Page 25 of Vengeful Princess

Since I wasn’t in the mood to argue with a grade-A bitch, I shoved my notebook into my bag and walked away. It was lunchtime, and I needed some carbs.

Eden was waiting for me in the cafeteria. Unlike me, she had a perky smile fixed firmly in place. I caught myself smiling back as I walked across the room toward her, then reined it in.

Smiling wasn’t me. I didn’t do happy smiles. Ever.

Eden’s smile faltered and turned into a frown when I got closer. “You look tired. Is everything OK?”

My smile dropped away completely. Was she saying I looked like shit? Well, fuck. No wonder Cassian Forsyth took pity on me and shared his delicious coffee.

“Didn’t sleep well,” I muttered.

Her forehead smoothed, and she grinned. “Not surprised,” she laughed. “Good to know you’re not a psycho robot.”

“My poor sleep isn’t because of that, it’s because there was too much adrenaline in my system.” I didn’t mention the early morning call from Torrance.

“Oha chara, that sucks. Declan gets like that after a fight. He usually disappears with one of the ring girls, and when he reappears in the pub, he’s much calmer.”

“Well…” I wasn’t sure what to say. Was she suggesting I should have fucked someone?

“Next time you want to take down a few grown men, line up a hookup for after.” She patted my hand sympathetically while I inwardly cringed.

Now would be a good time to admit I was a virgin, but our friendship wasn’t at that point yet. Despite my best intentions, I liked Eden. She was fun. A girl like me needed a friend like that in my life.

I definitely didn’t need a mean-bitch friend like Olivia.

Speaking of…

“Incoming,” Eden said, sounding worried.

“I hear you’ve been flirting with my boyfriend!” Olivia leaned down and got all in my face, riling me up immediately.

For one, the perfume she must have showered in was strong enough to make my eyes water, and two, I had a thing about people in my personal space. Those who got in my face without permission rarely made the same mistake again.

But it was obvious Olivia wasn’t that bright. Fuck knows how she’d ended up at college. If I had to guess, it was because she’d given the admissions tutor a blow job.

“Boyfriend?” I repeated, grabbing Eden’s coffee and taking a deep slurp. She narrowed her eyes at me but said nothing.

“Cassian.” Olivia’s face was so close to mine I could see her pores. The girl needed to exfoliate more. Or use less makeup. She’d troweled it on this morning.

“Cassian?” I pasted a dumb expression on my face while gripping Eden’s coffee cup.

Olivia’s lips pursed with annoyance. “Yes, Cassian! Don’t talk to him again. He’s mine.”

My mouth fell open before I clocked who’d walked into the cafeteria and was heading this way with a scowl on his face.

“So let me get this straight. You’re saying Cassian can’t talk toanyonewithoutyourpermission?” The man himself stood a few feet away from Olivia, listening to the conversation.

“That’s right, bitch, so stay away from him or you’ll be sorry!”

Laughter burst from me like lava. I laughed so hard that I almost snorted coffee all over the table. Eden grinned, well aware now that Olivia was no threat to me. From the way she sat back with her arms folded, she was waiting for things to escalate.

“Am I yours, Olivia?” Cassian asked in a smooth-as-chocolate voice. He moved in behind her and she shivered, but I strongly suspected it was from fear, not pleasure. I didn’t know the guy, but I was good at reading body language.

Cassian’s ticking jaw told me he was furious.

“Cassian!” She took a big step sideways and half-turned before his hand snaked out and gripped her skinny arm. From the way she inhaled sharply, she realized she’d overstepped.

“Olivia,” he purred. “I’m not yours and I never will be. I talk to who I want and I fuck who I want. You mean nothing to me. Less than nothing. Are we clear?”

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