Wicked Liars (Windsor Academy 1)

Yeah, he’s probably the hottest guy I’ve ever met, but he’s also an elitist asshole. A bully. Something inside of me tells me there’s more though. That if I looked hard enough, I’d find the real reason he acts this way. I saw a flicker of pain when he was going off on me about living with consequences. Consequences of what, is what I’d like to know. Ainsley mentioned their mom died when they were eight. Is he still hurting from that, almost ten years later, or is it something more recent?

I shouldn’t give a rat’s ass about him, but I want to know what makes him tick. I feel like I need to know. As I’m braiding my wet hair, I catch sight of something outside my bedroom window.

What the hell?

My room faces the front of the house, so I have a direct view of the circular driveway. The same driveway where Kingston’s car is currently parked. What is he still doing here? It’s been almost an hour since I told him to leave.

I step out of my room and decide to investigate. I cover the entire basement level since that’s last where I saw him, but he’s nowhere to be found. Same thing for the main level. He must be in Peyton’s room which bothers me a lot more than I’d like to admit. After seeing how they interact with one another, I have no doubt he’s being honest when he says they’re not together, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still have something physical going on, despite his barbs at dinner last week. Hell, for all I know, he was so worked up from our make-out sesh, he decided to use her to finish the job. She’s made her willingness on that end quite apparent and Kingston’s morals seem loose at best.

Right before I’m about to head back to my room, I spot him slinking toward Sperm Donor’s end of the house.

What is he up to?

I silently trail behind Kingston, careful to look out for any staff members that could ruin my stealth. Kingston ducks into an alcove right outside my father’s study. When I reach him, he doesn’t look surprised in the least, as if he knew I was following him.

“What are—” I start to say.

I squeal when he bands his arms around my torso and slams a hand over my mouth, muffling my protests.

“Shut. Up,” he growls into my ear. “Trust me when I say neither one of us want to be caught here right now.”

The door to Charles’ office is only about five feet away. I can hear quiet murmurs, but I can’t make out anything clearly.

I squirm in his arms, trying to ignore the growing erection at my back.

Kingston tightens his hold. “Stop moving, goddammit. Are you trying to give me blue balls? Again?” I immediately halt all movement. “Now, if I let you go, do you promise not to say a word?”

I nod in agreement and gasp for air when he removes his hand from my mouth.

He holds a finger over his lips, telling me to be quiet as he creeps closer to the study. We’re right outside the door before I can make out any words.

“—think she knows?”

“I doubt it,” Charles answers. “I’m fairly certain her attitude is pure teenage rebellion but I’m keeping a close eye on it just in case.”

Kingston slowly shakes his head when he sees the questions bubbling beneath my lips.

“She looks just like her mother,” Preston says. “Exactly fucking like her. She was about the same age when you brought her in, right?”

“Yes,” my father answers. “Only about two months difference. The resemblance is... disconcerting, considering she’s my goddamn daughter. I may like ‘em young, but even I have limits.”

“Well, she’s not my daughter so I’m not disturbed by it in the least.” Kingston’s dad laughs.

Wait... what? Kingston’s eyes widen in warning when he sees my shock. Are they talking about me? And my mother? Peyton looks a lot like Madeline, but I am a perfect replica of my teenage mother.

“Too bad you knocked her mom up in the first goddamn month,” Preston muses. “She would have been in high demand.”

High demand for what?

“I know.” The stench of cigar smoke seeps through the crack at the bottom of the door before Charles speaks again. “If I recall correctly, it could’ve just as easily happened to you. You weren’t exactly careful about wrapping it either, and your wife was pregnant with twins at the time.”

“What can I say? She was pretty goddamn irresistible. So beautiful. Young. Naïve. Just how I like ‘em.” Kingston’s jaw clenches as his dad belts out a boisterous laugh. “I still can’t believe you didn’t force her to get rid of it and you gave her a fucking legitimate job on top of it.”

My father laughs. “Mahalia was certainly something special. Besides, once the kid came into play, she was twice as desperate and ready to please. We got a lot of good miles out of her between the two of us.”

Well, that squashes any possibility they were talking about an unknown third daughter. I still don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about though. Well, besides the fact that both men apparently had sex with my mother. I swallow back bile at the thought.

“I remember,” Preston says fondly. “Hell, if Jennifer would’ve gone for it, I would’ve given her a nanny job. Damn woman insisted we didn’t need one.”