Page 37 of Theirs to Rule

The room seemed to tilt on its axis as I registered his intentions. Paired with Ty? For a nude assignment?

My heart pounded, a mix of indignation and panic setting in. I imagined being vulnerable to him, our sessions filled with a mix of awkwardness and hostility. And beneath all that, sexual chemistry.

No way. I had a perfectly nice partner already.

Ty reached us and planted his hands on the table. I made eye contact with him and felt a shudder of emotion rush through me. I pushed it aside, determined that he wasn’t going to get to me.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"We’re going to work together," he replied.

"I already have a partner," I shot back, gesturing to the guy beside me. Stephen shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the way all of this was going down.

“So what? It shouldn’t matter to you. I’ve already seen all you have to offer.”

I felt my cheeks flame. "Then draw from memory," I shot back.

Ty ignored me and turned to Stephen. "You already sporting a hard on at the idea of seeing her naked?” Ty asked.

Stephen’s eyes bulged and his cheeks turned a dark red. “What? I mean...no... I…”

Ty cocked a brow at Stephen. “So maybe you’re getting hard at the thought of seeingmenaked?”

"Knock it off, Ty!” I hissed.

Stephen narrowed his eyes and showed some backbone. “I don’t know what your problem is?—”

"You don’t have to know," Ty snapped.

Professor Augustus was on his cell, probably duking it out with Professor Chan. At the same time, every other student’s eyes were on us. Jesus, as if I needed any more attention on me right now.

Ty looked around, grabbed an empty chair, and shoved it in between me and Stephen so we had no choice but to scoot back from one another. “It will be an interesting trio assignment,” he said, winking at Stephen. “Maybe you’ll learn a few things about yourself.”

Stephen desperately looked toward Professor Augustus, who had ended his call. “Stephen, you have your pick of teams to join,” he said.

Stephen’s expression went lax with relief. He looked at Ty then me.

“Stephen, please,” I said.

He didn’t even acknowledge that I’d spoken. His gaze landed on two pretty girls who were sitting together. One nodded to him. Quickly, Stephen stood and went to sit at their table.

“This is ridiculous," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. Inside, my thoughts were a tumultuous storm. Being paired up with Ty was the last thing I needed. His demeanor towards me was unpredictable at best. Most of the time, he was an outright asshole, and then there were moments he completely ignored me. But there were also those rare instances where he acted as my protector, like when he'd helped save me from Silas then Phillip Hermes. Spending time with him was emotionally exhausting, like being on a relentless rollercoaster. And yet, despite all this, the attraction between us was undeniable, confusing me even further about what Ty truly wanted from me.

“Professor Augustus. Please, can I change partners?" I said loudly.

The professor looked around. "Does anyone else want to pair up with Ty?”

Crickets.

“Sorry, Camille. You’ll have to manage,” Augustus said, clearly done with the drama. “But Ty will be professional about this assignment. If he steps out of line, just let me know.”

Ty’s smirk widened. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”

I clenched my fists under the table, my blood boiling. “Why are you doing this? You don’t even like me.”

"Irrelevant," he replied, voice not giving away a hint of emotion. "Nobody else gets to see you naked."

I snorted. "It’s a little late for that," I fired back.

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