Tormented Kings (Boys Of Kingston Academy #2)

Chapter 5

Sadie

For the rest of the day, all I can think about is Collin. That conversation did not go at all how I expected it to.

He says he’s willing to share me. That’s something that needs to be seen to be believed because Collin is very much as he said, a possessive man.

Then again, he did back off on trying to get the guys to end their arrangement with me.

It doesn’t matter anyways. He’s not going to need to share me with anyone because I have no idea where I stand with the other three.

All of them are engaged to other women.

The night of the ball, the things they said to me as we danced... it’s still confusing as hell.

Declan asked me not to give up on him now that the arrangement is done. Does that mean he wants something more? I haven’t had the chance to talk to him about it since everything happened.

Grayson told me he wasn’t done with me, whatever that means. Does he just want to sleep around with me some more? Like a best-friends-with-benefits kind of thing? As much as my body wants that, craves that, I know my heart can’t handle doing anything more with any of them if it’s just going to be temporary or a means to an end.

And Preston’s words have been echoing through my head non-stop. ‘I want to hate you so bad; it kills me that I can’t.’

“Ugh,” I mutter under my breath.

My last class of the day was dismissed a while ago, but I ended up sitting in the empty classroom, lost in my own thoughts before I finally leave.

The halls are empty as I walk. I don’t even realize where I am until I’m being pulled into the Host Club room.

I let out a yelp of surprise before being pushed up against a door.

“Grayson?” I gasp, eyes widening as I look up to find him boxing me in.

“Hey, Pretty Girl.” He gives me a wicked grin that makes my pulse race, in more than one place. “I thought we were over all this avoiding bullshit.”

“I wasn’t avoiding you,” I huff, narrowing my eyes. “I’m sorry I have a life outside of you three.”

His lip twitches. “Someone’s feeling a little feisty today,” he murmurs low, hand reaching up to tuck some hair behind my ear, fingers lingering as he plays with my locks. Goosebumps break out all over my body.

“Why did you pull me in here?” I ask, trying not to let it show in my voice how much just a simple touch by him affects me.

“We need to talk,” he says coyly, tilting his head to the side.

“About what?”

“About a lot of stuff.” Again, with the vague responses. “But first, I need to do this.”

“Do what?” I ask, blinking.

The hand that’s playing with my loose strands moves up to slide behind my head. Grayson tangles his fingers in my hair, and I gasp as he grips a good handful. It’s then that I realize that it’s the perfect opening for him to swoop down and kiss me.

He groans, tongue dipping into my mouth, dancing with mine as he shifts his hips forward, pressing his very obvious erection against my belly, causing me to turn to molten lava.

I whimper, hands shooting out to grab at his jacket. My head spins as I feel my knees wobble.

His other hand loops around my waist, holding me up as he deepens the kiss. His lips move against mine slowly and sensually, driving my body wild and making me forget about everything I’ve been obsessing over for the past few hours.

That is, until a throat clears behind us. “Do you mind? I’m not interested in seeing you two fuck right here in front of me.”

Preston’s voice is like a bucket of cold water to the face. I pull back from Grayson’s lips so fast my head would have smacked against the door if his hand wasn’t there.

I’m a panting mess as my lips tingle from the kiss.

“Fucking cock blocker,” Grayson growls, eyes still on me. He gives me a wink before turning to face Preston. “And you're a damn liar. You would be sitting in that damn chair, hand wrapped around your cock, jerking off as I fuck our girl so good she forgets her own name.”

My eyes widen at his words. How am I even surprised by the things that come out of his mouth anymore? I should be used to it by now.

Eyes flicking over to Preston, I find him glaring at Grayson. “You fucking wish.” My stomach flips when his eyes lock on mine. Something shifts between us, so many unsaid words that I don’t quite understand. This Preston isn’t the same one I’ve come to know during our arrangement. This is the Preston who comes to the chapel tower and sits with me in silence for hours. I’ve never seen this side of him outside that tower. Even if he hasn’t even spoken a word to me, I know something has changed. And that both thrills me and terrifies me.

Maybe it started the other night, but I was too fucked up mentally and emotionally to notice.

He pulls his eyes away from mine, snapping us out of that moment.

My heart races as I struggle to get my breathing under control.

It’s not until I look down at the couch that I notice Declan is here, too. “Hi.” I can’t help but smile softly. When he smiles back, I’m just about done for.

“Hi, Sweetheart.”

“Come, sit,” Grayson urges, throwing himself onto the couch next to Declan. He doesn’t even give me a chance to respond before he’s pulling me down and into his lap.

“Would you stop manhandling me?” I grumble, but I’m secretly thrilled to be where I am.

“But I thought you loved it when we’re a little rough with you.” Grayson chuckles low in my ear, making me shiver. Damn traitorous hormones.

Preston rolls his eyes. “Look, we asked you here because we need to talk.”

“Asked me?” I raise a brow. “He pulled me in from the hallway by surprise.”

“Semantics.” He waves his hand.

“Are you doing okay?” Declan asks, my attention shifting over to him. “We’ve been worried about you. Did you get your phone back?”

“Mia gave it to me.” I smile. “Thanks. And am I okay?” I let out a huffed laugh. “I think that's a loaded question. Let’s see. I was kidnapped, threatened, and left on the side of the highway in the pouring rain. Am I alright? No, not really.”

“We’re going to make him fucking pay,” Preston growls and my eyes flick back over to his. “What he did to you was wrong. It was fucked up. And we’re not going to let him get away with it.”

“And what are you going to do?” I ask him, honestly curious.

He looks at the guys before coming back to me. “We have it under control.”

“What does that mean?” I raise a brow. “Because I don’t want any more trouble. It’s bad enough I’m not leaving after your father told me to. I don’t want to bring any more attention to myself.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Preston insists. “Just trust us.”

Trust them? It’s not that easy.

“Just know we’re handling Preston’s father and all the bullshit he’s put you through. So please, don’t worry about it. But knowing you, you’re going to, so at least try,” Grayson teases, running his fingers lazily up my arm as his lips graze the shell of my ear.

He’s making it really hard to concentrate right now.

“What did you drag me in here for?” I ask, a little more breathless than I want to be.

“To talk,” Preston repeats, that broody look he wears so well still in place.

“So, talk,” I counter back. I swear his lip twitches.

“We’re breaking off our engagements,” Declan announces.

That has my head snapping to the side so fast I wouldn’t be shocked if I broke my neck in the process. “What?” My eyes widen.

He scratches the back of his head nervously. “None of us want the future our parents, or in Grayson’s case, grandfather, set us up for. Futures none of us agreed to. At a young age it’s instilled in us how this world works and the parts we must play. So, none of us were surprised or fought it when the time came, and our choices for our lives were taken from us. We went along with it because it’s what we knew, it’s how it works. But...”

Declan looks from Grayson to Preston, then back to me. “We want to change the outcome. To take back our lives and live them how we want to.”

My heart pounds in my chest. They want to end their engagements? But why?

I ask them just as much. “I’m sure something like that isn’t going to be easy. I don’t think any of your parents or grandfather are going to take it lying down. Is it really worth all the trouble?”

Grayson snorts out a laugh. “Our happiness, Pretty Girl? Yeah, I think it’s worth everything that's about to come our way. It’s not going to be easy, not at all. And I know a few of us are going to have to use every resource we can think of, even if it resorts to blackmail. I’m not above burning some bridges on my way out.”

“Why?” I whisper. “Why now?”

Grayson grips my chin, turning my head to the side to face him. “Because of you, Pretty Girl,” he murmurs. Everything inside me shifts as his eyes bore into mine. I can’t breathe, afraid to. His finger brushes my cheek and all I want to do is melt into his touch.

“Me?” The question is packed with so much uncertainty, confusion, and hope.

“I said I wasn’t done with you.” He gives me that painfully gorgeous smile that has my brain short-circuiting. “And I meant it.”

Licking my lips, I scream at my brain to tell my lungs to take a fucking breath. My eyes flick over to Declan. “And you?”

He gives me a smile so sweet it wrecks me. “I’ve wanted you from afar for a long time, Sweetheart. Wanting, longing.” His eyes flick over to Preston ever so quickly before returning back to me. “I like you, Sadie. I like you a lot, and maybe how we came together wasn’t in a very traditional way.” He laughs lightly. “But I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I’ve loved our time together, and it’s made those feelings for you grow more intense. I want you, Sadie. I want to see if this could be something more.”

Biting my lip, I move out of Grayson’s lap and straddle Declan’s. I love the way he sucks in a sharp breath, his cheeks growing the lightest shade of pink as his hands grip my hips. A tiny smirk twitches on my lips as I feel him growing hard under me. I love how easily I affect him. This stunningly sweet man who’s quickly wormed his way into my heart.

I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and he shudders as I start to play with the hairs at the base of his neck. “You like me?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“I do,” he confirms, voice quivering slightly.

“I like you too,” I murmur softly, eyes lowering to his lips as I give a part of myself to him. This has me feeling more vulnerable than being naked and having him inside me. I almost freak out over actually admitting it, but the smile he gives me... it washes all the worry away.

“You do?” he asks with so much hope.

I smile, leaning in and kissing him softly. He groans, his hands on my hips tightening as he pulls me down, adding pressure to his cock. I feel like being a little tease and roll my hips, getting a whimper out of him that fucking thrills me.

“Hey. I like you too.” Grayson pouts. “If me saying I wasn’t done with you wasn’t enough, then maybe telling you I’m crazy about you and want to make you my girl will.”

Breaking the kiss with Declan, I blink at Grayson, lips parted in shock. “You do?”

“Yes, I do.” Grayson leans over and grabs the back of my head. I sigh, moaning as he parts my lips with his tongue. He kisses me until I’m breathless, head spinning as I pull back.

“I thought you meant you just maybe wanted to mess around more.” My cheeks flame a bright neon pink.

“No,” he growls, nipping at my lower lip and then smirking at me. “I mean, fuck yes, I want to be inside you any chance I get, Pretty Girl.” He chuckles. “But I want to be with you.”

“You do?” I blink, still in a haze.

“We both do,” Declan says, eyeing his friend nervously. “I want you to be mine too.”

“Wow.” I’m in shock, I think... wait, nope, I am; I’m definitely in shock. My breathing picks up, and I have to close my eyes before I start crying. It might sound stupid to want to cry at this moment, but this is a big deal, a life-changing deal, because I thought with every ounce of my heart that nothing would come of this. That we would have our time together, and they would move on, get married, and live their lives.

“You okay, Sweetheart?” Declan asks, rubbing his hands up and down my thighs to soothe me.

I take a deep breath and open my eyes to meet his. “This isn’t some sick joke, is it?” I hate that I’m asking this.

His eyes flash with hurt. “No, of course not, Sadie. Why would you think that?”

“Because it feels too good to be true,” I huff out a laugh. “Because you two are some of the richest boys at this school. And you're telling me, you want to leave your arranged marriages to be with me?”

“Why do you think so little of yourself, Sadie,” Grayson growls, shifting closer. “You are smart, funny, kind, loyal, a good friend, and sexy as hell. You're everything a good chunk of the girls in this school—no, this society—isn’t. Why wouldn’t we want you?”

So many reasons come to the forefront of my mind, but I swallow those insecurities down.

“We just want the chance to win you over, to make you ours. Doesn’t matter who you pick, we would still be ending the engagements. Because even if we can’t have you, we don’t want them.”

Choose. Right.

“About that.” I laugh awkwardly. “Collin already beat you to this conversation.” I bite my lower lip.

“What?” Declan’s brows furrow.

“Of course, he fucking did. Let me guess, he already pissed on you and claimed you as his. Again.” Grayson rolls his eyes.

“Well, not quite.” I laugh. “We talked, and he told me about the photos being altered in some ways. About how his dad played a part in it and how it was just a ploy to get me out of the way so Collin would do as his father wants.”

“It’s true,” Preston agrees. He’s been very quiet this whole time. My eyes glance over to him where he sits in the chair, leaning back and watching us like we’re not having this big meaningful confession. One that I realize he isn’t taking part in. I hate how much that hurts me. “Whatever my father told you, it’s a lie. As much as I hate to admit it, Collin is crazy about you and wouldn’t fuck you over like that.”

I nod my head and bring my attention back to Grayson and Declan. “He did tell me he wanted me, that he wasn’t going to stop fighting for me.” I can’t help the smile on my face. “But he knows I like you guys.” I don’t dare look towards Preston. I don’t think I can handle his rejection right now. I’m not admitting shit to that man until he does. “He said he doesn’t care, that he just wants me.”

“So he’s trying for your hand, too?” Declan asks, brows furrowing.

Grayson snorts. “No, dude, he’s not trying. He’s taking. He’s not fighting for anything because he already owns her.” Grayson looks at me. “Isn’t that right, Pretty Girl?”

Grayson brushes the hair off my shoulder, fingers lingering.

“I’m so lost.”

“It doesn’t matter if Sadie picks me or you in the end. Collin will be a part of the equation,” Grayson explains.

Understanding dawns on Declan. “Wait, you mean... share her?” he asks. “What the fuck? I suggested that, and he shut it down fast.”

“You did?” My brows jump in surprise.

“Yes,” Declan sighs. “I.. ah, I didn’t want to risk you not picking me, so I offered up the idea. Because I’d rather share you with these assholes than not have you at all.” He looks over at Grayson. “But you brushed off the idea.”

“No, I didn’t.” Grayson’s brows furrow.

“Well, you didn’t respond? Collin laughed it off like it was the most ridiculous thing, and you didn’t say anything about it,” Declan grumbles like he’s hurt. Poor baby. I lean in and kiss his forehead. He blushes harder. “Collin is an asshole.”

“Huh, guess I didn’t.” Grayson cocks his head to the side. “I don’t hate the idea. We’ve been sharing her as it is. I don’t mind continuing to do it.”

“We shared her for a deal we made.” Of course, Preston has to be the one to piss all over my happy little bubble. “This is real life. It’s one thing breaking off your engagements—that's going to cause enough backlash as it is—but to share the same girl?” Preston shakes. “It’s not logical. It’s risky, and it’s going to blow up in your face.”

“Just because you want to continue to be a miserable prick doesn’t mean you get to come in here and try to make us be the same,” Grayson growls. “You don’t want to move things past the arrangement, that's your problem. I know what I want, and it’s Sadie. Declan knows what he wants, and it’s Sadie. Same goes for Collin.” Grayson looks at me. “You want the three of us? Me, Declan, and Collin?” I nod, the urge to correct him and say the four of them is on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t. So I just nod. “And if we decided to make you choose one of us over the idea of trying to see if we could all share you, how would that make you feel?”

I swallow hard, hating the spotlight on me. “As soon as I started to feel more for you guys, I tried to shut it down. It was pointless.” I laugh. “But I kept telling myself it was better to push the feelings down and try to move on rather than be hurt by having none of you even wanting me in the first place.”

“That's out of the question because we’re crazy about you.” Grayson grins, and my belly flutters.

“Or having to pick knowing I liked you all. I was selfish and wanted all or none.”

“Not selfish,” Declan corrects.

“It kind of is. Because how is it fair that I get you three.” Again, I hate that number. “And you only get me? Because I can’t do this if you're with another woman.” The idea makes me sick, seeing them touch someone else. It was already hard enough to see Preston with other women and he made it clear I was nothing but an arrangement to him.

“It’s fair because we don’t want anyone else, Sadie. Leaving our engagements like this is not an easy thing to do. We have a lot to work on to make it happen, and it’s going to take time. But we know what we want. You're worth it. You’re worth the whole damn world, Sweetheart.”

Emotion clogs in my throat. “But you hardly know me,” I whisper. “What if you get to know me and realize you hate me.”

“We could never hate you, Pretty Girl. It’s impossible.” Grayson chuckles.

“But you don’t know that,” I argue. I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to push them away, but this is a big deal. There are so many factors to consider.

“Hey,” Declan soothes, rubbing his hands on my thighs again. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. How about we do this right. Let’s take some time, and get to know one another outside school, outside the Host Club. Be friends like we always should have been. We date, have fun, and let us show you that we’re going to want you no matter what. And everything we learn about you is just going to make us like you more.”

“Okay.” I smile, actually liking the idea of not just jumping into things and spending time getting to know them properly.

“We better wrap this up,” Preston says. “Or continue it later. The members will be here soon.”

“Right.” I clear my throat.

Climbing off Declan, I smile as he tries to hide his obvious hard on and straighten out my skirt. Turning to Preston, I ask before I lose the nerve because he hasn’t said anything at all. I don’t know where he stands.

“So, you're not calling off your engagement?” I ask, licking my dry lips.

“Oh, I am.” He laughs, but it’s not filled with humor. “I’m not sure when and I don’t know how, but I sure as fuck know I don’t want to be shackled to that bitch for the rest of my life. I’d rather chop off my own damn balls.” He sighs, running his hand through his sandy blond hair. “I’d rather be miserable and alone than empty and with her.”

But all I hear is that he’d rather be miserable and alone than be with me.

And it fucking hurts more than I ever wanted to admit.