The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (35)

“I’m full.”

“You’ve hardly eaten anything.”

“I had a big lunch,” she replied in a tone that warned me away from the subject.

My appetite was suddenly gone, but I forced the rest of my food down so I wouldn’t look like a hypocrite and excused myself. I had the feeling my room would be my sanctuary until I graduated. Brynwood was relentless in its pursuit of educating, and so, at the end of the first day, I found myself with homework. I headed for the simple ivory desk and felt my heart race when I came across a folded slip of paper. There were no lines, but the jagged edges showed it had been torn from its binding.

Someone knocked on my door, but I ignored them and flipped open the paper.



Once upon a puppet, she spun a tale to the mad king.

- The Peer



“What does that even mean?” I didn’t have to question who the note was from.

Haughty bastard.

Another knock, this one more demanding, had me tossing the note on my desk.

Thomas, with his tie undone and his shirt rumpled, stood at the threshold with a grimace.

“Have you seen my son?” he demanded. My stomach knotted when his gaze swept the room.

Did Thomas think Ever was with me? The words Your prig of a son hangs with gang bangers teased my tongue, but suddenly, the note made sense.

It wasn’t a riddle.

It was an order.

He’d known Thomas would look for him, and he wanted me to cover for him.

How did I go from plotting to ruin this guy to saving his ass? Thomas looked ready to explode.

“I haven’t seen him since dinner.”

“Your mother says he mentioned an errand and that you might know where he went.” My tit for tat had placed me in Thomas’s crosshairs and Ever seized the perfect opportunity to use me.

Ever - 1

Four - 0

“Yeah, he, uh…went to the store.”

“The store?” His frown pulled even deeper. Was it so unusual for the prince to do his own shopping? How freaking privileged of him.

“Yes, the store. He said he needed…deodorant.”

“Deodorant?”

“Got to have deodorant.” It wasn’t that I was a terrible liar, but he never said that I’d need to lie well for him.

“I figured he might have gone down to the school to watch his old teammates practice.”

Well shit. “Yeah, I think he mentioned something about stopping by.”

“All right…thanks, Four.” He walked away, and I shut my door with a shrug. I don’t think my story sold, but it wasn’t really my problem, was it?

Ten minutes later, my door flew open. A shirtless Jamie stood on the other side of the threshold with his hand covering his eyes.

“Are you decent?”

“Yes, but you could have knocked.”

“That’s a shame.” He sighed. “I was peeking.”

“What do you want?”

He flopped onto my bed and rolled onto his side before resting his head in his hand. “What’s the deal with you and my cousin? You boning or what?”

I sighed and slammed my textbook shut. “Not that it’s any of your business, no. I’m not screwing your cousin.”

He snorted. “Not yet anyway.”

My body heated with anticipation. God, I hated these narcissistic—

“You’re blushing,” he teased.

“Trust me, it’s never happening. Your cousin made it clear to his friends that I’m an undesirable.” I think I hated that word even more.

“He said that?” Jamie cackled. While I could only nod, his grin only grew. “That sneaky motherfucker!” Despite his words, there was admiration and delight in Jamie’s eyes.

“Want to fill me in?”

“Marking you undesirable ensures no one will pursue you.”

“Yeah, I got that. What I don’t get is why it matters to him.”

Jamie looked at me like I was dense. “My cousin doesn’t want anyone touching what’s his.”

“Give it a rest.” I groaned as I spoke. “We’re not hooking up. It’s too weird given that our parents sleep in the same bedroom.”

“So you’re saying, if they broke up, you’d be game?”

“Absolutely not. He and I are from two different worlds, and Ever has no problem making sure I remember that. Or weren’t you there this afternoon?”

“You’re talking about your welcome present?” I nodded, and he shook his head with a smile. “Ever didn’t arrange that. I did.”

What? My arms folded as my gaze narrowed. “I thought you said you weren’t getting involved?”

“I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have a little fun.”

“Either way, I’m sure he appreciated it.” I guess that answered the question about whether I could trust Jamie. He wasn’t my friend although I wasn’t entirely sure he was Ever’s either.

“I didn’t do that for Ever.” He then pointed to the bruise on his right cheek. “I did it to piss him off.”

“Why?”

Jamie’s voice flattened when he replied, “It’s complicated.”