HER LIPS ARE SOFT. The way she’s looking at me?
Sexy as hell.
I’m tempted. Tempted to do a lot of things. Trace her full bottom lip with my thumb. Test her limits, see how she would react to me touching her. What would she do if I slipped my thumb into her mouth? Would she freak out? Bite me? Or would she close her lips around it, holding me there. Maybe even nibble on it? Suck it?
Yeah, zero fucking chance of any of that ever happening.
I reluctantly remove my thumb from her mouth and drop my hand on my desk. She stares at me, her green eyes wide and unblinking. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“I mean what I said, Birdy. You have a fuckin’ sexy mouth.”
She reaches up, brushing shaky fingers against the corner of her lips where I just touched her. “I never really thought of it like that before.”
“I’m guessing you don’t think anything about yourself is sexy.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I really don’t.”
“You’ve never thought of recreating your favorite piece? Buy a bunch of lipsticks and kiss a blank canvas over and over again?” If I had to watch her do that I might jizz in my pants, as if I have no control of myself, which is something I haven’t done in a while.
Something about this girl makes me want to lose all control.
A soft laugh leaves her. “No, I’ve never thought of doing that. Can you imagine?”
I can. I’d love to see that sexy lip print of hers all over a canvas in various colors.
“You should consider it,” I say, purposely keeping my tone even. Casual. “Might be a project for you to work on later.”
“I have enough projects to work on. Including this one.” She taps her pencil on my arm. “Did you have any other questions for me? Class is almost over.”
Damn, time goes way too fast when I’m with her. “I do have another question.”
“What is it?”
“Though I’ve asked you this before.”
Her expression turns wary and a sigh leaves her. “Go ahead. I’ll probably give you the same answer as I did before too.”
“Actually, you never answered me.”
“Oh. Well that was rude of me.”
This girl. I’m surprised she didn’t apologize for her lack of an answer.
“Promise you’ll answer this time?” I raise a brow.
“Maybe.” Her tone is cautious.
Smart move.
“All right.” I lean forward, my gaze locking with hers. “Have you ever been kissed? Be honest, Birdy. Tell me the truth. I’m dying to know.”
She drops her head, staring at her desk. “That’s really none of your business.”
“Only a girl who’s never been kissed would answer that way.” She doesn’t react. “Come on. Tell me. You’ve never felt the press of another mouth on yours?”
Wren stays quiet.
“Warm lips connecting again and again?”
Still nothing.
“That first touch of someone’s tongue, sliding inside your mouth? Circling. Searching. Hands start wandering…” My voice drifts and still no reaction. She’s gone completely still, her head still bent, long dark hair obscuring her face. “Next thing you know, hands are sliding under your clothes, touching you—”
“Stop,” she whispers, lifting her head, revealing her pink cheeks.
“What’s your answer then, Wren?”
“No. Okay? Are you happy? I’ve never been kissed. But please…keep that to yourself.”
I’m filled with the urge to kiss her right now, but I tamp it down. “Do you want to be kissed?”
“Of course. I just—it hasn’t happened for me yet.”
“Why not?” I glance down at her hand, that damn diamond winking up at me. “Because you promised yourself to your father?”
“It’s not like that.” She shakes her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Please explain. I’d love to understand.”
“Look, no one’s been interested in me enough to even want to kiss me. And no one has really interested me either.”
“What if I told you I was interested.” The words leave me as if I have no control of my thoughts or feelings. I should’ve never said that. The entire moment feels too real, too raw.
I should be threatening this girl to keep her mouth shut after what she saw, but I don’t even bring it up. Not anymore. Even stranger? I’m not worried about her telling on us. She won’t.
I can sense it.
She rolls her eyes. Tries to laugh off what I said. “Please. You definitely don’t want to kiss me.”
“How do you know?” I lean in closer, her intoxicating scent wrapping around me. “You going to let Larsen kiss you then?”
“What? No.” More nervous laughter leaves her. “Not after what you told me.”
“Good girl,” I murmur, noting how her eyes shine at my approval. “You need to stay far away from that asshole.”
“Might be kind of difficult since I’m going to his house for dinner tomorrow night.”
“Don’t let him get you alone.” I’m fucking jealous that she’s going to spend Saturday with that prick Larsen. “Promise me, Birdy. I won’t be there to watch over you.”
“Like I need you as my guard dog. Don’t forget you’re the guy who just chased after me a few days ago and tried to assault me,” she says.
“Assault?” I’m grateful her tone is quiet so no one else heard her say that. “I think you liked it too much to call it assault.”
Her entire face reddens. “You’re awful.”
“But you like it.”
“Not really.”
“A little bit? Come on, you can admit it.”
“Not enough to give you the satisfaction of saying so.” Her smile is serene. “Quit digging, Crew. It’s not a good look for you.”
We’re smiling at each other and it feels…weird. In a good way. In a I might like this girl more than I want to admit way.
The bell rings, knocking us from our trance, and Wren jolts in her chair, immediately reaching for her backpack. I watch her as she puts her stuff away, zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulder before she stands. “Bye, Crew.”
She walks away before I can say anything, her hair swaying. My gaze drops to her skirt, lingering there, wishing I could see more of her.
Wishing I could protect her.
The foreign feeling settles over me and I rub my chest, frowning. Why do I want to protect her? Why do I care so damn much? I don’t get it.
I don’t understand my feelings for her.
I leave the classroom and exit the building, heading for the junior and senior dorm building. I don’t have a room there. As a Lancaster, I automatically get one of the private suites in another building that once housed staff when they lived on campus. But I hang out here sometimes, usually in the common room.
Where I’m headed right now.
I find a chair and settle in, waiting while I scroll on my phone, my gaze going to the door, knowing eventually I’ll see him appear. He’s so damn predictable. His favorite place to hang out after school is in this very room. All of his followers surrounding him, waiting for another story about yet another innocent girl who gave it up to his douchey ass.
The problem with the girls not talking about what he does is they don’t warn the others who follow after them. It’s like this weird secret that grows and grows. Everyone knows it’s happening, but no one admits it’s actually happened to them.
It’s kind of fucked. Someone needs to call Larsen out for his shit.
Maybe that someone should be me.
What does it really matter, what Larsen does with other girls? We’ve let it happen for the last couple of years, so what’s the difference now?
Wren.
She’s the difference. I can’t stand the thought of him even looking at her, let alone touching her. He’s a piece of shit creep who doesn’t deserve even an ounce of her attention. Wren is so damn sweet and pure and good.
I barely deserve her attention, and I’m ten times the man that Larsen the fuckhead is. And if he were to do something that would devastate her completely, like film her while he took advantage of her after slipping a drug in her drink? Holy shit.
I’d probably kill him if given the chance.
It takes him a solid twenty minutes, but he finally shows up. Larsen enters the common room with a smile on his face, high fiving a couple of dudes who greet him like he’s their long- lost leader.
Such a bunch of shit. That they even look up to this supreme asshole says a lot about them.
He spots me, surprise on his face since I’m sitting in the chair he usually occupies. See, I know what he’s up to. I know how he operates. And I can tell by his grim expression that he doesn’t like me sitting in his chair.
My family owns this place. Technically it’s my mother fuckin’ chair. I can sit wherever the fuck I want.
“Hey, Crew,” Larsen says, stopping directly in front of me.
“Hey.” I indicate the empty chair across from me. “Have a seat.”
He reluctantly sits down on the edge of the chair, looking ready to bolt at any second. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much. How are you?” I could give a shit how he’s doing, but I’m not going to be an idiot and attack him at first sight.
I need a quiet approach. Lull him into thinking everything is fine before I lay down my threat.
“I’m good. Ready for the weekend.”
Damn, he walked right into it.
“Got plans?”
He nods, relaxing slightly. “Headed to the city. Not till the morning though.”
Good to know. I’ve already done a little research. Figured out exactly where this exhibit is happening that Wren is planning on attending.
“What are you doing while you’re there?”
“Staying with the family. They’re having company for dinner, and my mom wanted me there.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s coming over?”
“The Beaumonts.”
“As in Wren Beaumont?”
He nods. Grins. “Hoping to spend a little one on one time with her, you know? She’s the ungettable girl.”
Is that even a word? Ungettable? “You really think she’ll go for a disgusting pervert like you?”
His grin fades, replaced by a scowl. “What the fuck, Lancaster?”
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees as I glare him. “You’re a scum sucking piece of shit who makes videos of girls you fuck. The only reason you fuck them is for the videos, so you can share them. Make money off them. You don’t give a shit about the fact that those girls are devastated by what you do. Some of them have even left school over it. They never come back. And you keep doing it because not a one of them tell anyone what’s going on. They’re too embarrassed. They believe their lives are over. I’m surprised you haven’t received a therapy bill from one of them yet.”
“I bet you’ve watched a few of those videos,” Larsen says, his expression surly. I’m sure it never feels good to have your dirty shit explained to you.
“One.” It’s the truth. “I watched one, and I was immediately disgusted and stopped.”
“So high and mighty,” he spits out. “You think you’re the lord of the manor around here, and it fucking sucks. Not all of us have to do your biding, dickwad. If you have such a problem with me, tell on me. I mother fuckin’ dare you.”
“I have no proof. And I’m not about to put a bunch of girls, who don’t want to talk about it, in the spotlight.” I hesitate for only a second. “Is that your plan for Wren? You want to make a fun little video of her? Maybe of her sucking your pencil dick? Or of you fucking her from behind, so we can’t quite make out her face?”
That’s one of his tricks. He never actually shows their faces. Not all the way. But we can figure out who it is. Every time.
“You’re just jealous,” Larsen snaps. “You want her too. Don’t think we haven’t noticed you following Wren around lately. Hell, you’ve been watching her walk into the building every morning for the past two fucking years, staring at her like some sort of stalker. It’s not my fault you’ve waited too long and now you’ve missed your chance.”
“You actually believe you have a chance with her?” My voice is flat.
“A better one than you do, you stupid fuck. At least I have Mommy and Daddy’s approval. And that’s the hardest thing to get when it comes to the Beaumonts. Her daddy keeps her locked up tight. Not quite sure why. Maybe she secretly has a bad reputation? Baby prostitute at thirteen? I wouldn’t doubt it. Look at her, with those giant tits and dick-sucking lips.”
I’m on him in seconds, pulling him out of his chair. Grabbing hold of his tie so fucking tight he makes a choking sound, his eyes practically bulging out of his head when I thrust my face in his. “Shut the fuck up.”
Larsen exhales raggedly, smiling despite the fact that I’m about to choke the shit out of him. “Or what? You going to beat my ass? Bring it, Lancaster. You don’t scare me. Besides, you’ll get kicked outta here so fast your head will spin.”
His grin is back, and I want to slap it off his smug-ass face.
“Touch a hair on her head and I’ll tell everyone about your recordings. I’ll expose your ass for everything you’ve done the past two years. Forget the girls and protecting their privacy. In the end, they’ll probably thank me when it comes out and I expose what a piece of shit you are.”
Larsen’s eyes fill with a mixture of anger and fear. “What’s the big deal, huh? Why do you care whether I fuck her or not?”
“First, she’d never let your sleazy ass touch her. Next, I care because I actually like the girl, which is more than I can say about you.” I go still the second the words leave me, shock coursing through my blood.
I like her.
I do.
What the fuck?
“Crew, come the fuck on. Leave him alone.”
I turn to find Ezra standing there, slowly shaking his head. I ignore him, returning my attention back to Larsen. “Like I said—touch her and I’ll break every bone in your body. Record her doing anything, even smiling at you, and I’ll kill you.” I shove him away from me, and he stumbles into the chair behind him, falling to the ground.
We glare at each other as I stand over him, my hands clenched into fists. I’m fucking panting, I’m so pissed.
I hate this fucker. So damn much.
Turning away, I leave the common room, Ezra hot on my heels.
“What the hell, dude? Why you fucking with Larsen? We always would leave him alone, you know.”
Because we were a bunch of idiots who thought we were doing the right thing by protecting one of our own.
Well fuck that.
“He’s a piece of shit.” I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth. “He deserves to be called out.”
“Why? What’s the big deal now?”
I turn on my friend. “He’s having dinner with the Beaumonts tomorrow night.”
Realization dawns across Ezra’s face. “And what? You think he’s going to get with Wren? Give me a break. She’s too scared to even look at him.”
“I saw them talking in the hall earlier. I think she trusts that asshole.”
“She shouldn’t. Doesn’t she know?”
“Probably not.” She didn’t. I don’t know if she believed what I told her, either.
My mind won’t stop imagining her with Larsen. Laughing with him as he slowly but surely earns her trust. Honing in on that needy side of her, the one she doesn’t really show anyone. She wants attention. She’s starved for it. And he’ll give it to her. He might even try to drug her.
Next thing she knows, she’s getting fucked by that asshole. And I can see it. I can see it all in my head, and there’s no way I can let that happen.
I can’t.
I won’t.
