Page 53 of Depraved Desires

“You look really good tonight.” He smirked, changing the subject to a lighter topic.

I snorted in response at the direction he chose to go. “Hell no. I am so done with your mixed signals. We are keeping it completely platonic from here on out.”

He groaned in response like a wounded child. “I’ll get you to fuck me again.” He winked. “Eventually.”

“And what about your little arrangement with yourfriend?” I challenged, raising an eyebrow. Didn’t he just tell me he wasn’t allowed to fuck other girls and that he shouldn’t have kissed me the other day? He was confusing as hell.

“Something you said stood out to me. Being single means not being exclusive. In a way, I had been somewhat exclusive with her; it even made me feel guilty about what we did.”

I guess that made sense. At least he was a decent enough person to try to right his wrongs. “That’s nice and all, but you missed the part where I said I’m not fuckbuddy material,” I reminded him.

A slow smile stretched across his face, his hand tightening around mine as he leaned toward me. My breath caught in my throat from the closeness of our bodies, my heart thumping wildly again as it always seemed to do when he was near. His lips swept over mine in a feather-light kiss, sending bolts of electricity skittering through me.

When he pulled away, a cocky grin was etched into his features. “You’re mine, darlin. You just don’t know it yet.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Myles

“How do you feel?” Foster questioned as Hunter helped Collin to his feet.

I leaned against the doorframe, assessing the situation. Over the last few days, Collin has gotten stronger and stronger. He’s been trying to build up the courage to get out of bed for days now. When Hunter mentioned Club Euphoria, that seemed to get his attention. Now that he actually believed the purple-haired seductress was still alive, he has been in a much better mood. I knew better though but didn’t have the heart to tell him. He deserved at leastsomepeace.

Men much stronger than her who were great swimmers never rose to the surface once we dumped them there. To believe that a one-hundred-pound girl who couldn’t swim made it out alive unscathed was delusional. Especially with how much blood had been on her.

“I’m fine,” Collin growled, slicing through my thoughts. Once he was on his feet, all blood seemed to drain from his face. He stumbled backwards, placing a palm on the wall behind him forsupport. His chest rose and fell in rapid succession, not used to standing due to being bed-bound.

“Collin, we don’t mind bringing your food to you if it’s too—” Hunter started but was immediately cut off.

“I said I’m fine. If I can’t make it to the cafeteria, then I’ll have to keep missing classes. I’m tired of living my life in bed, watching as the clock ticks by. It’s fucking with me.” Collin released a breath and closed his eyes, trying to will himself to move forward. “I think I got up too quickly is all.”

Finally, he took his first few steps. While they were wobbly and uncoordinated, they weren’t half-bad. Anger like no other surged through me when I remembered why he was like this. Why he could barely breathe in without flinching, and why his arm was still in that goddamn cast.

“I’m still going to pummel his face in for doing this to you,” Foster stated, obviously thinking the same thing I was moments ago. I nodded in agreement, itching for an actual fight against someone I couldn’t stand.

Hunter and Foster helped him out into the hallway, each gripping one of his arms to help steady him. Collin still had a limp as he walked, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been when he first came home.

“Collin!” A familiar screechy voice echoed through the hall, nearly shattering my eardrum.

Turning to face the culprit, Madison came rushing over to us, worry etched into her features. Her long blonde hair was curled around her shoulders, and she was dressed in a short pink skirt and matching tank top. Madison wasn’t anything like the girls I’d normally go for, but my annoyance for her stemmed so deeply that I might just make an exception. To see her coated in blood while I took her body in the most painful way almost brought a smile to my face.Almost.

Collin looked less than thrilled to be seeing her and didn’t even attempt one of his lazy smiles that he was so popular for. “What, Madison?” he demanded in a bored tone.

The girl in question reeled back, obviously not expecting such an unfriendly reaction from him. “I came to check on you,” she replied in a small voice. “I just now heard that you were back. Why didn’t you text me?”

Foster rolled his eyes, causing me to smirk. When Foster got annoyed, he was like a ticking time bomb, and this was an explosion I couldn’t wait for. Madison was usually the easier one to tolerate; she wasn’t as whiney as Jessica was—at least, not in front of us anyway. But since she gave Collin that ultimatum in front of Hunter, her time was coming.

“You have the worst fucking timing,” Collin mumbled. “I’m clearly trying to walk here.”

Madison’s cheeks turned pink. From embarrassment or anger I wasn’t sure. She quickly nodded and moved out of the way, coming to stand on the opposite side of me. Her fruity perfume wafted out into the air, causing me to scrunch up my nose as it filtered through my airways. It was so strong; I could taste it.

As we continued our way toward the elevator, Madison kept rambling on about all the gossip that had happened since he’s been away. None of us have been in school much since Collin was admitted into the hospital due to staying with him and because of my extracurricular activities. So, everything she was saying was news to us. She wasn’t an easy girl to tune out, so that wasn’t an option.

“Oh,” she chirped, as if suddenly remembering something important. “There were some bodies found at the bottom of the lake. Or, what’s left of them.” She giggled in amusement, speaking of it as casually as someone would about the weather.

This caused us all to stop in our tracks. In synchronization, we turned to look at her.

Foster was the first to speak. “What did you just say?” he demanded, taking a step toward her. Panic twinkled within his eyes, his posture becoming even more rigid than normal.

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