“You need to take your Einstein head out of your ass and realize any day is perfect for a party.” He takes a joint out of the pocket of his blazer.
Gunner flicks the lighter and sets fire to the tip. He inhales, passes the joint to Levi, and then they start humming the same fucking reggae song. I swear those motherfuckers are always in sync.
Tuning them out, I focus on Ninja. She pulls the band out of her hair. Long black waves fall down her back. I imagine curling my fist around the lush bundle, then pulling it down so that she’s forced to look up at me.
I’m yanked from the fantasy as Brielle tucks herself under my arm, draping it over her shoulders.
“Hey, baby, it’s been a shitty day, huh?” she whines.
A few of her friends trail after us as we head to my Jeep. Their giggles and nonsensical chatter are annoying as shit.
“Baby, why are you ignoring me?”
I pull my arm away, trying to do just that. She’s irritating as hell but puts out whenever I want. Bastard of a reason to keep her around, but it doesn’t seem to faze her. She thinks we’re destined to be together forever or some shit. The problem with her thinking is that we’re not, nor have we ever been, together. Truth be told, there isn’t much more between us than her pussy and her mouth.
Brielle follows my gaze and huffs out an exasperated breath when she realizes who has my attention. “And there’s the cause of this shitty-ass day in the flesh. The slut can’t even afford four wheels.” She laughs.
I wish she’d just keep her mouth shut. What money means to her is something very different than what it means to me. The only similarity between my family’s wealth and hers is that Brielle’s family money has been passed down through generations, growing in size with each reading of a will. I know for a fucking fact that her family’s money isn’t completely clean, but I’d bet her purse is carrying crisp dollar bills and unstained credit cards, whereas my wallet overflows with tainted hundreds that are laced with dark secrets and sin—in other words, blood money.
“A chick with an engine between her legs is hot as shit,” Gunner pipes up.
“Whatever. She’s a piece of trash, and she knows it. I bet she’s had a lot more between her legs than that.”
Levi props his arm on Brielle’s shoulder. “Like you haven’t, Bri?”
“Shut up!” she spits.
“I’ve got to go, my girl is waiting for me,” Levi says, handing the joint back to his brother.
“That’s it, run off to play house,” Gunner teases.
Levi flips him off. “Later Edge, Kade.”
Brielle tries to intertwine her fingers with mine. I jerk my hand away, tucking my hands into my pockets.
She grabs me by the lapels of my blazer and rises onto her toes. It’s like nothing has changed since high school. Why would it? Monarch University is basically the same as Monarch Prep. It has all the same boring people, with the same expectations. Even the campus is the same, just larger. The buildings and dorms are just on the other side of the river, connected by a pedestrian bridge. It’s all the same shit. That’s one of the reasons why the little Ninja is so intriguing.
With her lips against my ear, Brielle whispers, “Come by my place and I’ll have you forgetting all about that piece of trash.”
She tries to kiss me, but I turn my head. Her lips brush the underside of my chin. I’ve never kissed her, nor do I ever plan to. But it never stops her from trying. The sad part is that she’s well aware of this, but she still tries, hoping to catch me off guard. That will a thousand percent never happen.
The main problem with Brielle’s suggestion is that I don’t want to forget about Ninja. I watch over Brielle’s head as Ninja unbuttons her shirt. Taking my hands out of my pockets, I remove Brielle’s too-long fake claws from my lapels, then move her out of the way to get a better view of the girl stripping near her motorcycle. What in the actual fuck?
Within a few moments, I’m not the only one staring at Ninja. She’s got the attention of most of the parking lot as she fucking undresses right there in front of everyone.
Caught between wanting to cover her up to hide her body from the eyes of every other fucking guy here and cheering her on to take it all off, I stay quiet and watch the show.
She isn’t stripping for the attention. Fuck, she doesn’t even notice that she’s the focal point right now. Again, her doesn’t-give-a-shit attitude rises to the surface. She slides off her button-down shirt, revealing a white tank top with black bra straps underneath. There’s the sexy-as-hell dragon tattoo on her forearm. She said I would never be close enough to her to know what it means, but I’m going to have to disagree with her about that. As dangerous as it is, I have plans for us to get very close.
She stuffs her shirt into her backpack, then she slides down the zipper on her skirt. It falls to the ground, exposing her barely-ass-covering shorts. She bends over to pick up her backpack, shoves her skirt in, zips it up, and hoists it onto her back. She leaves her high socks over her knees. Straddling her motorcycle, she puts on her helmet and starts the engine. Fuck me and my hardening cock. The gasps and whispers around me spread like wildfire. I stay perfectly silent as she backs out of my parking spot. In perfect, fearless form, not giving a shit about what anybody thinks, Ninja pulls out of the parking lot onto the main road and disappears from my view.
Something about her isn’t quite right. No one has ever come into Monarch who hasn’t been afraid of what’s in store for them, having heard rumors about Venom or the Vipers. The new kid always gets shit. Their one job is to win one of us over with their so-called charm or make some kind of offering to make them worthy. Usually, it’s their subservience in return for invites and staying off our blacklist. She’s made no effort to fit in. And she sure as hell hasn’t attempted to play nice. She’s done the exact opposite.
At a glance, you could sum her up as a snooty bitch who could fit in perfectly with Brielle and her friends, wearing toomuch makeup and grinding on every hot guy she sees, either for attention or to get herself off. Up close, though, Ninja is none of those things. Her game is different. She might have fooled everyone else but not me. That girl is after something. And I have a feeling it involves more than getting a degree. I’ll find out what she’s up to. Keeping her close ensures I remain in control.
And it’ll be my pleasure to keep her as close as possible.
8
