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Not even his dad.
Thirty minutes later, the last of the pomegranate seeds had been swept up, and I’d reversed the damage. The floor was spotless once again, the Tupperware was soaking in the sink before going in the dishwasher, and the cleaning products had been stowed away. I took Knox’s former seat at the kitchen island, biting into his abandoned sandwich.
I’d just finished up the last of it, brushing the crumbs from my hoodie, when a shadow darkened the doorway again.
Knox was back.
He stalked into the kitchen, his eyes darkening with anger. “Where’s my food?”
Sliding off the stool, I reached for the empty plate, but he grabbed my wrist roughly, spinning me to face him.
“Where’s. My. Fucking. Food?”
He was so close, his chest rising and falling against mine as he snarled down at me with undisguised animosity. At that moment, I’d never felt more like prey cornered by a predator. But I was no meek little mouse, and his first mistake was to underestimate me. I may have been no match for him physically, but I wasn’t going to stand there and take whatever he wanted to dish out.
I thrust out my hand and gripped a handful of what was hopefully part of his dick and/or balls through his joggers. “Let go of me, right now,” I hissed. “I cleaned up the mess you made, but you don’t get to push me around.”
His breath came in harsh pants as he lowered his head, his lips almost touching mine. “Get your fucking filthy hand off my junk,now.”
I tightened my grip, my long nails digging into his sensitive parts—I hoped—and he cursed loudly. In a lightning-fast move, he curved his free hand around my throat and squeezed. An involuntary choked whimper tore from me, and I felt him smile.
“Yeah. I thought so.”
He loosened his grip as I loosened mine, and to my horror, I felt his previously soft dick hardening under my palm.What the fuck?I yanked my hand away as if I’d been burned, my eyes flying up to his. Shock and horror flared in his gaze for a second before he released his grip on me completely, pushing away.
We were both breathing hard, and I was…I couldn’t…my mind…
My eyes flicked down to where I’d been gripping him, and there was no mistaking the large bulge there. My cheeks heated, and I took an unsteady breath. When I returned my gaze to his, I expected to find him regarding me with disgust or some other similar emotion, but instead, he looked almost as disconcerted as I felt.
Good.
“Get out.” His voice was a low rasp. “Get out of my sight.”
I needed no prompting. Spinning on my heel, I left, leaving him standing there frozen in place.
5
KNOX
“You look like you could use a drink.”
I slumped back on the sofa in the crypts, accepting the chilled beer that Tristan handed to me. “Yeah, but it’s gonna take more than a drink to improve my mood.”
He sank down next to me, clinking his own beer against mine. “Cheers.”
Thanks to my parents and my temporary change of accommodation, I’d come to the crypts during our lunch break to pick up some shit that I needed. Surprisingly, Tristan had come with me and, even more surprisingly, had offered me one of the contraband beers we’d stocked down here in the mini fridge. Day drinking when we had afternoon lessons, and I had my one-on-one lacrosse practice with Saunders after that—it wasn’t the best idea we’d ever had, but he seemed to sense I needed it.
“Do you have a plan?” Placing his bottle down, he turned to me.
I glanced at the archway through which the stone stairs that led back up to the school cellars were just visible, the low, simmering anger in my belly getting hotter at the thought that I’d be away from all this for the foreseeable future. The crypts were supposed to be my domain. My secret place. And now, instead of being here, partying and living my best life in my final year at Hatherley Hall, I had to stay at home and play nice with the fucking help.
The room we were in now was the biggest in this underground haven. I’d stumbled upon it way back in the third year of my time here, when I’d managed to sneak into the abandoned cellars, deep below the school. I hadn’t even been looking for anything in particular, but I’d always been drawn to dark, underground places, and I’d wanted to explore. In the very back corner of a tiny unused storeroom, covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs, I’d found a door, hidden behind some shelves. It led to a set of stone steps, descending into the crypts.
The crypts themselves were the remains of a much, much older building. Built from solid, ancient stone, with arched ceilings and shadowy corners, they were a haven for spiders and other creepy-crawlies. The steps into the crypts led to a small room that we sometimes used as a kind of waiting area. Beyond that was an archway leading into the room we were in now—the largest of those down here. On the far side of this room was another archway, leading to a small room containing a number of tombstones. I fucking loved the aesthetics. Still, the room was rarely used, except when I passed through on the way to my private area. Behind a locked door, I had a bedroom. There were no windows, and the space wasn’t much bigger than the bed I’d installed there, but it was all mine. No one had ever been allowed in there before and never would. It wasn’t somewhere I officially slept, but I’d crashed in it occasionally, and I’d planned to make it my home away from home this year, even though I’d officially be moving into the dorms.
Of course, my plans had been fucking derailed. The fact that it was temporary was the only thing that kept me from losing my cool.
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to remain calm as my gaze swept over the space in front of me. Across from the sofa I was currently reclining on was another door that led down another set of stairs, and down there…well, aside from yet more tombstones and spiders, there was a place that belonged to me, Roman, and Tristan. While I’d discovered the crypts, and while it was my sanctuary, in reality, this place was theirs as much as mine. They’d helped me to break into the school during one of the holidays to clear out the space. We’d furnished it together, and we’d rigged it up with electrics and our Cerberus security system that stopped unwanted people from getting in. Even though there was a risk of being caught and expelled, they’d never once faltered, tirelessly helping me out. We were the gods of Hatherley Hall, and we had each other’s backs. Always would.
