Page 10 of Samhain
Most of it, I didn’t remember. But there was this moment, when Lex and Ivy were clawing and moaning next to us, that I found myself straddling Carter’s lap, his cock deep inside of me. I’d slung an arm around his neck, digging my other hand into his thigh to help me rock my hips against his pelvis. Our foreheads pressed together, his breath and mine combined, the taste of him and them hung on my lips, and the orange glow from our makeshift fire licked against his skin.
Our gazes had locked, and the world had slowed. Our heartbeats synced with each other as I cupped his jaw and he tightened his fingers on my waist, his indigo eyes bouncing back and forth between mine.
As actors who often worked together, our bodies were already familiar with one another. We’d done physical comedy. We’d played a married couple more than once. We looked right next to one another. But this was an intimacy we’d never experienced before. It changed the way I saw him.
Carter and I understood each other in a way Lex and Ivy never could. They’d never know what it was like to be in love with them, to be the object of their affection. They could never know what it was like to be the rival in a romance where the odds were stacked against them from the start.
Lex and Ivy could only have ended up together. That was obvious now. But that didn’t mean I got left with Carter. It meant Carter and I got to keep each other.
Hardly a consolation prize, if you asked me. Six-two. Blond. Blue eyes. Gorgeous jawline. No wonder Ivy and Lex had fallen for him so hard, and if I hadn’t been so blindsided by the two of them, I would have realized it sooner.
A girlish tingle twisted through my body at the thought of having Carter Scott to myself for the foreseeable future. But I pushed that down. Ivy wouldn’t like it. Lex would only like it if he could watch. Were we permitted to sleep together outside of the four of us? Would I get jealous if they fucked without the two of us?
If I’d been a smarter person, perhaps a few years older, I would have called to ask. We should have put down ground rules before we left. Instead, I had only this instinct growing in the pit of my stomach like a weed.
Carter and I were meant to be more than stage partners or metamours.
But what that was, I wasn’t exactly sure yet.
3
Carter
When we landed, drivers were waiting to take us to the studio apartment I’d rented sight unseen over the internet. It was the size of the bathroom in my old digs, and the bed folded up into the wall in the middle of the space.
Miri raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, glancing around with her arms crossed. “Cozy.”
“It’s not much, but it’s in my price range.” I dropped my bags and bit my bottom lip as I tried to figure out where to put my things.
“This is a closet, Romeo.”
“There’s a bed and a toilet.” I shrugged, trying to see the bright side. “That’s all I need.”
Miri peered into the tiny room at the back and snickered. “The bathroom is the shower.”
“Convenient,” I said.
“No.” She shook her head and walked toward me, her flowing pink skirt fluffing around her as she moved. “Absolutely not. We’re going.”
“What? Where?”
“My family owns a house in Malibu.” She grabbed my hand and nodded toward the door as if there were no arguing with her. Of course, I knew better. Princess Miriam Stuart typically got what she wanted.
In this case, the royal family had one of the most expensive properties in the area, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At well over four thousand square feet, it housed five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a balcony that wrapped around the building, and floor-to-ceiling windows in every room.
“Good fucking lord.” I twirled around as I walked. The chandelier in the entryway likely cost more than both of my parents’ houses put together. I dropped my backpack at the doorway so I could marvel at it.
“My room’s the primary,” she said, drawing my attention back to her. “Obviously. You can have any of the others. My cousin, Edward, likes the blue room because of the tub in the bathroom.” She set her purse on the table by the door and walked through the enormous living room to the kitchen on the other side. Staff hustled around, gathering our things from the car to bring them to our rooms. Her bodyguards confirmed she was safe before heading to their house on the property.
The open floor plan was decorated in fresh whites and grays. The couch could easily seat twenty people, enough to entertain a Super Bowl party with the ninety-inch television in front of it. The kitchen had a convection stove top and one of those things where the copper-colored pans hung from a rack over the island. When I found the blue bedroom, I nearly tripped over myself at the size of the Jacuzzi tub.
“What the hell is a pleb like me doing here?” I ran a hand through my hair as I took in the view. The crystal clear ocean crashed not too far in the distance, a stark contrast to the desert-brown California landscape. Stunning. Absolutely breathtaking. I’d fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing every single night, and there was a part of me that couldn’t believe my good fortune.
When I agreed to rent the Mount Vernon apartment with Lex, he understood I’d never be able to afford as much as him. I was at TW on a scholarship, and my parents gave me what little they could in allowance, which wasn’t much compared to what came out of his trust every month. We split most of the utilities, but he paid two-thirds of the rent knowing I couldn’t do half on my own. It wasn’t fair, but Lex insisted and he never brought it up. Money wasn’t an issue between us so long as I tried to pull my weight.
Miri and I didn’t have the same relationship, and this felt too much like charity for me to accept. I went to find her bedroom to tell her so, but I caught her standing over her bed with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she quietly cried.
My heart sank.
