Oh crap.
Run!
I want to scream at this guy who’s only trying to be nice, but I can’t find my voice. He says something to me. It’s muffled by the roaring in my ears.
A storm is coming.
It’s barreling my way.
We’re about to be decimated.
The guy gently grips my arm, trying to get my attention. I squeak in surprise, jerking away from him.
“I’m okay. I’m fine. I promise. Just leave me alone,” I hiss, my fear sounding more like venom toward the one person in this room full of people willing to help me.
“Okaaaaay.”
The guy walks away, honoring my wish—my death wish.
Ford limps slightly, yet it doesn’t diminish the raw power rippling from him. He’s dangerous in this moment. Starved for me. As he nears, I try not to cower. Just another monster like my father.
I can handle him.
Lifting my chin, I meet his dark eyes that flicker with intensity. He doesn’t stop until he’s towering over me. His scent is different today. Not buttery sweet or like the sea with a hint of spice.
He smells decadent. Heady. Like an expensive mocha latte sprinkled with cinnamon. His scent is anything but dangerous. It’s intoxicating.
“Landry.” He says it like a question. As though he’s confirming it. “Hmm.”
The rumble of his voice vibrates through me making me shiver. A lot of eyes are on us. Class hasn’t started, but we’re standing in front of everyone and giving them a show. I can’t do this with an audience. The idea of being alone with this man is terrifying, though. I’m out of options.
“Ford.”
He cocks his head to the side, amusement making his hard expression transform into something more familiar. It’s a trap I fall easily into. My muscles slightly relax.
“You’re scared of me.” His apathetic words are almost said with a yawn.
Am I that transparent?
Straightening my spine, I affix him with a hard glare. “I need you to leave me alone.” Because I know you beat my dad up and if this gets back to him, he’s going to completely lose it.
“Leave you alone?” His eyes narrow. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
“What you did to my dad—” I start and snap my mouth shut when several students glance over at us.
“Go on,” Ford urges, his voice low and lethal sounding. “I’m listening.”
His taunting is both confusing and maddening at once. My mind scatters in a thousand different directions. I don’t understand him, especially now, but this nagging curiosity says I want to. If only to better know how to deal with my newest opponent.
“Can we talk?” I mutter, unable to find my voice. “Alone?”
A dark brow arches and he smirks. “Alone?”
“I’m not doing it in front of the whole damn class,” I snap, my fear quickly morphing into anger.
How dare him inject himself into my life and shake things up.
My life is already a mess. I don’t need him adding to it.
“Saucy.” He chuckles, dark and devious. “Let’s go somewhere private then, prickly princess.”
Prickly princess.
I prefer Laundry or honey over that stupid name.
When I don’t move my feet, he reaches down and takes my hand. It feels clammy inside his large, powerful one. He tugs, guiding me to the door.
This feels like a death march.
Suicide.
And yet, I don’t run.
I let him pull me away from the safety of other people.
A chill numbs me to my bones the second we exit the classroom. He slowly limps along, taking me through a series of hallways until I don’t know where we’re going. The amount of people grows more and more sparse.
“Did you get hurt when you beat up my dad?”
He stops mid-step, cutting his eyes my way. “I did what now?”
“Beat my dad up.”
“All by myself?”
I frown at him, confused at his words. Dad just said he’d been jumped. There wasn’t a mention of more than one attacker.
My dad isn’t exactly a small guy, but Ford is young and built. He could easily take my dad on in a fight. By himself. But everything in his expression tells me there were more than just him.
I don’t have time to consider it any longer because he pulls me into a handicapped bathroom. As soon as the door closes, he snaps the lock on it.
Oh God.
I’m alone with him.
His hand jerks toward my face and I flinch out of habit. But, rather than striking me, he grips my jaw, angling my face in different directions as though he’s studying every detail. All I can do is stare back, hating how attractive I find him even when he’s being like this.
“You’re nothing like her.” His words are spat at me almost cruelly. “Nothing.”
“W-Who?”
He rubs his thumb over my bottom lip, dragging the flesh almost painfully to the side. Then, he slips his thumb between my lips. I bite down on his thumb because I don’t want it in my mouth. I don’t want him touching me at all. He hisses in pain and his lip curls up.
Oh God.
I’ve enraged him.
No turning back now. I’m already here, trapped in his grasp. And since there will be no flight, all that’s left is to fight.
I bite harder, feeling my teeth pierce his flesh. A metallic taste washes over my tongue. I’ve drawn blood. Good.
“Feisty little thing,” he growls. “So you want to play, huh? Let’s play.”
Chapter Seventeen
Scout
Oh, I like her.
I can see why my brothers are so enamored.
She’s a fiery, devilish temptation all dolled up to look like an angel. The thing with angels, though, is they’re easy to drag to the dark side. You just give them a taste of sin or a gift of pleasure. Breaking their wings is a treat. Crushing their halo is like a taste of heaven itself.
Welcome to the dark side, princess.
My thumb hurts like a sonofabitch, but it’s not like she can bite it off. She’d have to go through bone and she’s not a fucking dog. Eventually, she’ll let go. I’ll make her let go.
With my free hand, I grip her tit over her shirt. She cries out in surprise. Her death grip on my thumb doesn’t relent. Stubborn as fuck.
I grab her tit roughly before releasing it. She sucks in a sharp breath around my thumb as my other hand finds the button of her jeans. Without much effort, I undo her button and work the zipper down.
“Let go,” I warn, my voice like shards of glass stabbing at her.
Her answer is to bite harder.
Fuck.
I shove my hand down into the front of her jeans, the silk of her panties the only barrier keeping my fingers from pushing inside her. I’m not interested in fingerfucking her, but I have an idea to make her turn my thumb loose that’s still held hostage between her vicious teeth.
“Wednesday night, you came like a good girl over the phone. I know you’ve been fantasizing ever since. For this moment.” I grin wolfishly at her. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Fuck. Maybe she will bite my goddamn thumb off.
I rub my middle finger over her panties, working it between the lips of her pussy. The second it pushes against her clit, she whimpers. My brow lifts as I watch her pretty face turn a lovely shade of red.