Page 8 of Soul of a Psycho

“Maybe next time, you’ll find somewhere else to sit.”

I clamp my jaw and narrow my eyes, spinning back to him. “I’ll sit wherever I want. You don’t tell me what to do.”

“And don’t come back out here,” he says, ignoring my fire.

It takes everything in me not to screech like a child. “I. Don’t. Have. To. Listen. To. You.”

He takes a step forward, and given his height, he’s practically on top of me within a second. He towers over me like the grim reaper, but my knees weaken for a very different reason. He smells like sulfur and metal, but with a distinct undertone of nature, even more so than the woods around us, and I like it.

I gaze up at him, only seeing his full mouth and definitely wishing I could see those eyes, the ones that burned into me in the administration building. How can he be so ominous and yet gorgeous at the same time? It feels unjust, like a butterfly with the ability to sting as a wasp.

“You will if you want to live.”

I suck in a breath, and my eyes snap to the switchblade, still sheathed but in his palm.

“Are you threatening me?”

“No, Sky. I’m protecting you.”

Whydoes he say my name like that? And what is it about him that has me still standing here despite the fear coursing through me?

“From what?” I ask, not sure I want to know.

His lips slowly part to reveal an irresistible smile, one that makes my skin heat and ache, and then he raises his chin, making me look even farther up and through my lashes. And then he pulls down his hood.

God, I should be afraid of him but his eyes… Strands of his dark hair slash over his tragically onyx irises like cell bars, but they don’t shield me from the way he’s looking at me, like I’m both the bone he’s always wanted, and the gum on his shoe, and it roots me into place.

We don’t move, frozen in a standoff, and I wonder if he feels it—the electricity, the heat, radiating off my body like a supernatural tendril that whispers to touch him, to touch danger. Will we clash if we connect? He’s radiating his own energy, something like a reservoir about to give, and I don’t know if the flood will snuff me out or create a lethal combination that threatens to undo not only us but everything in our path.

“Me,” he answers.

Chapter Seven

Cade

Dawn slips through the hole in the roof of my shack, and I shift irritably on my stolen mattress. The supply room is remarkably easy to break into. Anyone with a credit card can get in. Luckily for me, I’m the only one who wants to steal from Hillcrest’s storage. Otherwise, I’m sure the headmistresses would have noticed more than the occasional misplacement, and she would have replaced the lock.

Nothing goes unnoticed by that woman.

After my first semester, she took away my single and placed me with a roommate to help bolster my situation. Needless to say, it only made things worse, and I’ve been sleeping out here for the last three years. Caleb, or Calum, or whoever I have this year, is probably ecstatic to realize I don’t actually sleep in our room. He better keep his mouth shut about it, too.

I only go into the dorms to shower and make appearances with Mr. Maldon, Wakeman Hall’s House Manager. The decrepit bastard probably wouldn’t even notice if I was missing, but I’m sure the headmistress makes him keep special tabs on me. That’s one of the perks of my last name.

I get up to start my trek back, snatching my tie off the workbench. It’s going to be a long day, considering I haven’tslept. It seems the pills I take to help me sleep are no match for Sky’s inhabitance in my mind.

Pretty little Sky laughed in my face before storming back to her dorm, her itty bitty silk shorts damp and see-through in the moonlight as she stomped away. A tiny slit of a black thong was wedged perfectly between her plump ass cheeks. I never wanted to be a piece of clothing so bad. The girl is going to be the end of me if I don’t get a grip.

But it feels like I’m already hanging off the edge.

I snuck after her, making sure she got back safely. It was a waste of my time; I know that. She’s a Hillcrest senior, her fate is sealed. But I couldn’t resist, as if she had a leash on me and I had to follow.

I stayed outside Lamb Hall much longer than necessary, willing her to look out her window and notice me perched against the old sycamore, if only to get one last fix of those eyes, but not a single curtain moved. It’s probably best, though. If she had, then I would know what room she’s in, and I might do something stupid with that information, like fall asleep against her door.

I slip back into Wakeman Hall before anyone is awake, and find the showers. I don’t know if I need a cold shower to cool my simmer, or a hot one to burn away what it felt like to have Sky’s eyes on me. I have a sudden addiction with the way she looks at me, one that’s sunk its claws in faster than I can put up a defense. Even though I know there’s no way she’s interested in me, her pupils still went large as I tugged my hood down, scanning my face and taking in every detail. Maybe I’m not used to people really looking anymore. The low profile I’ve kept has worked just how I want it, and I’m no more than a passing shadow to everyone else. Butshenotices me.

I strip my clothes and step under the hot water, relishing the bite of steam and entertaining the idea of what it would be like if she were interested..

What would it have felt like if she leaned up on her toes and wrapped her arms around my neck? I could have reached down to meet her, grabbing her damp ass in the palms of my hands. If I hoisted her up, would she have wrapped her legs around me? Was she damp in more places? Would those thin shorts have been able to stop her from marking my stomach with her wetness?

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