“Why do you run to Liam anytime I do something to piss you off?” he snarls. “Is he offering you more comfort than you’re telling me? Am I not giving you enough to keep you satisfied, little masochist? If so, I’ll be glad to demonstrate my abilities right here, right now.”
My lips curl, and before Liam can advance on his best friend, I step forward, poking my finger against Saint’s rock-hard chest. “You don’t get to lash out at me when I don’t bother to wait around for you to drag your big head out of your ass.”
His hands clench into fists at his sides. “I should take you over my knee and whip your tight little ass to get rid of that attitude of yours.”
I lose my breath and my heart begins to race. Damn it. I can’t let my head go to mush so easily. I grit my teeth as I try to push down the lust that instantly flames up for him.
“I should smash your fucking face in,” Liam snaps, stepping closer to Saint.
I let out a breath of annoyance.
“Oh, my God, would you two just stop?” This time, I place my body in between them so they can’t start whaling on each other in the middle of the hallway. “I’m so sick of this shit. Saint, is there a point to you being here, other than to annoy me and run your foul mouth?”
His glare to me is frost, but then he looks over at Liam, the veins in his neck spasming.
“I’ve been in Headmaster Aldridge’s office all morning answering bullshit questions about what went down at Thornhaven. Just thought I’d pass along the heads up that they’ll be coming to ask you shit next.”
Liam’s lips press into a white slash and he goes back to pulling at his sleeves as he spits out, “Fucking fantastic. That’s just how I wanted to spend my day.”
Saint gives Liam’s head a little pat in mock sympathy. “There, there, big guy. Just get it over with, write a check, and then you can go back to sniffing after my girl like nothing ever happened.
I’m so confused that I don’t even bother to check Saint on that last comment, even though Liam makes it a point to give him a rough shrug after he shakes Saint off of him. Thornhaven is another academy—an all-boys prep school in Sherman Oaks that’s one of Angelview’s rivals, just like Ravenwood. What did these two do there? And why?
“That’s all I came for,” Saint snarls, tossing a disgusted look between his best friend and me. “I’m out.”
Turning, he begins to march away. The urge to follow him and question him further proves too powerful a pull for me to ignore.
When I shoot Liam an apologetic smile, he groans and waves me off. “Whatever. Just … go.”
I hurry after Saint and catch him just as he’s walking outside.
“Hold on,” I shout.
He peers back at me and I’m not surprised to see he’s still looking at me like I’ve just admitted to fucking my way through the entire track team. “What?”
I come to a stop next to him and ask, “What was that about? About Thornhaven? When were you there?”
He hesitates, and for a moment I think he’s going to brush me off again, but then he surprises me by saying, “Friday night.”
I gasp as the pieces of the puzzle finally snap into place. “That’s where you and Liam went? Why? What’d my attack have to do with Thornhaven?”
He looks like he’d rather do anything else in the whole world than answer my questions, but he grabs my hand, tugging me along after him as he continues across campus. I ignore the stares as we pass by other students. They’ve seen worse from us, I’m sure, and probably heard even more. This will just be more juicy gossip for the masses to devour until our next dramatic display.
When we reach the middle of the quad, I dig my heels in and bring us both a halt.
“Saint,” I hiss. “Stop dragging me around and answer my questions.”
He faces me, and I can’t tell if he wants to yell at me or kiss me. Probably both, in all honesty.
“Fine,” he grumbles. “Kristyn’s boyfriend is one of the wealthiest douchebags at Thornhaven. Liam and I went over there to tell him to keep his bitch in line, and he wasn’t overly appreciative of our warning.”
“So, you got in a fight?”
He squints, his blue eyes twinkling with a wicked mixture of amusement and chaos. “Noses were broken, cars were smashed, there might have even been a few knives drawn. We made our point, though, and those Ravenwood cunts shouldn’t bother you again. Neither should Laurel, for that matter.”
I can’t decide what to feel. I know as a rational, mature individual I should be horrified at his actions. I shouldn’t condone his use of violence and threats to always get what he wants.
Yet, I also can’t forget how I felt when I was being attacked by those bitches—girls who didn’t even personally know me. How helpless and useless they made me feel. I can’t pretend I’m angry at him, not really. I’m savagely satisfied by what he did, though I can’t really tell him that either.
“So, you got in trouble because you beat up a bunch of Thornhaven jerks at their own school?” I murmur, gazing up at him.
He bobs his head, clearly pleased with himself. “And ruined a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car, but who really gives a fuck about damage when they’re 18 and just came into their billion-dollar trust fund seven years early.”
Billion. Dollar. Trust. Fund.
I try to wrap my head around that number, but the only thing I can do is give a slow blink as I clear the sudden tightness from my throat. “Y-you don’t look that worse for wear,” I finally manage to point out.
In fact, it doesn’t appear that he’s got a scratch on him. Liam didn’t either.
His expression is one of smug satisfaction. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because he won the battle or because he’s sitting on top of 12 zeroes. I also can’t resist wondering if his sudden good fortune has something to do with all the shit he pulled for his father.
Which makes everything from my scalp to the tips of my toes tingle with dread.
“Those pricks didn’t stand a chance,” he says. “It helped that we jumped them when I realized they were souring toward our friendly warning. Took them by surprise.”
Sonofabitch, why does that excite me? How fucked up am I that the thought of him attacking other people is a turn-on? No, that’s not completely true.
The thought of him attacking other people for me is a turn-on because up until recently, Saint was setting them against me.
Before my thoughts run away from me, I murmur the question that had sent me all over campus in search of him yesterday, “You’re not setting me up again, are you?”
His posture goes taut and his stance widens. “What? What are you talking about?”
Flicking my tongue over my lips, I continue, “You’re not just doing things for me, making me feel protected, so you can demolish me all over again, are you?”
Now, he crosses his arms over his chest and stares down his nose at me. “Don’t you trust me, Ellis?”
I clench my teeth. I can’t believe he even has the nerve to ask that question. “Not a chance. Case in point, you told Liam that I”—I snap my mouth shut when a group of juniors pass by, waiting until the sounds of their conversation fades away to lean into him and hiss—"killed Jon Eric. Why would you say that?”