Wes wastesno time in guiding me off the dance floor, leading me to an open staircase on the side of the room that escaped my notice when I first arrived here with the girls. I follow behind him as he ascends, my hand still firmly in his grip and my heart still slamming against my ribs.
I’m not the kind of girl who indulges in random hookups.Ever. I’ve barely even kissed boys, but right now there’s just enough liquor in my system to have me making questionable decisions– such as following a guy I barely know to god knows where, to do god knows what.
Shit, I should probably think this through…
I don’t have time to, though, because we reach the top of the staircase and I’m immediately distracted by my new surroundings, taking in the large balcony that overlooks the rest of the room and the low-riding black leather sectional spread out across it. The sofa is strategically placed near the rail to give whoever sits on it a full view of the crowd below, but everyone else can see up here, too– and at that realization, my throat tightens with trepidation.
Sneaking off somewhere to make out with Wes is already bad enough, but doing it up here on display for the entire party raging below…
I definitely don’t want that kind of attention as the new girl on campus.
I snap my head toward him, eyes wide and lips parting to speak up in protest, but then I see that he’s reaching for the handle of a door along the wall– something else I failed to notice.
Jeez, I really need to be better about scoping out my surroundings rather than just following blindly.
Wes pushes it open, glancing back at me with that easy grin of his, and all my nerves seem to melt away.
God, he’s gorgeous.
He ushers me through the door, the two of us stepping into a sizable private hangout space complete with a well-stocked bar, leather furniture, a huge flatscreen TV, and a pool table. This loft is basically a bachelor’s paradise, and I’m both shocked and impressed that Wes has access to a place like this; a haven tucked away from the chaos of the party downstairs.
Red flag number two that I blow past.
When he closes the door behind us, I realize that the loft is also impressively soundproofed. Now that we’re sealed inside, all I can hear is the dull thump of the music below.
“What is this place?” I ask, taking it all in with wide-eyed awe as I advance into the room.
“Somewhere quieter,” he replies smugly.
I aim a smirk his way, stepping up to the pool table and trailing my fingertips along the edge of the smooth wood.
Wes strides toward me, the heat in his gaze unmistakable. He doesn’t stop until he’s right up on me, crowding my body in against the side of the pool table, my ass meeting the edge.“You’re so fuckin’ sexy,” he murmurs, threading his fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck.
My breath catches as I gaze up at him, my lips parting slightly. His eyes flicker down to them, then he leans in, crushing his lips against mine in a dominant, demanding kiss. It happens so fast that I can barely even react. He swallows my little whimper of surprise, my body melting against his as his tongue traces the seam of my lips, then plunges into my mouth, sliding against my own.
I may not be experienced, but it’s easy to follow my instincts. My arms wind around his neck, liquid heat rushing to my core. His own thick arms tighten around my waist, lifting me up to sit on the edge of the pool table. He nudges my knees apart with one of his, and completely forgetting that I’m wearing a dress, I spread my legs, allowing him to step between them. Our chests come crashing together as he angles his head to deepen the kiss, seemingly bent on devouring me.
The sensations flooding through my body are almost too much, the ache between my legs drowning out any sense of rationality as Wes continues to kiss me within an inch of my life. It gets hot and heavy fast, his hands landing on my bare thighs and pushing at the hem of my dress. His lips leave mine to trail a path down my jaw, sucking against the column of my throat as I pant beneath him. My head falls back, and when his thumb brushes my clit through my panties, a needy moan escapes my lips.
“Aw, you started without us?” a deep voice asks, cutting through my lusty haze like a knife.
I jerk my head up with a start, eyes landing on a guy I’ve never seen before.
He’s the embodiment of a bad boy fantasy– taller and leaner than Wes, his body wrapped in muscle and every inch of exposed skin covered in tattoos except his face, which is alarminglyhandsome. He’s dressed in a faded pair of ripped jeans and a leather jacket, ink crawling up his neck from the collar of his white t-shirt and splashed across his knuckles and the backs of his hands. His dark hair is long on top, flopping in front of his hazel eyes, and the unhinged look in them as he starts toward us makes my skin crawl.
Who is this guy and where the hell did he come from?
My blood turns to ice in my veins when I register movement behind him and realize that someone else is following.
My new stepbrother.
“What is this?” I gasp, whirling on Wes in shock.
The corners of his mouth lift smugly, and suddenly that grin isn’t so charming anymore.
My gaze snaps between the three of them, and I finally wake up to all the red flags waving in my fucking face.
The Kings.
