Page 17 of Tell Me You Like It

“Hello, Little Rabbit.”

My head snaps up to see Roman walking toward me.

Fuck.

I push out a breath. “I’m not interested.Especiallyafter what happened last night. You can just stay the fuck away from me.”

He holds up my stun gun and hands it to me. “You forgot this.”

I glare at him. “Do you hear me at all when I speak?”

He leans against the wall, all casual self-assurance. I saw this guy nearly beat someone to death last night, and now, here he is, standing in front of me like nothing happened. Though I notice his knuckles are raw and red, so I guess he’s human after all.

“I thought I made myself clear last night,” he says. “—I chose you. You’re mine. That’s it. There’s nothing either of us can do about that now.”

I hold my binder against my chest protectively. It’s a flimsy barrier, but it’s something. “Soun-choose me, then. There were plenty of girls begging to be chosen last night. Pick one of them.”

He shakes his head. “Doesn’t work that way, Little Rabbit.”

I pull a face, likewhat the fuck?“I thought you were, like…the most powerful guy on campus or something? Just tell everyone you saw me in the light of day and changed your mind.”

He laughs under his breath, just a puff of air, and his gaze flicks over me. His eyes linger on my face for a fraction too long. “They’d never believe that.”

I pause. Was that a compliment? My cheeks flush under his scrutiny, but I force my features to remain neutral–as much as possible.

“Besides, there’s something you need to learn about ExU,” he says. “Here, we thrive on duty and tradition. You were–”

“I know, I know,” I interrupt. He’s like a broken record. “Chosen.Jesus.That fucking ceremony should come with a consent waiver. I had no idea what I was signing up for when I showed up at that house last night.”

He just shrugs, and I can practically hear his thoughts,sounds like a you problem.

“I went to security this morning,” I say, changing the subject. “and they said some guy was found beaten on the edge of campus. He’s int he hospital. Was that Tyler?”

He shrugs again. “Could be anyone. But, wherever that cunt Tyler is, he won’t be returning to ExU. The paperwork to have him expelled is being approved as we speak.”

My eyes go wide. Does he have that much power? He can just get someone kicked out of school without an investigation or anything? Damn. That’s brutal. Tyler deserves it, but still…

He must read the direction of my thoughts because he adds, “He knew better than to fuck with what's mine.”

I decide to ignore the “what’s mine” comment, because I know I’m not shifting his view on that—not immediately, anyway. “Well, I wish I’d known ExU is such a dangerous place. I would have picked another University.”

“It’s not dangerous if you play by the rules, Little Rabbit,” he says, pushing off the wall. “Keep your phone close. I’ll text you later.”

As he turns to walk away, I call after him, “Pleasedon’t…text…me…” But he just continues to walk, like he’s not listening.

Goddamn.

Somehow I’ve gotten myself entangled with Roman Rush.

It’s a fucking entanglement.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lux

The restof the day passes in a blur, and still no text from Bree. It’s mid-day by the time I catch up with her. I’m just heading back to my room when I stop by and knock on her door. She answers, and the second I see her, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Goddamn, girl. You had me so stressed,” I say, pushing my way into her room. Her roommate is gone, thank goodness, so we have the small space to ourselves. I let my backpack fall to the floor, and I plop down on her bed. “Where the hell have you been?”

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