Page 148 of Theirs to Ruin

Henry nodded. I recited my number, and he typed it in, taking so long I had to fight the urge to grab his phone and do it myself. I opened the zippered section on my phone case inwhich I always carried some cash. I took out everything I had—fifty dollars—and handed it to him. “There will be more,” I said, “if you call me when you see him.”

Henry swiftly took the money and shoved it in his pocket.

Later, as I headed back to campus, I prayed Henry would help me get some answers about Ava’s mystery man. I wanted those answers for myself, but mostly, I wanted them for Kage.

Chapter 60

Camille

The Uber I took from Devil’s Engine got a flat tire about a mile from campus. I ended up walking the rest of the way in the waning light. Sweating, I ran to class with no time to spare. I grabbed an open seat and looked around, surprised I wasn’t the only person that was nervous. Several students looked sick to their stomachs, but not Alex. Still bearing bruises from his fight with Dexter Huffington, he strolled in and took a seat next to me. He smiled, showing off the gap where he’d lost his tooth on fight night. “Hey, we got teamed up again and we’re going first. Cool, huh?”

I smiled weakly.Great. I’d get a second shot to stick my finger in his eye.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s do this. First up, Camille and Alex.”

Alex led the way, grabbing one of the two seats first. As I stood next to him, my hands tingled and my legs felt weak. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get through this.

Alex just sat there, waiting for me, his trademark smirk on his lips. I took a few breaths, trying to steady myself. Once again,laughter echoed through the room. It was like a carbon copy repeat of last time.

What if I messed this up? What if I failed even worse than last time? I would never live it down.

I could all but kiss Tier Two goodbye.

Flexing my fingers, I began to panic. The walls were closing in on me and I was struggling to breathe. I glanced at the exit, so tempted to run, but then I heard Kage’s voice in my head, talking about anticipation. About teasing someone until they believed I was going to give them something they desperately wanted.

Memories of my kiss with Dante at the overlook flashed into my head. I had been the one to make the first move. I kissed him. I made him want me and left him needing more. And he wasn’t the only one.

Dante wantedme. Kage wantedme. And of course, there was Ty, who I was still trying to unravel, but there was no denying he’d wanted me when we were together in Italy. I’d been with three hot and sexy and wildly different men, so I had to have something going for me.

How this went down depended on me. I could trust my own instincts, or I could give up and lose everything I had worked so hard for.

Pulling my shoulders back, I stepped between Alex’s legs. “I was thinking,” I began, draping my arms over his shoulders. “That you and I should get to know each other better.”

Alex smirked. “You were, huh?”

The glint in his eyes told me he wasn’t going to make this easy for me. And I didn’t want him to. I wanted to do this on my own. I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else that I was capable of anything.

“We’ve known each other for a while, Camille. What else is there to know?”

“Well, for starters...” I leaned in and brushed my lips against his ear as I said, “I have several hidden talents, many of them involving my mouth.”

Alex coughed. “Yeah? How about you show me?”

“In front of all these people?” I pulled back and shook my head. I lifted my finger to my mouth, nibbling on the tip, smiling when Alex followed the movement. “I can be a dirty girl but I’ll only go so far in public. In private, however…let’s just say nothing is off limits.”

“N-nothing?” Alex stuttered.

His reaction fueled my confidence.

I shook my head. “Wanna play a game?”

He nodded.

I reached up and took off the black silk scarf I’d worn. I held it up for everyone to see, then slowly tied it around Alex’s eyes. “No peeking.”

Slowly, I circled him, touching his arm, his neck, anywhere that might get a rise out of him. He shivered, telling me what I was doing was working. Standing behind the chair, I gripped his hair and tilted his head back. “The name of this game is ‘What Should I Taste Next.’”

Leaning over Alex, I brought my mouth close to his, just enough to tease him. He groaned and clenched his hands into fists. Then I pulled away from his mouth and lapped at the side of his neck like a kitten drinking milk.

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