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“Are you going home for Christmas break?”
“I planned on it. You are staying here, I assume?”
Frowning, I say, “Yes. Looks like it’s me and a book celebrating Christmas together.”
“That sounds very boring.”
I pull the dress down and grab the little golden crown with leaves on it and place it in my hair. “Thanks, it sounds like you really care.”
“I mean, I don’t. I was just saying it sounds boring.”
“Part of me actually looks forward to everyone else being gone. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, let’s go make heads spin.”
The only head that will spin tonight is mine when I go Carrie mode on everyone at this party.
26
QUINTON
Her whole body is stiff as we walk up to the great hall of the castle. It’s the same room they held the black and white ball in, which is probably half of the reason Aspen doesn’t want to be here. The other half is that she knows people don’t like her. She is probably less than welcome here by all the other students, but I don’t care what everyone else thinks.
What’s important is that everyone knows she belongs to me, she is mine, and I don’t like sharing.
“Quinton, I really don’t want to go.” Aspen digs her heels into the floor, but I simply tighten my arm around her and force her to keep moving. “Can we just go back to my room? I’d rather just sleep with you than go through with this.”
“How about both? Let’s go to the party for a bit, then we go back, and I fuck you into the mattress.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I. Now, relax. It’s just a party.”
“It’s a party to you. It’s a nightmare to me. I don’t understand why you want me there.”
“Just making sure everyone knows who you belong to.”
“Don’t say stuff like that. I belong to you as much as you belong to me, which is not at all.”
“You are very wrong because you are mine. Mine to torment, mine to touch, and definitely mine to fuck.”
She turns her face away from me, but I can feel her body shuddering in my hold. A moment later, we enter the large, lavishly decorated party room. Unlike the founders’ ball, there are no tables to sit. Only a few bar-top tables scattered across the edges of the room. They have repurposed most of the space into a giant dance floor. On one side of the room, two bars stretch out. One for drinks and one holding a buffet of foods.
Aspen leans into me. “Can you at least not leave me alone while we’re up here?”
“I thought you didn’t need my protection?”
“Not when I’m in my room, but I wouldn’t mind someone watching my back while I’m in a crowd full of people who would like to dig a knife between my shoulder blades.”
“No one will bother you.” Even as I say the words, I know they are untrue. People mess with her wherever she goes, and until now, I let it happen. The reality of it hits me like a kick in the chest when I look around and see confused stares directed at us. Everyone is wondering what I’m doing here with her, and for a second, I wonder myself… What the fuck am I doing?
All my doubts about taking her here evaporate when I scan the room, and my eyes land on Vito. He is standing at one of the tables, his arms leaning against the surface while he is holding a beer in his hand. He notices us right away, giving me a small casual wave, almost like he was expecting us.
Ignoring him completely, I lead Aspen to the other side of the large space. Her dress is a little too long for her, and she has to lift the fabric slightly in the front to walk without stepping on the hem. I keep my hand on her lower back, guiding her where I want her to go.
As we move through the crowd, it seems that all eyes are on us. People either gawk at us in shock or inspect us with curiosity. Though we are met with plenty of confused looks, no one dares to say anything to us. Not until I spot Ren, Nash, and Marcel surrounding one of the tables, and we join them.
“Are you shitting me?” Nash calls out over the music. The words come out slurred, making it clear the beer in his hand is not his first. “What the fuck is she doing here?”
I don’t miss the way Aspen slightly leans into my side. It’s so minute, I don’t think anyone else notices, maybe not even Aspen herself. She likes to pretend she doesn’t need me, but we both know she seeks out my protection and comfort. I like that part too, the part where she depends on me. I appreciate the control it gives me over her.
