Dirty Little Secrets (Kings of Bolten 1)

nd gave him a forced smile. “Yes. No. I messed up.”

He crinkled his brows as he stared down at me. “Did they hurt you. . . after?”

I bit my bottom lip. “Dominic was really pissed. The hickey. The scratches from the tree bark.”

He winced.

“He saw it all and lost it. It wasn’t so bad, I guess. He smacked my ass with his belt.”

“So that’s why you were limping the other day. I’m sorry, Bianca. I-I didn’t mean to mark you up.” He looked sick at the thought of the belt on my skin.

“Don’t be upset. It’s fine, really.”

“It’s not OK. I mean, unless you liked it.” He studied me. “Did you? Like it?”

“I don’t know. I’m really messed up I think.”

A smile twitched on his lips. “Just be careful. The thought of you being hurt. . .but then the thought of you getting off on it. . .” He ran his fingers through his hair again, mussing it up more than I already had. “You should do it.”

“Do what?”

“Fuck him. Or all of them. The kings. If you like them, you should do it. I want you to do whatever makes you feel good, makes you happy.”

“You mean. . .”

“Bianca, life is too short, you know? I care about you. But I see the way you stare at De Santis. Valentino. And even that fucking dickhead Seeley. Don’t let me hold you back. The last thing I want to do is take more from you. Besides, they can protect you better than I can.” His expression turned to one of sadness.

“You’ve never taken anything from me, Fallon—”

“Trust me, princess. I have. I will. Just. . .have fun while you can, OK? I’m a fucking mess. This is a mess.” He blew out a breath. “Fuck.”

“Fallon, what’s wrong?”

He looked around before shaking his head. “Bianca, I know I said this wasn’t a one-time thing, but we both know it won’t work. We’re both metaphorically fucked. Stealing these moments is the only thing we have. How the hell are we going to do it? There’s just so much happening.”

“I know,” I murmured.

“Just. . . do what makes you happy. I need you to that for me. It’ll make everything so much easier. . .” His voice trailed off, and he paused before he spoke again. “Don’t go to homecoming.”

“What?” I frowned at him.

“Just. . . don’t, OK?”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Fuck. I-I need to tell you something, Bianca—”

The handle on the door jangled for a moment, and I darted as far from Fallon in that small closet as I could, my heart in my throat as the door opened. I held my breath, knowing if it was one of the kings, I was dead meat.

Aubrey popped her head in, her eyes wide.

“Vincent is freaking out and is calling Dominic or Levin. Maybe both. You better go find him before he gets here. I covered for you as long as I could. I just saw Stella go into the lab too, so be careful.”

What I liked most about Aubrey was probably the fact she caught on quickly and seemed like she was ride or die for whatever.

“Thank you.” I turned back to Fallon.

“Go,” he said softly.