Page 82 of A Lesson in Obedience

River fiddled with one of his earrings. “I’m flattered that you’re proud of me.” He started to get up from the floor, but Asher grabbed his arm.

“Where are you going? We aren’t done.”

River wiped a hand down the front of his face. “My brain is tired.”

“Your brain is complacent. Sit your ass down and let’s do this again.” Asher tugged his brother’s arm down, causing River to fall back onto the floor.

I kept my finger in my book to hold my place before saying, “You guys are so cute when you bicker. I should get a video for Riley.”

“We should probably work on getting your mind prepped too,” River suggested, sticking his tongue out at me.

“Since Riley isn’t here to distract either of you, I think that’s a perfect idea,” Asher agreed, patting the space next to River.

My mouth fell open but grabbed my bookmark from the coffee table and placed it in my book before coming over to them and sitting on the floor.

“She distracts you too, by the way,” River said, flicking his brother’s knee.

Asher gave him a fake smile before smacking the side of his head again.

“Oh my god,it’s finally break time. I feel like my brain is pure mush,” I complained, rubbing my forehead.

Asher stared down at his phone. “Mmhmm, good.” He clutched his phone until his fingers turned nearly white. He blinked up at us. “I’m going out for a little bit.”

“Where to?” River asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Out,” Asher answered plainly.

“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” I said sarcastically, crossing my arms over my chest.

Asher begrudgingly handed River his phone. My best friend scanned the screen, quickly looking at his brother. “Dad contacted you?”

Snatching his phone back, Asher nodded. “If I ignore him, this just gets worse. Riley is doing what she can to keep Chancellor Fowler at bay, so I can do what I can for our own dad. Besides, he needs to answer for whatever the fuck he’s doing when it comes to you guys. If the chancellor is making the rules, then clearly dad is out of line on many accounts.” Asher went over to the entryway table to grab his keys.

“We’ll go with you,” River said, coming up behind his brother. I followed, prepared to face Oliver St. James with them. The man has fucked with too many people I cared about.

Asher swiftly turned around. “Nope. You stay here.”

“I’m not a fucking kid, Asher.”

Asher was already opening the door. “Well aware, but please just do what I say and stay put.” He closed his eyes and then looked back at his brother. “I know you can hold your own, okay?”

I placed a hand on River’s shoulder and squeezed. I felt the tension in his body start to soften. He waved his hand towards Asher. “Fine. I guess just be careful.”

Asher reached out and ruffled his brother’s hair. It was a move I’d never seen before, but I knew Asher cared immensely for River, even if it meant throwing himself into the fire just to keep him out of harm’s way. River had always told me that he never reallyunderstood why Asher took a job at Mystic Riegan or why he always tried to keep a leveled relationship with their dad. Maybe, River was the reason for all of it.

It wasn’t really my place to analyze, but as much as Asher could be ice cold sometimes, I could see the cracks in his exterior.

River leaned against the door, blowing out a breath. “What do we do now?”

I smiled at him, letting my shadows come out and move around his neck and through his hair. “Hmm, I don’t know. My brain is exhausted so I don’t think I can continue reading at the moment; I would rather not do anything that involves a lot of thinking.”

River pushed away from the door, my shadows dissipating with his movements. “I might have an idea.” He slid his hand down my arm, threading his fingers through mine. He kissed my knuckles and pulled me up the stairs towards his bedroom.

He kicked his door closed with his foot, shoving me against it and kissing me hard. He pressed his body into mine, his tongue exploring my mouth. I moaned against his lips, his hand grazing past my stomach and between my legs.

River rubbed the front of my pants roughly, causing me to groan and thrust my lower body forward. He gripped my shirt and pulled me away from the door, pressing his forehead to mine. He planted one more kiss to my lips, before starting to unbutton my pants.

“You cleared things up with Riley.” He shoved my pants down along with my underwear. His fingers started to work opening his own pants. “I think I’ll reward you for being such a good boy for our girl.”