Playboy Princes (Royals of Arbon Academy, #2)(79)

“Violet,” Rafe warned, like he could hear my thoughts.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything other than the two princes.

Anything.

A warm hand landed on my stomach, another on my thigh. Neither of them belonged to the same person, and both of them moved in slow, hypnotic strokes across my skin. It was soothing, somehow, and I felt a little more tension leave as my eyelids drooped.

I had been tired for a long time, and maybe, just maybe, Jordan was right. I was going to sleep tonight.

The next morning, I woke to slow strokes across my spine, and my face was buried in someone’s chest. I didn’t open my eyes, wanting to enjoy this moment, the sensation of being held and touched like this.

To say I was surprised that all three of us were still in bed would be an understatement. I’d expected Rafe to leave early this morning, but maybe it was actually too early for that. I squinted a tiny bit to find the room was still dark.

“You awake, Princess?” Rafe drawled, his voice close to my ear. Rafe was the one I was half-sprawled over, but I’d somehow managed to get my legs tangled with Jordan’s. He had been asleep, only waking when Rafe spoke.

“What time is it?” I asked huskily.

“Too damn early,” Jordan replied, rolling onto his side and hauling me against his chest. “Go back to sleep.”

I snuggled into his embrace, fully agreeing. Rafe kept hold of my hand that had been draped on his chest, linking our fingers together in that cute, couple kind of way. It hurt my soul because every sweet gesture, every new depth we uncovered in this... whatever the fuck this was... it took me two steps closer to getting my heart broken again.

Suddenly consumed with negativity to the point of feeling physically ill, I extracted myself from Jordan's arms and wriggled off the bed. Dodging two sets of curious eyes, I stretched my arms over my head and yawned.

"We should get breakfast or something," I suggested like a totally awkward loser. Ugh, there should be a handbook on how to handle waking up in bed with two playboy princes who'd both become intimately acquainted with my vagina.

Right when the weight of their assessing stares was getting next level uncomfortable, my palm reader buzzed against my wrist with an incoming call, and I sighed in relief. "Thank fuck," I muttered under my breath, checking the caller before clicking answer call.

"Hey girl," I said, turning away from the delicious meals lying in my bed. "What's up?"

"What's up?" she snapped back, her voice carrying through the room, seeing as I'd answered on loudspeaker. "What's up with you, dirty bitch? I've been trying to get hold of you all morning, and neither Jordan or Rafe were in their rooms. Know anything about that?"

"Uh..." I couldn't help myself; I shot a look at the two of them. Damn them straight to hell, they just looked casual as shit, grinning at me all smug-like. "Wait, all morning? What time is it?"

"Almost one," she replied, and the background noise sounded like she was in the dining room. "Want me to grab you some food to go? Alex is here with a face like a smacked ass, so I don't recommend coming down yourself."

"Shit," I cursed, running a hand over my loose braid and tugging the end anxiously. Mattie and I had hair and makeup appointments in less than half an hour, and I still had no idea what I was wearing for the Spring Ball. Mattie swore she had it all taken care of, and I was sure she did. But I still wanted to have some idea whether to prepare for a pink meringue dress or not.

Mattie just laughed and said something about bringing me coffee before ending the call, and I whirled around to glare at my bodyguards.

"Did you know what time it was?" I demanded, uncertain which of them I should be glaring at harder.

Neither of them looked shocked, so I was going to assume they did. Bastards.

"You slept well, though, didn't you?" Jordan pointed out with a yawn. "And so did we."

Exasperated, I threw my hands in the air, mentally tallying all the things I needed to do. "Mattie's on her way," I told them. "Let her in when she gets here?"

Without waiting for them to agree, I scurried my ass into the bathroom and closed the door tightly behind me. If I were being totally honest, the biggest reason for my frayed nerves was still in my bedroom. Both of them. But that was an issue for future Violet to deal with.

We had a ball to prepare for, and—regretfully—I had my ex-boyfriend's parents to meet.





Chapter 34





"You look stunning," Mattie breathed, her eyes wide as I turned to face her. The hair and makeup artists had just finished, and I had to admit... they’d done an incredible job. My dress was purple, a deep, rich color that reminded me of berries. It was tight at the top, the material crossing over my body with a single shoulder strap. And the skirt, it was full and puffy. Proper princess mode.

“How did you get it to fit so perfectly?” I asked, twirling and admiring myself like a proper narcissist. I mean, legit, if there was one moment you needed to be self-focused, it was when dressed like a freaking supermodel.

“I measured you while you were asleep,” she replied casually.

I stopped twirling, blinking at her. “I mean, that’s…”

“Creative? Ingenious?”