Page 21 of The Royal Flame (The Royal Academy #3)

CHAPTER

MADDISON

I shouldn’t be surprised River wants to come pick me up, but I am. I think even after being around River’s niceness for weeks, I still struggle with people helping me out—and wanting to help me out.

I am eager to talk to him about what I found out today. I want to show him the photo of the yacht and see if recognizes it. If he does and knows who the owner is, that’ll give us a path to figuring out what the hell is going on.

About a half an hour later, just like he said, River walks into the bus station. I’d expect him to text me that he arrived and then I’d go out to him. But nope. River being River, he has to come find me.

I push to my feet and wave at him as he scans the room. The tension in his expression alleviates as he spots me. Then he hurries toward me, winding around chairs and people until he reaches me.

“Hey…” I start, but trail off as he loops his arms around my waist, lifts me up, and hugs the ever loving crap out of me.

My eyes involuntarily lower as I hug him back, feeling a bit shaking. I breathe in the scent of his cologne, and warmth spills through my veins.

Safe.

I feel so safe.

I burrow my face into his neck, which I could stay here forever.

“Wow,”: River whispers, sounding in awe.

Maybe he feels that warmth too?

It’s crazy to feel this way when I’ve only been away from him for a handful of hours.

He hugs me for a while longer before finally pulling back. His free hand smoothes across the back of my head. “You’re okay, right?”

I nod. “I’m fine. But I do have some stuff to tell you.”

A crease forms between his brows.

Before he can ask, I whisper, “Not in here.”

He nods once, tensing, as he glances around.

Then he lets me go, but threads out fingers together as he leads me out of the bus station and to the parking lot where he’s parked his car.

I don’t even have to search for it. In the sea of old vehicles, River’s nice and shiny car stands out like a rose in a sea of daisies.

He pushes the key fob, the headlights blink, and then he opens the passenger door open for me.

I slide in onto the leather seat and he shuts the door.

Then he climbs in and starts up the engine.

As it roars to life, he cranks up the heat due to the rain-chilled air still lingering outside.

The leather is cold against my skin and I start to shiver as the heat that blast out of the vents is cold.

“Do you want my jacket?” River offers when he notices me shivering.

I shake my head. “I’m fine.”

But as I continue to shiver, he sighs and shucks off his jacket. I try not to take it but he’s persistent enough that I finally grab it from his hand. I drape it over my body like a blanket and again, my nostrils are greeted with the scent of his cologne.

Safe.

Safe.

Safe.

“Are you hungry?” River asks as he reaches for the shifter.

I shake my head, but apparently, he’s catching on to my lies, and says, “We’re going to go get something to eat. And I know you’re going to argue, so you can pay me back whenever you can.”

I want to argue, but I’m so hungry my, I feel sick.

He pulls out of the parking lot and steers onto the road, flipping wipers on as it begins to rain again.

“So, when I took off today,” I start, angling the vent toward me as the air warms up.

“I mostly did it because I thought I was going to get expelled for punching Eli. I rode the bus for a while, trying to figure out where to go. I kept thinking about how you and I were supposed to be looking into Ellie’s and your mom’s disappearance today and then an idea came to me, hence the reason I ended up in north side. ”

He flicks me a side long glance. “Okay.” Puzzlement creases his features. “What was the idea.”

“Well, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Will acted like he might know something.”

His expression plummets. “Maddy, please tell me you didn’t track him down.”

“Hell know, that’d be stupid,” I assure him. He starts to relax when I add, “I had him come to me.”

His eyes widen. “What?”

“Relax. Nothing happened. And I had this friend of mine—Avery—help me out. She used to date Will and she had this video of him dealing behind his bosses back, which would so get him into trouble.” I ignore the incredulous look he’s giving me. “But anyway, we used that to get information from him.”

He thrums his fingers on top of the shifter. “And did you?”

“Yep. I just don’t know what it means.” I fish my phone out of my pocket as I tell him about the yacht.

Then I show him the photo Will sent me.

“Does it look familiar, by chance?” I ask with hope.

River keeps one hand on the steering wheel as he drives down the highway, the lights of the city growing closer. “No, but it’s also pretty blurry.”

“I know. I was thinking we could have Noah clear it up.” I close the photo and set my phone on my lap. “If we can figure out who the owner is, maybe we can figure out what happened to Ellie. And that could also lead us to your mom.”

He bites on his bottom lip as he stares ahead at the road. “Maybe. But with what you told me… I don’t know, Maddy. It sounds like we could be walking into something really dangerous.”

I arch a brow at him. “More dangerous than having a bloodline that puts a huge target on my back?”

“Good point, but still….” He presses his lips together, pausing for a raindrop of a second. “Have you texted Grey to let him know you’re okay?”

“No. I didn’t even think about it.” I glance down at my phone on my lap as it busses. “I’m not used to having a parent that cares.”

“You should text him,” he says as he changes lanes. “He’s probably freaking out.”

Collecting my phone, I open my messages and send Grey a quick text.

Me: I’m fine. I just had a bad day at school. Sorry I took off. I’ll be back at the academy soon.

Grey: Where are you?

Me: I’m with River. He picked me up from the bus station. We’re going to grab something to eat and then we’re headed back.

Grey: Maddy, I don’t like that you’re unprotected right now. It’s dangerous.

Me: I’m fine. Nothing’s happened. And I’ll be back soon.

Grey: Okay, but I think we need to talk. Can we have lunch together tomorrow? I know a discreet place where we won’t have to worry about anyone spotting us.

“Damn,” I mutter.

“What is it?” River asks.

“He wants to have lunch with me tomorrow?”

River raises his brows. “And you don’t want to?”

“I don’t know.” I dither. “It’s just that it’ll be awkward. I don’t even know the guy and like I said already, I’ve never had to deal with real parents, so this is all foreign to me.”

He extends his hand over the console and sets it on my knee. “Trust me, you might feel awkward at first, but you’re easy to talk to, so that’ll fade quickly.

I snort a laugh. “You think I’m easy to talk to?”

He smiles. “You remember when you first met me? How grumpy and intense I was? That wore off because of you.”

“Who says it’s worn off?” I tease.

He narrows his eyes but it’s a playful move. “You know I’m right.”

“Fine. I’ll agree with you, but only because I like you.” I avoid his gaze as I send Grey a text, agreeing to meet up with him for lunch.

He tells me he’ll send a car to my school to pick me up at around one, and I resist the urge to argue about that, knowing it’ll be a lost cause.

About an hour later, River and I have picked up food from probably the fanciest burger place I’ve ever seen.

We get our food to go and then we head back to the academy.

I’m nervous as we enter the building. After what happened, rumors will be floating about, and I’m sure I’ll get stared at even more.

Thankfully, a football game is happening tonight, so the corridors are mostly empty.

“Finn’s playing, right?’ I ask River as we make our way to his room.

He has the to-go bag in his hand and reaches with his free hand to take my mine as I tensely glance around the few people loitering around in the alcoves and sitting areas, all of which are staring at me.

“Do you really think we should be holding hands?” I question, but don’t let go. “We’re supposed to be behind friends.”

He doesn’t let go as he stops in front of his dorm room door. “Do you want me to let your hand go?”

“Not really, but want and need are two different things.” Like I want to kiss him, but I don’t need him to.

I don’t think…

And now I’m staring at his mouth.

And he completely notices.

He clears his throat and let’s go of my hand.

I convince myself that it’s to open the door, but who the hell knows for sure.

Once we’re inside, we get the food set up on the table. My mouth waters at a I take a huge bite of the yummy burger.

“Oh my god,” I moan as juice dribbles down my chin.

River watches me with his burger cupped in his hand. “I don’t know why you fight me so hard to let me feed you.”

I quirk a brow. “Because I’m not a plant, dude.”

Giving me a tolerant look, he sets the burger down. “I know you loathe help, but if you want to make the team, you’re going to have to make sure you eat enough. Starving yourself will hinder your performance.”

“I know that.” And I do. But I’m kind of used to eating like crap. “But I’ve told you like ten times that I don’t want you to have to pay for my food.”

“Why not? I have a ton of money and you and I…” He trails off, scratching his neck.

“You and I are what?” I question. “Because friends don’t go around paying for each others food.”

“That’s not entirely true, but that wasn’t even what I was going to say.” He dithers. “Maddison, I want to date you so badly I can’t even think straight. I just… Can you be patient with me until I can get my father off my back?”

“I already said I would.”

“I know, but…” He slides his arm across the table, reaching for my hand. “I want to know that you’re mine and that I can be yours, that as soon as I blackmail my father, we can be together.” He skims his finger across my knuckles, the move a bit shaky and totally River.

Just to mess with him, and alleviate some of the intensity, I say, “What does that entail, though? Are we going to keep our hands off each other until you give the go ahead? Or do we meet up in our rooms and you can finger bang me again?”

A flush spreads across his cheeks, but he doesn’t look away. “What do you want?”

“I asked you first.”

“I think my answers pretty obvious. I’ve wanted to touch you like that since the first time I laid eyes on you.”

“In jail, huh?” I tease. “That turned you on?”

“You turned me on.” He sketches the back of my hand with his fingers again. “You’re beautiful, sweet, funny, and a total smartass, but I like it.”

Despite the gloominess clouding over me, his words make it feel like a ray of sunshine is spilling across from me.

A part of me remains conflicted, though. If I fool around with him behind closed doors, then aren’t I like every other north sider woman who became a Royal’s dirty little secret?

River isn’t like that, though. That is the one thing I’m certain of.

“You can do whatever you want with me, River Averson,” I tell him quietly.

It’s evident in the shift of his expression that he’s aware how big of a deal it is for me to say those words. He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles, his eyelids falling shut momentarily.

When he opens his eyes, he offers me the most beautiful smile. “Do you want finish our food and then go see if Noah can clear up that photo?”

I nod a bit shakily.

Because I basically declared my feelings to a Royal.

I hope it doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt.