Sighing, I open the door just in time to see Val glaring at me from the other side of the parking lot. She’s about to slip into a white Range Rover, but paused her movements to make it known to me that she hates me.
“Don’t worry about her,” Killian catches me off guard by whispering into my ear. “She’s just jealous because King has never paid her any attention that goes past the bedroom.”
“What?” I say, turning to face him.
Killian shrugs. “King fucks her and disregards her. When I say fuck, I mean just fuck. He never touches her. Never kisses her. Everything they do is in the bedroom, and nothing past that door, and it’s her door, not his door.”
“Are you both done gossiping?” King starts up the loud truck, and I pull myself up by the running board, sinking into the leather seat. I can feel him watching me out of the corner of my eye, but I ignore him. I’m confused by the sudden back and forth. At what point did he and I establish something? I missed it. That’s what worries me. It was organic. The knots and bonds were knitted without me noticing. Now I don’t know how to untie all the knots because I missed how they were woven together.
“Stop thinking too much into whatever the fuck Kill is filling your head with.” King drives us out of the parking lot, following behind the Range Rover and another car.
“I’m not.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, you are.”
“And you can read my mind now?” I tease, chancing a look at him.
His jaw tenses, and for a second, I want to hit myself for joking with him. It’s bad enough that I can’t stop kissing him or being on his lap, let alone joking with him. And anyway, he probably can read my mind. I wouldn’t put it past him. Or any of them.
He hits the stereo, and we let the music fill the empty space around us. Which is a lot because this truck is massive. “Hail to the King” by Avenged Sevenfold starts playing. I roll my eyes at the irony of the song and distract myself with all of the passing trees and buildings. The road turns into gravel, and we’re bouncing down a bumpy road.
I spin around and look at Killian, Kyrin, and Keaton, who are in the back.
Killian’s already smirking at me from the middle. “What? Scared we’re taking you somewhere to kill you?”
“Actually, that thought didn’t cross my mind, surprisingly, but where did the rest of them go?”
“Lost them on the trip.” Keaton catches my attention. Talking with Keaton on the way here was probably one of the highlights of my trip. He’s not someone who looks like he makes a lot of friends, but for whatever reason, he’s chosen to make one out of me.
I turn back around, just as King pulls up to a clearing. “Wow!” There’s a long waterfall that’s pouring over a cliff, crashing into the clear water below. “Wait, how do we know there aren’t gators or anything in this water?”
King shrugs, climbing out of the truck. As soon as his door is opened, the humidity slaps me across the face, and suddenly, I no longer care. Anything to take away this sticky heat. Just as I’m closing the door, the Range Rover and other truck pull in, parking beside us. I’m instantly annoyed that Val is here.
They all stammer out, and Rose yanks at my towel. “Take your clothes off, Dovey!” She hands me a wine cooler, and we clash our bottles together in a cheers.
I take a sip and watch the rest of the girls strip half naked and all go diving into the water after The Brothers.
“You all right?” a voice says from behind me. “Why aren’t you in the water?”
I turn around to find a guy I haven’t met yet. He’s tall and slender with kind brown eyes. He’s attractive, at first glance.
“I’m getting there.” I chuckle.
He laughs, and I notice his white teeth instantly against his tanned skin. His eyes fall on me. He has a friendly face. “I’m Jackson, but people call me Jack.”
My hand meets his. “Dove.”
“I know who you are.” He winks, removing his shirt. No ink. Not even the star that The Brothers have. Interesting.
He dives into the water, just as I slip out of my sandals.
“Oh, come on, Little Bird. Get in the water!” Killian yells.
“What are you scared about?” Val snaps, climbing up one of the rocks, shaking the water from her toned body. The Brothers don’t pay her any attention.
Shrugging off my towel, I toss it to the ground, placing my wine cooler on top. I pad my way to the rock that Jack dived off of.
“Dovey! Holy shit!” Mischa is laughing from the water. “That dancer body, though!”