Page 33 of Filthy Elites

ChapterFifteen

Jason

I’m late on purpose.It’s a test to gauge Isabelle’s fear of me. I haven’t punished her yet for what she did to my car, and her sassiness shows she’s gaining confidence. My slip of the tongue earlier in front of Sloane didn’t help my case. And what’s the deal with her and Justice—what was she doing with that asshole? It was by chance that I saw them together while I was out on Saturday.

I hear music from the hallway, and as much as I hate to admit it, it speaks to my soul. The violin is not the best, but she somehow has managed to make it work for her. I stand outside and listen to her play for a minute before I walk into the classroom. Her back is to me, so she doesn’t notice me right away.

There’s no denying it. Anyone who listens to her play will know she’s in a different league than me. Old memories come to the surface. The humiliation of sucking terribly at the competition, and then my mother’s hateful words afterward. They were worse than my father’s blows.

Before I know what I’m doing, I’m striding in her direction. She turns when I’m already practically on top of her.

“Jason, wh—”

I cover her mouth with my hand and push her back until she meets the wall.

“You’ve been behaving badly for someone with so much to lose, Isabelle. You didn’t think I’d let your little act of vandalism go unpunished, did you?”

Her eyes widen. I remove my hand from her face, dying to hear her reply.

“You got what you deserved. You trashed my room.”

My eyes narrow to slits. “You still don’t get it. I can do whatever I please with your room… and with you.”

“Why would I continue to play along with your games when you just blurted out my real name in front of your girlfriend? You clearly don’t give a shit about keeping my secret.”

I smirk to hide that I fucked up. “That was by design, darling. I wanted to remind you how easily I can expose you.”

“How long are you going to keep this up?”

“For as long as it’s fun. So let’s make sure you don’t bore me.” I trace my thumb over her lips, dying for another taste.

She trembles under my caress, and I almost succumb and kiss her again. But that’s not a punishment when I can see she wants me to do it.

I step away. “Take off your stupid lenses. I hate them.”

“No one is forcing you to look into my eyes,” she retorts.

God, even cornered, she won’t back down. I don’t see myself ever getting tired of toying with her.

“I only told Sloane your first name, but that was already enough to make her suspicious. Maybe next time, I’ll let your last name slip.”

She swallows hard, and it’s audible. “If she learns who I am, you won’t have leverage over me anymore.”

“True, but if I don’t get what I want, there’s no point in keeping your secret, is there?”

She clamps her jaw shut and glowers for a moment. Then she walks around me and takes the lens case out of her bag. I watch in silence as she keeps searching for the eyedrop bottle currently in my pocket.

“Shit,” she mumbles to herself.

Keeping her back to me, she removes her lenses and then turns around with her chin raised. Her eyes are red, but she still looks at me in defiance.

Let’s change that.

“Are you ready to practice or what?” she asks.

“Not so fast. You need to pay for the damage to my car.”

She narrows her eyes. “Are you going to ask me to strip naked and play for you again?”

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