Page 25 of Kept

I stared at him incredulously. “You think I would’ve screwed you over? Is that the kind of person you think I am?”

“Mutually assured self-destruction is a powerful motivator,” he said quietly. “But no, that’s not why, and that’s not the kind of person I think you are, Jane.”

“Then why? You told me thewhywasn’t important, but it is to me.”

Rhett was silent for a minute, riffling the edges of the magazine he held. “We work together. That’s all you need to know. And as long as you’re our Pet, you’re important to us.”

“You don’t see how that might make me feel used?” My voice dripped acid as I spoke. “Once you find a new Pet, I’ll just be the side piece who was dumb enough to get herself blackmailed.”

A hint of a smile finally touched his mouth. “There won’t be another Pet for me, Jane.”

Hopeful butterflies burst to life in me, and I immediately stamped them out without mercy. The mouse is not in the cat’s league. “So was this just some sick hazing ritual you had to do with your mentors?”

Rhett cocked his head, looking me over. “It’s a ritual, yes. I know you have some version in your head of the real Rhett Harlow, but you need to let that one go. That isn’t me. It’s a fabricated fantasy, and he never existed. I went along with this ritual of my own free will.”

I looked down at the contents of my bag just to avoid his eyes. Part of him was the Rhett I’d known, but this dark side was the real him. He enjoyed having his thumb over me.

And you enjoy being under it.

“What about Spears and Thayer?”

“They have their own reasons for participating,” he said, lifting one shoulder in a casual shrug. “They started it, after all. But really… let’s not pretend you don’t love it, Jane.”

When I lifted my eyes, he held up the magazine and handed it to me. I turned over the glossy pages and said nothing, because there was nothing to say.

I did love it, even if I was dancing on the edge of burning down everything around me.

I smoothed the cover of the magazine, taking in the large picture of Bourdillon University. “What’s this for?” There was nothing else I was going to get from him.

“The university’s news rag,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You should write for it.”

I held back a scoff and flipped through the pages. Here among the elite, tomorrow’s journalists and TV anchors, I’d be severely outmatched. “You think I should write for this.”

“Yes.” I looked at him. There was not even a hint of amusement there now, just a mild frustration. “You had this same problem when you were younger- you never think you’re good enough. Here’s my next order for you, Jane: you’re going to write an article, on whatever you damn well please, and you’re going to pat yourself on the back and feelgoodabout yourself for once.”

“You’re the Head of the English Department,” I pointed out, lowering the magazine even as a shiver of anticipation ran through me. “How do I know you won’t just slide this across the editor’s desk and they’ll run it because you ordered it?”

“No nepotism. I swear. If you make it in, it’s because you’re just as talented as they are, and for once in your life you’re going to be proud of something you did.”

Despite myself, I believed him. If I got an article into the school magazine, it would be because I made it, not because Rhett had power over that department.

“Fine. I’ll write an article and submit it.”

“Fine,” Rhett repeated. “And when you make it in, you’ll have no choice but to face the facts.”

I slid the magazine into my bag and was gripped by a powerful emotion that had nothing to do with being the pet. I stepped around the desk and approached Rhett, who didn’t shy away. With all six-foot-two of him looming overhead, I still felt safer in his shadow than I’d felt in Sean’s.

I stood on my tip-toes to wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. He slid his arms around me, his face buried in my hair.

“Thanks, Rhett,” I whispered, my antagonism towards him fading away. He might be dark and cruel, but there was still the Rhett I’d dreamed about living side by side with the twisted half of him.

“You’re welcome, Jane.” He kissed my ear. “I’m going to drive you home now.”

I shut him up by turning my face to kiss him on the lips, soaking up the heat he made me feel. “I can walk.”

“Don’t make me punish you for disobedience, Jane.” His breath stirred my hair, and I wondered just how bad the punishment would be. “I’ll always win this argument. You might as well give in now, and don’t tell yourself the punishment won’t be that bad. You know what we did to put you in this position. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re out of it.”

I kissed him again hard before releasing him and grabbing my bag and the library key. “Whatever you say,sir.” It came out as sarcastic as I intended, but Rhett smiled.

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