Page 92
Story: Princes of Chaos
“Verity Sinclaire is West End down to her very marrow. Rebelliousness, defiance, and that stubborn hunger for conflict will make her reign uncomfortable for all of us.” He nods, as if he’s coming to the decision at this very moment. “We’ll need to be able to bring our Princess to heel.”
My eye twitches. “I see.”
“You will not mark her,” he says, pointing his glass at me. “You will not harm her.”
Unbidden, my mind flashes with the memory of Bruce Oakfield’s initial, branded into the small of her back. “No, sir, I won’t.”
Sometimes Father has this way of looking at people like they’re bugs. He’s looking at me just like that when he adds, “I believe she could fall for Lex.”
Every cell in my body rears back in stunned fury. “Why?”
“He’s gentler than you are,” he replies, “and more patient than Wicker. I can see her forming an attachment to that. Don’t you think?”
“No.” The answer is automatic and a little too brusque. Schooling my voice, I explain, “Lex doesn’t bend enough. He’s too even-keeled. Like you said, she’s West End. She’d be drawn to someone emotional. Someone volatile. Someone–”
“Like you.” He watches me over the rim of his glass as he takes another sip. “Your features and her eyes.” The words are barely a murmur, as if he’s speaking more to himself than to me. The odd dazedness of his eyes snaps to clarity when he declares, “The two of you would make an exceptional child.”
I’m so fucking speechless that for a long moment, all I can do is gape dumbly into his eyes. There’s a softness there that makes my stomach violently churn. “Thank you,” I finally manage, because I know Father well enough to understand he’s just paid me the highest compliment possible in his dead, empty soul.
He wants me tocreatewith her.
The softness falls away gradually as the car crosses the bridge, both our gazes trained out the window. I can tell before we even reach the gate that the driveway is packed with cars. Tonight is our first official PNZ meeting. The whole frat is probably waiting as Danner prepares the parlor with refreshments and extra chairs. Much like Wicker had the other day, I wonder how the fuck we’re supposed to get the Princess pregnant when we barely have time to breathe, let alone nail her.
Only when we enter through the gate does Father break the strange, curdled silence. “If you don’t win the game this weekend,” he says, sharp as broken glass, “I’ll have Lex remove your index finger.”
My teeth clench, sweat springing up on my brow as the car comes to a stop. “Yes, sir.”
17
Verity
Thump.
Wisteria is hardy and fast-growing. That’s what I’m thinking of as I pick at a golden thread on my duvet, winding it around my finger.
Thump.
It can grow in poor-quality soil, but prefers somewhere moist and fertile where it can climb. A trellis. A wall. A tree.
Thump.
It’s invasive here, quick to choke out native plant species, and yet it can take decades for specimens grown from seeds to bloom. From what I’ve read, it’s better to obtain cuttings.
Thump.
“Fuck!” Wicker growls, his fingers digging in as he slams his hips into me from behind. I feel him swell and surge as I watch the tip of my finger, which has gone purple above the golden thread.
I let the thread go, watching the blood creep back beneath my skin.
“Shit, that’s good,” he gasps, giving his hips a lazy nudge, like he’s drawing it out. Probably is. From the reflection I see of him in the mirror above my dresser, I watch him look down at where we meet, lip disappearing between his teeth as he pulls out.
The drag is slow and slick and makes me shudder, but I refuse to confront the fact that I’m throbbing with the hope of a release I won’t get.
I’m too tired to mourn it much.
Wicker came in at precisely midnight, but this time I was expecting it. Maybe that’s why they make the Princess go to bed at nine–so that she can get a few hours of sleep in before whichever Prince comes barreling through her door like a sex-crazed maniac.
At least Wicker didn’t try to strangle me first. He just snapped his fingers, pointed at the foot of the bed, and started unbuckling his belt. Wriggling out of my panties before being bent over the bed and driven into from behind is probably the best I could have hoped for.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213