A Rose to Keep (The Society 1)

“Yep, and then Drew mysteriously dies of cancer, but I found an unfiled and considered incorrect autopsy.” Fred spun around in his chair after bringing up yet another file.

I was going to need some pain pills when I was done with this guy. He worked a mile a minute, and the truth was I couldn’t make any sense of it.

“She was shot?”

“In the head. Get this, there was no funeral for her. Just a gravestone near the Roberts’ family plot.”

“Let me get my head around this. How could Drew be named a Roberts if that was Alexander’s name?”

“I can’t find a single trace of Joan or Drew’s maiden names. Alexander married Joan, but I don’t know how Drew become a Roberts. Do you want me to delve a little deeper?”

“No, that can just be one of those big questions I’m never going to know the answer to and I’m just going to have to accept,” I said. “Stick with the plan, okay?”

“Will do.”

I got up and made my way toward the door. “Do me a favor, be careful.”

“I always am. I won’t get sloppy.”

I hoped not.

After leaving Fred’s dorm, I crossed the grounds, heading toward my own dorm.

Arriving, I was met by Sian sitting at the dining room table, notebooks open, studying. She wasn’t hanging out in her room or complaining.

“Hey,” she said when I entered.

“Hey.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“The guys have ordered pizza. It should be on the way soon.”

“Now that you’re here, we can have that convo,” William said, moving from his seat by the television where he’d been playing a video game, to settle in one of the chairs beside Sian’s.

She released a sigh. “Do we have to?”

“You had some conditions. I want to hear what they are to see if we can figure them out,” William said. “The sooner we can get this party moving.”

She looked between us and I had to say, the more I looked at her, and I mean watched her, I finally saw her beauty. Her long, brown hair was full and luscious. Designed to be wrapped around my fist or spread out across a pillow. I wanted her so badly, but I knew that hunger for her was going to have to wait. I also loved how expressive her eyes were. She tried to hide her reactions to us, but there was no getting away from the intrigue she felt. Sian tried to fight it, but her interest was there, even if it was fleeting.

I wanted to draw her attention to me. Instead, I sat down and wrinkled my nose at the mathematics textbook open in front of her.

Gideon and Dante joined us. As usual, Dante scribbled in his notebook. As if we didn’t already know he was drawing her. He’d been doing so for the past couple of weeks. The likenesses were getting better.

“Okay, fine.” She closed her textbooks and placed each one back in her bag. “If you want to talk about this, then let’s talk. I guess we need to start out with what you want from me. How this is going to be between us, and what you’re hoping to get out of it?”

“You’re going to belong to us,” Gideon said.

“It means no other guy at the school or out of it can touch you. You’re ours to protect.”

“Apart from if Chloe’s near.”

“She is going to be taken care of,” Gideon said.

We all knew Chloe had gone too far already and breaking the rules set out by The Society, well, it was a punishable offense, even for us. Just because we were seventeen or eighteen, in the eyes of The Society, we were responsible for all of our own actions and would be punished accordingly.

It fucking sucked.

There was no leeway on these rules, and I wasn’t willing to test any more limits.

My tiredness wasn’t fading. I wanted my bed. Food. Bed. An orgasm. I didn’t care which order they came in.

“Fine. So I belong to you. What does that mean exactly?”

“I’m sure you’re aware.”

“Treat it like you’re all my boyfriends. As if you couldn’t get any more vague.” She groaned. “Does this mean you expect us to make out? Have sex?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

All of us spoke at the same time. Gideon and William both said yes, while Dante and I chose the no.

I glared at Gideon. He was so fucking focused on reaching his end goal, he didn’t realize how carefully we had to tread, and it was starting to piss me off. I got that his dad had put a lot of pressure on him, but he had to understand we were all fucking feeling it. This wasn’t just about him anymore, and it hadn’t been for a long time.

Sian put her hands flat on the table. “I get that some of you want to protect me from the truth, but seeing as my own family has forced me, that’s not an option anymore.” Tears filled her eyes as she looked at us. “Just … I know this is more than pretend.” She bit her lip. “Just tell me.”