Page 96 of Depraved Desires

She nodded, still refusing to make eye contact. Her gaze lingered on a spot behind my head, making it even more obvious that she was doing her best to avoid me. “Yeah. I’ll be leaving tonight.”

I wanted to ask her where the hell she intended on going. Back to her dorm room, or did she plan on staying with a friend? Where the hell had she truly been all this time when we thought she was rotting at the bottom of the lake? The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I choked it down, knowing she wouldn’t tell us shit. That defeated the entire purpose of her so-called freedom.

My gaze slid over to Foster, who seemed relatively relaxed despite having a female he claimed to hate in bed beside him. It didn’t slip by me that the two seemed to be getting somewhat closer. Maybe not as close as friends, but at least they weren’t at each other’s throats all the time.

Foster didn’t build connections with people easily. I hoped he wasn’t getting attached, because I didn’t know if Aspen would come to her senses and come back to me, or if she’d just ignorantly ignore the feelings she had for us. I knew it wasn’t one sided.

Blowing out a breath, I decided to get straight to the point. I hadn’t expectedherto be here upon showing up and knew she’d probably throw a tantrum once the words flowed from my lips.

“Why didn’t Hunter and Collin get a vote?” I asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear him say it again.

Foster’s gaze hardened as he assessed me, his blue eyes locked on my own. If I wasn’t so annoyed with him, a smile might have slipped past my defenses. I’d told Aspen that she could have her freedom if the others agreed, knowing good damn and well that Collin wouldn’t have agreed to it. Then the assholes had to fuck it all up.

“You know why,” he replied.

Aspen glanced at Foster and then at me, confusion flickering across her flawless face.

“Tell me again.” My voice dropped lower as the words vacated my mouth. I knew a lot of things. I knew that Aspen had feelings for Collin, knew that she was attracted to the rest of us at the very least, I knew that Foster cared about Aspen even if he’d never admit it. That drove him crazier than anything, so he got defensive anytime she was mentioned, or anytime she threatened to knock down that guard he put around his solid heart. He was only being kind now because she was hurting. He wouldn’t kick her while she was already down.

Foster scoffed. “Figured it was pointless giving them a vote when they didn’t seem to give a shit either way.” His words were calm and collected, but his hands were folded so tightly together that his knuckles were turning white.

I hummed in response. “If that’s your story.” My fingers twitched at my side as my blood lust began to rear its ugly head. The urge to feel warm blood running through my fingers as I watched the life drain from their eyes was potent.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” he growled, a muscle feathering along the edge of his sculpted jaw.

Aspen rolled her eyes. “Will you guys just shut the fuck up?” she snapped. Finally, she looked at me. No trace of the previous embarrassment prominent in her features. She was irritated. “You said that everyone had to agree. Collin and Hunter obviously don’t care either way. So what’s the big deal if they have a say or not?” She narrowed her eyes, her brows stitching together as if she was working it all out in her mind. “Unless…” she continued, anger radiating off her in waves. “You never intended on letting me go. You knew that everyone wouldn’t agree.”

I shrugged, not caring enough to lie about it or to defend my actions. “Bet you’re glad that Hunter and Collin were fucking that girl when you walked in then, huh?” I joked. And that Foster of all people came to her fucking rescue.

My little vixen clenched her jaw, not amused in the slightest. Hell, neither was I to be honest. Foster knew exactly what he was doing. If Aspen was out of his hair, he could continue to ignore his feelings for her and keep her at arm’s length. Collin might have been the one with intense commitment issues, but Foster has never committed to anything in his life. Hell, maybe that was a commitment in itself.

I glanced back over at the blonde who looked mighty cozy sitting there with a book between his hands. If I had to guess, thebook had something to do with history. “This conversation isn’t finished,” I said, leaving no room for argument.

He rolled his eyes, like this entire thing was beneath him and he just wanted to move on from it. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t an option. “What else is there to talk about?” he retorted, closing his book and placing it on his blanketed lap.

“Later.”

Those were my final words before I glanced one last time in Aspen’s direction and headed for the door. The asshole thought he’d found a loophole. Knock out Collin and get Aspen out of the picture so he could go back to living how he had before she ever appeared. The fucker thought he was smart, but he’d pay for this. I’d make sure of it. In the mean time…I had a bitch to kill.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Aspen

It was late when I arrived at Monroe’s house. My jacket was tugged over my neck as it did its best to shield me from the cold. Paranoia wrapped around me like a vice on my journey here, afraid that someone—probably Myles—was watching my every move. A cold cloud of air vacated my lips from the freezing weather as I stood on the porch, not knowing what to do. It felt weird barging in there without knocking, but I’d feel even worse if I did knock and woke him up when he had to work the following day.

Sighing, I reached for the knob and gently turned it until the door clicked open. Relief filtered through me due to it not being locked, but then I silently cursed him, mentally reprimanding him for it. Darkness blanketed the entirety of the living room, making it difficult to peer inside. Crossing the threshold, I carefully pulled the door closed behind me.

I’d stayed in this house long enough to know its layout like the back of my hand, so turning on the main light wasn’t necessary. Not when my room was right down the hall on the opposite side of the living room. Shouldering my bag moretightly, I started in that direction. My footsteps were soft and careful as I moved, not wanting to make too much noise or trip over something along the way.

When I reached my bedroom door, I cracked it open and stepped inside. Exhaustion weighed on me, pulling a yawn from my throat as I flicked the light on that resided beside the door. However, the last thing I’d expected to see was a sleeping Monroe snuggled up beneath my comforter.

Why the hell wasn’t he in his own room?

Annoyance rippled through me and my bag slid down my arm, clattering to the wooden floor with a thump. This was his house, so he could technically sleep wherever the hell he wanted to, but why did he say that this was still my room if it clearly wasn’t? I’d sat on the couch enough times to know that it wasn’t all that comfortable. It might have looked brand new and was pretty to stare at, but it was also stiff as a fucking board. I needed my beauty rest before going back to class tomorrow. Knowing that Raven wasn’t going to be there was going to hurt like a bitch. I needed to be mentally prepared, if there was even such a thing.

Monroe’s eyes were closed, his expression soft, making him appear much younger than he usually looked. His five ‘O’ clock shadow was prominent beneath the light, and I yearned to feel his scruff along my smooth skin again. He was absolutely gorgeous.

Drifting over to the bedside, I reached out, placing a hand on his masculine shoulder. Not waking him up obviously wasn’t an option anymore. It didn’t take much effort on my part, because as soon as my muscles flexed from the force of shaking him just slightly, his eyes snapped open. It took him a moment to comprehend what was happening, but as reality settled in, surprise flickered across his face.

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