“For some of your classes,” he replies smoothly. “Wes and Raf are in others. This way, you’ll always have one of us there to watch over you and keep you in line.”
“Of course,” I grumble under my breath.
“We’ve got our first class together this morning, so, shall we?” he asks, offering me the crook of his elbow as if he’s some sort of gentleman.
I ignore the gesture, turning around and stomping away down the path.
I cringe at the sound of Ford’s low chuckle as he jogs to catch up to me, slinging an arm over my shoulders. I try to shrug it off, but he just draws me in closer to his side, a flush rising to my cheeks as the other students milling around campus pause to look over at us and gawk.
This is exactly the kind of attention I didn’t want. With every step, I feel my plans of flying through college under the radar slip further away as I silently stew over the amount of control these guys now have over my life.
Who the hell do they think they are?They may be ‘Kings’ here at Corvus, but there’s a great big world out there where they wouldn’t be able to get away with this kind of shit. I’m not a confrontational person by nature, but there has to come a point where enough is enough.
My warring thoughts circulate until my frustration finally bubbles over and I ask Ford the question that has been at the forefront of my brain since he played that video for me Saturday night.
“So, if I play by your rules… does that mean you’ll delete the video?” My voice comes out a lot meeker than I intend it to, but I can’t help that these guys intimidate me. I’d be foolish tonotbe scared of them at this point.
“Maybe,” he drawls, glancing over at me with a smug grin. “Though it’d be a shame to delete it.”
He suddenly stops walking, the weight of his arm around my shoulders halting me in my tracks. Before I can ask why, he leans in close, the scent of cigarette smoke and motor oil tickling my nose. “I fucked my hand so hard to that video all weekend that I chafed my dick,” he murmurs.
I recoil with a grimace. “That’s disgusting!”
“Why?” he laughs. “You’re a hot piece of ass, Ava baby. I could watch you come over and over again and never get bored.”
I try to ignore the way those words send a flood of unwanted heat rushing through my veins, shrugging his arm off my shoulders and starting down the path again. I pick up my pace with the hope that he’ll fall behind, but no dice. He’s at my side again in an instant, keeping in perfect stride with me all the way to the science building.
“Have I told you that anatomy’s my favorite class?” Ford asks as he slaps a tattooed hand against the door to push it open, holding it wide and gesturing for me to go in ahead of him. “I have a feeling that having you as a study partner will make it evenbetter.”
I cringe at his insinuation. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” I grit out, ducking under his arm to enter the building. I try to hurry away from him again, but he follows me inside and catches up quick, stepping in front of me to block my path.
His lips turn down in a frown, all traces of playfulness gone from his expression. “Are you saying no to me, Ava baby?”
His sudden shift in demeanor catches me so off guard that all I can do is stare back at him, jaw going slack.
“I think we’ve already established what’ll happen if you don’t do exactly as we say,” Ford warns, crowding into my space. He’s so close that I can smell the mint on his breath from his toothpaste, mingled with the tinge of cigarette smoke. “One clickof a button is all it’ll take to send that video to every major porn site and the entire Corvus College alumni database. Good luck finding a job after you graduate once everyone who’s anyone has seen you spread open and begging for dick.”
I flinch back, both appalled by and fearful of his threat. Ford acted so jovial and carefree on the walk over here, but now he’s suddenly ice cold, something shuttering in his hazel eyes like he’s flipped the switch on his humanity.
“Are we on the same page?” he asks, cocking a brow.
I nod numbly.
“Good.”
He rocks back on a heel and his lips spread into that goofy grin again, as if he’s suddenly flipped the switch back the other way. It’s seriously creepy how he can do that, and now I’m questioning this guy’s sanity even more than I already was. Ford may just be the most dangerous of the three.
He turns around and strides away while I just stand there staring after him, still in a state of shock.
After a few steps, he pauses, turning to glance back at me over his shoulder. “Well c’mon, we’re gonna be late to class,” he urges, waving for me to hustle up.
Gripping my backpack straps, I drag in a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other, left with no choice other than to begrudgingly follow his command.
CHAPTER 15
RAF
The upsideof Corvus College being small is that it’s easy to control. The downside is how fast news travels through the rumor mill. It comes as no surprise that there are whispers circulating by lunchtime, nor is it a shock when Chelsea corners me after my last class of the day, all fired up and looking for a fight.
