Page 29 of Dare To Break

For a second, my heart stutters, my dick swells, and doubt clouds my mind. I throw my shoulders back and squash down the surge of desire. It’s all a lie. She’s fake. In it with her mother to take as much money as possible from my family. She might have everyone else fooled, but not me.

I shove my food away, my appetite gone.

“Not gonna eat that?” Kellan reaches for my burger.

I wave a hand. “Have at it. I’m going for a run.”

Chapter 19

Arabella

“Bella, are you going for a run before dinner?” Jace asks.

My first impulse at seeing him in the cafeteria at lunch was to avoid him, but somehow, he and Evan ended up at my table. In the two days since I arrived, they’ve been hanging out with me constantly.

“That’s my plan.” I peel the wrapper off the Hershey’s cookies ‘n’ cream bar and nibble on a piece.

“I’ll meet you outside the dorms.” Jace nudges his shoulder into mine. “I need the exercise.”

“You going to get lost in the woods with Michigan?” Evan chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows at us.

Jace tosses a bread roll at his friend’s face. “You’re just jealous that none of the girls like you.”

My gaze involuntarily seeks out my stepbrother. Eli and Kellan are at a table on their own. Both of them have ignored me, much to my relief. I’ve been able to settle into the rhythm of a routine and find my feet.

I study Eli’s profile, his messy hair, those dark curving eyelashes, and his slashing cheekbones. My exploring drops to the padlock on its chain around his neck. Tongue flicking out, he plays with his lip ring as he talks with Kellan.

How can someone so terrible be so obscenely handsome? The thought hits me out of nowhere, and I recoil. Why the hell did I just think that? I do not think Eli Travers is handsome. He’s cold, twisted, and sick as fuck.

“You need to stop staring at them.” Jace’s breath tickles my ear.

“I’m not,” I lie, shifting my attention to another table.

He arches a brow. “Then how come I was watching you do it a second ago?”

“I don’t care what the Prince of Darkness and his minion are doing,” I snap, angry at getting caught.

“Prince of Darkness. That’s a good one.” Even though I’m not looking at him, I can hear Evan’s smirk. “Travers is a screwup. He’s going to live on his trust fund until he ends up in jail or goes out in a fireball of flames in his Bugatti.”

The bell rings.

Around us, the other students grab their bags and start to scatter. Lacy weaves her way toward us from where she’s been chatting with the cheerleader squad. Dumping her bag on the edge of the table, she rummages around before pulling out a packet of gum. She offers me the next one.

“We’ve got Mr. Bellamy for English.”

Evan groans. “Make sure you don’t leave anything on your desk at the end of class. He’s a klepto always stealing students’ shit.”

“Where’s Brad?” Jace asks, rising from his chair at the same time I get up.

“Miles needed help with something. He said he’d meet us in class …” Her voice trails off as Eli and Kellan pass us.

“Assholes,” Evan mutters under his breath.

Kellan must have heard him because he turns a hard-eyed look in his direction. If looks could kill, Evan would be dead right now.

Lacy waits until they’re gone to speak again. “Come on. I don’t want to be late.”

The second bell rings, and we hurry to class. My desk is at the back of the room by the window. Lacy and Brad are in the middle, with Evan toward the front and Jace at the table next to mine. Eli and Kellan are off to my right, tucked away in the corner.

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