Page 88 of Brutal Reign
Ace snorts a laugh, shooting me a side-eyed glance. “You really think she’ll let us help? Last I checked, she wanted us to stay out of her drama with Jake.”
“Oh, she’ll let us help,” I reply smugly. “Because you’re gonna be the one who suggests it.”
Ace opens his mouth to respond, but I take off at a sprint before he can, chuckling to myself as I rapidly gain distance on my best friend.
Let him be the one to piss off our girl for a change. I’ve got enough making up to do already.
I’ve got a plan.No idea if it’ll actually work or not, but it’s a plan, nonetheless.
The overhead lights flicker in a final warning for recruits to get tucked up in their bunks while I stride between the rows, ignoring the dumbass rules in favor of shooting my shot with River.
Just talk to her,right?
Well, that’s what I’m gonna try to do, but first, I need to get her away from our twenty-four roommates.
The rule-abiding recruits stare curiously from their beds as I pass by, but I don’t pay them any mind, focused solely on the hot brunette sprawled out on her top bunk at the back of the barracks. River eyes me suspiciously from behind the lenses of her glasses as I approach, propping herself up on her elbows when I draw closer and arching a brow in question.
I wrap my hands around the metal rail of her bunk, leaning in and dropping my voice low. “Meet me up in the lounge after lights-out,” I say, winking.
“What?” she whispers back, squinting at me in confusion. “Why?”
“I just wanna talk,” I murmur.
Riv purses her lips, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she considers my proposition. Her breath catches as the lights flicker off overhead, and I take that as my cue to push off from her bunk and head upstairs, hoping like hell she’s still tempted to break the rules with me like when we were kids.
Of course, she lets me sit up there and think she’s not gonna show for a whole ten minutes before she actually does. I’m just contemplating whether I should settle in and fall asleep on thiscouch when I hear River tiptoeing up the stairs, her silhouette appearing in the doorway at the top. Kicking the doorstop out of the way, she closes it quietly behind her before turning to start in my direction, my pulse picking up speed as she crosses the shadowy lounge.
I know I’m not supposed to be thinking with my dick right now, but I swear the damn thing has a mind of its own whenever she’s around. It doesn’t help that her long tan legs are on full display in her little black sleep shorts and she’s definitely not wearing a bra underneath her baggy white t-shirt. Her hard nipples brush against the fabric with every step she takes, pointing right the fuck at me like a taunt. I shift my weight on the couch, subtly adjusting myself in my sweatpants as she draws closer.
“If we get in trouble for this, I’m going to claim you held me here against my will,” she remarks, coming to a stop in front of the couch I’m seated on and folding her arms over her chest. The pale moonlight streaming in from the window highlighting her stunning features, her full lips tipped in a playful smirk.
“Better make it worthwhile then,” I drawl, licking my lips and lifting my chin. “Pop that top off, babygirl.”
“Ugh, don’t call me that,” she grumbles disapprovingly.
“Why not?” I chuckle. “It works for Acey boy.”
“Only because he’s been calling me that forever.”
“So he just gets the monopoly on nicknames?”
Riv shrugs a shoulder, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’m sure you can come up with your own.”
I tilt my head, swiping a hand over my chin in contemplation. “How ‘bout Alpha?”
She rolls her eyes. “That’s a title, not a nickname.”
“Luna?”
“Another title,” she quips. “Wow, you’re bad at this.”
“Can’t be the best at everything, babe,” I sigh, throwing my arms over the backs of the couch cushions and grinning up at her.
She frowns, clearly not amused by my arrogance. “Is that why you asked me to meet you here? To brag about your many accomplishments?”
My grin fades, arms dropping from the cushions as I curl forward to sit up. “No, I did it because I wanted to apologize,” I grumble, stabbing my fingers through my hair.
River narrows her hazel eyes on me. “For what?”