Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 7) (17 page)

I don’t even bother
knocking, I just walk into the room. Darcy sits straight up in bed
and her eyes go wide when she sees me. “Crown?”

“Hi, Cat,” I say as
I climb onto the bed and kiss her.

She kisses me back,
running her fingers through my hair in the way that makes me a little
crazy. I run my hands up and down her sides, wanting to take her tits
in my hands, but also wanting to show her that I’m not just here
for sex. When she pulls on my hair, and arches her back, I give in to
my desire, and palm them as I squeeze her nipples between my fingers.

She pulls away first,
and I follow her mouth with mine, getting a few more kisses in,
before she pushes me back. “What? How?”

“I was walking on the
beach, and Jade spotted me. She said you needed me, and I told her I
need you, too.” I look down next to her and smile. “You’re
sleeping with your sloth and iguana?”

“Yes,” she says
shyly, which is adorable since my girl’s not normally shy at all.
“You need me?”

“I do.”

“How long do we
have?”

“Not long,” I
admit. “Maybe a couple of hours.”

“We’ll have to make
the most of it,” she says, reaching for the bottom of my shirt.

“I didn’t come here
for sex.”

“You didn’t?”

“Well, not only for
sex. You’re more than that.”

“I know, but thank
you for saying it again.”

“I’ve missed you so
damn much.”

“Ditto.”

“I’ve been worried
about you.”

“I heard you helped
my friends escape.”

“I did. It was pretty
fun.”

“Fun?” she asks
with a laugh. “I’ve never heard a prison break described as fun.”

“Well, it was.”

“God, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Can you make love to
me now?”

“I don’t know. Can
I?” I ask, looking down at my cock, which is at full attention.
“Hmm, I guess I can.”

“The people of this
island should be worried. I mean, who has to ask their cock if
they’re ready to get it on?”

“The future king,
that’s who,” I tell her. I love it when she teases me.

“Shut up and kiss
me.”

Kissing leads to
clothes disappearing, which then leads to some great making out,
before the main event begins. I take it slow, and we look into each
other’s eyes as I move in and out of her. Once we’ve cuddled and
I’ve recovered, I pull her to her knees and enter her from behind.
We both love it this way, but I wanted to have one sweet time before
I fucked her hard.

I push her head down so
I can angle her up a little more. I want to go as deep as I can,
hitting the spot that will make her go crazy. She’s clutching the
sheets in her hands as I reach one hand between us to play with her
clit, while my other holds her hip as I thrust into her rough and
dirty.

“Come on, Cat. Come
for me.”

“Bray.”

“That’s it. I feel
you. You’re soaking me. Now squeeze my cock and make us both come
hard.”

She does as I ask,
milking my cock as I pinch her clit. We both go over at the same
time, and I have no clue what either of us say in that moment of
release. I’m too busy trying to stay conscious as stars explode
behind my eyes. How the hell am I supposed to give this—her—up?

I clean us both up, and
then hold her for the next half hour while we talk. We don’t
discuss jewels, or kingdoms, or secret societies of spies. We whisper
words of love to each other, and right here, lying in this bed, I
make myself believe that there’s a chance for us. That I can change
my future, and love her for the rest of my life. I know it’s just a
dream, but maybe, just maybe, I can be strong enough to make it our
reality.

Darcy

It’s been a couple of
days since Brayden came to me in my room. I keep hoping that he’ll
come back again, but he hasn’t. I know it’s not because he
doesn’t want to; I understand he needs to stay away right now. I
sensed the shift in him that day when we were talking. He was
considering forever for us, and that scared him. We’ve never
believed in forever, because it would either have to come from a hard
fought battle, or by him giving up his kingdom. Both would be at
great cost to his country, and neither one of us wanted to force the
people to pay for our love.

Now that he’s
thinking about it, I know it’s tearing him up inside. I wish he
would
come see me, so
I could tell him that it’s okay. That we can take forever back off
the table. But he hasn’t, and I don’t think he will until he
makes his decision. It’s one that I know has to be his alone, even
though it will affect us both. He’s not keeping me out of it
because he thinks I shouldn’t have a voice. He’s doing it to
spare me the burden of the decision, and to spare us both from having
him resent me for making him choose.

“Darcy,” Reina
yells, breaking me from my thoughts as I’m once again staring out
at the ocean. “Get in here. You have to see this.”

I jump up from my chair
and run inside. “What is it?”

“Derrick has taken
over the castle. His guards overpowered the ones who are loyal to
Brayden. They’re holding all of the royal family except for Jenysis
in the throne room.”

“Where’s Jen?” I
ask, afraid that I already know the answer.

“He has her in the
ballroom with him and Angelo.”

“Dammit, no.”

“I was able to look
at the old Society files before I was locked out. He was the one who
was stalking her, and trying to get Steven to give her to him in
marriage. When she was thirteen.”

“Wait, what? She
never said anything. Why didn’t she say anything?” Stella asks.

“She didn’t know.
All she knew was that a man wanted her, and her family had to move.
Her mother didn’t like living as an exiled royal, so she divorced
Steven and found herself a country lord,” Reina explains to
everyone.

“This is it. This is
the move he’s making to get Brayden
and
Steven to give up the kingdom. It’s also his way of getting the
jewels from me.”

“We can’t let that
happen. Any of it,” Reina says.

“No, we can’t.”

We spend the next hour
mapping out our plan of attack. Matt and the Storyside guys are still
on the inside. Ainsley calls Scott to have him help her and Aiden
communicate with them. Once they’re pinpointed in their rooms, we
securely Skype with them. Reina refuses to be in the room with Matt,
so the rest of explain the plan to him. When we get to the other
guys, Wayne insists on going in first. I knew he liked, Jen, but I
didn’t know he
really
liked her. Maybe she’ll finally give him a chance after this.

We want to talk to
Brayden, Noah, and Steven, too, but the royal family has guards
inside the room as well as out, so we can’t communicate anything to
them. We just have to hope that they’ll be safe until my friends
can get inside. Because I’m also a target, I won’t be storming
the castle with everyone else. It kills me to stay behind, but I know
it’s necessary.

I wish them all luck,
and thank them again for supporting me and going to save the man I
love and his family. They’re also going in for the mentors;
although none of us know if they’ll actually appreciate it at this
point. I watch them go, and then start to get ready myself. No matter
what happens tonight, I’ll have to make an appearance. I just hope
it’s for the outcome I’ve been praying for, and not the one that
will destroy us all.

* * *

Brayden

I can’t believe this
is happening. I knew Derrick was power hungry, but I never thought
he’d go to such lengths in order to be king. I also didn’t know
he was Jen’s stalker all those years ago, and I’m more than a
little pissed off about Steven and my mother keeping that piece of
information from all of us. If they’d told us, maybe we wouldn’t
be huddled in a corner of the throne room, trying to have a
conversation without the guards hearing.

“How could you bring
her back here knowing he was here, and how powerful he’d become?”
I ask my uncle.

“I thought he was
more interested in the crown than in her, to be honest. It’s been
ten years. We’ve been back for visits, and he’s never shown an
interest in her.”

“You still shouldn’t
have risked her.”

“Or you should’ve
at least told us so we could protect her,” Noah says.

“You’re right. I
should have. I honestly didn’t realize that he’d bought so much
loyalty with his promises. Or that they’d all fall for his lies. I
mean, how many people could he realistically have as part of his
inner circle? Certainly not all of the guards who are blindly
following him.”

“We’ve treated them
well. Paid them well. I don’t understand this betrayal,” my
mother says.

“Those that are left
alive can try to explain it to us when this is all over,” my uncle
tells her.

“You really think
we’ll make it out of this?” Noah asks him.

“Oh yes. The Society
girls gone rogue will come for us.”

“If they’re even
here.”

“They’re here. Jen
gave them her house to stay in,” I tell him.

“And you know this
how?”

“Jade found me
walking along the beach a few days ago, and took me to Darcy.”

“You keep saying
you’re going to stay away from her, and then you’re back with her
again.”

“Why does it matter
so much to you? You said you’re not interested her.”

“I’m definitely
not
,” he says,
scrunching up his face like the thought disgusts him.

“Enough of the
bickering. All we need to worry about is being ready when they come
to save us. Which they will,” Steven says.

“They’ll go for Jen
first, which will hopefully force Derrick and Angelo to seek safety
in here with the rest of their guards.”

“And then we’ll
take them out,” Noah says.

“How?” I ask.

He nods to the swords
on the wall. “With those.”

I smile at him. “This
is going to be fun.”

“Not for you,
Brayden. We can’t risk you, and besides, Noah and I are better with
swords,” my uncle reminds me.

I don’t like it, but
I know he’s right. “Fine, but if one of you gets into trouble,
I’m stepping in. With something. I don’t know what, but I’ll
help.”

“Only if it’s
absolutely necessary. I mean it, Brayden. This country needs you
alive.”

“And I need the two
of you alive. I won’t back down if you need me.”

“Your father would be
proud,” my uncle tells me, and I swear that his eyes are shining
with tears.

“I hope so.”

* * *

Jenysis

I’m in a room with a
madman. Well, actually two madmen since I don’t think Angelo’s
all there, either. I can’t believe that Derrick was my stalker, and
no one told me. Dear old dad has some major explaining to do. If we
both make it out of this alive.

“You will be such a
beautiful bride, Jenysis. You should’ve been mine all those years
ago, but we’ll make up for lost time.”

“You’ll have to
kill me first.”

“I’ll hold her down
for you, Derrick. It’ll be fun.”

“You can both get
stuffed.”

“I think I might be
glad that I’ve had to wait. I like this fiery side of you. It’ll
be fun to tame it.”

“A real life
Taming
of the Shrew
,” Angelo says with that crazy smile of his.

What a sad arse. “You
realize how stupid you both sound, right? I mean I can’t be alone
in wondering how you’ve made it so long in this world by being so
chav.”

I should’ve expected
the slap, but I didn’t. My head whips to the side, and I can taste
blood in my mouth. “I said I like your fire, but there’s a limit
to my patience. Even for someone as luscious as you, my dear. You
will
learn to mind
yourself with me.”

“You’ve completely
lost the plot if you think that’s ever going to happen.”

He raises his hand
again, and I force myself to not flinch back from him. Before he can
hit me again, the door bursts open, and a drunken Wayne is there
before us.

“Hey, man. Is the
party in here, or did I miss it? Maybe I had my own party. I can’t
remember.”

“Get out.”

“I’m a guest. You
can’t kick me out. Especially since there’s only like eighteen of
you in here. I mean, that’s not too many for a party. You could add
one more.”

“I’m not going to
ask you again.”

“You won’t have
to,” Wayne says with a smirk, standing to his full height. I
realize now that he’s not drunk and probably never was. He came for
in here for me.

Before I can fully
process how that thought makes my heart skip a beat, the windows
crash open, and the rogue Society members flood the room, along with
Nate, Aiden, and Jake. Wayne pulls me to the wall and stands in front
of me. “I’ve got you, Jeny,” he says, pulling a gun out of his
waistband. “Just stay behind me.”

I want to tell him that
I’m not Jeny to anyone, but I’m too busy watching his friends
easily overpower the guards. Derrick and Angelo run out of the room
when they see that it’s not going to go in their favor. I push
Wayne out of the way, and start to go after them.

“Whoa,” he says,
grabbing my arm.

“Let me go. I need to
go after them. They’re going for my family. I know it.”

“That’s my guess,
too,” Reina says, coming up to us. “Ladies, let’s go.”

The men are checking
the bodies on the floor, but all of the women follow as Reina leads
us to the throne room. The door is open and I hear the clang of
swords as we get closer. If those two men hurt my family, I’ll kill
them myself.

* * *

Brayden

Derrick and Angelo
burst into the room, and I know that the women are here now. They
stop short when they see Steven and Noah with swords in their hands.
Derrick gets a sadistic smile on his face.