Page 42 of Pin-up Girl

Only, I was comfortable around her, comforted by her. There was something about Elise that made it seem like she’d been part of my life for years instead of just days. When the day came that all of us went our separate ways, I’d miss this. Milo and Emmett were the only ones that I’d ever had this with. Definitely not with my fucking parents. Not even before theincidentthat stole my voice.

“Where to now? I’m free for the rest of the day, so I say we go grab a bite to eat, then go for a hike. After the last couple days, I know the perfect spot to bring the calm back into my life.”

Roping one arm across her lower back, I pulled her tighter against me so that her body was flush against mine from chest to hips, and pulled my phone out. For her, I’d type out words.

Sounds great. Tacos okay? There’s a great taco stand off campus, and it is Tuesday.

She laughed. “Sure, taco Tuesday is a little cliché, but I’m in. A girl worth her salt never turns down tacos.”

I smiled with closed lips before dropping my head to kiss her. Her heartbeat picked up, beating inside her chest so hard, it thumped against my own. The kiss was brief, just a soft touch of lips. No matter how bad I wanted to show everyone she was undeniably taken, I couldn’t do that here. The tone of the courtyard was already cranking up, people were about to lose their shit at my public display. Milo wasn’t wrong that it was a huge deal I had shown Elise any form of affection.

I patted her ass, setting her away from me.Let’s get out of here before we get stuck in a mob.

“Good idea, the stares are starting to make my skin itch.” She grimaced.

We walked hand in hand through the lunch crowd, and I fucking dared anyone to make the wrong move. A few guys actually took a step back when our gazes locked. They were nobodies, and even if they wanted to make trouble, their sense of self-preservation would have kicked in.

Just past the water fountain, some bitches actually had the nerve to insult Elise. Loudly.

“Who even is she? What, she fucks the kings, and now she’s their live-in girlfriend?” sneered one of Emmett’s rejects from last week.

“Hell, what makes her so special? I know several girls who have had all three of them, and they get treated like social pariahs anytime they are in the same place.” That from some fucking girl I’d never seen before. Not to mention,hell no.

I never fucked Emmett’s cast-offs. I tried to stay away from Milo’s too. Until Elise, sharing the same conquests rubbed me the wrong way.

Elise stiffened, her intentions clear in the taut lines of her body and murderous expression on her face. I tugged her back to me when she tried to march toward the slut stains taking up space.

She was a badass with a lethal tongue, but the boiling rage bubbling under the surface of my skin wouldn’t allow her to take care of this herself. Not when the guys and I were the reason these skanks were targeting her.

I squared my shoulders, forcing Elise behind me. At first she resisted, then gave up with a sigh, allowing me to pull her arms around me so she was essentially hugging me from behind.

Slowly, their conversation stopped, their attention eventually coming to me. The sorority girl gulped. Oh yeah, she was afraid. The other girl lost all the color in her face. Around us, people started to form a crowd, not saying a word, waiting to see what the Mute would do.

On the edge of the crowd, my frat brothers pushed through until they stood directly behind the circle of offenders.

“Listen, we didn’t mean it, it was harmless gossip,” said the girl with no color in her face. Her light brown hair even seemed to lose its color as she realized she was surrounded.

I didn’t move, not even a twitch of the eyelid as I glared at them. The sorority girl huffed, apparently getting defensive in her fear.

“Whatever, you can’t expect no one to talk abouther,” she sneered as she sought out Elise with her gaze. She wasn’t going to look at her. Not now, not ever again. “Not when you guys are flaunting the fact that she’s happily jumping from your dick to theirs.”

Red covered my vision, my fingers biting into Elise’s arms at my waist. She gasped, and I immediately loosened my grip. These slut stains were nothing, less than nothing, but now they were going to be an example.

My brothers fanned out behind them, eyeing me with an unspoken question. Alpha Delta Omega didn’t often make a scene in front of the general population, but it happened, like that one time Milo destroyed the last pres. Sometimes it was necessary to make a statement.

Elise tried to pull away, but again, I stopped her. She could handle what I was about to sanction, hands down. If left to her own devices, she could have done something much worse. I continued to hold her against me, to soothe my own beast raging inside.

Nodding, I moved my hands to cover Elise’s. Two of the younger brothers stepped forward, each restraining the girls by their arms.

I took a deep breath, mesmerized by the feeling of my chest expanding under our joined hands. This time I let Elise move to the side, lifting my arm for her to burrow underneath it. Felix, a third frat brother stepped forward. Our nickname for him was Legolas, for his long blond hair and handsome but elfin features. He was a junior with a promising future, tons of charisma. A younger Milo in the making. “All right, dolls. Big speeches aren’t my style, and neither is delaying the inevitable. I think the moral of this story is not to piss off the Kings of Alpha Delta Omega.” He stepped forward, then turned so he could stare right at me as he delivered his next words in a lethally quiet tone. “And I would consider anything to do with the fraternity, the kings, or their personal lives off limits, yes?”

Both girls nodded hastily, ready for this to end. Every single pair of eyes in the courtyard were on them, cameras were recording. Before the end of the hour, there would be very few people unaware of their mistake. And punishment.

“Toss them in the fountain.” Felix gestured to the brothers holding the two girls, and without any hesitation, they stripped them of their backpacks while they herded them toward the fountain. That was actually pretty considerate, not to mention, the punishment was mild since the shallow water would be warm in midday sun.

“No, no, no. It was a mistake, we won’t do it again,” Sorority girl babbled. The other one shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes.

This was one of the few times I wished I had a voice, could be the one to provide this life lesson. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, and never would. Holding Elise while Alpha Delta Omega handled this was enough.

---