Savage Royals (Boys of Oak Park Prep #1) - Callie Rose Page 0,71
letting the sun hit my face.
Jesus, Tal. Keep it together.
We finally made it to the house, which wasn’t a house at all. Like most homes I’d been to in California, it could be more accurately classified as a mansion or a small palace. It felt like stepping onto a movie set—everything looked too perfect and shiny to be real. A bunch of people had arrived before us, and we walked into a house full of rich kids in bikinis and swim trunks, smoking and drinking like they were going to die tomorrow.
“Come on. We’re in the back.” Elijah rested his hand on my hip, guiding me confidently through the chaos.
They must’ve all come here before at some point, because they navigated the maze of hallways and rooms confidently, leading me to a massive bedroom in the back of the house.
Of course, there’s a room specially designated for the Princes.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I was just grateful I didn’t have to room with Adena or something. She’d been worse lately, sneaking in little digs at me when Mason or one of the other Princes wasn’t watching, writing nasty messages and slipping them into my locker, and glaring at me in our shared classes. I’d put up with much worse last semester, so it was relatively easy to endure—but if I’d been stuck in a room alone with her for an entire weekend, I was sure she would’ve tried to pull something much worse.
As the guys settled into the room, I grabbed the maroon bikini I’d brought and slipped into the adjacent bathroom to change. My skin was pale against the dark color of the fabric, and I ran my fingers nervously over the flat plane of my stomach before blowing out a breath and squaring my shoulders.
Whatever. They can say whatever they want.
I had a good body—or at least, I liked it. It was strong, my limbs long and lean. But I didn’t look like some California heiress on the cover of a magazine. My dark hair was piled in a messy, windswept bun on my head, and I didn’t have the same perfect cleavage and tan skin I was sure most of the girls here would.
Pushing aside my nerves, I slipped out of the bathroom. The casual conversation in the room died, and I glanced up.
Four sets of eyes stared at me as if I were some kind of rare animal. I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to wrap my arms around myself.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen you show so much skin, that’s all,” Mason finally said, his gaze still locked on me. His eyes looked darker than usual, and a muscle in his jaw jumped.
“It’s not…” I took a step back toward the bathroom. Fuck it, maybe I’d swim in my clothes. “We don’t really… tan in Idaho.”
“Hey. You look perfect.” Finn was the one who stepped forward, and when he slid his fingers under my halter straps and tugged gently like he’d done in the car, I stepped toward him. His dimples were nowhere to be found, his face oddly serious as he dipped his head to murmur in my ear. “You’re gorgeous, Tal.”
I blushed so hard I was sure he could feel the heat coming off me, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he dropped a chaste kiss on my cheek and turned around, striding over to the bed as he tugged his shirt off. The other Princes followed suit, tearing their gazes away from me after another uncomfortable moment of staring.
My cheeks, already warm from their intense scrutiny, warmed even more as I watched them.
Fucking hell.
These boys were way too damn hot for their own good. They were all wearing board shorts slung low on their hips, and without their shirts on, they looked so good I couldn’t help but stare. Cole was the biggest, only narrowly beating out Finn. Mason and Elijah were both leaner but cut, with those sexy V’s at their hips disappearing beneath their shorts. They all looked like they belonged in California and nowhere else.
I was staring at them worse than they’d stared at me, and I had to work to force my eyelids to blink, tearing my gaze away. I was about to step toward the door when Elijah turned around, and I got a good look at the tattoo on his back. I’d known he had one, but I’d only ever seen it from a distance before, never close enough to tell what it was.