Easton didn’t look at her. “Go to the living room.”
Her mouth opened.
“Now.”
The command landed cold enough that even I felt it.
Brinley’s face flushed, but she left, pushing past two freshmen who instantly found the floor fascinating.
I laughed, sharp and ugly. “Wow. Look at you. Captain on and off the ice.”
Easton’s eyes cut toward mine. “You wanted her gone. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
“I wanted you to stop using women like props.”
“And you used Gage for what? Personal growth?”
Gage backed away. “I have a name and a will to live.”
What a coward.
“Enough,” Cade said, warning threaded through his low voice. “Everyone who isn’t part of this team or this family can get out.”
People moved quickly after that. Freshmen grabbed drinks and vanished into the living room, two girls slipped through the side door, and Gage hesitated, looking at me without the easy flirtation.
“Aura?”
I hated that he sounded concerned, but I hated more that Easton heard it. “I’m fine.”
I looked toward Charm.
She stood beside Bliss at the edge of the kitchen, her face pale beneath the neon spilling through the hallway and her fingers curled around her purse strap like she had reached for something sturdy and found nothing in the room strong enough.
Bliss looked worse. Her eyes were glossy, her mouth pressed tight, and her body angled toward me while Cade stooda few feet from Easton, waiting for the first real reason to put his hands on him.
Charm’s gaze flicked toward Ryan.
Bliss’s flicked toward Cade.
Everyone had chosen a person.
No one had chosen only me.
I smiled at Charm because smiling was easier than admitting I suddenly felt very fucking alone. “I’m not?”
Her throat moved. “You’re using him.”
Gage made a strangled sound. “Again, name and pulse over here.”
Ryan leaned against the island with his arms crossed and his face unreadable. “Gage, I would stop volunteering for dialogue.”
“Gladly.”
Easton’s mouth tilted without humor. “Listen to your friends, Clarke. They can tell when you’re full of shit.”
The room flinched around the edges, not enough for anyone to call it out but enough for me to know everyone felt the hit.
I turned toward him slowly. “That’s rich from the man who let Brinley climb him like a campus landmark five minutes ago.”
