Mad Boys (Blue Ivy Prep, #2)(57)

“Oh, you need him wounded?” I checked with KC. Her face was flushed and her eyes almost too wide. There was a wildness to her that spoke of unease and I glared at my brother. What had he done?

“I got it,” KC said, folding her arms. She was dressed in a plain t-shirt with an open long-sleeved plaid shirt over it and a black pair of pajama bottoms that covered her legs.

Her hair though… was damp.

She’d been in the shower.

She’d been in the shower and Lachlan had been in her room.

“Time to go,” KC informed Lachlan. “The door is that way.”

She wanted him gone? I was on board with that. I stalked forward. To my surprise though, Lachlan actually raised his hands. “I’m going, Ace. But I’ll see you tomorrow for running. Don’t sneak out.”

Smirk back in place, he headed for the door. I really wanted to throw him out. So, I opened it for him, then slammed it shut as soon as he cleared the door and I glanced at KC again.

Her head was back and her eyes closed. There was a faint bruise on her throat. It looked a lot like a finger mark, or was I just making shit up in my head?

“Are you all right?”

The blue of her eyes captivated me when she opened them. The shade matched her hair, yet seemed wholly its own. Shoulders rising, she seemed at a loss for words. That was usually me, and it just increased my anger at Lachlan.

“I’ll be fine… has Lachlan always had a key to this suite?” Confusion filled the question as she focused on me. The intensity in her eyes beckoned me closer. It wasn’t the ineffable light from the article photo, but it was like I could feel her gaze viscerally.

“I can request a change,” I offered, except… “Ramsey has access to all the rooms. He’s the RA for the building, so his keycard opens them all. Lachlan’s staying with him.” I wanted to apologize for my brothers, but I wasn’t even sure where to start with them.

Did she like when they kissed her? Did I want to know if she did? Then again, she didn’t want Lachlan in here so maybe she didn’t? She grimaced and exhaled a long sigh. I’d figure something out.

It might involve talking to Ramsey.

The worried look on her face arrested me. If I had to talk to Ramsey, then I would. She should feel safe in our room.

“I think I need coffee,” she said slowly. “Would you like some?”

“You don’t have to make me any.” I tracked her progress to the kitchen. “You weren’t feeling well…” An idea hit me. “Do you want to show me how to make the coffee you like?”

I’d been careful to not touch the machine. She’d been so pleased when it had been replaced.

“I was just tired,” she told me over her shoulder, a flicker of a real smile on her face. “It’s been a long day and I had a long call…got cold… and… “ She shook her head, trailing off as she seemed to hug herself. “But better now from the shower. Coffee sounds good. So my offer stands.”

“So does mine,” I said as I pulled off my class coat.

She grinned, really grinned. “Okay. Do you want to get comfortable and then I’ll show you how this works?”

I glanced down at my suit and then at her. “Yeah, I’ll be right back, and I got your stuff…including the assignment to read Sense and Sensibility.”

“Thank you,” she called and there was so much warmth in those two words, it buoyed my mood. Lachlan’s unwelcome presence had soured the day some, but KC made it better.

Ten minutes later, I foamed my first milk and she wasn’t wrong. For all the buttons and controls on this thing, it was pretty straightforward. She laughed when I got a good foamy cap on the first try.

“That’s not always easy,” she said. “You should be proud. It took me a week to get the right amount of foam, then foam art took a little longer.”

“Foam art? Oh, making the pictures in it? You can do that?” It wasn’t a big deal, except it was kind of cool.

“I can,” she said, before taking a sip of her coffee. “That will be lesson two after you master making the coffee without supervision.”

I could live with that. “Deal.” Now that we had our coffee, I headed over to my bag to get her stuff out. “Did you want to do something? Watch a movie? Order in dinner? Take it easy?” Then again, she’d also missed classes for a reason. “I know you’re tired, so if you wanted to get comfortable, I could take care of stuff.”

The flow of words spilled out of me in a rush. I nearly sagged from the exhaustion of getting them out. Misty, my therapist, was always telling me to verbalize. But that was a lot of verbal for me.

“That sounds great,” she admitted. “But I have homework.”

“Me too…we actually have to read that book.” I’d instead stick pins in my eyes. “But maybe we could work together? We might be faster, and then we could watch a movie.”

A thoughtful look crossed her face as she claimed her corner of the sofa after I removed my backpack. I set her folder and copy of the book on the table. I wasn’t sure if she preferred to read eBooks or not. She might. But since I didn’t know, I checked us both out copies of the required reading.

“Can we not watch the movies based on this book?” She picked it up. “I mean, not yet. Like watch something fun? Or maybe this is fun for you?”