Page 26 of Ramsey & Emerson

“Okay,” he calmly replied.

I watched in stunned fascination as he turned away from me, then walked back down the hallway out towards the club. I quickly followed him back to my table where he just jerked his head towards Liam and Deke, who got up wordlessly, then followed Ramsey out of the club.

My ass had barely hit the seat when Roselyn asked, “What the hell happened?”

I looked into her anxious face. “I think I just fucked-up, Roselyn.”

In fact, I was pretty certain that I’d had.

Chapter 15

Ramsey~

Iwas already sitting in the back of the classroom when Emerson walked through the door of first period. I hadn’t waited for her in the parking lot, and I hadn’t waited for her by our lockers, either. I hadn’t acknowledged her at all this morning. In fact, I also had plans to move her locker by the end of the day.

I was afraid that I would kill her if I had paid her any attention.

The only reason that I had walked away from her Friday night at Club Pounce was because I’d never been driven to the brink of violence like that so quickly and so blindingly before. Sure, I’d had my fair share of fights, and I’d known that sort of loss of temper, but I’d always been more of a cold, calculating, methodical opponent. However, Emerson was making me lose all my cool. She was pulling such heated rage out of me that I didn’t know what to do with it all.

Granted, I knew what Iwantedto do with it. I wanted to fuck it out of my system and into her tight, curvy, feminine body, but she was turning out to be a lot tougher than I had originally given her credit for. Emerson Andrews had enough pride and backbone for a hundred men, and I was quickly learning that firsthand.

Yeah, it had sucked to hear her tell me to leave her alone, but I wasn’t too upset about it. Mainly because I knew that she’d been lying. The last thing that Emerson wanted was for me to leave her alone. Still, we were at the stage in the game where whoever caved first would be living for the other on their knees for the rest of our lives, and it would not be me.

I would never get on my knees for anyone.

When we’d left the club Friday night, I had stopped to talk with Kyle, and had told him that, if I found out that Emerson was in the company of another guy while in the club, I’d be back to burn the fucking place down. He had quickly assured me that she would be taken care of, knowing that I wasn’t the type of guy to bluff.

As we had exited the club, Beck had stopped me and had asked if the rumor was true that Emerson was mine. Not giving a fuck what about she’d just told me minutes earlier, I had confirmed the rumor and had told him thesame thing that I’d told Kyle. Wisely, Beck had just reiterated what Kyle had promised inside.

Me, Liam, and Deke had never gone back to the party. We’d all gone to my place where we had drunk ourselves stupid and had cursed the creation of woman. Then I had spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out with Deke and Liam, then Saturday and Sunday night jacking off to Emerson in that goddamn outfit that she’d worn to the club.

Last night was when I had decided to up the stakes. I needed Emerson to cave, and I needed her to cave before I lost my rabid ass mind.

I watched Emerson as her eyes glanced up to the empty seat next to me, and I could see the hesitation play across her features. After a few seconds, she finally walked over to an empty seat in the front, then sat down without sparing me another glance.

It was hard as fuck, but I managed to ignore her and pay attention to Mrs. Guiles. However, all the swiveling heads hadn’t escaped my notice as students kept looking back and forth between me and Emerson, no doubt wondering why she wasn’t sitting with me.

As soon as the bell rang, Emerson grabbed her stuff, then walked out of class, still ignoring me. I stayed planted in my seat as if I had all the time in the world, even though my body screamed to go after her. I was finally gathering my stuff when Bailey was stupid enough to approach me.

“Trouble in paradise?” she smirked.

I shrugged a shoulder, then started down the steps. “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied coolly.

She was still talking to me, so her voice carried to the other students still present in class. “I think you do,” she taunted. “Did you finally realize that she’s nothing but a gold-digging whore?”

Christ, Bailey really was nothing but a jealous viper. I wanted to destroy her for daring to speak about Emerson that way, but her green-eyed jealousy worked in my favor right now.

“She’s nothing, Bailey,” I responded. “In fact, she’s such a nothing that I couldn’t care less what anyone does to her or with her.” I noticed the remaining kids that had lingered back in class had gone deathly still. “She can fuck whoever she wants, Bailey. The Emerson game turned out not to be that much fun,” I added, knowing that my words would spread like wildfire.

I had decided last night that, if Emerson wasn’t going to come to heel, then I would have to force the issue. Once everyone learned that she was no longer under my protection, their true feelings about her would come out. Except for Roselyn, no one else spoke to Emerson, so it would be an interesting development to watch.

The girls would unleash their claws, and the guys…well, I knew that the guys would try to fuck her, and that was the only tricky part about my plan to make Emerson see that she needed me and my protection. I wasn’t sure if I could stand around and watch guys hit on her as if I were unaffected by it all. The entire school would probably come to the same conclusion as Bailey and assume that Emerson was nothing but a gold-digging slut, or that I’d gotten into her pants and was done with her. She wouldn’t be the first girl that I’d ever slept with, and then cut off the next day. In fact, Emerson was the only girl that I’d ever planned on keeping.

I strode through the school hallways until I reached my locker. Emerson was nowhere to be seen, and like a fucking pussy, I wondered if she was upset about not sitting next to me in class. While I had to get through second and third period with her, fourth and lunch would give me room to breathe without her.

I was shuffling my books around in my locker, looking for my history textbook, when Deke threw his shoulder up against his locker next to mine, arms folded, regarding me. “They’re already talking shit, Ram,” he said dryly.

Surprisingly, Deke and Liam actually liked Emerson. I hadn’t asked for or needed their approval when I’d decided to pursue her, but it helped that I had it. Deke and Liam had personalities similar to mine…well, without the genuine desire for violence. Still, they were both strong men, forceful and domineering, so they could appreciate Emerson’s fight.

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