Instead of letting Elle pull him down, Colton ended up pulling her up, wrapping his arms around her waist and settling her on his lap. I almost pulled my hair out.
“I shouldn’t be feeling like this so early,” I muttered in horror under my breath. “The feeling of a father seeing his daughter with her boyfriend.”
“Andreas, control your boyfriend,” Colton rolled his eyes, unimpressed by my behavior. Well, gee, I wasn’t trying to impress you at all. Why did I ever cower in fear from him before? He was just a muscular, brooding idiotic moronic sandwich. If there was anything I would say to my past self, it would be to slap him and yell, ”THAT PRINCE YOU FEAR IS NOT EVEN SCARY.”
My face reddened in mortification, but even so, laughter slipped past my lips. I watched as a very amused Andreas put his arm around Kaden, chuckling.
"I'm not your daughter," I protested—and a horrifying thought occurred. "I swear to god, if you give him the talk I will murder you."
Colton quirked an eyebrow, an amused smile on his features.
“The talk?” he echoed, looking at me challengingly. “I’d very much like to see you try to talk to me about it.”
“You’re not even terrifying, Prince,” I scoffed. “I can tell you that much.”
“No?” His grin widened. “I see. I suppose you weren’t shaking because you were scared when I—“
“You know, I would love to give you the talk right now,” I cut him off. “Rule number one: always, always wear protection. Doesn’t matter if it’s uncomfortable—it’s important!”
“Wouldn’t you know about that, Kaden?” The prince replied, chuckling, shaking his head.
My face exploded into a deep, burning hue of crimson as I buried it in Colton's chest, seeking shelter from the indirect but relentless teasing. "Kaden!" Trying and failing to hide how flustered I was, I bit my lip.
Colton burst out laughing as Elle dug her face in his chest, trying to hide from me. His hands squeezed her shoulders, adoration present on his features as he looked at her.
“Funny how the one he’s giving the talk to is me and you’re the one being embarrassed,” Colton chuckled, and I noticed how he didn’t kiss her head like he used to.
I groaned loudly in complaint, burrowing deeper into his embrace. “For the love of god, Kaden, don’t continue..”
“Well, I would love to sit and listen to you educating me about sexual intercourse, Kaden, Elle and I have a class to attend,” Colton flashed me a smile, a certain edge to it. He pulled himself to his feet with Elle in his arms and jumped down from the window ledge, making his way towards the door before he finally set her down.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but paused before Colton could usher me out the door. “You—“ I pointed towards Kaden and Andreas. “And you, Colton, are going to be nice to each other. No side comments. No talks. No acting all high and mighty—cough Colton cough—around each other.” I sighed, crossing my arms. “I want my boys to get along, alright?”
Colton quirked an eyebrow.
“High and mighty?” He repeated, as if amused by his girlfriend’s words. “Me? Have I ever heen high and mighty before?”
I snorted under my breath. He directed his eyes towards me. I shifted.
I flicked his nose. “Yes. The sarcastic drawls. None of those. Be friendly to each other, or there will be consequences. No kisses for Colton, and no… no… no Andreas for Kaden.”
“You know you can’t resist me, love,” Colton purred, flicking Elle on the forehead. “But it’s cute to see you try. Extremely.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s funny how you think you can keep Andreas away from me, you know. And Andreas is the one who argues with Colton the most! Why are you only picking on me?”
Colton clicked his tongue in mock pity. “You poor baby.”
I pouted, shaking my head and Colton. “None of that. Just for the sarcasm, I’m not kissing you for the rest of the day until you learn to be friendly and civil with my two best friends.” To Kaden, I replied, “Andreas hasn’t argued at all with my boyfriend today, so he’s off the hook. And I can take him away from you by stealing his caramels and blackmailing him.”
“Hey!!”
“Oh, you took my kisses away from me,” Colton shook his head in misery. “Very well. Since my Queen demanded I be civil to her loyal friends, I shall obey.”
“Jokes on you, Elle, because I’ve stored Andreas’s caramels all over the dorm. You can’t keep him away from me.”
“Good,” I told Colton, making sure to send a subtle, teasing bite of the lip his way. “And, Kaden, I’m determined to find a way to make you and Colton best friends. There’s no stopping me.”
I let out a snort, laughtet threatening to escape from my lips. “Right. Good luck with that, Elle.”
I noticed the way Colton’s eyes flickered to her lips and darkened before he wiped the emotion away as if he wasn’t bothered at all. I furrowed my eyebrows. What was he doing, really? What game where the two of them playing?
“I will do it,” I promised, completely serious. “My three boys must get along. This is non-negotiable.” Naturally, I punctuated the sentence by turning to Cole and swiping my tongue over my bottom lip—because they were dry, of course. No other reason at all…
[Colton’s POV:]
When her tongue slithered out to wet her lips, I knew I was just about ready to kiss her breathless. But, unfortunately for her, I wouldn’t lose this time.
So although my eyes stayed at her lips and my eyes darkened, I made no move at all. Instead, a smile took over my mouth.
“You know, sweetheart,” I purred, reaching out to caress her cheek. “If you wanted to wet your lips, you could have asked me. Perhaps I would have said yes.”
Kaden almost choked.
A pillow, hurled by Andreas, hit Colton’s shoulder before I could dissolve into a flushing, stammering mess. “Get a room, you two,” he teased, “Before Kaden murders the Prince. And I’d rather not watch you make out right here..”
I merely shot him a Cheshire grin. “I’d like to see him try,” I answered in amusement. “And don’t worry, Andreas. You won’t be needing to bleach your eyes any time soon.”
Red in the face, I gestured helplessly towards the door. “Class. We’ve got class—no more teasing me for today.”
I set my hand on her lower back, smiling innocently. “I won’t make any promises,” I said to her before opening the door and leading her out. Before I closed the door, however, I paused, the playful expression erasing from my face. I looked at Andreas straight in the eyes.
“I’ll be needing to talk to you about something, Andreas,” I said to him, eyes flickering to our partners briefly. ”Privately. See you in two hours.”
Andreas and I both frowned, baffled, but he gave a small nod. Once the door was firmly shut, separating the two boyfriends from Colton and I, I tilted my head to the side. “What do you need to talk to him about?”
I shrugged. “It’s related to his abilities,” I answered, not giving her the truth but making the lie believable. “There are some things only he can do, and I want to guide him there. Help him prevent possibke destruction if things get out of control.”
Not a lie, but not the truth, either.
My frown deepened, and I took a step closer. “You’re not telling me everything…” I murmured, “What are you up to, Cole?”
I simply smiled down at her, ruffling her hair. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing to be worried about,” I assured her gently. “I promise.”
