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I got my replacement ID card from the admin office weeks ago, but Gray never returned the one he stole. So it’s no surprise when the person who saunters into my dorm is none other than Gray Eastwood, followed closely by Declan and Elias.
My eyes narrow as I stand.
This fucker has a lot of nerve.
I haven’t seen him except in passing since the Monday after his party, when he pulled me into a shadowy nook between two buildings and handed me a roll of bills like we were doing a drug deal.
His hand lingered on mine for just a split second too long as he gave me the money, sending an electric charge up my arm, and I yanked my hand away, hating the way my heart jumped like I’d gotten an electric shock.
Hating that he had any effect on me at all.
He opened his mouth, and for a second, it looked like he wanted to say something. But then he snapped his jaw shut and stalked away, leaving me with ten grand in the palm of my hand.
I put the money under my mattress, and as far as I’m concerned, that was the beginning and end of my business with Gray Eastwood.
So why is he here?
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I bite out, my hands curling into fists as I step away from the couch, like I’m getting ready to defend my territory physically if need be.
Just like when he made the hand-off, he says nothing.
Declan and Elias lean against the wall on either side of the door, looking around. They give off a carefully cultivated air of boredom, but I don’t miss the flash of interest in Elias’s eyes as his gaze lands on me for a second.
It reminds me of the way he looked at me when we first met—although the interest wasn’t at all disguised then. He was openly flirting with me until he found out I was one of the scholarship students. Until he realized Gray hates me.
And now, for no reason other than the solidarity of bro-hood, Elias and Declan apparently hate me too.
It makes me hate them back, almost more than I hate Gray.
I glare at them both as they maintain their positions near the entrance to my dorm, standing guard like sentinels. Gray, however, strolls around the space like he fucking owns it. He casts a critical gaze at the furniture, which I rearranged a bit to make room for my painting studio in the corner. Judgement clouds
his ocean eyes, and it sends irritation spiraling through me.
Stepping into his path, I transfer my glare to him. “I asked what the fuck you think you’re doing.”
“Dorm inspections,” he says simply. “They’re mandatory for everyone.”
I scoff. “And you’re definitely the person who’s supposed to be running those inspections, huh? Does the school give you extra credit for that or what?”
Gray shrugs his broad shoulders. “Nah. This is voluntary. Sort of like a neighborhood watch thing. And you get a special inspection. Have to make sure you’re not trashing the place. Not looking good so far; the way you moved things around looks like shit.”
I don’t know how he could have possibly known I rearranged my dorm, unless all the dorms are laid out the same. Or maybe he’s been in here before. I know he and the rest of the Sinners are second-years. Maybe whoever had this dorm before me was some random hookup, some girl he banged on the couch I was just sitting on.
That thought makes my stomach clench so suddenly and tightly that I almost gag, bile rushing up my throat.
It shouldn’t matter to me whether he fucked the entire female population of the school—or the male population, for that matter. But for some reason, my mantra doesn’t seem to work when it comes to Gray Eastwood.
I can tell myself over and over that it doesn’t matter, but my body refuses to believe it.
“Sorry you don’t approve,” I bite out, refusing to ask how he knows what this room should look like. “It wasn’t rearranged for your benefit. And I haven’t trashed the place, though now that I know how attached you are to the decor, I gotta admit, I’m very tempted.”
Maybe it’s the growl in my voice, or maybe it’s the threat of me trashing the room that has him looking at me with flared nostrils and fire in his eyes. Either way, I smirk.
“What? That hit a nerve? Let me guess: your ex-girlfriend used to live in here or something? She leave you for someone better? Is my presence defiling her good memory—”
Gray has me pushed up against the wall before I can finish. His hands hit the plaster on either side of my head with a loud smack as his body crowds mine, his large form radiating anger.
Shit. He’s really pissed.
