27. Zac

TWENTY-SEVEN

zac

WE DIDN'T GET shit from King. East's aim was even worse than mine, never even landing a sack in the hole—which I planned to give him hell about for the foreseeable future—so that meant King had been the one asking all the questions.

But today was a new day. There was plenty of time to find out more about our mysterious professor turned billionaire. Or was it billionaire turned professor? Billionaire and professor?

Who are you, really? I thought as I watched him standing thigh-deep in the ocean with East. They'd spent the better part of the morning bodysurfing, only after I insisted I was happy to go for a run before grabbing a book from King's collection and laying out on a beach towel.

Not that I'd gotten any reading done. How could I with that view?

King pointed out a new set of waves, and East nodded as he turned his back on it and waited.

Bodysurfing was an entirely new concept to me. I didn't even know you could surf without a board, but watching them both swim out and catch waves with their incredible bodies was my new favorite sport.

To watch, anyway. No way in hell would you catch me setting foot in there.

East swung his arms in front of him as he launched himself into the wave, keeping his lean body straight as he glided across like he'd been doing it his whole life. Apparently he'd tried it before, but with King's instruction, he looked like a pro. They were both insane. Sexy, but insane.

I let out a piercing whistle as East popped out of the water near where King was clapping. He heard me and grinned before standing and brushing his hair back off his face. King approached, the two of them falling into an animated conversation that was so interesting to watch. They'd never had a friendly type of relationship, so seeing them together and watching the easy way they got along over a common interest had me wondering how long this would all last.

One week only, right? Just sex and a good time. King was definitely fulfilling his end of the bargain there. He'd never promised answers about his private life, but the small glimpses we'd gotten had me dying to know more.

His words from yesterday still echoed through my mind.

I stayed because I saw Zac's potential…

A surge of emotion ran through me yet again, because holy shit. He'd held me in such high esteem that he rearranged his life…to help me ? I couldn't comprehend that. No one had ever done anything like that for me, and King had never even mentioned it. I'd known nothing about his real life, but he was trying to help me make my way in mine?

East jogged out of the water, catching my attention as his swim trunks rode low on his hips. His skin glistened under the sun as he walked my way, his long strides not at all deterred by the mounds of sand between us.

Okay, he's fuckin' hot. Ridiculously so.

"Now this is one hell of a sexy personal cheering section," he said, standing over me.

"Don't do it," I warned.

He gave me an innocent look. "Do what?"

Before I could move, he leaned down and ran his fingers through his hair, shaking the water onto my heated skin.

I tried to dodge the droplets, but it was no use. The cool water hit my sun-kissed skin and actually felt nice. Not that I was about to tell him that.

"Looked like you needed cooling off," East said as he grabbed up a towel and dried himself off. "Not that I could blame you. Who wouldn't watching us out there?"

"Feeling yourself a little bit, are you?"

"You're the one who couldn't tear your eyes off me."

I had no comeback for that because he was right. I'd been practically drooling over the two of them. Why should I hide it? "You and King."

"Well, yeah, that guy's body should be on magazine covers—and I am not talking about Men's Health . Although he'd probably sell a shit-ton of those."

He spread his towel out beside mine and lay back so he was propped up on his arms. Just as he got settled, King stretched his arms out in front of himself in a perfect arc and caught a rolling wave nearly all the way to shore.

"Fucking hell. Look at his form," East said.

"Yeah, he's really good."

"I'm not talking about his style . Those arms? The power there is insane, and—" East's words fell off as King got to his feet and looked up the beach at us, water running down that sculpted chest to where it was lapping around his thick thighs. Then he wiped a hand over his face and turned back to the incoming waves. "How is that man single?"

"Luck," I said. "He hasn't always been."

"Single?"

"Hmm?" I turned to see East looking over his sunglasses at me.

"You said he hasn't always been. I'm assuming you mean single. How do you know that? There's no mention anywhere about him and a significant other—I looked before we decided to make a play."

My lips twitched as I remembered the colossal failure of our "play."

"He told me yesterday."

"When? He never lost a throw after that one with you."

"It was before that, when we were setting up. He didn't say much, just that he used to come down here with someone."

East huffed and turned back to watch the man wading out in the blue depths. "I don't want to think about that."

I glanced over to see his jaw was a little tighter than it had been minutes ago when he'd been giving me a cool down.

If I didn't know better I might just think— "You're jealous."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" East said, his eyes still forward. "I don't get jealous."

"Riiight—you just don't want to think about King here having sex with someone else."

"Do you?"

"No, but I'm not you. Usually you'd be telling me you were sorry to miss that."

"Well, I am. Sorry to have not been invited."

While that sounded plausible enough and very East , the tic in his jaw remained.

"Uh huh, well, it's over now—obviously."

"Why obviously?"

"Because he's here with us."

"Oh, Zac." East cocked his head. "Have you always been this na?ve? Or is this a new development?"

"I'm not na?ve. I just don't think King is like that." My eyes drifted back to the man under discussion.

"Maybe he didn't want to be part of King's secret underground doings," East speculated. "I don't know why, though. Who'd be dumb enough to turn down the opportunity for power and unbelievable wealth?"

"Maybe he had questions that never got answered," I pointed out. "You have to admit, the whole thing is a little?—"

"Mysterious? Intriguing? Sexy?"

"All of those things, yes, but it's also asking for a lot of trust."

"And you don't trust your professor?"

"Well, he's not just my professor now, is he?"

As King walked out of the sea, East shrugged. "I suppose so, but do you really think he'd put you in harm's way after sticking around to watch over you for all these years? Speaking of, how are you going to be able to be anywhere near him when we get back to school without imagining him looking like that ?"

It was a valid question, one I'd been asking myself every single day since we were blindfolded and taken into the mystery building. I had no goddamn idea how I was going to get through the last couple of months at Astor.

"With great difficulty."

"I'm just glad I don't have any classes with him." East licked his lips, no doubt imagining running them all over King. "Then again, I wouldn't mind looking at him and remembering this very moment right now. Or when he took you on the table, and me over the top of you."

And there went my dick, standing and ready to greet King as he arrived.

"What are you two scheming about?"

East reached for a towel and tossed it to him, and we watched with heated interest as he dried off his built body. "Aww, don't you hate when you ask a question and don't get an answer?" East lay back, placing his hands under his head, and I just shrugged.

East was right. We'd been giving over a lot of information these past few days, and I was positive King knew even more. It wouldn't hurt for him to be in the dark on this. It wasn't like we could hide the reaction our bodies had just looking at his.

And that was enough.