The Envy of Idols (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #3)(70)

“Are you going to tell the others?” he asks, and I glance his direction. “About the sex, I mean.”

“I …” That’s a very good question. Didn’t I just get on them all for lying by omission?

“I mean, I know you’re not going to pick me just yet.”

“Just yet,” I whisper, and he sits up, scooting closer to me and sweeping some hair off my sweaty forehead.

“No. I don’t expect you to pick me yet. Not until I’ve proven myself.” He leans down and kisses me on the mouth, hard, possessive. My toes quite literally curl into the sheets. “And I will, Marnye. Mark my words, I fucking will.”



The next morning, I wake up feeling a bit sore but wholly satisfied in a way I didn’t expect. I’m grinning like an idiot as I sit up and swipe my hands down my face, glancing over to find Creed naked and angelic in slumber, his lower half just barely covered with a sheet.

“Hey,” I whisper, pushing at his shoulder. He grumbles and one, beautiful blue eye opens. “We have to get up. I think we’re—”

The doorknob jiggles, and then as I gape in shock, the whole thing swings open.

“Shouldn’t leave your key lying around if—” Miranda starts, and then pauses. I’m sitting up, totally bare on top with her naked twin beside me. Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. “Oh my god,” Miranda chokes out, dropping the key card on the floor and slapping both hands over her mouth. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.”

“Miranda,” Creed says, sitting up and making sure the sheet’s covering all of his, um, bits. “Wait.”

But my bestie’s already turning and making a run for it, the door to the suite slamming as she disappears. I’m beyond mortified, and I feel slightly sad, too. I know Miranda has a crush on me. I know she does. And I love her beyond words, but just … not in that way. I can’t choose my sexuality anymore than she can choose hers. If I could, she’d be my first pick in the whole world.

“Goddamn it,” Creed growls, standing up and then turning, the sheet still bunched around his hips. “I don’t regret this. I’d do it all over again. I just …”

“Go get your sister,” I say, and he nods, disappearing into the main part of the suite.

Even though I get dressed as fast as humanly possible, Creed beats me to it, striding out of the room in jeans and a tight white shirt. I throw on a yellow sundress, some flats, and head into the hall, bumping right into Zack’s broad, muscular chest.

“Are you okay?” he asks, and I bite my lip.

Crap.

I’m a bit sore, and totally lost in la-la land. My head is definitely in the clouds.

“Miranda just took off. I’m … I’m looking for her,” I say as Tristan, Zayd, and Windsor appear from around the counter, juggling items from the breakfast buffet. Zayd grins and tosses me an apple that I somehow miraculously catch.

“What’s wrong with Miranda?” Zayd asks, but I swear, both Wind and Tristan are looking at me like they know.

“She …” I start, and I have to lean my back against the hotel room door to keep my balance. “She saw something she didn’t like.”

Zack cocks a dark brow and puts a palm on the door above my head, leaning in and giving me one his narrow-eyed looks. He’s so tall and wide, and he smells like grapefruit … My body shivers, and I realize I’m working with a full truckload of hormones today.

“You fucked Creed, huh?” Tristan asks, and he seriously sounds bored out of his mind. I can’t quite see him around Zack’s big frame, so I can’t tell if it’s a fa?ade or not.

“Fucked wouldn’t be the word I’d use,” I whisper as Zayd frowns, and Zack goes completely stiff from head-to-toe. “But we had sex, yes.”

“How was it?” Windsor asks, and I swear, if I could see more of him than just his red hair sticking up behind Zack, I might’ve slapped him.

“Seriously?” I choke out, trying and failing to push Zack out of the way. He just stands there, this immovable mountain of muscle and looks at me with a sort of sadness in his eyes that quickly gives way to … determination? He looks like he’s ready to kick Creed’s ass. “Please move, so I can find Miranda.”

“Are you choosing him?” Zack asks, but then I look up and into his brown eyes, and that ache inside of me just intensifies.

“I’m not choosing anyone. I told you all that. It’s your turn to realize that you don’t always get what you want, that sometimes you have to share, and that there are consequences to your actions. The rest of us learn it in kindergarten.” I start to push past him again when he grabs me by the wrists and pins my arms above my head, slanting his lips to mine in a kiss that defies the ages.

There’s so much written in the warmth of his lips: a promise to fight, a fire that burns, and a possessive claim that makes me shiver. He swirls his tongue over my lower lip and pulls away, leaving me to face a frowning Zayd.

He hands me a milk, and then grabs onto my hand with his inked fingers when I take it.

“She ran up the steps to the executive lounge, and Creed followed her.” Zayd acts like he’s going to let go and then tightens his grip again briefly, looking me dead in the face before he smirks. “Eh, I told you I’m not much for virgins anyway. Guess you’re fair game now, huh?”