Page 36 of Dare To Break

“Okay.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of black.

Eli.

I have no idea how long he’s been standing there. Jace follows my gaze, but by then, Eli has already disappeared.

“I need to go and take a shower.” The excuse is the first thing I can think of.

I don’t wait for anyone to reply, and hurry along the hallway.

Why did I agree to go out? I’d rather be curled up in bed with a book than hang out while others drink and smoke around me. It’s going to end up being a boring couple of hours when I could have spent it studying.

When I open my locker, my heart misses a beat. There’s a piece of paper inside. I slide in a book, and cover the note with my hand, curling my fingers around the edges to hide it. Door shut again, I lock it and stuff the paper into the pocket of my jeans.

The faint scent of Lacy’s favorite perfume lingers in the air when I enter our room. I close the door behind me, drop my bag on the floor by my bed and dig out the paper to read the note.

Good Girl. If you want to play again, choose cheesecake for dessert at dinner.

A warm, fuzzy flush fills me at the praise.

If I want to play?

I sink down the edge of my bed. It has to be another dare.

Remembering the reaction this morning to the first one I’d pulled off, it had been worth the lack of sleep. I grin, recalling the laughter from the other students. The chef hadn’t been happy, but it hadn’t taken them long to figure out where I’d hidden the coffee.

Something inside my chest flutters to life.

Do I want to play again?

Do I want to risk another silly prank?

I smile, already imagining the taste of cheesecake on my tongue.

The next dare is on.

Chapter 24

Eli

Something, an emotion I can’t put a name to, unfurls inside me when I see Jace grab Arabella and press a kiss to her lips. My fingers curl into fists, my jaw clenches, and I have to stop myself from starting forward and pulling him off her.

Patience, I tell myself. This is a marathon, not a quick sprint.

Everything hinges on her actions at dinner and whether she wants to take another dare. I think she will. I saw the look in her eyes at breakfast, the exhilaration of breaking the rules.

She gives off this good girl impression to everyone around her, but I’ve read her diary, and there’s a darker side to Arabella. One that I intend to draw out, to use, to put on display to the world and show that she’s rotten to the core … just like her mother.

But what if she isn’t? What if she really is what she appears to be? I shrug off that thought. No one is what they seem. Least of all gold-diggers.

I retreat to the art studio before Arabella and her friends see me and examine the painting I’ve started. When I realize what I’ve been painting, I take it off the stand and tear it up. No one needs to see it. Least of all the girl it represents.

Tossing it into the trash, I pull a box of matches out of my pocket and strike one. It sends the painting up in flames once I drop it onto the paper. When I’m satisfied it’s burned enough, I use the fire extinguisher to put out the flames, then leave the studio and head back to my room.

It’s empty when I get there. Kellan is off doing … whatever he does when he’s not with me. I pull out a small box from beneath my bed, find the key in my pocket and unlock it. Arabella’s diary is inside.

I take it out, sit on my bed and thumb through it. There’s a lot of material I can work with inside it. She doesn’t hold back on her thoughts, her dreams, her desires … and I’ve already highlighted some that I really want to test her boundaries on. But first, I have to ease her into it. I need to choose dares that will slowly increase her confidence, her desire to take risks, and her excitement at taking part in something just a little … taboo.

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