Page 33 of Say It Slowly

He leans in, invading my physical space. His gaze flicks down my body, then up again. He smiles, and my heart rate kicks up about a thousand notches. “You have no idea what you’ve unleashed inside me.”

His throat is still red from where I was choking him, and the aftershocks of that incredible orgasm are still pulsing through my body. I lick my lips. “What do you mean?”

He just laughs, and starts the engine. He doesn’t answer because we both know what he means. If there was ever a chance of me escaping Roman Rush before, that small glimmer of hope has been eviscerated.

He sees something in me he wants, and he’s not stopping until he gets it…

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lux

To my confusion and relief,Roman drops me off at Rush House, then speeds off without a word. I walk through the front door, passing a bunch of people. A couple of the guys, Jackson and Christian, look like they’re just arriving or leaving with several girls trailing behind them down the hall.

I think I see Nathan, too, but I don’t stop to talk to anyone. I’m too shaken by what just happened with Roman. I head straight up to his room, which is where he said all my stuff is.

Yup.

There are a dozen boxes stacked on top of eachother in the corner of the room, each one labeled—books, toiletries, clothing, etc. I rip open the clothing box, and dig a tank top out, and a pair of gray sweatpants, then change into them.

I’m about to crawl into Roman’s oversized bed, when there’s a knock on the door. If it’s one of Roman’s bros, I swear I’m going to scream. I just can’t deal with all the toxic masculinity right now. I’mtired.

“Yeah, hold on.” I walk to the door and wrench it open, prepared for a fight, when I see Wyn on the other side of the door. I deflate immediately. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey, girl.” She walks in, glancing around the room. “Wow, I didn’t believe it when I heard, but then I saw you breeze by downstairs. Did you really move in?”

“Yes,” I say, then shake my head. “I mean, no. Roman stole all my stuff and brought it here, then had the locks changed on my dorm room.”

She nods, walking around to admire Roman’s massive room. She plucks a book off one of his built-in bookshelves and inspects it. “Sounds about right.”

I lift my arms, floored by her nonchalance. “That doesn’t seem the least bit crazy to you?”

She shuts the book, and returns it to the shelf, then turns to face me. “Oh, crazy, sure. His whole family is nuts. Doesn’t surprise me in the least, though.”

“See,” I say, pointing at her. “This is why Roman and his crew get away with anything and everything under the sun. People just accept their crazy behavior.”

She plops down into an armchair by the fireplace. “The whole school saw you with Ash. You knew he couldn’t let that stand.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Are you actuallydefendinghim?”

“Oh, God, no,” she laughs. “Roman and his guys are assholes. They should all be dragged out onto the street and shot. I’m only part of their circle, because—” She cuts herself off. “Well, I have my reasons…”

I pause, wondering what that reason could possibly be, but it doesn’t look like she’s in the sharing mood, so I decide not to push it.

“Let me ask you something,” Wyn says. “What is it youreallywant, Lux?”

I press my lips together, unsure how to answer that question. I haven’t thought about what I want in a really long time. Even coming to this school wasn’t what Itrulywanted. By some miracle, I’d won a full scholarship here, and that made the decision for me. I was so desperate to get out of Fresno and start fresh that I jumped at it.

I shrug, reaching for the most honest answer. “I want to find Bree. And I want a fresh start. I don’t know, maybe I need to leave ExU. Everyone here is bat-shit crazy.” I pause. “Except you, of course.”

She doesn’t seem offended, thank God. She just purses her lips, and nods, like she’s formulating a response. “If you want to leave, then why not just leave? You don’t have to be enrolled in ExU to find your friend.”

I push out a breath. “Yeah, true, but leaving without her…I don’t know, it would feel like a betrayal. We’ve always done everything together.”

My thoughts are cast back to Bree and me arriving on campus—the pure excitement on her face—and my chest constricts. Bree has been my only constant in a lifetime of chaos. There’s no way I could leave ExU without her.

“Then you need to learn how to use this–” Wyn opens her arms, indicating the room. “–to your advantage.”

I blink at her. “What do you mean?”

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