Page 38 of Conquered (Highgate Preparatory Academ:y Compendium)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

LILLY

T hankfully, the guys don't have any more jobs from their families’ company, Black Knight Corporation. The nickname, The Black Knights, that the other students have given them makes a lot more sense now.

I asked Kai what it was called so that I could look them up, which I did one evening.

Black Knight Corporation pretty much have fingers in every pie, from pharmaceuticals to security, import and export to tech and lots in between.

It's worth billions, and I now understand why the guys are so revered here. They’re basically worth the GDP of a small country, hell maybe even a big country!

I can’t help but look at them slightly differently. They are going to be world leaders one day.

A few days later, Loki and I are sitting on one of the sofas, snuggling in front of a roaring fire.

He’s wearing an open Hawaiian shirt, which allows me to run my hands up and down his torso.

He’s literally purring, like a big jungle cat.

It’s been a week of intense classes, they don’t hang about here, wanting us all to ‘be our best possible selves’ or some shit like that.

Each subject is full on from the get go.

Kai is on one of the other sofas, tapping away at something on his tablet, a look of concentration on his face.

“Fuck!” he suddenly shouts, making me jump in Loki’s arms, and breaking the spell the fire and his warm body had cast on me.

“What’s wrong, Kai?” I ask, concerned. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him swear before.

“Just some stock that should have gone down, hasn’t,” he replies, brows furrowed, looking up at Loki. They exchange a hard look, and I don’t miss the flash of worry that’s mixed in with the annoyance that crosses Kai’s features.

“Stock?” I question.

“Kai here has a portfolio of stocks and shares in various concerns, Pretty Girl,” Loki tells me, all traces of the hard look from a moment ago gone, his hand trailing down my arm and making me shiver.

“A portfolio?” The term is a little alien to me, although I’m guessing that it has something to do with business.

“I buy parts of companies so that we own a share in them, and get a share of the profits that they make,” Kai explains.

“We?”

“Kai does the same on behalf of myself, Jax, and Ash too,” Loki clarifies.

“Oh. But, why would you want the stock to go down?” My own brows are lowered as I’m struggling to see what I’m missing here.

Both boys look away, shifting in their seats. “Well, if shares go down, we can buy more before they go up.” Kai finally says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“And that makes quite a bit of money?” I ask.

“It can,” he replies. “But it can also be a little risky, at times.”

Loki places a kiss on the top of my head, distracting me from my questioning.

“There's a party tonight, Pretty Girl, on account of it being Ash’s nineteenth birthday,” he drawls in that deep, sinful voice of his. I shudder, and my nipples harden. I am so fucked with this one. “Will you be my date?” he asks, giving me one of his signature panty decimating grins.

“I didn’t realise that it was his birthday!” I exclaim, sitting up, feeling terrible. “I don’t have a gift for him,” I add, worrying my lip and wondering if I can rustle something up last minute. “What time does it start?”

“Don’t worry, baby, he’s a fucker who has everything anyway,” he says as if he’s not the same. “And it doesn’t start till later, so plenty of time for dinner. And dessert.” Loki grins wickedly at me, and I swear I almost moan aloud.

Lord have mercy on my poor ovaries! No wonder god threw him out of heaven, he must have made all of the lady angels spontaneously come with a single look!

“Cool,” I say lamely, still feeling a little bad about the lack of a gift. Loki chuckles as he gets up, moving his body like a big cat and making those distracting beautiful muscles bunch and stretch.

Loki cooks tonight, making a delicious pasta dish that’s creamy and has me groaning in appreciation, much to his delight, and Kai’s and Jax’s amusement. After we've eaten, I head to Loki's room to get ready for the party. Yep, my clothes are still in there, thanks to fucking Ash, the prat.

Loki is still downstairs because according to the fallen angel himself, “There's no improving perfection, Pretty Girl.”

I decide to wear my nineteen-sixties tight denim playsuit.

It's capri pant style, with three quarter length sleeves, and a sharp as all fuck collar.

Oh, and a zip all the way down the front, that I leave open just enough to see my red lace bra peeping out.

Red sequin heels and a splash of cherry on my lips, and I'm good to go.

“Jesus, Baby Girl.” I hear Jax rumble as I turn round after closing Loki's door.

“I'm gonna be hard as fucking steel all night with you dressed like that,” he groans, rubbing his chin, devouring me with his gaze.

I feel my cheeks flush, and heat flares between my thighs, which is becoming an all too familiar situation round these guys.

“You look pretty good yourself,” I say back huskily, eyeing him up and down.

He's wearing all black, as is standard for him, but he's swapped his usual workout tank for a form-fitting black muscle shirt that shows off his mouth watering body. He's also wearing tight black jeans, and kick ass black boots, with his hair in a messy man bun.

Basically, he's fucking sex on legs. I meet his gaze once again, then sway over to him, placing my hands on his broad, hard chest and leaning in. Pressing my lips to his neck, a shiver sweeps over him as I leave a perfect red lipstick print.

“There.” I smile, satisfied. “That's better,” I say, linking my arm through his.

“Staking your claim, Baby Girl?” he asks me with a smirk as we start to head down the stairs.

“Maybe...is that okay?” I suddenly feel unsure and a little silly.

“It's absolutely fucking perfect,” he replies, giving me one of his rare genuine grins, his blue eyes sparkling like a tropical sea in the sunlight.

“What's perfect?” Loki asks, coming towards us with his gorgeous smile in place as he takes me in. “Apart from Pretty Girl here, of course,” he finishes, his eyes devouring me top to bottom.

“Baby Girl staking her claim,” Jax responds, leaning his head to the side so that Loki can see my mark. Loki's brows raise then he turns to me, bending his own head to the side.

“Me too, gorgeous,” he commands. “I am your official date after all,” he teases like the arsehole that he is. I roll my eyes at him, although I'm stupidly pleased that he too wants me to mark him.

Letting go of Jax’s arm, I sashay over to him, wiggling my arse a little for Jax's benefit. Like with Jax, I place my hands on Loki's bare chest. He's so hot under my palms, it’s like his blood is molten lava. I lean in and place a kiss on his neck too.

“There. Happy?” I ask as I step back, needing a little room to gather my thoughts. Being close to these boys is like coming into earth's orbit, and being pulled down by an invisible force.

“Very,” he drawls back. “Shall we?” he asks as he holds his arm out for me to take. I swear I hear Jax growl behind me, Loki's grin getting wider. It's then that I notice Kai is absent.

“Where's Kai?” I query, looking round.

“Parties aren't really his thing,” Loki tells me, leading us out of the door. “Unless it’s the first one of the year, which we all have to attend, or he's forced. Otherwise, he usually just stays home,” he continues as we head down the hall.

“Oh,” I say, my brow furrowed. “Why would he be forced?” I ask, a little confused.

“Oh, you know, family shit. Being rich as kings is not all fun and games, Pretty Girl,” Loki replies as we head down the main staircase. He has a resigned irony in his tone that makes me glance his way, and I don’t miss the look of unhappiness that sits on his face.

I want to ask more, but we reach the doors and I hear the low rumbling purr of a car engine. Looking up, I see a cherry red car sitting on the drive, its engine running. A young guy in a smart navy blue uniform comes towards us, looking me up and down with a gleam of appreciation in his gaze.

Creep. As he holds the keys out to Loki, Jax's hand darts out and grabs his, squeezing, and I swear I hear a pop. The guy’s eyes widen in pain and he squeaks, his gaze darting from me to Jax, who's now at my side.

“Look at her again, and your hand will be the least of your fucking worries,” Jax rumbles darkly, sending shivers of desire swirling through me, along with a touch of fear.

“S–s–sorry,” The guy stammers out, voice high and definitely in pain.

“Jax,” I say under my breath, reaching out and grasping his arm. He doesn't immediately let go, eyes still locked on the boy who's probably shitting himself.

Not that he doesn’t deserve being a little scared, he did ogle me after all and why the fuck should women have to put up with that everytime we dress up?

“Jax,” I say again, more firmly this time. He takes another moment, then releases the dickhead’s hand, snatching the keys out of it.

“Now, fuck off,” he growls out, sending the valet scurrying away into the darkness.

“Was that really necessary?” I ask, turning to him, hands on my hips.

“I didn't like the way he was looking at you,” Jax grumbles back, looking a little sheepish now that he's getting told off. Violence still wafts off him like an expensive perfume, and I can’t say that it doesn’t get me a little hot. Fuck, what have these guys done to me?

“I'm with the big guy on this one, Pretty Girl,” Loki pipes in. “He saw you were with us and still decided to test it, so he deserved what Jax gave him. More if you ask me.” Jax snarls at him.

I look at Loki with a ‘can you stop fucking baiting Jax' look, which I know he understands, yet chooses to ignore when he walks over to the car instead.

I roll my eyes, grab Jax's arm, and pull him with me.