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I roll my eyes. “Your sister knows plenty. She’s not an idiot. I’m sure she knows you’re a manwhore.”
“Hey,” he snaps.
I wince. Ugh, why did I say that? I sound like I care. Which I don’t.
Fluttering my hand dismissively, I continue, “Whatever, it’s none of my business. Do we have a deal?”
“Just tell me why you want this,” he demands. “You answer, and I’ll consider your proposal.”
I sigh.
He doesn’t deserve to know. He’s done nothing to earn it, and I don’t want him using any additional information against me. I’ve already put everything on the line by divulging my plan to him. The less he knows, the better.
“I’m serious,” he warns.
I scrutinize him carefully. His clenching jaw tells me he’s not going to let this go.Fuck.
I huff out a sigh. “Fine, you want to know? I’ll tell you. You get to do exactly what you want to do. I want the same thing.”
He pulls back in confusion.
“Does this have to do with your brother’s move to Cali? Before that, you were just another good girl. Now you suddenly want to leave your clan and abandon your mother.” His brows lower. “Is this a cry for help?”
Jesus, he thinks this is silly rebelling because my brother’s gone. Sure, Tatum’s confession about our father’s treachery, and then him leaving me to deal with it alone, triggered a seismic change in my life. But why couldn’t this just be about fairness, ya know? About the fact that he can do what he damn well wants whenever he wants and I can’t?
I stiffen. “I’m not talking about my brother with you. You wanted an answer and I gave you one.”
I flick my index finger between us. “There won’t be any heart-to-hearts between us, Lucian. There’s nothing between us except the time we study together and the times we plot my escape.”
He drops to the couch, which sags deeply beneath his bulk. The springs on that thing must be gone.
Dropping his head in his hands, he mutters, “Christ. You’re just a girl. You can’t make it out there alone. You’ll get hurt.”
Irritation rattles through my chest. I’m not his family or clan. He doesn’t care about me. In fact, he thinks I’m disgusting. What’s his problem?
My hands twitch from wanting to wrap my fingers around his thick throat and throttle him.
“Oh, puh-lease,” I reply. “Stop acting like a fussy prude. And stop pretending you care. Just ’cause you’re a man doesn’t give you any proprietary rights over me. If it did, you would’ve acted on it in the cafeteria. You would’ve doneanythingto protect me.” I pause and remind him, “Which you didn’t.”
I take a deep breath and get into the groove of scolding him. “Don’t be a hypocrite. I’m not family. I’m not clan. I’m not dating an outsider, which might give you a reason to tattle on me. Stay in your lane, Lucian. God knows, that’s how I plan to treat you.”
His gray eyes turn dark. He looks thwarted. Frustrated. Almost…hurt?…by my speech.
I chuckle quietly to myself.
This selfish guy? Impossible.
Lucian only cares about three things. Beingconsilier, marrying Roxie, and besting Dinu. That’s it.
“You owe me,” I say softly, going for the jugular. “You owe me for what happened in the cafeteria and you’ll owe me for doing everything possible to help you graduate. It’s a debt, Lucian. Are you the type of guy who leaves a debt hanging between you and a girl? Hmm? ’Cause that’s not the made men I know.”
He’s doing that thing he does when he’s thinking hard, looking far off into the distance even though we’re in a cramped basement with a low-hanging ceiling above our heads.
His gaze swings back to me, his eyes burning, almost angry. Is he upset because I’m finally getting something out of this arrangement that up till now held no value for me whatsoever?
God, what a jerk.
I tap my foot impatiently. “Come on, Lucian, enough with the suspense already.”
