THE CONTROL: An Arranged Marriage Romance by Elena Monroe (ebook reader android .txt) 📕

to keep going. These boys had enough fun in my absence, and now I was going to remind them exactly who I used to be in their lives—the one you don’t fuck with.

Abigail sank down to the floor in response to his warning like she was on autopilot. On her knees, she continued to sway to the music, her straight ponytail moving along with her. Grimm’s eyes didn’t leave her, not one shift, only stuck to her.

Was this foreplay for them? Disobedience and submission?

I did already see more of this girl than I bargained for, but seeing the tension tethering them together with nothing but their wits was only making the situation between my legs much worse.

Pushing the bottle to my lips, I took a mouthful of the now smooth liquor—after you’ve had enough—before I twisted my hand around her ponytail, feeding right into their arousal since Bowen wouldn’t give into mine.

Yanking her ponytail back, I leaned down over her mouth, snowballing the Henny into her open lips, giving Grimm exactly what he wanted—a woman desecrated.

Grace was full on cheering for us to keep going while Khaos was doing his best impression of Magic Mike. It was okay, I was semi-impressed by the one horseman I couldn’t really stand.

“Evey, that’s enough,” he said my nickname with ease like it was what he had been calling me all along. In reality, he wasn’t addressing me at all most of the time so anytime he said my nickname, I melted for him.

Backing up, I offered my hand to help Abigail up before I lazily swung around the pole some more, sing-songing my words. “That’s what happens when you try to cage butterflies, Reaper… eventually they die of boredom or starve.”

I watched her not care if she was surrounded by monsters as she ran into Grimm’s arms and he welcomed her, with her legs lifting and wrapping around his waist. She wasn’t in need of saving the way I thought—she was perfectly balanced, good and bad, while I struggled to pick a personality when slapped with two.

With no warning, I swung around the silver pole right into Bowen who had his arms crossed over his chest. Stumbling to catch my own balance, I stood up with a scowl on my face at his dramatics to stop me from being exactly what he wanted—free of the princess scars.

“That’s enough. You’ve proven your point.” Before I could truly protest, he was throwing me over his shoulder. I could feel his muscles tensing and showing off how toned he was when held onto the backs of my legs.

Holding myself up, I didn’t even bother saying his name in an icy tone the way he did mine. I was going to enjoy the fact that he was touching me at all when I whispered to the guys, “Pssst.” Then, I kissed both of my middle fingers, before holding them up as my goodbye.

I didn’t solely blame them for Bowen’s downfall, but it certainly seemed like they did nothing to prevent it when he morphed into his twin brother.

They were supposed to be there for him in my absence, and it felt like he only had his shadows.

Setting me down carefully next to his car, I realized we were in the back of the building hidden from the nightlife, the lights of LA and its inhabitants. Pouring more accelerant on my fire, I gulped down more of the room temperature Henny like it was some great act of rebellion when in reality I just wanted to put more alcohol between myself and the Pretty Princess parts of me Bowen hated.

If I could just have a lobotomy to forget anyone broke me, I wouldn’t need bad habits.

“That’s not coming in my car without a damn cap. Finish it or get rid of it.” His hands were planted on the car door around me, and I kept drinking. When I wouldn’t stop, he tried to grab the bottle from my grasp and let it crash a few feet away.

The liquid stain on the pavement bullied by shards of glass represented my heart and soul. My heart burst and my soul was shattered, equal parts messy and hard to put back together.

Bowen had his work cut out for him.

His hand grazed my hip, moving me out of the way of the door when he held me against him so I wouldn’t fall. Pushed up against him, I let my hands smooth down his arms to feel how toned he was for the second time tonight and felt my mouth fall open while he yanked on the door handle. I could feel his chest heaving up and down before he said in a low voice, “Don’t do this, Evey, I can’t fucking walk around LA suffering from the very painful set of blue balls you’re insistent on giving me. Why can’t you just behave until the wedding?”

His voice sounded hopeful at the end.

Was the wedding all he was waiting for?

Was sex before marriage a deal breaker for him that I never considered?

Letting my chin rest on his shoulder, I closed my eyes, taking him in. “I can’t behave around you. I’ve waited too long to be yours. Try having lady blue balls since we were thirteen and you finally realize how your body works.”

Pulling away from me, he stood next to the open door, holding it open, waiting for me to realize I was still hugging the air. Embarrassed, I slipped into the car while getting hit with the drunkenness of the Henny all at once, making me feel like I was on a carnival ride.

Leaning down, I unstrapped my blue platform heels and lifted my legs one at a time until they slipped off. Tossing them below me, I leaned back into the seat grumbling that I was hungry when the