Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
I swallowed hard.
“What do we do when at the end of this experiment, he says no?”
“I—”
“What’s your problem, man?” Victor blew back in with Wilder right behind him. “You and I never had beef. We were a year apart. Never even talked to you. Why are you so against a new roommate?”
Rafael and I shared a look. Silent words passed between us.
“We’re not,” Rafael said.
“Rafa,” Lucien hissed. Cato’s growl was no happier.
“You can stay,” my boyfriend announced, turning on Victor. “But there are rules. We never hid what we do. We clean up the messes only you Royals can get into, and we’re not nice about it. If you got a problem with that, carry your shit out now.”
Victor stared him down. “No problem here. I think it’s messed up but you wouldn’t have a job if Royals weren’t willing to pay. There are no angels in this town.”
That was the truest thing Victor ever said.
Rafael grinned mockingly. “Your understanding warms my heart, but I’d like to make sure we’re clear here. Everything that’s said and done in the Gallery, stays in the Gallery. You don’t talk about our business. You don’t even tell your Royal buddies what color the walls are. If you break that rule, you won’t only be evicted, we’ll...” He flicked to Wilder. “My boy can explain better than I.”
The veins popped in Wilder’s jaw. He wanted no part of Victor moving in, and it didn’t take a mind reader to know it. Wilder agreed to living with me and he still took my door off the hinges, treated me to daily pat-downs, and warned me off breathing too hard on the furniture. He wanted Victor out. Now.
Wilder moved from Rafael to me. His fists unclenched. “You share a word of what we say or do, and I’ll freeze your bank accounts, burn your credit, and put you on the sex offender registry.”
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“And that’s just day one,” Wilder said. “Day two, I’ll dig up all the secrets you thought you buried and share it for the world to see.”
Victor launched at him.
“Hey!” I shot up, untangling from Cato. “Okay, enough of this. Victor gets the idea and he’s not going to say anything.” I moved between them in case, grasping Victor’s forearm. “He knows how to keep a secret.”
“I know how to mind my own business. I’m not here for you or whatever crap you get up to. I’m here because I either marry this woman, or end up on the street.” He smiled at me. “Haven’t decided which option is worse yet.”
“Charming.” Rolling my eyes, I tugged him out of the room. “Come on. I’ll show you where to put your stuff.”
“Where’s that?” Lucien spoke up. “All the rooms are taken.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Victor snaked an arm around my waist. “I’ll bunk with my fiancée. How big is your bed?”
Cato closed the distance between us—a look in his eyes that chilled my spine. Somehow, it was even scarier that he wasn’t growling.
I quickly headed him off. “A second ago you were wondering if it’d be better to cuddle with an alley cat in a cardboard box,” I said. “Now you’re trying to hog my covers? You can just have my room, Victor. I’ll sleep with—” I looked from Cato, to Rafael, to Lucien, to Wilder, breath picking up speed. “I’ll sleep somewhere else.”
Fixed on me, his eyes narrowed. “No, fuck that. I told you we were over and you hooked up with other guys. Fair enough, that was my fault. But the engagement’s back on now, and I’m not lying there with a pillow over my ears while you’re getting fucked down the hall.”
“Who said anything about that!” I cried. “Ugh. We need to talk. Alone.”
Grabbing his arm, I hauled him out of the living room and up the stairs. I didn’t let go until we were behind my locked door.
“Victor, what is up with you? Why are you really here?”
He wandered around my room, picking up random things and putting them down. “What do you mean? You know why I’m here.”
“I know why you should be here. To start over and see if we can make it work as a different kind of couple in a different kind of relationship. If that’s the reason, I’m all for it. But is it?” I asked, eyes narrowing. “Or are you here to piss on my leg like a dog marking his territory?”
He laughed. “Chill. I’m housetrained.”
“I’m serious. What’s your endgame?”
Victor jumped, landing flat and comfortable on my bed. “After you left, I tried again to appeal to Mom. Told her our engagement stirred up interest in the other families, and a few were willing to discuss marriage deals. I could let you go on with your Rogue boyfriends and marry someone who knows what it takes to survive in our world.”