him.
Too bad, Kens. I don’t need you for that.
The last I heard from him he was being extra vague, so I’m confident he’s doing something for the society. My gut twitches thinking about everything that happened the night I got a similar text and I hate that he’s going alone. I wish they’d let us use our resources to get whatever they want done instead ofcontrolling every aspect of the process. We’re stronger together, we always have been, but in the end, I get it.
With this kind of shit going on, the Brotherhood has to be careful. One wrong move and an entire society, older than our great-grandfathers, could crumble. I’m sure there are too many big dogs in the house for something like that to happen, but it still makes you wonder. One day I’ll understand it all better and maybe then it’ll make sense.
He’d texted earlier, asking me to keep an eye on Iris. If he only knew I’ve been doing that already, I don’t need a request coming from him to make sure she’s safe when I can’t seem to get her off my mind.
Female giggles in the hallway pull me from my thoughts and have me reaching for my doorknob within seconds. I open the door to a stumbling Iris and on instinct I’m reaching for her. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I make sure no one else is watching us and tug her into the privacy of my room.
“What the fuck, Kens?” I scold. She’s being careless and noisy. This place may seem safe, but there are still too many unknowns for her not to give a fuck.
“What? I’m just here to see you guys.” She stumbles over her feet, using the wall to catch herself all while wearing a wide grin.
“You’re drunk.”
“Something like that.” She puts her index finger over my lips to quiet me. I can smell the sweet liquor on her fingertip, making me want to taste it. “Shhh. They’ll hear.”
“Who will hear?”
“Them.” She looks around the ceiling of my room and drives home the feelings I’ve felt since I got here. People are watching. They’re always watching and I’m sure this interaction will come back to haunt me. I have to tell King, see if he’s noticed the same thing.
She hiccups and a look of frustration flashes over her face. “Oh, wait. I’m mad at you, Beau Beaumont. You’re a mean liar.” She’s feisty yet fucking adorable.
“Here. Sit on the bed before you fall and hurt yourself.” I guide her to the edge of my bed and step back until I’m leaning against the wall. I need to put space between us; it’s too hard to keep my hands off of her when we’re close.
“Yes. You’re a liar.” I don’t encourage her to share her thoughts, but she continues anyway. “You called me aslutand I’ve only ever been with two people, Beau Beaumont. Let’s count how many you’ve been with. I bet we can’t even use our fingers and toes to count and it be enough. Who’s the slut, now?” She bends over to take off her shoes as if she’s about to use them to help her count.
She’s right. I’ve definitely made my rounds and I am a fucking liar. And I wish like hell I could tell her why I’ve pushed her away… but I can’t. It’s a burden I’m having to live with even if it kills me inside to do so.
“Ok… there was me… that blonde girl when we were at the theater as kids. The one at the park the first night I saw you.” She huffs, shooting me a little irritated glare, before remembering the next. “The one in the mall the day after that.” She stops to think and before I stop her, she yells, “Oh! Let’s not forget the one in your truck on prom night. Real classy, that one. Lemme borrow your fingers and we’ll keep going…”
“Shhh. Okay. You made your point.”
“Don’t shush me. I’m here to say what I want to say. I’m my own woman, Beau Beaumont, and I can talk.” I nod knowing if I told her to stop, she’d only get louder, maybe toss some shit at me as well. And a sick part of me likes having her sassy mouth tell me off. “There’s that one girl, Cassandra... Cassie. Wait, no. Her name was Candy or something like that. You hurt me, Beau. You said mean things and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive youfor that.” Her lower lip trembles with her admission, making the knife twist a little more in my heart.
“Who was your second?” I regret asking the second the words come out of my mouth. I don’t want to know this shit, but I’m a glutton for punishment. If she says a guy named Jordan, I’ll want to kill him again. If she doesn’t say Jordan… I’ll still want to kill him all over again.
“Just a guy in Georgia.” Fuck. “He was a tool and I hate him too. Just like you, Beau.”
“No, Kens. I’m nothing like any guy from fucking Georgia.” I move to pick up some of my clothes in hopes of changing the subject and distracting her. She stands and bumps into me as I pass and so help me my body lights with fire over every single inch she grazed.
I turn to see her head lowered and sadness written all over her face. “Why can’t you love me?” she whispers and my heart fucking sinks. I brush my finger under her chin and make her look at me. She has no clue just how deep my feelings run for her. It’d scare her if she had any real idea.
“I do love you. I fucking love you so much that I’d drop everything for you. I’d defy my entire fucking family… the society and the goddamn world for you. I’d even betray my fucking best friend for you… I already have. And that makesyoudangerous.” She leans her head against my chest and my hands automatically brush up and down her back while her fingers rub over the soft cotton of my shirt. I catch her scent being this close, the smell driving me wild for her. Can’t she see how difficult all this is for me?
“You’re the dangerous one. You’ve got me so wrapped up in what you guys are doing that I can’t think past the two of you. How am I supposed to do this without you, Beau?”
“Do what?”
“Life.” Her weighted confession has me drawing in a swift breath. I push her from my chest, hating the distance, but needing it to meet her gorgeous eyes.
“You need to sleep this off.”
“Hold me while I sleep.” She tries to nuzzle up against my chest again, but I keep her in place.
