Dirty Wicked Prince (Court Legacy Book 1)

Sloane

Rainbow Reed didn’t live off the beaten path like Bru and me. Where we virtually had no neighbors on our little hilltop in the sky, Bow was in the middle of the ritziest cul-de-sac I’d ever seen in my entire life. I honestly questioned if I was in California taking a tour of the stars’ homes considering how each house just seemed to get bigger as I passed.

And not just bigger.

Lush gardens and old brick homes donned with ivy and regency elements filled my vision. She also lived in a gated community. I had to be buzzed in after they made “a call” to the Reed Manor to confirm I was an allowed visitor.

They had a manor.

This was a new level of wealth here, and I already questioned coming around. I wasn’t particularly excited about using Bow to dig up dirt on Dorian, but I’d do what I had to do.

Like I said, he drew first blood.

I used those thoughts to take me up to Reed Manor. I was let in by another man at a wrought-iron gate. He directed me up to the main house, and I had to drive a little bit to get to the circle driveway. Bow lived in an aged brick home that had many staff grooming and trimming the hedges. They all waved at me in a friendly fashion upon passing, and I smiled, trying to look like I saw shit like this every day.

A man in bibs knocked at my door.

I jumped before rolling down the window of the Chevelle.

He smiled at me. “Noa Sloane, I presume?”

“Sloane,” I said, eyeing the house behind him. This house was something else, flower boxes filled with light pink roses and even columns outside. Where Bru’s and my place was more modern, this place had an ancient storybook look.

The man nodded. “I’m Henry, the Reeds’ groundskeeper. I’m here to take your car to the garages if that’s all right.”

The man said garages.

Well, all right then.

I gave this Henry my keys, heading toward the main house with my purse and book bag. I did bring my textbooks because I planned to study. I was just going to casually ask Bow a couple questions about Dorian and the others.

This wasn’t going to be some kind of CIA mission. Bow was a nice girl, and I wasn’t trying to take advantage of her. Odds were, since her brother’s friends weren’t really her friends, she didn’t know too much anyway.

“Sloane!”

Bow waved spritely at me down a shiny hallway. Her housekeeper Janet had let me in, and I wondered how many staff these people actually had.

“Hey,” I said, eyeing the interior. Her house was crazy, an actual chandelier glistened the ceiling from above, and they had wall sconces with candles in them. Though, I supposed those could have been electric. “You got a nice place.”

“Thanks. Want to get a snack before we study?”

She’d changed into shorts and a T-shirt, and I had too before coming over. I slipped off my sandals, then followed her to the kitchen, where several staff members were hard at work cooking stuff and wiping down counters. Several platters of cakes, cookies, and desserts lined the counters like a buffet, and my eyes twitched wide.

“You guys having a party?” I laughed, but then she picked up one of the platters. She handed it to me.

“I guess I did go a little overboard,” she said, rolling her eyes. She chuckled. “I just didn’t know what you liked.”

I nearly choked on the macaroon I took a bite of. I hit my chest. “Sorry?”

She took the platter back, laughing again. Her face reddened as she looked at me. “Janet said it would probably be too much. That two teenage girls couldn’t possibly eat it all. But like I said, I just didn’t really know what you liked so…”

All this was for… us?

Staff continued to put food on the counter. People were still making food. I was asked what I’d like to drink too before another platter was forced in my face.

“We have watercress and tuna salad as options today, Miss Sloane,” the staff member said to me, smiling. She directed the little sandwiches toward me. “But if you want something different, we can make another option for you. Miss Reed told us to be prepared to mix it up if you wanted something different.”

Holy shit.

“Uh, these are fine.” I took a tuna, feeling obligated. Bow had filled this whole kitchen up with food for our study session.

And now, I really felt like shit.

I took a bite and didn’t fail to notice how excited it made her to see me try it. I waved the sandwich. “Really good.”

“Great.” Her fists balled. Like she almost wanted to punch the air in victory. The way she acted it was like she never had people over.

But then again, knowing who her brother was…

Sheer intimidation alone may keep people away, and since Bow didn’t play up all that Legacy shit, something told me folks may not want to take the risk to get closer to her. She certainly came with a lot of baggage.

It was either bow or break when it came to those boys and, apparently, I was stupid enough to get caught up within their crosshairs.

I finished the sandwich quick, then brushed my hands off on my shorts. Bow’s staff was ready with napkins too, but I turned them down. Really, the service around here was boss as fuck.

Bow said we could take whatever we wanted up to her room with us to study, and after we both picked a couple things, we took the journey through her large house. She gave me a little tour on the way, pointing out the guest rooms and her parents’ room. They had their own wing, I guess, and good for them. It was their house.

“Grandma’s room,” Bow said, breezing past that. “She’s not well, so we need to be quiet.”

I nodded, not pushing her on that. We passed Thatcher’s room too, but I wasn’t curious enough to try to make up an excuse to poke around in there. I did need dirt, but with how accommodating Bow was being, I was already feeling like shit about my plan for today.

Instead, I let her take me to her room, which was decorated for a princess high in her castle. Her four-poster bed was donned in golden silks, the oak floors polished and pristine. She appeared to be a heavy reader and had one of those bookshelves where a ladder was needed just to get to the top of it. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d used it just that morning since there was a nice little stack of reads by it. Besides that, nothing was out of place, so she probably had just used it this morning.

“On a scale of one to ten. How ridiculous did I just embarrass myself downstairs?” She pressed her hands to her face. “Janet really told me we shouldn’t have made that much food.” Her leg shook, her hands balled. She really was worried. “I’m sorry. Mom and Dad always say I do too much. I can’t help it. My ADHD makes me all over the place.”

She laughed that off, like it didn’t bother her so much but was a reality. I supposed that explained a couple things too. She really did go a mile a minute. I smiled at her. “It was cool.”

“Really?” Her mouth parted. “I know it’s a lot. I’m know I’m a lot.” She chuckled. “I really didn’t mean to be all up on you when we first met. I tend to do that. I know it can be annoying.”

She chewed her lip after that last statement, and the nervous laughter that followed was more dry. I started to say something, but her door breezed open and a man the size of a building barreled inside. He wore a suit sans tie, his hair dark, and he looked so much like Thatcher my eyes twitched wide.

“Door stays open when boys are over,” the man grunted, letting go of the doorknob. He took in the room. “Where’s the boy?”

Bow and I glanced around, then she rolled her eyes.

“Dad, when have you ever known me to bring a boy over?” she asked. She placed a hand toward me. “It’s just me and Sloane.”

The man directed his gaze toward me. It was uncanny how much he looked like Thatcher. I supposed that made sense considering this was their dad, but Bow was so petite and little I wondered if she got anything from him. This guy was a semi. He frowned. “Sloane?” He eyed me. “Janet said some boy named Noa Sloane was here.”

Bow chuckled. “Yeah, Dad. That’s Noa Sloane. She’s a friend from school. We’re studying today.”

He grunted in my direction. Though, I noticed there was a sizable sigh in his big body upon noticing I wasn’t a boy. I raised a hand. “Happens all the time, Mr. Reed.”

I mean, my parents gave me a traditional boy name, constant confusion a given whenever anyone met me.

He nodded. “I see. Well, nice to meet you, Noa.”

“She goes by Sloane, Dad.” Bow placed her big blue eyes upon her dad, and something told me she was a complete daddy’s girl the way the large man tilted his head at her.

“Sloane, then,” he said, then directed a hand toward Bow. His eyes crinkled softly at her. “Sorry about that, baby girl.”

She merely laughed in response, but then, the man frowned.

He pointed. “Rules still stand about the boys, though,” he said. He left the room on a laugh to himself, and Bow lifted her eyes again.

“Sorry about him,” she said. “I’m honestly surprised he didn’t bring my god dads up here with him if he thought I had a boy in here.” She stopped when my eyes narrowed. She laughed. “Wells’s and Dorian’s dads. They’re all around here someplace. Tonight’s poker night for them. I’m sure they’ll all eat whatever we don’t.”

She chuckled on the end there, and my jaw freaking dropped. I put my hand out. “Wait. The dads of Wells and…” I paused, frowning. “Dorian are your godfathers?”

She shrugged that off, casual about it. She nodded. “Mmhmm. They’ve all known each other since they were kids. Ares’s dad too. Though, he’s not my god dad. All our parents are good friends, though.”

But god dad status? What the fuck? But then, Bow got up. She went to a pushpin board above her computer desk that had a bunch of photos and stuff on it. She plucked one, then gave it to me. “That’s them. They all used to play lacrosse together at Windsor Prep.”

I stared at the photo, five guys in total. If she hadn’t told me these were the dads, I would have thought they were the kids. They were the spitting image of the boys who’d come to hurricane through my life since I arrived.

Bow pointed them out. “Wells’s dad and Dorian’s dad,” she said, pointing to a guy with cropped hair, then a blond respectively. Her finger touched the biggest guy in the photo. “Thatcher’s and my dad.”

Definitely him, Thatcher’s twin. Their dad stood next to the tallest guy, a lacrosse stick on his arm. Seriously, this tall guy had to be Ares’s dad.

“Ares’s dad, Ramses,” Bow confirmed.

I scanned the photo of the five. There was a tall blond guy in the middle with long hair. “This guy?”

“Oh, that’s LJ, my third and final god dad.” She took the photo. “He doesn’t have kids, but he’s just as protective. I’m the only girl amongst the kids, so all my godfathers tend to hover.”

My gaze circulated the photo, stopping on who she stated was Dorian’s dad. As with the rest of the crew, he was Dorian’s clone. He was the only one not smiling in the photo, though, and Dorian most certainly didn’t mind flashing his dark grin. I think he did that on purpose, the expression simply simmering with cruel venom.

I wet my lips. “You said this is Dorian’s dad?” I asked, and she nodded. “Did Dorian’s mom go to Windsor Prep too?”

I asked casually, and again, she acknowledged that.

“Their names are Royal and December,” she announced, and they certainly were regal names. Fitting, I supposed. She placed the photo down, and I watched when she picked up her book. She obviously wanted to get started on tonight’s homework, but I certainly had more questions. If their families really were that close, she’d most definitely know a lot about the Prinzes.

And I wanted to know as much as possible.