“Think what you like about me. I don’t care.” I shrug, relaxing a little now his cock is safely tucked back in his jeans.
He stalks toward me, putting his face all up in mine. At this angle, I spot a little bump in the center of his nose I didn’t notice before. “I think you do care. You want everyone to love you because Mommy and Daddy always told you what a precious princess you were. It bugs you that I can’t stand you. That everything you represent annoys the fuck out of me.”
“Everything I represent?” I shout, shoving him away from me as Ash races to his side.
“Pretty little princess with her pathetic purple roses in her palace rented with Mommy and Daddy’s money,” he slurs.
I moved my flowers in here, away from prying eyes, for a reason. Knots twist in my gut as my eyes dart briefly to the framed pictures by my bedside. One photo shows me with my parents, and the second is a pic of Audrey and me from graduation. Did he recognize my mom and dad and that’s where his comment is coming from? Fuck, I hope not, because the last thing I need is this jerk learning my true identity. I very much doubt Dillon O’Donoghue would keep it a secret, and there’s no way I want to be beholden to him.
A sneer paints his handsome face with an ugly veneer, and I step back as Ash thumps him in the arm, shouting abuse at him. But we’re locked in our own little bubble, ignoring our surroundings.
“Wow. That’s some fucked-up generalization right there. You know nothing about me. Nothing about my life. And you don’t get to come into my apartment and spout this shit at me.”
“You think you’re so superior, like all arrogant rich wankers,” he says, slurring his words again. I don’t care if he’s smashed. Nothing gives him the right to break into my room and then insult me to my face.
“How did you get in here?” I demand, folding my arms across my chest and leveling him with a stern look.
His smug grin makes an unwelcome reappearance. “I picked the lock.”
My mouth hangs open while Ash screams more abuse at her brother.
“Wow. You’re really something else.”
“I am.”
A cocky grin spreads across his mouth, and I’ve had enough of this guy. “That wasn’t a compliment.” I turn to face Ash as Ronan comes back into the room. “I’m sorry, Ash. I know he’s your brother, but he’s a giant bag of dicks, and I don’t want him here. I’m not going to be insulted in my own fucking home just because he’s got some massive stick shoved up his ass.”
“Careful, princess. You’ve just used up your cursing quota for the year.”
“Fucking hell, bro. Stop annoying the girl,” Ronan says. “You need to lay off the weed and the booze, man.”
“Either that or get a personality transplant,” I suggest.
“I’ll talk to him,” Ash says, sending me a pleading look. “We were coming to get you because we kicked everyone out except our friends. We’re up on the roof, and the guys are going to play their guitars. Let me knock some sense into this dumbass and we’ll follow you up.”
“If he says one more nasty thing to me or he calls me fucking princess again, I’ll throw him off the roof and make no apology for it,” I warn. I detect a slight curling of his lips, but he smooths them out before I can be sure.
“Come on, Grace,” Ronan says, enunciating my name to make a point. “Let’s get fucked up.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Ignoring his asshole of a brother, I link my arm in his, letting him escort me out of the bedroom.