Page 11 of Forbidden Deviant Games

“I was just practicing with my charcoals.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not a good idea,” she says.

As if I don’t already know that. I know Mitchell Vikson isn’t a good idea. He’s not good for me and I hate him. I hate his stupid face. I hate his arrogant attitude. I hate the way he commands attention from everyone—including me. We’re like oil and water. We just don’t mix. And still, yet, there’s this craving inside of me. A want. A need that I can’t deny.

Turning away from her, I crawl onto my own twin mattress and flop down, burying my head into the pillow. Tomorrow is Friday and I’ll be back at work. Tomorrow I’ll have to see him again. I don’t want to.

Liar. Liar. Pants on fucking fire.

I groan, lifting my pillow up and smothering it over my face. Across the room, Alyssa chuckles. “Why don’t you just fuck him and get it out of your system?”

“Because I’m not you,” I say accusingly. I can’t just spread my legs for someone I’ve spent the past couple of years hating with every fiber of my being. I’m not untouchable like she is. I don’t walk around with armor thicker than the Great Wall of China to keep me from being hurt. My flesh is all I’ve got and it’s so fucking weak. Weak to bad boys like Mitchell Vikson who could do more than break my heart—they could get me killed.

I’m not so stupid that I didn’t realize the questions he was asking me aren’t pertaining to what’s happening at the club and on campus lately. Everyone knows about it. No one says anything, though. About the new drug that’s been circulating.

Though Viks hadn’t said so much in words, it was clear in his mannerisms what he wanted from me—he wants me to keep my nose out of it. It’s probably the least asshole thing he’s ever done for me, but that still doesn’t make me any less irritated that he called me out, practically dragged me away on a forced date, and then made me answer a million and one questions—all while never giving me the respect of treating me like an adult with a brain.

My fingers clench on the outside of my pillow as I contemplate that. His number sits in my phone now—did he really think I wouldn’t notice that?I could help him. I’m at the club more than him. If I see that guy again…

What?I ask myself.What am I going to do?

I’m not a cop. Not a trained fighter. But I could tell him. I could alert him. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. The next time I see that man, I’ll call Viks. It’ll be resolved and then … he’ll never have another reason to bother me again.

“Wow.” I lift the pillow up and look over at my friend and roommate as she whistles through her teeth.

“What?” I grump.

“I can see the steam coming up through that damn pillow of yours,” she says.

I shake my head. “What do you know?”

She scoots to the edge of her mattress and turns her legs so they’re hanging over the side. “I know you’re stuck,” she says almost gently. I refuse to look at her, but that doesn’t seem to deter her at all. “Don’t think too hard about it, Hales,” she suggests. “If you’re attracted to him and he’s attracted to you, it won’t do you any good to fight it. Just give in. What’s the worst that could happen?”

So much.So fucking much.

7

HALEY

My foot taps repeatedly,a nervous tick that I thought I got rid of long ago. Veronica shoots me a look out of the corner of her eye as I nearly drop yet another glass—the fourth one tonight—but thankfully, I slam it down just in time, only managing to slosh a few drops over the rim. I breathe out a sigh of relief and finally give in, admitting that the cause of my nervousness is none other than Viks.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking of him all week. Not since that strange non-date lunch he’d forced me on. My phone buzzes in my pocket. I don’t want to pull it out because I know who it is—the subject of my recent obsession. My phone buzzes again and with a growl, I rip it from the back pocket of my black shorts and flick the screen on, grunting in renewed irritation when I realize my assumption was correct.

Asshole Boss:I’m coming in tonight.

Asshole Boss:I want a word with you.

What the hell could he want to talk to me about this time?

“Hales?” Veronica calls me back from my phone and I quickly shove it back into my pocket, lifting my head to give her my full attention. She arches a brow. “You’re not usually one to be on your phone during a shift,” she says. “You need to be careful that the big boss doesn’t catch you.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes because it’s the big boss making me pull out my phone halfway through a shift. Instead of saying as much, though, I just give her a firm nod. “You’re right. Sorry.”

She gives me an apologetic look. “I’m not trying to be a stickler. I just don’t want to see my best waitress get in trouble.”

The muscles in my face soften, and I reach for the drink I’d nearly spilled earlier, stacking it along with two others onto a tray. “Don’t worry. It’s not a big deal. You know I can handle anything this place throws at me.”

She laughs. “True that. We’ve had too many quitters since you started. The turnover rate is too high right now.”

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