I lean into him. “I had no idea where to sit, so I thought I’d keep myself busy until you arrived.”
“Girl, I got you.” He points to a table in the far corner on the opposite side of the room. “We can sit there. It’s by the kitchen, so most everyone stays as far from that one as possible.”
“I’ll meet you there.” I finish putting the dressing on my salad when I hear a commotion. Heads turn in the direction of the noise. Curious like the rest of the gawkers, I make my way over to see what’s going on.
“You should know better than to hang out with trash like her. Don’t think you’re immune just because you’re the chancellor’s daughter. Even your daddy knows he can’t protect you from…”
I don’t hear the rest of what Brielle says as my blood begins to boil. I can handle the bullying. Maybe Eden can, too, but I’m notwaiting to find out. I head in the direction of the crowd to find Brielle and her bitches.
“And trust me when I say, being bald would be better than this blue shit you got going on.” Brielle flips the ends of Eden’s hair.
I put my tray on the closest table. The guys sitting there scoff as if I threw a plate of vomit on it. “Get over it,” I snap.
Four of them have Eden backed into a corner. Brielle has scissors in one hand and a handful of Eden’s blue, cropped hair in the other.Is she fucking kidding me?Who the hell does shit like this? Unable to watch another second, I burst through the slew of ball-less onlookers and grab Brielle’s wrist.
“What the—” she barks.
I apply pressure in the precise spot, causing her to drop the scissors. Gasps go viral around me. The entire scene is royally fucked-up. How can these imbeciles do nothing as they watch this abuse like zombies?
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I ask, still holding her wrist. She lets go of Eden’s hair. “I mean, seriously, are you that insecure you need to cut off another girl’s hair, or does it give you a major girly hard-on to be a super-bitch?” Still holding her wrist, I drag her closer to me. “So, which is it?”
Her overly made-up face contorts into a mask of rage. “You fucking whore!”
“Hardly. I think all of us here know who the real whore is. And you love playing that part, don’t you, Brielle? You love being his little?—”
“Let her go.” The deep, penetrating voice behind me ruins my playtime. Edge comes up to stand directly behind me. I don’t have to turn around to know how close he is. The heat of his body radiates through my shirt.
Brielle pulls hard against my grasp. The second I know it’s time, I let her go. She stumbles and falls backward into the lapof an acne-fighting guy. He catches her from falling to the floor. Her skirt flies up, flashing her sheer red thong. His face is as shocked as hers. It would have been better if she had landed on her ass. But I can’t be too picky about the landing.
“Get your hands off me,” the ungrateful bitch says to the guy who broke her fall.
Edge reaches around me and pulls her to her feet.
“Thanks, baby,” she coos. Her sickly, sweet voice makes me want to spew vomit all over the table where I set my tray.
Ignoring her, Edge turns around to face me. His ruthless, slate eyes are full of hunger. “Do we have a problem here?”
I meet his glare. “Not anymore, but you might want to put a leash on your bitch.”
As intimidating as he tries to be, he probably thinks I should be quaking. But all I feel is warmth jetting through me as our eyes sear into one another’s. The corner of his mouth twitches with the slightest movement. Is he trying to contain a snicker? With practiced control, his mouth resets into his usual lethal thin line.
Brielle brushes off her skirt. “Did you see what she did to me? She has to pay.”
Off to the side, Bryce has his arm around Eden.
“Are you all right?” I ask her, and she nods.
“Little Ninja.”
I turn my attention back to Edge, who’s been in my head more often than I’d like to admit. I don’t say anything as I wait for Edge to state his warning. For some sick, unwarranted reason, I look forward to hearing them so I can intentionally disobey him. He has yet to punish me, but I sense he wants to every time I do the opposite of what he says. And on some demented level, I want him to. Maybe put me over his knee?
“Watch yourself.”
There it is.With a ghost of a smile, I boldly stand up on the toes of my boots. He stiffens as I move into his personal space. Brielle jerks back. Another gasp erupts from between her painted pink lips. Ignoring the skepticism in his ravenous glare, I lean in until the front of my body lightly skims his. His chest rises and falls with shallow breaths. The friction causes my nipples to harden. I know he feels what he’s doing to me, and right now, I like it.
Fanning a light exhale of breath along the edge of his jaw, I whisper, “No.”
My terms.
