Goddamn.
The threat shouldn’t sound hot, but, coming from Sin, it does.
“I’ve never begged in my life,” I lie.
“Now’s a good time to start.” His hand tightens to the point of pain. “Come on, babe. Beg me to let you go.”
Heat pools in the base of my stomach. Horrified at my body’s response, I tear myself from his hold. “Leave me the fuck alone.” I storm away, needing a mountain of distance between us.
“I’m not done with you, babe,” he calls to my back. “You can’t run forever.”
The hell I can’t.
It’s not until I’m on the other side of the quad that I finally admit the disastrous truth. I wanted to fight Sin. His dominance and controlled aggression are telltale signs of a worthy opponent. Bringing him to his knees will be a victory I savor long after his defeat.
As much as I try to forget why I learned how to fight, a dark part of me lives for the challenge. It wants to stare death in the face and survive, if only to prove that I can.
Annoyed with myself for getting sucked in, and disturbed by my reaction, I promise never to let Sin Brandt have that type of control over me again.
Chapter Six
Sin
I take a swig of beer and drop my head back, staring at the ceiling.
Temple is hot as fuck. Angry, too. Girl’s got bigger balls than most of the dudes I know. She throws shade like a pro.
My cock twitches in my jeans, so I adjust myself.
The entire class was watching her with Eve, and she didn’t give a shit. Her eyes were bright, and her body was coiled, ready to fight. Sexiest sight I’ve ever seen.
I turn on the TV, needing the distraction. But it does fuck all, because I can’t stop thinking about her.
I want her naked and beneath me. She’s going to submit to my control. By the time I’m through with Temple, she’ll plead for me to ruin her. My touch, body, and cock will be all she needs to chase that high she’s after. I’ve seen her fire, I feel it too, and I know how to cure it—fighting and fucking. Even better if it’s at the same time.
I’ll be her addiction, and I’ll make damn sure to use her dependency to my advantage.
She’s going to make me work for it. A fucking pain in the ass when I’ve never worked a day in my life. No point when money, connections, and fear do the legwork for me.
People don’t mean shit. They’re disposable assets who’ll pump my cock with one hand and point a gun at my head with the other. Everyone’s got a price, a pressure point, and a motivation. Chicks unzip my jeans, their mouths wet and cunts drenched before I ask their damn names. The less I care, the more they want. They’re all desperate to be the next Mrs. Brandt, thinking the prestige that comes with my name will turn their worthless lives into the fairy tale they were sold as kids.
Screw that.
No one’s going to use me.
Standing, I get another beer.
Saint’s right. Temple would rather fuck me over than do as I say. She sure as fuck tried to keep her distance on campus. Sitting on the opposite side of the auditorium like it made a fucking difference. Cute she tried. Waste of time, though. A chick like her can’t hide from anyone, least of all me.
I felt her interest. She tried not to, but her eyes burned the side of my face more than fucking once. From the other side of the fucking room, her body heat made me hard. Lectures were agony with a raging hard-on and no way to sate it. I’d grab the first chick who smiled at me and get her to take care of it. She did. They all did. And then they wanted more. But I don’t do more, and I’m not about to start now. Doesn’t matter if Temple looked away every time I caught her staring. Don’t give a fuck how wet her lips were or how wide her eyes went. It was always going to end the same way.
Her submitting to me.
Me using it to my advantage.
And ruining my cunt of a father.
No more pretending, time’s running out. Starting tomorrow, Temple—
“…execution-style murder. The victim, a forty-five-year-old Caucasian business owner, was found dead in The Dunes. A single bullet wound to the head has police thinking his murder is linked to the recent spike in drug-related activity in the area….”
“Motherfucker.”
Seconds later, my cell lights up with an incoming call. There’s no point checking the caller ID. I already know who it is. “Saint.”
“Did you hear?” His voice is low.
“Yeah. Dad’s trying to pull rank.”
Saint pauses. “How do you want to play this?”
“Like we planned. We’re going to infiltrate his organization and get the intel we’re after. Then, we’ll make him pay for what he did.”
And Temple will help us do it.
Chapter Seven
Temple
Muscles heavy and eyes tired, I lean back in my chair. I didn’t get home until crazy o’clock from the garage last night. At the time, I was amped after my run-in with Sin and the others, but now….
I glance at my notes. Messy scrawl stares back. Pages upon pages of barely legible theory demand I pay attention. I want to. Normally, I’m all over this stuff, but damn.
I stifle a yawn.
“Am I keeping you awake, Temple?” Professor Nate, Bayside Academy’s most respected lecturer, calls from behind his lectern. The fact he’s hot as hell isn’t bad either.
Hating that he called me out in front of a packed auditorium, I shift in my seat. “Sorry, sir.”
Snickers sound to my left.
I glance a few rows over and soon wish I hadn’t. Eve’s smirk makes me want to punch her in the face. Her threat from yesterday hangs in the space between us. She might not have followed through with getting me kicked out of Bayside Academy, but her expression tells me she’s happy to keep me guessing about when she will.
I need to watch my back, because the second it’s turned, she’s going to shove a knife in it.
Without meaning to, my eyes slide to the person next to her.
Broad.
Strong.
Deep, piercing stare.
Sin’s low voice growling I’m not done with you plays on a loop in my mind. It causes goose bumps to break out on my skin, leaving me confused. The guy invaded my space and wanted me to beg him to let me go. What kind of girl gets off on that?
The professor pushes his black-framed glasses up his nose. “Your disinterest must mean you know the content of today’s lecture. Care to take the class?”
Is he serious? “Hard pass. Thanks for the offer though.”
Unfortunately, Professor Nate doesn’t appreciate my wit. He searches through his notes, eventually finding a section at the bottom of the page. “Temple, tell me how the contextual factors surrounding Edgar Allen Poe’s life influenced his renowned poem, ‘The Raven.’”
Eve sniggers again. In my periphery, she whispers something to Sin, her tits pressed against his side.
He doesn’t push her away.
Instead, like everyone else in the lecture hall, he watches me. His gorgeous expression is stoic, belying the challenge flickering in his eyes.
I turn my full attention to the professor.