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“Danforth, right?” Cade says with an air of arrogance, as if Bexley is beneath him. I guess in Gravestone’s strange hierarchy, he is.
“Something you want to tell me, babe?” He practically smirks the words, but I feel the slight pinch in the way his fingers dig into my waist. Cade isn’t pleased about Bexley singling me out, and what he says in the next two minutes could determine his entire life here at Gravestone U.
“I… uh,” I stutter over the words. Cade stares at me with his soulless black eyes, and a shiver runs down my spine.
“Relax, man,” Bexley says, breaking Cade’s hold over me. “We’re in the same econ class. I just wanted to ask Mia if she had the notes from last week.”
“You’re in class with this fucker?” Cade asks, and I nod.
“Look, Kingston—”
“Kingsley,” Cade growls.
“That’s what I meant.” Bexley holds up his hands. “No hard feelings, yeah? I just wanted to ask Mia if she had the notes, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, she doesn’t have any. Do you?”
People have stopped to watch now, the air charged with tension. It isn’t every day someone stands up to Cade Kingsley and lives to tell the tale, but Bexley doesn’t seem in the least bit intimidated by him.
“I—” The words die on my tongue as Bexley steps toe to toe with Cade, his lip curving into a smirk all of its own. “It’ll only take a second, man. I’ll just borrow her and then bring her right back.”
Oh God.
My heart lurches into my throat right as my stomach flutters wildly. I can’t believe he just said that.
Cade’s eyes slide to mine in question. It’s our first day together. I’m his now. His girl… his property… his captive.
“I-I don’t have any notes, sorry.” I force myself to meet Bexley’s furious gaze.
“You don’t, huh?” Bexley says, but I can barely hear him over the roar of blood in my ears. “That’s a shame.”
Another beat passes, thick and heavy with silence. Then a tremor goes through the hall and they appear. Cade’s inner circle: Ashton, Tim, Channing, Brandon, and Brandon’s twin sister, Sasha. They move like a unit, slicing through the morning crowd like a sharp blade.
“What’s this?” Ashton asks the second they reach us.
“Danforth was just being a conscientious student. He needs Mia’s notes.” Cade drawls the word, making it sound dirty.
“Notes, huh?” Ashton slings his arm around Bexley’s shoulder and pulls him close. “I heard Mia takes the best notes, if you know what I mean.”
I swallow the bile rushing up my throat.
“Ash, don’t be a dick,” Sasha scolds, shooting me a reassuring smile. It does nothing to ease the knot in my stomach.
I almost didn’t make it in this morning. I was a bag of nerves, wondering how today would play out. I wasn’t a particularly rebellious child. I worked hard at school and tried to make my parents happy, even if I couldn’t readily accept Gravestone and all its secrets. But ever since hearing my name called at the Eligere, the need to rebel burns through my veins like acid, as if my soul knows it’s wrong.
Cade’s fingers slip under my AC/DC t-shirt—the least feminine thing I could find in my closet this morning—and begins caressing the skin there. My eyes flutter closed as I inhale a sharp breath. Most girls would pay to be in my position, having the King of Gravestone U feeling them up in the hall, but nothing feels right about his touch.
Not a damn thing.
“Get the fuck off me.” Bexley shirks out of Ash’s hold and runs a hand through his thick, dirty blond hair. “We’re not friends,” he says dryly.
“No, we’re not.” Cade stiffens. “Little word of advice, Danforth. You should remember that.”
“I’m not scared of you, Kingsley.” Bexley’s eyes flicker to mine again, but this time, Cade notices.
“Don’t look at her,” he growls. “Don’t you dare fucking look at her.”
“Bex?” Alex Shaw approaches us, concern glittering in his eyes. “What’s going on?”
