Page 38 of Good Girls Beg

"You're so full of shit.” I stepped over to pick up my shoes from beside the chair. "I should get ready. I'm having lunch with Lyra."

A flash of anger crossed his face, but it was gone so quickly I wasn't if sure I imagined it.

"You'll be home for dinner."

Was he asking or telling me?

"I guess so. I have some college work and lesson plans to get caught up with." I took a few steps away.

"You should do that before you go out," he said.

"Is that one of your rules?" I stopped to look back at him. Before he could answer, I added, "I think I should make one of my own. No changing the rules after they've popped up on that app.” In case he was thinking of doing just that.

"Hel said I could come and go as I pleased. That's what I plan to do." Lifting my chin, I turned and headed into the house. If Fade didn't like it, he could go fuck himself. I'd do my best to keep from imagining him doing it.

"What are they like?" Lyra asked, leaning forward eagerly. “Are they all hot? They're hot, aren't they? She fanned herself.

"They're okay," I said flatly.

"Only okay." She looked disappointed. "Are you going to tell me what's really going on here?" She gave me the side eye.

"I can't," I started to say.

Her side eye intensified.

"Come on, Teddie, this is me you're talking to. There's nothing you can't tell me. If you're in some kind of trouble, let me help."

"I'm not in any kind of trouble," I said quickly.

"Then why suddenly move in with these guys?" She kept her voice down so no one else on the beach could hear, although we were sitting at a distance to the nearest group. "Did I do something to upset you?" she asked. Her mouth turned down at the sides, and her eyes drooped, like she was going to cry if I told her she did something wrong.

"No." I put a hand on her arm. "I promise you did nothing to upset me." I let out a soft, shallow breath. "If I tell you what's really going on, you have to swear not to tell anyone else, especially my dads."

"Of course," she said without hesitation. "Whatever this is, I always have your back. You know that, right?"

"I do know," I said with a nod. "I appreciate that." I really did. I trusted her more than almost anyone. She'd never given me any reason not to.

I took a breath in and explained the guys' proposal. Saying it out loud took a weight off my mind, but the whole thing sounded salacious as hell. Probably because, at the end of the day, it was. No amount of pretending would change their agenda. They wanted me and we all knew it.

"I'm not going to fuck any of them," I said. "They made it clear I don't have to.”

"But they want to," she asked. "Are they going to go a whole year hoping you'll fall into their beds and give you the money when you do?"

"We have a contract." I scooped up a handful of sand and let it slip through my fingers. "They have to keep up their end of the deal. I intend to keep up mine."

I'd follow their rules, do what they wanted me to do. Then at the end of this, I'd walk away and not look back. Not even a peek. No glancing in the rearview mirror of my car. My eyes would be firmly forward from that moment on.

Lyra looked skeptical, and honestly, it wasn't without good reason. I was skeptical myself. Right now, I had more questions than answers. I still didn't know, why me? There must be a ton of crowdfunding campaigns that could have caught their eye. Lots of other people they could help without adding strings.

She chewed on her thumbnail. "Are you sure they aren't serial killers?"

"No," I admitted.

Fade joked about keeping people locked in the basement, but what if he wasn't joking? What if I went down there and the walls were lined with chains, each with a skeleton still attached by their wrists, a jug of water just out of reach? The words ‘you didn't follow the rules’ etched into their bones.

Okay I should stop imagining monsters where there weren't any. Hel owned a security company, for fuck's sake. Oak and Fade both worked for him. Their job was to keep people safe. To protect them, not lock them away. I needed to stop letting my imagination run off in weird, unrealistic directions.

"Teddie," Lyra started.