Kings of Blood and Money (Underworld Kings)

My thoughts fill with Remi and the kiss we shared. I never told her about it, not after she called them my stepbrothers. I liked that it was our secret.

“Not everyone thinks about sex twenty-four seven.”

Snorting, she quips, “Only the people who haven’t had it.”

Footfalls sound on the stairs, making us both jump up. I stamp out the joint and giggle, pulling her into the dark corner. “Shhh,” I order.

“Who’s down here?” the janitor barks out. When he moves farther into the room, we make a dart for the stairs, our laughter growing louder when he gives chase.

The corridor is empty as we burst through the door and make a run for the quad. The janitor tires by the time he reaches the top of the stairs so he doesn’t come looking for us.

“I’m going to miss you this summer,” Ivy tells me, throwing her arms around my shoulders.

“I’ll miss you too.”

My room got decorated. “What do think?” Father asks, moving around my suitcase his driver dumped in my room. He came and got me himself this time. The drive was awkward and tense. After he asked me about school, there was nothing else to talk about.

Walking around the room, I smile, jerking my shoulders. “It’s pretty. Thank you.” The white walls are now a pale pink. The bed is now a queen. “Where’s Midnight?” I ask, noting his food bowls missing.

“He kept escaping while the decorator was here, so Remi kept him in his room for you. I’ll have him brought up.”

Remi’s been looking after Midnight? My chest warms.

“I’ll leave you to get unpacked. I’m leaving tonight on some business. I’ll be gone a week at most.”

I nod my head. It doesn’t matter. Even when he is here, we don’t spend time together. He actively avoids me. “Okay. Great.”

“If you need anything, Dominque will be here until eight.”

I watch the door close behind him and look around the pink room. I hate pink.

Opening my suitcase, I pull out Ivy’s old magazines. She doesn’t even read the articles, just looks at the fashion pages and critiques everyone’s outfits. I rip out some pages and begin covering the wall over my bed.

There isn’t a new swimsuit or two piece in my wardrobe. Up until now, I’d return every summer with all new clothes in my size. It’s the first time there aren’t new clothes waiting for me. Dominque had been tasked with shopping on my behalf. She must have forgotten this time. Probably forgot I even lived here. Like the others in this house, she’d stopped making any effort with me.

I could swim in panties and a bra. They’re more or less the same as a two piece. Plus, no one is out there. I checked before deciding to swim.

Tying my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head, I study my underwear in the mirror. The cotton panties cover the parts they’re supposed to, and the bra is more like a sports bra. It’s a hideous gray. At the start of the school year, we were given the bra, along with seven pairs of cotton panties, a boring black pleated skirt, white shirt, and a black blazer with the school emblem we had to sew on during a workshop where they taught life skills. Who the hell sews their own clothes in this day and age?

Finding a stack of clean towels in my bathroom, I wrap one around my torso and head for the pool.

The house is dark as I walk through. The lights in the hallways are dim. I pass Noah’s bedroom. His door is open, but the lights are out. His room is immaculate. If not for the woodsy scent inside, you’d never know he lived here.

The study door is open. Father must have left already. I don’t know where Remi or Noah are. They may be away for the summer. Dumping the towel, I dip my toe into the water. The cool liquid offers a sanctuary from the overly muggy heat we’ve been experiencing the last week. Summer is always hot here, but the heatwave this week has made it almost intolerable.

I dive into the water and break the surface, taking my time to swim the length of the pool. Noises from just inside the house startle me. A light switches on. A silhouette appears in the dining room, drawing my attention.

Female giggles followed by a male’s groan filter through the open doors. I didn’t think to close them when I came out here. Pulling myself up and out of the pool as quietly as possible, I move toward them, curious. My heart picks up a steady pace the closer I get. The sounds change to soft moans humming through the air, sending a pulse between my legs.

Our school is an all-girl school, but I read books, watched the movies Ivy would sneak in. I knew what those sounds were.