Scarlett has some secrets, all right.
She went out and had unprotected sex…and thought she might be pregnant?
I take a picture and put it back in the calculus textbook, smiling to myself. I make sure everything is just as it was, the closet closed, the lights off, and head back to my room.
Not sure when I’ll use this information against her, because it feels almost too good to be true. And too big to use on a whim. No, this will take careful planning. And when it does come out?
Checkmate.
She better start packing early. I have a feeling she’ll be sprinting back to Yale by the time I’m through with her.
[ 10 ]
SCARLETT
The last thingI want to do is tutor my arrogant, cocky, tyrant of a stepbrother, but there isnofucking way I’m going to be labeled as a quitter my first year at Shadow Valley. Plus, I’m not willing to give him any more power than he already has by standing him up at the library out of fear.
I’m much too proud for that.
Unless, of course, it has anything to do with Yale. I’ll gladly run and hide from that shitstorm.
Cross doesn’t frighten me.
He irritates me, but I’m not afraid of him.
Hence why I showed up to our tutoring session forty-five minutes early. That way, this time, he can’t use the excuse that his tutor is late and dip early. If he wants to stay on the lacrosse team, then he’s going to sit his ass down and be humbled.
The door to the library opens, and my stomach dips with nerves.
Okay, fine.
He’s a little intimidating. His jaw should be listed beneath the worddangerousin the dictionary. Pair that with his toned arms, one of them covered in intricate tattoos, and I’m shifting in my seat uncomfortably.
Our gazes meet from across the quiet library, and it takes half a second for him to roll his eyes.
I force myself to smile at him, but I’m positive he knows me well enough now to realize it’s as fake as the girl’s boobs who just stepped in his direct path to me. His steps falter, and he tugs his backpack higher onto his shoulder. With one eyebrow raised, he peers at her from his tall height, his lips flat with boredom.
His attention shifts to me, and I don’t even attempt to look away.
He’s caught me staring, and he uses it like ammunition.
One hand wraps around the back of her head, his fingers tangled in her long blonde hair, while his other stays on the strap of his backpack. His mouth descends like he’s some kind of barbarian, and he kisses her with passion and so much sex appeal that my own legs clench.
Ugh, gross.
I tear my eyes away.
Was it gross, though? Because suddenly I’m stripping out of my sweater because the back of my neck prickles with heat.
I preoccupy myself with organizing my notes and my very detailed, organized plan for tutoring so I don’t look at him again. His presence is hard to ignore, though. I sense him before he’s even taken a seat at the table.
“Hello, stepsister dearest.” His smooth voice is like nails on a chalkboard. “Were you planning on saving my little show for your spank bank?”
That’s all it takes. Less than a minute with my stepbrother, and I'm already beyond irritated.
I flick my eyes to him. “You and your girlfriend are the furthest thing from what’s in my spank bank,stepbrother dearest.”
He snorts. “Girlfriend? Yeah, right.”
