Chapter 26 A FEAST FOR A QUEEN.
LUCIEN'S POINT OF VIEW.
The arena showdown replayed in my head like a damn highlight reel, as the memory of her slaying Roxanne, Matt, and every other dickhead in this damn school pulled into my mind. Her voice was sharp as she answered the questions, and advanced to different levels like it was a breeze.
She looked fucking glorious.
And she fucking won, as I knew she would.
Sloane was a mastermind in school. Every damn test, assessment was her playing field, and it rubbed off their feathers in the wrong way. The moment I overheard what went on in Whitley's office, I knew the best way to make them eat their shit was by letting her do it all on her own, with me behind her as support, of course.
My girl.
'No, she isn't, you fool.' My subconscious whispered to me, and he was right.
She was not my girl. Not really. Not yet, anyway.
But she was mine already; she just didn't know it yet, but before we graduated, she would.
When we walked out, Sloane's cheeks flushed red, still buzzing with adrenaline, as the Horsemen immediately swarmed her like vultures circling their prey.
They hadn't told me yet, but I knew she was growing on them. The guys and I never let any girl between us, not even Roxanne, while she and I were fuck buddies, but Sloane?
She was different.
She was mine.
She tasted like mine; she felt like mine, and they knew it from the moment she walked through the halls on her first day in this school.
I fixed Theo with a death glare as he slung an arm over her shoulder, laughing about how she left him in academic ashes.
"Scholarship girl, you never told us you could slay dragons with math, literature, and puzzles." He mused with a smirk on his face. But my eyes were on that arm over her shoulders, as my body coiled with something familiar.
Possession, anger...I didn't know. But my chest tighte ned with the need to pluck him away from her immediately, to remove her from this place, and take her to a place where it would be just us again.
Having enough of his arm over her shoulder, I walked over to them as they walked ahead of me, and removed his meaty arm from her person.
With my arm slung over her shoulder, I pulled her to my side and pinned him with a glare he would recognise, but the fucker simply smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Oh, Lucien, jealous?"
"You wish."
"Oh, please, you and I know scholarship girl would want me if I tried a hand at her. You know the girls could never say no to me, or my charms." He mused, with that amn smirk still on his face.
"Hmm." I looked at him with a smirk of my own and eyes that gleamed with mischief, as I dug deep. "But word on the street is girls fall asleep on you; even in your crazy parties."
The rest of the guys heaved a laugh as they looked between us in playful banter. " Oh, you didn't go there, Ravenscroft," Theo said, his eyes shining with a sick joy.
The story was one we could never get down, not when the rest of the guys and I lived to see the fucker frustrated with the need to clean up his image.
Rumor had it that he had two girls in his room for a threesome. It was the craziest party of the year, and he was the host. He'd taken the two girls up to one of the rooms to fulfill his fantasy about fucking bunny girls when one of them threw up while going down on him.
And the other fell asleep while he ate her pussy.
It was the ultimate show watching him run out of the room cursing and screaming while naked, because "I can't believe anyone would fall asleep while a literal fucking king gave them his attention."
Cassian smirked as he walked beside him with his damn war book in hand. He was reading 'Sun Tzu: The mechanisms of war' today, and for some reason, I had a feeling he had something up his sleeve.
Might include another scholarship student who poured her smoothie all over his designer shoes after he asked a question, but he still wouldn't tell us about it.
"I think we should leave this topic, before the video of you running out naked is released....again." He says, with his eyes perched on the pages of his book.
"Oh, you just focus on your damn book. You'll fuck yourself over with all that reading, because Donatella still wouldn't give you her time of day." Theo said, his eyes sparking with more mischief as he hit a spot Cassian never liked anyone touching.
Cassian averted his eyes from his book and turned to Theo with a look so dark, it would rival the darkest of nights. "You wanna bet on that?" He asked, his lips pulled to the side in a vicious smirk.
"Yes. If I win, you have to put on a hula skirt and a coconut bra, walk around school in heels as well, while dancing and screaming; 'King Theo, you're a jerk!"
Cassian smirked in response, and I knew his wager would be worse. "Fine, but if I win, you post that video of you running out naked at the party to every damn website in school, and your Instagram, with the caption, 'I can't screw a woman properly, she fell asleep on me.'"
"Deal."
Sloane rolled her eyes, but I saw what she tried to hide, how she fought her hardest not to smile. She enjoyed their banter, even though she might never admit it out loud.
And me? I liked watching her do anything, even if it was sleeping.
“Where to?” Lucian asked, leaning against my Mercedes-Benz as he owned it. “I say we celebrate. The Queen’s earned a feast.”
“A feast?” Sloane arched a brow as she scrunched her lips in a manner that was too adorable. “What are we, knights from the fifteenth century?”
“Don’t tempt me,” Theo grinned. “I’ve always wanted to joust.”
Killian groaned at that. “No more medieval roleplay, please. Just food. Somewhere decent. I'm fucking starving.”
"You're always starving." Theo shot, and Killian flipped him off with the middle finger.
I turned to her, tugging on her earlobe and asked, "Where do you wanna go?"
“Il Velluto,” Theo said quickly, pleading with her to take his advice, because they knew I would only go with whatever she wanted. “They have the best champagne, the best pasta in town. Their private rooms are chef's kiss, too."
“Or we could head over to Ferris House,” Killian added. “I hear their caviar is the best."
Sloane wrinkled her nose at their suggestions, as her lips scrunched up slightly. I caught it immediately; I never missed anything when she was involved.
She didn't want to eat at any of those places.
"We'll do whatever you want," I said, hoping to encourage her to voice her idea.
“Please don’t say cafeteria food. While that's good, I want something spectacular,” Theo pleaded. The hungry fucker was always perked up for food like a cat to catnip. “That’s cruel and unusual punishment.”
Sloane smirked. Then, she muttered in a soft voice as she played with the hem of her jacket. Her cheeks tinted with the slightest shade of pink, revealing her shyness; “I know a place.”
The Horsemen froze.
“You know a place?” Killian repeated, shocked, like she couldn't know a food place.
She shrugged. “They've got the best burgers and ice cream in town.”
They were silent. And then, they doubled over in laughter, as the sound of their laughs hit the air.
“You want to drag the Ravenscroft heir and his court to what? Some alley grill?”
“It’s not an alley.” She paused, thinking before she said. “Okay, it kind of is. But it’s really good. I mean, it's much better than your overpriced plates with edible flowers and fish eggs.”
I couldn’t help it; I grinned as I looked at her. It was a real one.
“Show me.”
Her eyes widened as she turned to stare at me. “Wait. What?”
“You heard me.” I opened my car door for her. “Guide me, sunshine. Let’s see if your alley grill can beat my chefs.”
No one dared object, because everyone knew one thing;
No one argued with me.