Page 29 of Wicked Waters

An arm loosely wrapped around my waist, and I turned to see Lincoln, one of the guys from the lacrosse team, grinning down at me. “Tonight is your lucky night, Quinn. You and me—we’re gonna get a chance to do what we should’ve been doing before you left us all behind to move to Switzerland.” He paused, his brows pulling together. “Uh, maybe not back then, but whatever, we need a chance to do this now.”

“And ‘this’ is?”

His grin widened. “First, you have to dance with me. Then I’ll tell you.”

I glanced around us. There were a few people dancing, including Gracelyn and Samira, their thighs sliding together as Samira ran her hands down Gracelyn’s back. But most importantly, there was no sign of Roman.

“Go on,” Aria whispered from my side. “He’s hot and not as much of an asshole as certain team members I could mention.”

“Such a glowing character reference,” I murmured, amused, but let Lincoln tug me over to the space where the others were dancing. At least he wouldn’t ring any alarm bells with my parents—although I hoped I was out of their reach down here. I placed my hands lightly on his shoulders, but he shook his head.

“Nah, that’s not how we dance. We dance dirrrty,” he said with a smirk, spinning me around and pulling me back against his chest. His hands landed on my hips, moving us to the heady beat of the music thrumming through the stone cavern. Across from me, Knox and Elena were wrapped up in each other, less…dancing and more…grinding. I tore my gaze away from them, but not before Lincoln noticed.

“If I play my cards right, that could be you and me later.”

Why did that sentence feel so wrong? He was gorgeous, a lacrosse player, and, from what I knew of him, nowhere near as arrogant as most of the elite were. I should know. I’d been one of them once, back when Roman had been on the fringes. Now, he was in the centre, and I was the one on the outside.

Instead of replying, I kept dancing, gradually losing myself in the music and the feel of a warm body pressed against mine without any expectations…at least, not yet.

Lincoln’s head dipped to my ear. “All this dancing is thirsty work. Wanna grab a drink?”

I nodded, and he released his hold on my hips but placed a hand at the small of my back as we pressed through the crowds. It was only when we reached the wall that I realised the direction he’d led us was taking us straight past the sofas where Roman was still sitting. Freya was still in his lap, but now she was straddling his thighs, and he was—he was— Is he kissing her neck?

My breath stuttered. Biting down on my lip, I somehow managed to stifle my gasp. I curled my fingers into my palms, the sting of my nails grounding me, and leaned into Lincoln, using his big body to shield me from the sight. He responded instantly, moving his hand from the small of my back to slide his arm around my waist instead. As far as I knew, only Roman’s inner circle, my roommates, and Penelope were aware of what had gone down between me and Roman. I’d told my roommates the basics, and Penelope had a general idea based on the small details she’d picked up on and the few things I’d mentioned to her in passing. I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping everyone else was none the wiser, and did my best to act like I was unaffected by the sight. And it turned out that Lincoln was completely unaware because as we passed the sofas, he shoved at Roman’s shoulder.

“Get a fucking room, bro.”

Roman blinked slowly, lifting his head, and I could see his pupils were wide and glassy and a little unfocused. Probably high or drunk or both. A lazy smile curled across his lips.

“Thought I’d give you a free show.”

“I don’t need a show. I’ve got my girl right here.” Lincoln moved suddenly, and then Roman’s bleary gaze was on mine.

It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of icy water over him. The haze instantly disappeared, and his jaw clenched so tightly I could hear his teeth grinding together.

“Get the fuck away from her.”

Lincoln reeled back at the venom in his tone. “What the fuck, Ro? Why?”

“Because I fucking said so. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do it.”

Lincoln stiffened. “No. If you’ve got a claim on Quinn, that’s one thing, but from where I’m standing, you already picked your girl for the night.”

Roman blinked again, his gaze sliding to Freya. She wound her arms around his neck, kissing the side of his head, and I had to turn my back, which meant that I was facing Lincoln directly. He tilted my chin up gently, lowering his head, and I was frozen in place?—

There was a high-pitched shriek from the direction of the sofas, and two seconds later, Lincoln was gone from in front of me, his head swinging to the side as Roman punched him in the face. He roared in pain and anger, lunging for Roman, and then people were diving out of the way—including me—as the two of them went at each other. Tristan leapt to his feet, shouting for Knox, and we were suddenly surrounded by half the lacrosse team, pulling their two teammates apart.

“What the fuck is going on?” I’d never seen Tristan so livid. “You don’t attack a fucking teammate!”

Roman snarled like an animal, and it really, really shouldn’t have been hot. There was something seriously wrong with me. Seeing him standing there, his chest heaving, rage in his eyes, his fists still clenched as he bared his teeth at his best friend…it did something to me.

“Ro.” Tristan stepped closer, lowering his voice, and I was only able to hear him because I was pressed against the wall right behind them. That, and the fact that the crypt had gone silent other than the music still playing, with everyone focused on the drama happening between the elite. “You can’t afford to get into any more shit, and he’s our teammate. How are you gonna explain his black eye to Saunders? What if you’d hurt him and he couldn’t play?”

“He fought back—why the fuck am I the one you’re having a go at?”

“Because you started it. I saw you.”

“Fuck this. I don’t need this shit.” Roman pushed past him, heading straight for the door that led to the lower level of the crypts, and wrenched it open. As it slammed behind him, the main crypt gradually filled with noise again.

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