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I shrug and saunter over to him. “Well, aren’t you clever? A star for the dean’s son. Now, excuse me. I am going to go find my mother.”
A hand grips my wrist in a vise, and I glance down. He’s holding me the same way his father held my mother.
“Take your hand off me,” I grind out.
He lets go of my wrist, and triumph surges in me, but the next moment he has me by the nape of my neck and spins me around and pushes me viciously onto the bed. I hit it with an oomph as the air leaves me.
Instantly, I’m taken back to the moment Paxton pushed me back on the bed. I freeze, my heart stopping, my blood stilling in my veins. Dom clearly doesn’t register my terror—or he doesn’t care—as his hand slams over my mouth.
He leans in close to whisper in my ear. “Don’t fucking push me, bitch. You and your mother will be gone in days if I have my way. Until then, stay away from me. Stay away from my friends, and show some fucking respect. You’re not better than us.”
I break my freeze and push him away. Before he can grab me again, I roll to my side and jump off the bed. I race to the door, wanting distance between us, and turn to him. I’m shaking all over.
“I want to be gone, too. Don’t worry. I imagine we have more in common than you realize. I don’t want to stay here for a minute longer than I must. And I don’t think I’m better than anyone.”
His face is a mask as he watches me.
“I know I’m better than you,” I add.
I expect anger, but instead he laughs. “Oh, darling, you’re nothing but the daughter of three generations of trash, and it doesn’t matter what you do. That will always be your blood.” He walks by me. “Come on, then, little stepsister. It’s time for us to eat.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He arches one eyebrow. “Really? You’re going to keep our parents waiting, are you?”
Fuck. I have no choice. Mom would be furious with me if she knew I wasn’t getting on with Domenic.
I follow him out of the room, hating him so much I can taste it. When we enter the dean’s room, which I realize is a whole suite, I’m shocked to see it isn’t only my mother, me, Nataniele, and Domenic. The bleached blond guy with the nose ring is also in the room. He’s tall, muscular, and his gaze is as icy as it was before.
“Sweetheart,” Mom greets me.
She crosses the room and hugs me.
I don’t know if I’m imagining it or if her hug is tighter than usual. “Did you enjoy getting shown around the place?”
“Oh, yes, it was fantastic.” I smile at her and throw Dom a sideways dirty look.
“You must be one of Domenic’s friends,” I say to the blond. “We met earlier, while he was so kindly showing me around.”
The blond glances at Dom and smirks. “Da. I am Kirill.”
It was going to be bad enough having to sit and eat with my soon-to-be stepbrother and his father, but now I’ve got to also deal with Kirill and his coldly amused interest.
“Hey, Kill, you want a scotch?” Domenic asks his friend.
Kill? Good God, his nickname is as scary as he is.
“Are you both over twenty-one?” I ask without thinking.
“Are you twenty-one?” Domenic mocks as he pours the drinks with a roll of his eyes.
“Where I am from, we drink vodka in the womb,” Kirill answers.
“Your first classes start tomorrow,” my stepfather-to-be says to me. “The university is divided into houses, depending on where your residential rooms are located. There are four—north, south, east, and west. You’re in South House, with Dom and Kirill.”
“I see. Is that where all my lessons will be too?”
He shakes his head. “No, the lessons are all mixed. I think you’ll be in the east wing first thing.”
