Page 25 of Vile Boys

What are you doing, Crystal?

I swiftly pull my hand back.

“What do you want?” I have trouble looking away from his gold-colored eyes.

“Can’t we have a little chat?” He leans in to casually play with my hair, twirling it around his finger like he’s petting a dainty doll. “I’m curious as to why you were at the Tartarus partyandthe Phantom party.”

“It’s none of your business,” I reply with a smile so I don’t anger him too.

“So direct, yet you’re still sporting a polite smile,” he muses, his eyes landing on the tips of my lips. “No wonder they’ve taken a liking to you.”

They?

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

He slowly plants his hands behind me on the wall, trapping me inside.

“Hey—”

He leans in so close I can smell his fruity cologne, and I can’t even finish my sentence. For some reason, it’s becoming harder and harder to breathe when his nostrils flare against my skin. I can hear him suck in a few breaths.

Is he … smelling me?

Within seconds, he leans back, staring straight into my eyes for a good ten seconds, and this could not get any more awkward.

What is happening?

With a single finger, he tips up my chin and inspects my face like he’s determining the value of cattle, and quite honestly, it’s making me feel weird.

What is wrong with him?

When his finger slides down my chin and neck to the bite markvisible on my shoulder, I slap him away.

“Stop it,” I say.

“Hmm … interesting.”

I tug my puffy pink shirt farther over my shoulder. “What is? Do you have something to say to me or are you just going to feel me up like Ares did?”

“Feel you up?” The tip of his mouth quirks up into a smile. “Oh no, if I was actually touching you for pleasure, you’d know.”

My cheeks flush with heat.

He did not just say that.

He grabs my shoulder and leans in again, getting a little too close for comfort. “You’re curious. I like that.”

I frown, completely confused as to what’s happening here.

“But you gotta learn to defend yourself, darling. Do you want me to teach you?”

“Defend myself?” I parrot.

“Yes,” he adds with a bright but slightly ominous smile. “Because they’ll never stop until they have what they want.”

They. He’s talking about Ares and … Caleb?

“What do they want, then?” I ask, pretending I don’t know exactly what I witnessed … and the warning Ares gave me.

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