Savage Royals: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance(67)

“I don’t.” I shrugged, because maybe he was right, and maybe it spoke to something entirely fucked up in my own makeup, but a part of me had been drawn to the Princes even when they’d been cruel to me—had recognized them as fellow broken souls. “I can’t.”

His grip on my face stiffened slightly, and he swallowed hard.

Then he leaned in and kissed me.

I sucked in a sharp breath at the feel of his lips on mine. Like the beginning of our kiss at the lake house, this was slow and soft, lips just barely brushing, tongues slipping out tentatively to taste each other.

His hands ran through my hair, gripping it gently, tugging on it, and even though it hurt to move my face, the pain felt worth it for this moment. The sick feeling that’d been camped out in my stomach since Adena and her minions had attacked me died, leaving behind nothing but a pleasant warmth.

I felt safe now.

Safer than I’d ever been in my life.

We fell into the kiss like we’d been born to kiss each other, like peace and salvation could be found only in the connection between our lips. The need inside me built soft and steady, not a tsunami this time, but waves of pleasure lapping gently through me.

It didn’t block out the lingering pain from where Adena had hit me, but it counterbalanced it, the throbbing ache only highlighting the good feelings, as if this kiss was my reward for walking through fire.

Elijah’s phone buzzed, the sound puncturing the little bubble we’d slipped into.

At first, neither of us reacted, but when it buzzed again, he pulled back slightly, staring into my eyes before tugging his cell from his pocket with one hand. The other stayed on me, gently stroking through my hair as he read the incoming text.

“It’s Mason. I texted them all to tell them what happened. They’re coming up.”

Two seconds after he made that pronouncement, a loud banging sounded on my door.

“Or maybe they already are up,” I offered with a dry laugh.

He made a face and stood, finally disentangling his hand from my hair. Then he bent to press one more small kiss to my lips before he crossed the room to let them in.

Overwhelmed and feeling almost high from our kiss, I leaned back on the couch as the door burst open.

“Where the fuck is she?” Mason snarled.

“You mean Tal? She’s right there.” Elijah gestured to me. Then he grunted. “Adena? I have no idea.”

Mason’s sharp emerald gaze landed on me, and he reached the couch in a few long strides. Cole and Finn were only a half-second behind him, and they all gathered in front of me, shoulder to shoulder, staring down with intense expressions.

I held up a hand in front of my face, not liking to be the object of such close scrutiny. “Jesus, stop staring. They’re just some scrapes and bruises. I’m fine.”

“What the fuck happened?”

Mason’s voice was calm and cool now, his eyes dangerously calm.

“I… I was heading back to the dorm after Chemistry. After class let out, I got a call from my grandma. We were arguing about something, so I got a little distracted, I guess. I wasn’t really paying attention, and about a minute after I hung up, Adena and four other girls came at me.”

“Came at you? What did they do?”

He hadn’t touched me like Elijah had—in fact, all three of these Princes were just standing over me, arms crossed like some kind of private security force. I knew it was probably because they were worried, but I sort of preferred Elijah’s bedside manner, honestly.

“Adena hit me with her book. Twice. Then they kicked and punched me.”

The words felt like sandpaper coming out, and I dropped my gaze to the couch.

I’d mentioned during our truth or dare game that I hadn’t liked my dad much, but I’d carefully avoided going into more detail, and describing Adena’s attack on me made me feel weak and vulnerable. Like I’d failed, somehow. Like I was still the scared little girl cowering in the corner of the kitchen.

I wanted to pretend I’d left my old life behind in Sand Valley, but the truth was, parts of it still clung to me like fucking toilet paper on a shoe, trailing after me and reminding me constantly of the mistakes I’d made. Of the person I’d been in Idaho.

“Fucking hell. With her book? No wonder you look like you got stuck in a ring with a pro boxer. That fucking cunt.” Finn shook his head, brown eyes narrowing.

Mason’s lips pressed together. “I told her to cut that shit out. I told her. What the hell does she think she’s playing at?”

“I’ll report her,” I said, sitting up straighter. “I don’t care if she’s Oak Park royalty too, she can’t just get away with this.”

“Don’t worry about it, Legs.” Cole shook his head, his gaze cool. “We’ll take care of it.”

“No!” I moved to stand, but Finn put a hand on me, stopping me. So I shook my head vehemently from where I sat. “No. Don’t. I’ll handle it; I’ll go through the proper channels. I’ll tell the dean, even if he won’t do shit. Just don’t… do what you do.”

I didn’t want them to try to bring her down for me. For one thing, I could fight my own battles, and I needed to remember that. To remind myself of that. For another, if they went after her with their own brand of vigilante justice, I had a strong feeling she wouldn’t back down. The war would just escalate on both sides, and now that I knew what she was capable of, I didn’t want to send us down that path.