Page 450 of Filthy Elites

I laugh again, I just can’t help it. “What the hell is going on? Who do you think you are to tell me what I can and can’t do? This isn’t school.”

“I won’t allow you to put your safety at risk just for the sake of being stubborn.” His fingers trace a line across my cheek and I flinch, recoiling from his unfamiliar touch.

His expression darkens and he closes in on me, backing me against the wall and keeping me prisoner with his body. “You flinched. Why? I’d never hurt you. You’re mine, I’ll only ever protect you.”

My lips part to speak, but I have to swallow several times before my mouth is moist enough to make a sound. “What if you’re the thing I need protecting from?” I whisper.

A soft smile graces his lips, showcasing how full they are. “No one can protect you from me, little bird.”

A shudder racks through me at the threat and promise in his words. He’s telling the truth, or at least he believes what he’s saying is the truth. This time when he reaches out to touch me, he does it slowly, making sure I know it’s coming. His palm strokes over my head, trailing his fingers over my braid before giving it a gentle tug and smiling to himself.

“We should go. I take it you haven’t eaten yet?”

Blinking up at him, I shake my head. “Esteban makes me something on my break.”

“Who the fuck is Esteban?”

“The chef,” I whisper, fear roiling to life in my stomach. For the first time since I found them sitting in my section, I’m starting to sense the danger I’m in. Sebastian is an Elite, they see themselves as untouchable, above the law. His family is powerful old money, and just the mention of their name and the potential reach they have was enough to make my boss fire me. I’m out of my depth. I’m sixteen, a virgin and although not poverty stricken, my family is basically destitute in comparison to his wealth.

In the space of an hour, I’ve walked headlong into a cautionary tale, the kind you see on after-school specials, that warn about rich older boys preying on girls like me. They spoil them with money, treat them like they’re special, then rape and murder them, discarding their bodies on the side of the road or in trash cans like they mean less than nothing.

Lost in my own thoughts, I startle, flinching again when he presses his lips to my cheek, kissing me as he takes my hand in his. Twining my fingers with his, he half leads, half drags me out of the dingy corridor and into the restaurant where the other three boys are waiting for me.

Three matching smirks stare back at me when I take in the other Elites. Clay is all classic blond surfer, messy hair, his tie loosened and askew. Evan is polished, his hair combed into a side part, black-framed glasses giving him a Clark Kent vibe that I’m sure makes even the smart girls swoon. Hunter, the only one who I haven’t been directly introduced to, is by far the biggest. With broad shoulders, he’s the tallest of the four, and his sheer size is intimidating even though his face is angular and beautiful, almost in spite of his behemoth frame.

Evan heads for the exit and Sebastian moves after him, towing me along behind as Clay follows and Hunter takes up the rear. The movement feels practiced, like this is the order they always move in, and I wonder if they do this at school.

It isn’t until we get to a car at the curb that I start to panic. What do they plan to do with me? I can’t get in that car; something tells me if I do then it’ll only end badly for me. “Let go of me,” I say, dragging my hand back in an attempt to free myself from Sebastian’s grip.

Ignoring me, he hands my backpack off to Hunter, who opens the trunk and drops it inside, then throws his keys to Evan, who smirks as he opens the driver’s door and climbs inside.

“I’m not getting in there, I don’t know you,” I tell him, yanking and fighting to get away.

“Get in the car, little bird,” Sebastian says calmly.

“Stop calling me that. Let me go or I’ll scream.”

Stopping, he turns to look at me, not releasing his hold on my hand as he closes the distance between us, wraps his other hand around the back of my neck and yanks me in for a hard kiss. Gasping in shock at his unexpected assault, my lips part and he takes advantage, shoving his tongue into my mouth.

I’ve never been kissed before. I feel pathetic even admitting that inside my own mind. Who gets to sixteen without kissing someone? Well, me, the nobody from the wrong side of the border, that’s who. Turns out it’s pretty easy to never play seven minutes in heaven when you’re not invited to the party. The only person who ever invites me anywhere is Courtney and as much as I love her, I have no interest in making out with her.

I don’t kiss him back, and I’m pretty sure he growls before he pulls his lips from mine, but stays close enough that our foreheads are touching. I can feel his hot breath against my mouth. “Scream all you want, no one will come, no one will intervene and no one will take you from me. You’re mine now, my little bird, and I’ll clip your wings if I have to, just to make sure you can never fly away.”

His words are soft and almost romantic in tone, but there’s no mistaking the threat in them. He’s a psycho, completely insane and dangerous, and for some reason he’s noticed me. I want to run, to fly away if I am the little bird he keeps calling me, but before I get a chance to try to escape, he lifts me and puts me in the car. Clay is blocking the door on one side, I’m stuck in the middle with Sebastian on the other side. I’m caged in, imprisoned, and I have no idea how I’m going to get free now that he has me in his clutches.

Frozen in fear, I try not to move or allow myself to touch either of the boys beside me, despite how cramped it is in the back seat.

“Text your mother and tell her you won’t be coming home tonight,” Sebastian tells me softly.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m sixteen, if I don’t come home she’ll call the cops,” I snap, not caring how angry the terror I’m feeling is making me sound. I should probably try to be nice, to charm these scary boys into letting me go, but with all the crazy things he’s told me so far, I don’t think it’ll work.

“Tell her you’re sleeping at Courtney’s house then,” he says, reaching out and cradling my jaw again.

“She won’t believe me.”

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