Page 45 of The Lost Kings

Presley had just jumped back into the water when Adrian suddenly appeared next to where we were sitting. Dripping wet, he wore a pair of black board shorts, and his chest looked like he spent just about as much time in the gym as we did.

“She’s beautiful, no?” Adrian asked, keeping his eyes on Presley.

She dipped her head back into the water then laughed at something her dad said.

Gio cleared his throat. “She’s family.”

“But not blood, correct?”

I smirked up at him, making sure he knew the things we weren’t saying. “No. Not blood.”

The unspoken challenge and confirmation that he was likely struggling with had his nose flaring the smallest bit.

“You may have known her all her life, but you haven’t been around the past year. She’s no longer your tagalong friend.”

Gio sipped his water, keeping his gaze straight. “What exactly is it you think she is to you, Adrian? ”

The man who led an entire outfit in Italy smiled deviously. “She’s mine.”

I tipped my head back and laughed. This poor fucker had it bad for her, but he had no idea who she even was.

“She ever tell you where those scars on her knuckles and her side came from?”

Adrian shifted the smallest bit, hand on his hip while his eyes remained on the water. He didn’t reply though, which felt like a victory.

“Darn, guess she really has told you everything then,” I replied, dryly.

Gio shook his head, a smile plastered on his face.

“You assume she hasn’t been honest with me, but I know everything important about her.”

“Yeah, what’s her favorite flower?” Gio asked.

Why we were entertaining this, I had no idea, especially when we already knew she hadn’t told him the truth. She didn’t trust him enough.

I felt pride fill my chest the slightest bit that we knew her, and he didn’t.

Until his reply hit me.

“Marigolds. She likes how they remind her of sunshine and fire all at once. She wants a whole farm of them.”

With that, he walked away and jumped into the water. Then the fucker pulled Presley against his chest and kissed her.

“I can’t do much more of this,” I muttered quietly to my brother.

He nodded silently.

We both got up and wandered below deck where a few bedrooms were located, a secondary living room and a kitchen. Once we discovered a card game being played with a few of the staff, we joined in to pass the time.

Gio had just won an entire bag of Oreos with a victorious shout when Presley appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Kingston, Gio, can I talk to you guys, please? ”

The chef grabbed the deck of cards and started dispersing them to the other three staff members while my brother grabbed his prize and I trailed after him.

Gio had a cookie already in his mouth when we entered the hall, but before we could even ask what she wanted, she was pushing us into a bedroom.

“Hey!” I whispered while Gio made a muffled sound against being mauled by her.

She shut and locked the door then spun on us.

“What the fuck are you two doing?”

Gio continued eating his cookie while I stared at her.

She was mostly dry now, but her hair was still wet, and little strands curled against her neck.

Her skin was a warm tan from the sun, freckles appeared on her shoulder blades and across her nose.

Her dark brows arched over blue eyes and thick lashes made her seem older than just eighteen.

She looked so different yet the same as she always had.

That mouth was the same, those lips and that chin…

“I’m eating my winnings,” my brother said, interrupting my thoughts.

I let out a sigh, knowing what she was actually asking and not having the patience for games. “We overheard Carter talking and wanted to join. What’s the problem?”

Her angry expression only worsened as she stepped closer to us then lowered her voice to a whisper. “The problem is, I don’t want you here.”

Gio smirked then tossed the bag of cookies onto the guest bed. The shade was drawn, so there was only a limited amount of light in the room.

“You know, Elvis…I’m starting to feel like you don’t even want to be friends anymore and that’s super shitty of you.”

She shook her head as her nose flared. “It was shitty of you when you left without so much as a goodbye, then stayed gone for almost two years. ”

“We weren’t given the chance to say goodbye to you. I told you that,” Gio snapped irritably.

Presley’s fists curled at her sides, and her chin lifted.

“If the roles were reversed, I would have done anything to get to you. I would have ruined my future if it meant I could have kept what we had.” Her voice cracked, and it only reminded me how much we’d fucked up…

but we weren’t ready for her to make that choice.

Not then, and she was barely ready to make that choice now.

“So we just aren’t allowed to be around you?” I challenged, raising my brow.

She turned the smallest amount of pink, and I loved getting to see her chest rise and fall so easily. Her tits kept pushing against that fabric of her swimsuit, and all I wanted to do was trace my tongue over the swell of her breast.

“I’m not saying that, but I don’t want you here when I need to focus on protecting this alliance.”

I stepped forward. “What happened to the girl who swore this wouldn’t be in her future, the one who said she’d never blindly follow Scotty’s orders?”

Rage burned in those irises, and it gave me pause. Was there something I was missing here?

Presley’s chin quivered. “You missed a lot while you were on vacation, including the moment I got over you both.”

“If you’re over us, then why do you care if we’re here?” Gio taunted, licking his fingers of cookie crumbs.

She scoffed and rubbed at her forehead. “Because if I can feel you watching me, then so can Adrian.”

“Wouldn’t it only help things along if he believes he has competition?” I asked playfully.

“Stop being idiots.”

Gio started toward her other side as I carefully stepped closer. “Adrian seems to think this thing with you is serious. But he also thinks we’ve fucked or have at least fooled around. You tell him anything? ”

“Of course not…” She paused and then bit her lip. “I told him you abandoned me, but I only ever explained that we were best friends.”

“He’s extremely threatened by us.”

Pres let out a heavy sigh like this was taking all her energy. “I highly doubt that.”

“Why? You don’t think we’re intimidating enough to mess with a man like that?” I asked, but I partially didn’t want to hear the answer.

She tossed her shoulders back. “I think if Adrian wanted to kill you, he would. And guess what? There’s nothing I could do to stop him because we aren’t even close to being in a position to defy him or pick a fight with him.

Please don’t challenge him and don’t make me witness him putting a bullet through your heads. ”

I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “You would never choose him over us even if it was just to make peace. The second anyone placed a gun near our heads, your fucking super soldier skills would come out and you’d start killing people.

You care about us, Presley. You want us to prove that we care, I’m about to dare you to prove that you still do too. ”

“What does that mean?” She glanced between us, noticing how close we were getting.

“You’re just going to have to find out, but if it comes down to Adrian coming for us, and you do let him kill us, then just know this one thing.

” I lifted my finger in front of her face, and by her comical expression, she thought I was about to make a joke.

So, I softened my tone and used that finger to push some of her hair behind her ear.

“I fucking love you. I’ve loved you my entire life and not as a brother would.

I’ve been in love with you since I was old enough to understand the flutter in my chest when you came near me and the way my stomach flipped around whenever you asked where I was, or what I was doing.

That first day in the car was the best one of my life.

I miss you, and I have every intention of getting you back. ”

Without waiting for her response, I pulled her hip until she crashed into my chest, and I seized her mouth.

Her hands came up to my shoulders, but she didn’t push me away; in fact, she paused, and when I assumed she’d pull back, she slid her lips against mine.

My fingers shook as I pulled her closer.

Gio moved behind her, his mouth caressing her neck in small kisses, and slow licks.

We’d never both touched her at the same time.

I wondered if she even processed that. It had always been one of our rules, and yet I knew why Gio had done this.

He was desperate enough to remove Adrian from the picture, and in doing so would allow her to feel us both. To remember us both and not the complicated, painful parts. Only the good ones.

Gio’s fingers trailed down Presley’s side while his mouth moved over her shoulder but then a knock sounded on the door. Presley pushed me away and swiped at her mouth before moving to the door. “I have to go.”

Without glancing back at us, she opened and shut the door without revealing who was inside, and I heard her telling Adrian that she wasn’t feeling well.

Once their voices moved away, I cracked the door and crept over to the kitchen.

Gio was on my heels, and the second we fell into place near the back of the kitchen and relaxed against the counter as if we’d been there the entire time, Adrian appeared.

“I was looking for you both.”

Gio stuck an Oreo in his mouth, so I replied, “We’ve been here, gambling.”

Adrian eyed the full table, where no space had been made for us and I knew it looked like we were lying, so I gestured at my brother. “We cleaned them out of snacks, so we’re giving some others a chance to win something.”

He paused, but I noticed the muscle in his jaw flutter. “We’re about to dock.”

Once he walked away, my brother stared at me then smiled.

“He hates us.”

I nodded, glaring at where he’d been standing. “Might as well give him a good reason to.”