Page 72 of SNOB

“Never too late.”

He lets out a breath. A laugh? Relief? I’m not sure, but when his hand falls on my shoulder I know it’s far from negative. “Show me what you got, Malcolm.” He taps my shoulder before rising from his seat. “Oh, there was something else.” There’s always something else. He takes another puff, his eyes narrowing. “They found a hair accessory at the scene of the incident. A woman's. Is there something I’m missing?”

Shiiit.

Think fast, McKinsley.

I shrug. “You know how us Paradise boys are. Could be from anyone. If his mother is any example…”

My father nods, getting my drift before he moves back into the house. His words and this cig settle into my bones. A smile comes to my face, my eyes on the moon as I hear his footsteps get further away.

This is what I need. Ember and my dad on my side.

Putting the end of the cigarette in the golden outdoor ashtray, I move inside, any traces of my father gone.

But when I'm back in my room, Ember’s not where I left her.

Leaning against the doorframe, I cross my ankles, watching her bare ass wiggle as she moves across the room. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

Ember freezes in front of the black door to the bathroom. “I should go.” She says, without looking at me.

“You won’t.” Moving into the bedroom, I close the door behind me. “We’re a team, Everett. You said so. You need me.” She still wears that collar, the only thing on her body. My fingers trail her soft skin as I make my way around to those bloodstone eyes.

She flicks her gaze upwards, a softness to her voice. “Do you need me?”

“I do.” A smirk comes to my face and when I tug on her collar, a smirk comes to hers. “And right now, I need you on all fours.”

“Four paintings in one month?” Ember’s voice rises on the way through the quad the next morning.

She moves quick, late for her class. That’s my fault. Our fault.

Those over-worn Oxfords hustle to the art building, her fluffy red curls bouncing behind her. She still sticks out in another graffiti shirt and torn-up jeans after refusing the gift cards to boutiques around town. Stubborn.

“Mac, how do you expect me to do four drawings in a month?”

Glancing at her face, I can’t read her. So I pull her behind a column. “Don’t be a pussy, Everett.” I catch her gaze, that heated stare right on mine. “You’re going to make a killing. Four weeks. Four drawings. Stop acting like you can’t do it.” My eyes drop to her neck where she still wears that butterfly choker. Pulling on it, I hover her lips over mine. “Tell me you can do it.” She tries to hide that smirk behind those lips but I see it. My lips follow before we’re staring at each other like I’m in some fucking romance movie. Tugging harder on her collar breaks the spell. “Tell. Me.”

She lets out a sigh, her minty breath landing on my lips. “Yeah, I can do it.” She rolls her eyes.

“You won’t like it if you don’t.” Letting go of her collar, I move away from her before I give into the monster inside me again. “Get to class.” I need to focus on my task. If she’s keeping up her end of the bargain I need to keep up mine.

“Halston.”

The room clears when I walk into Lab Six in the technology building. My eyes stay on the one fucker I know who can hack this shit. Harry Halston backs his wheeled chair against one of the large wooden desks with a thousand screens. When I get to him, I pull him closer, a hand on each arm of the chair. He winces.

“Ssh,” I whisper, reaching for the phone in the pocket of my slacks.

“What-what is it, Mac?” he stutters, pushing those black frames up his pointy nose.

“Want to make sure what happened at prom doesn’t happen again?” Harry nods, quickly. “I need you to unlock this.”

Harry reaches for the phone in his face, his body relaxing. “Oh, that’s easy. I can do it now.”

Pulling the phone back, I make sure he hears me. “Whatever we find, that’s between us, understand?” He nods again, this time slowly. I don’t need to spell it out for him. He knows he’s finished if this doesn’t work. I release the phone into his hand and lean against the desk to let him do his thing.

My mind drifts to where it always goes. Her. In my bed. On my cock. My hand around her throat. When all this is finally over, we can go back to enemies. We’re from different worlds and she ruined me before. Forget how her mouth moves, or how she feels when I’m buried inside her. I can’t let her ruin me again.

“Got it,” Harry says, shaking me out of my thoughts. “Sixty-nine, sixty-nine.” He glances at me, noticing my cocked brow. “That’s the code.”

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