Drop Dead Queen (Corium University Trilogy 2)

I decide to let her sleep until she wakes up on her own. Staying here another night should be safer. Plus, I’m already sore from carrying her all day yesterday. If we’re still not found tomorrow, we’ll try again to make it back to Corium.

My gaze is glued to her face, taking in every inch, every freckle, and every scratch marring her skin from the accident. None of them should leave scars, but even if they did, none of it would deter from her beauty.

Her eyes are moving under her eyelids, and I wonder what she’s dreaming about? Her lips twitch as if a smile is trying to escape, so it must be something pleasant. Maybe she’s dreaming about how I made her come last night.

Damnit, now I’m thinking about it.

My dick is already hard, and the thought of fucking Aspen last night is not helping. I shift, trying to move my hard-on around, when Aspen’s eyes blink open.

“Did you hear me thinking?” I ask.

“No, but I felt something poking me.” Aspen yawns, looking fucking adorable.

“Can’t help it.” I shrug. “Morning wood.”

Lifting her head, Aspen looks around the cabin and at the door. “What time is it? Shouldn’t we be heading out?”

“I think it’s better we wait here. I’m sure someone is going to find us soon.” At least, I hope so.

“Okay… do you want me to get off you?”

“No, you’re keeping me warm.”

Aspen nods before laying her head back down and cuddling into me more.

“Can I ask you something?” she says after a while.

“Sure, but I might not answer.”

“I don’t care if you don’t answer. I’d rather you not say anything than lie to me.”

“What if you don’t like the truth?”

“I can deal with the truth, no matter how much it hurts, but I can’t handle lies.”

“That’s fair.”

“Why did you ask me all those questions about Brittney?”

I suck in a deep breath, inflating my lungs slowly, then huffing out a loud sigh. I don’t particularly want to tell her, but at this point, I might as well.

“Apparently, your friend is one of the best hackers around. I needed her to do something for me.”

“Needed? As in, you got her to do it? Or you found another way?”

“As in, I might have blackmailed her into helping me,” I confess.

“You did what?” Aspen’s head pops up, and her eyes turn into daggers, ready to stab me.

“Retract your claws, kitten. First of all, I was only bluffing. I told her I would tell Phoenix where she is if she didn’t help me. I don’t want some lunatic number nerd coming to Corium. Second, I didn’t ask her to do anything crazy. I just needed some information on someone I’ve been looking for.”

Aspen inspects my face like she’s looking for an indication that I’m lying. When she’s satisfied that I’m telling the truth, she puts her head back down and buries her face in my chest.

She doesn’t ask about the person I’m searching for, but I can feel her mind working and her curiosity growing. I know she wants to know more, and surprisingly, I want to tell her. I’ve already told her most of the story. I might as well tell her the rest.

“When Adela got sick, we all got tested to see if we could donate bone marrow to her. My parents were acting weird about me getting tested, but I didn’t really think much of it. Not until I accidentally stumbled upon my full medical record. Ella is not my biological mom. I’ve been searching for my birth mother.”

Aspen gasps at my confession. Her fingers curl into the blanket, but she says nothing for a few moments. When she finally speaks, her voice is filled with emotions.

“Wow… that must’ve been a lot to take in at the time. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

It’s not even her place to apologize, but somehow, her words lift a weight off my chest. I didn’t realize how much I was craving validation for my pain until Aspen pointed it out.

I can’t even put into words how dark that time was for me. I was already lost and helpless watching Adela, my best friend, die. My little sister, who I was supposed to protect but couldn’t do anything to help. In the middle of losing that battle, I found out about my parents lying to me my whole life.

But the icing on the cake was that nobody really understood why I was so upset. Even Ren kept saying Ella is your mom no matter what. She is the one who raised you, and she loves you. Of course, he was adopted and would say that. But there was a big difference because Ren and Luna knew their whole life they were adopted.

My father lied to me, and when I asked him about my birth mother, he simply told me to let it go.