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I’m fixed on the spot where I’m standing, blinking up at him, my heart stuttering in my chest when I see something coming at me from the side.
Roxie charges at me, shoving a hand into my chest.
I jump back.
“What the fuck, bitch? Can’t you leave another woman’s manalone?”
“Hey,” snaps Lucian, placing a hand on my shoulder to steady me and his other hand keeping her at bay. Blinking at his hand, I feel the numbness spread over my body like it’s the cafeteria all over again.
I recoil, ready to back away and get the hell out of there before another disastrous scene unfolds, when Lucian growls, “Don’t speak to her that way.”
Roxie’s jaw drops open, but she quickly rallies. Her tone morphs into something sickly sweet as she explains, “I was in class and Luminita texted me thatshe’sin the hall, bothering you again. I just came to rescue you, baby.”
She lays a hand on his arm. He shakes it off. “This is none of your business, Roxie. This is between me and Star.”
Her eyes narrow dangerously. Oh, Roxie doesn’t like that one bit. “What exactly is going on between you and this…this,” she waves her hand at me, “bitc—”
“Choose your next word carefully,” he warns in a low, dangerous tone.
My eyes bulge. I’ve heard Lucian speak harshly, but I’ve never heardthattone before. A threatening energy shimmers in the air that makes me want to scurry away, and I’m not even the target of his ire.
I try taking a step back into the lockers, squinting down the hall to see where I can make my getaway, but his grip slides down my arm and tightens around it. There are only a few people around, but instead of going about their business and rushing to class like they’re supposed to, they stop to watch The Cafeteria Scene 2.0 unfold.
As if summoned, Luminita and a couple of other Popescu girls sidle up behind Roxie. With her gang behind her, Roxie must feel emboldened. Either that, or she’s not aware of the tone in Lucian’s voice.
“What the fuck, Lucian? You’re taking her side. This girl, who you’ve called disgusting.”
His head snaps her way. “Shut your mouth, I’ve never said that.”
“Actually, you have,” I blurt out softly.
His gaze swings back to me and I recoil against the lockers, as much as I can in his iron grip.
“Have not,” he replies, but scanning my face, his brows lower ominously. “Have I? I don’t remember.”
Of course, he doesn’t. It doesn’t matter enough for him to remember. Not only did he say it, but it was overheard by everyone, including Roxie. My gaze drops to the floor, humiliation rushing more heat to my face.
In a whisper, I remind him, “When I was on the floor in the cafeteria with food all over me.” I gulp before adding, “After I chipped my tooth.”
His expression turns stormy, the flashes of silver stark against the flat gray of his eyes. “I don’t remember,” he repeats.
“Of course not,” I mutter, trying to tug out of his clasp, but no luck. It’s like a metal cuff around my bicep.
He looks pained. “And if I said it, I didn’t mean it in that way.” He exhales harshly. “I say things I don’t mean, sometimes. Or it doesn’t come out right. Like yesterday.”
Before I can even think about his words—which sound suspiciously like an apology—Roxie demands, “What happened yesterday? What are you doing with this…this…girl? Because if you’re fucking her, I won’t have it.”
Scorn curls her upper lip. She crosses her arms tightly over her chest and taps her pink bubblegum-colored Versace platform shoes on the carpeted floor of the hall.
Lucian’s face morphs into a mask of rage.
Swinging me behind him as if to protect me, he turns on her. “What did you say to me? You have no power over me, Roxie. Not now. Not ever.”
His head swings over his shoulder at me. Pointing to the spot where I stand, he commands, “Don’t move a fucking inch.”
Then he rounds on Roxie, pushing her back a step, and continues, “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.”
He jabs a finger in my direction. “If I want to be with her, in any shape or form, I’ll do it. If I want to fuck her, I’ll fuck her. If I want to have her, I’ll have her. Hell, if I want to marry her, I’ll damn well marry her.”
