I slap his arm away and his head falls backward, a loud barking laugh spilling through the room. He clutches his tummy. “Sorry, Dutch. Won’t do that again.”
I roll off his bed. “You’re a prick, and to answer your question.” I glare at him once I’m back in the safe zone, i.e., near the door. “I wouldn’t mind him looking at me like that.” His laughter stops and the temperature in the room falls to levels that could match an igloo.
He takes one step. “Take that back.”
Now it’s my turn to wriggle my brows. “Never!”
He launches at me, but I’m too fast, spinning on my heels and screaming as I take the two steps to my bedroom door. I slip into my room, but when I try to slam the door closed, his arm snakes in, stopping it.
I yelp again. “Royce!” My heart is jumping around in my chest, heat flushing through my body. “I’m sorry!”
He flies forward, his arm hooking around my back and his heavy body falling onto mine. I land on my bed with a thud, the puffy yellow comforter serving as a landing zone.
“Royce!” I shove at his chest, a laugh vibrating through me.
He brings his hands to my wrists and pins my arms above my head. “Tell me you won’t fuck him.”
Finally, my laughing subsides, and my eyes collide with his. He’s so close that I can feel the heat radiating off the tip of his nose.
“What?” I ask, searching his eyes. “Why would you even say that?”
The muscle in his jaw tenses. “Just promise me, Duchess.” His tone is soft, but his voice is cloaked in pain. Why does this matter to him so much?
“Royce,” I snort, searching his face. From his soft tanned skin to his sharp-edged jawline. His skin is free from tattoos, but he always talks about getting ink. When he doesn’t smile, or smirk, or even look away from me, I shake my head. “I promise, but Roy, you don’t have to worry about that.” I widen my eyes at my invasive brother.
“Oh really.” His blue eyes work their way down my neck to my breasts. He comes back to meet mine. “I beg to fucking differ.”
“Royce…” I warn.
“Jade,” he whispers, parroting my tone.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Like at all.” I widen my eyes again, hoping he would catch what I’m meaning.
“What, you don’t think I know that you’re a virgin?” Finally, the worry lines fade and a smirk creeps onto his mouth. “Baby, who the fuck do you think scares them off?” My smile drops, but before I can answer him, his weight is off me and he’s heading for the door. “Be ready in two hours and leave Sloane behind.” Yeah, he knows for sure that I won’t be leaving Sloane behind.
He slams my door behind himself and I flip him off while flicking through my contacts list on my phone. I open a message to Sloane, but before I can type out the words, a text pops up.
Royce: I mean it. Don’t invite her. I will throw her off the boat.
I shake my head, rolling onto my belly while scrolling through my music playlist. I connect via Bluetooth to my sound dock, pushing play on “Sacrifice” by Jessie Reyez.
Me: I need a friend with me.
Royce: Since when have you ever needed a friend, and besides, you don’t need friends when you got big brothers. One hour and fifteen minutes.
I toss my phone onto my bed and cuss under my breath. He’s right, but he also doesn’t understand girls. Especially girls like Sloane, who will lose her shit and see it as a complete betrayal in the trust factor.
Moving across the room, I begin gathering everything that I will need. In short, I actually love going out on the boat, I would just rather go out when the sole purpose of it isn’t getting blackout drunk with idiots. Although, I did manage to get my phone back. I could just skip the boat trip and run out now…
My door swings open, hitting the back of the wall in my room. Royce stands at the threshold, smirking. “Don’t even think about it.”
Sighing, I swoop up my bikini. “Give me a few minutes.” Shutting the bathroom door behind myself, I slip into a pastel pink two-piece and shorts. I don’t bother with a shirt since my boobs aren’t exactly spilling out. Pulling open the last drawer under the counter, I take out my little white scarf and wrap it behind the back of my head, tying the rest of my long brown hair onto the top of my head.
“Hurry up!” Royce bangs on my door, and I jump, flipping him off.
“I’m coming!” Quickly grabbing a towel, I make my way into my room, swinging the bathroom door open. “Whose boat are we taking?”