Page 63 of The Villain's Beast

The door opened so quickly, it was almost like the man on the other side had been waiting for our arrival, which had all of my guard raised from the gate. Bellamy’s roommate Vince was his polar opposite, tall where Bellamy was short, dark in all the places Bellamy was light. Thick black waves floated around his head like a halo, and his eyes sparkled like there were galaxies inside of them.

“You’re back,” Vince said, palpable relief washing over him. “I was worried.”

“I told you I’d be gone overnight,” he said.

Vincent barely offered me a passing glance, which was also suspicious. “And that’s fine, I was just worried about when you would make it back.”

“He’s back,” I announced, gesturing vaguely in the air. “And we’re leaving, so…Bellamy, go get your shit.”

Bellamy dipped his chin against his chest and scampered into the apartment past Vincent, who did everything he could to make himself look taller when it was just the two of us in the entryway.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“You know who I am.” I brushed past him, following Bellamy into the decently sized two-bedroom apartment. It looked like they had a shared living space with short hallways off either side leading to matching bedroom suites. The TV was on, muted as a baking competition played on; a paper plate with a half-eaten slice of pizza sat on the table beside a bottle of water and the remote. The scene was entirely too unsuspecting.

“What are you doing with him?” Vince asked.

“Right now? Waiting for him to get his phone and some clothes.”

“And then?”

Vince’s line of questioning was far from welcome and I was already tired of it. After the events of the night before, I was ready to sleep until Monday, ideally with Luca beside me, but I knew that was far from possible. Bellamy would be a soft and supple replacement in his absence.

Until we could all be together again.

Shit.

How had he wiggled so quickly and efficiently into our lives? He was an outsider, and worse than that, he was dangerous. We had all agreed there were some ulterior motives around his selection, even if we hadn’t been able to figure out what they were yet. A tie to Gideon’s family was the most likely, but Vince’s inquisition had me wondering if there was more to the story than we realized.

“I’m going to let him sleep to recover from how much he got fucked last night,” I said, sneering down at the person who represented another unanswered question, another threat. “And then I’m going to fuck him again.”

Vincent swiped the side of his finger across his bottom lip, but said nothing.

“Bellamy!” I hollered, not breaking Vince’s stare. “Are you ready?”

He was, thankfully. His warmth behind me, careful fingertips pressed against the curve of my spine. I spun around, giving my back to Vince even though I was unsure which of them was the bigger threat. Bellamy had changed into jeans and a RHU t-shirt that looked like it was fresh from the campus shop. He had Gideon’s hoodie hanging over his arm and a backpack slung over his shoulder. He blinked up at me, golden eyes framed by brownbrows, and I bit the inside of my cheek to fight off the directional change of my blood flow.

“I’m ready,” he said quietly, affecting that same nervous demeanor he’d had the night I met him. Maybe he was nervous. He should have been.

I was.

“Let’s go, then,” I said, ignoring Vince as I went back for the door.

“Are you good?” Vince asked Bellamy, tone hushed like the question wasn’t meant for my ears.

“You said you knew who I was,” I said, twisting open the door and waiting for Bellamy to follow. “So you know that’s a stupid question.”

“It’s exactly why I’m asking,” Vince snapped. “Your reputation precedes you.”

I smirked, raising a brow. “Which part of it?”

“The part where you indiscriminately fuck anyone who will spread their legs for you.”

That was far from the worst part of my reputation.

I’d been destined for my role with the Thorns for my entire life, and the past three years of schooling had been designed to get me ready for the role of deputy to Fletcher’s president, to ensure I acted in the ways the puppet masters intended.

“That’s a rumor,” I said to him, smiling as Bellamy stepped into the hallway. “I also take them on their hands and knees.”