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He’s not exactly a royal, but nobody should tell him that. He wouldn’t take it very well.
Vincent suddenly swings his gaze back to mine and smirks as if he heard my thoughts. “Bring it then, princess, but you better do it fast. We’re just going to grab showers to wash off the airplane grime, and then we’re out of here. We’re not waiting around for you.”
He sets the empty beer bottle on the nightstand with a soft thud and looks back at the others. “Everyone meets back here in an hour. Let’s go, boys. We’re wasting valuable drinking time here.”
Almost as if they’re operating on a hive mind, three hands raise three beers to three mouths, and as one, they swallow the contents remaining in their bottles and get up. Part of me wants to marvel at how well trained they are, obeying him without question or objection. I know that’s not what it’s about, though. They’re all just eager to get out there and grab the city by the horns—or possibly having the girls of the city grab them by their horns. But since my baby brother is part of this group, I refuse to think about it that way.
It’s only once they start moving toward the door that it really hits me. I have one hour to get my own ass through a shower to wash off the airplane grime, get ready, and borrow some clothes from… someone. None of the others know what I’ve been asked to do, so I’m going to have to think up some excuse about why I’m going out with them, and there’s no time to waste. I’m going to have to make a plan fast.
The only person I can think of to go to for help is Isabella. She’ll know something is going on with me, but she’ll still lend me some clothes without an explanation. Though, she will expect me to give her one when I’m ready. I just hope I can think of something plausible to tell her that isn’t a complete lie.
3
VINCENT
“We’re waiting for her, Vince,” Adrian says insistently while picking at an imaginary piece of lint on his leather jacket.
All the guys are back in my room, but despite my warning to Olivia about us not waiting for her if she’s late, they’re making me fucking wait for her. Now, not only will we have a babysitter with a stick up her ass all night, but she’s making us wait for the questionable honor of her presence this evening.
Fuck. I knew it was a bad idea to say she could come with us.
James narrows his piercing blue eyes at me. “Don’t even think about it. You’re not going to be an asshole about this all night. We’ve got time. It doesn’t matter if we leave a few minutes later than planned. She’ll be here. Just chill.”
I stare back at him. It’s no secret that she and I don’t really get along, but the others love her like a sister. She and James, in particular, have a special bond because they were both adopted around the same time. No one has ever treated either of them any differently for not being biological kids, but even then, there was a time in their teenage years when they’d both hit a bit of a bump in the road.
They’d had questions. Feelings. So many feelings. James had acted out a little, and in the end, I was the one to bring my friend back from the edge. As much as I hate to admit it, Olivia helped him a lot back then too. She could relate to him in a way I just couldn’t, and their bond was cemented forevermore because of it.
He’s loyal to her, and so is her brother. There’s no way I’ll be able to convince either of them to leave without her, so I don’t even waste my breath trying. Their heels are dug in, and all I can do now is wait for her royal uptightness right along with the rest of her subjects.
I sigh, leaving my spot by the window after one last look at the view beckoning me from outside. London’s lights are already starting to come on, and as I watch the illumination glittering on the surface of the Thames, I internally curse at her again for making us wait.
I need to get out there. My entire body is itching to get out of the hotel. Since this tour started, it’s been impossible for me to sit still. To stay inside. I’m too restless as though I have red ants crawling all over my skin whenever I’m not on the move.
It started a while before we left New York, actually. It just got worse once we finally hit the road. In the back of my mind, I know it’s because I feel like I’m being left behind, and I know why. But that hasn’t helped me quell the feeling any so far.
If it was only about Maxim, it would be one thing, but it’s not. Thanks to me being on social media so often, I’m very aware of what my peers and classmates are out there achieving. My dad was well on his way to being an eternally known rockstar when he was my age, and here I am, coasting on his coattails by pandering to his fans and promoting my future sister-in-law’s book.
Just the thought makes my mind roar, and I make an abrupt turn in the center of my room, heading to the mini fridge instead of the bed. Glancing at the others over my shoulder, I say, “If we’re going to wait, we might as well crack open some beers. Who wants one?”
A collective hum of agreement rings out, and I grab a round from the bucket on top of the fridge that I had room service bring up earlier. I pass them around, then shoot the shit with the guys for a few, making jokes and doing my best to quiet that roaring in my head that always triggers the urge to just fucking do something real, of my own, already.
My phone chimes with the notification of an incoming DM, but I ignore it. I’m done working for the day, and if I have to answer every message I get, I’ll never stop typing. It’s probably just some fan wanting to know where they can pick up Full Moon merch before the show or someone asking me if I can convince my dad to sign their ass or something like that.
“Where are we going first?” Adrian asks, turning to me with his beer in hand. “Have you looked up some places around here, or should I do it before we head out?”
“I didn’t need to look it up. Maxim and I found this great bar the last time we were here. It’s just around the corner, so it’s an easy walk. When we get bored there, I figured we’d ask one of the locals to point us in the right direction.”
“By locals, you mean girls, right?” James cocks his eyebrow at me, a knowing gleam in his eyes. With his pitch-black hair and those fucking intense blue eyes, he looks so much like his dad when he looks at me like that. It’s almost impossible to believe he was adopted sometimes.
I smirk right back at him, shrugging as I lift my beer to my lips. “By locals, I mean locals. If they happen to be of the female variety and they want to join us, none of you are going to complain about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure half the reason you hang out with me is for all the pussy I bring in.”
As I say it and before I can even complete the action of pressing the bottle to my mouth to take a sip of my beer, the door opens. It must be Olivia who comes in since she’s the only one we’re still waiting on. When I turn to read her the riot act about being so late, all my jokes fly out of my head, and I nearly drop my drink.
As I expected, itisher that just came in, but she doesn’t look like her at all. She looks like… bad Olivia, and it’s fucking hot. I can’t even believe I just had that thought about her, but it’s true. If I didn’t know her, I’d think she was the sexiest girl I’d ever seen.
Hell, I do know her. I might not like her very much, but sexy is sexy, and she looks it. Her makeup has been done dramatically for once, with her eyes all smoky, lips a bright red, and cheeks contoured. She’s wearing a black bandage dress that I’d never have thought she’d have the balls—or inclination—to wear in a hundred years. Her legs are bare and shaven smooth, and the red heels she has on make it look like they not only go on for miles but they’ve actually got some shape to them.
I know she’s been doing some light workouts just to get in the gym with the bodyguards, but I didn’t realize it was actually paying off. It so is, though. Now that her body isn’t covered by thick layers of terrible fabric, I can see the toned curves of her arms, legs, and torso, and though I wouldn’t have guessed it, she’s been hiding a pretty fucking awesome figure under all that… awfulness.
