Page 595 of Filthy Elites

“Sure, but I won’t do that. You chose freedom rather than a high tower and manacles, sadly. I would have quite liked seeing you sprawled out on my bed with cuffs on your pretty wrists.” He looks at the metal box with its crushed algae. “That’s gross.”

“So is killing the planet for gas. Now go away. Jocks aren’t allowed at the science fair.”

“How very elitist of you.” I’m not surprised he ignores me. He doesn’t interfere with any of my presentation, but his presence next to me feels like a statement. Everyone knows who he is, and he makes it clear that I’m under his protection.

I wish the world wasn’t the way it is. I wish that what I do could matter more than who I’m sleeping with, but wishes only work in fairy tales.

I’m not surprised to get the scholarship I applied for, and acceptance to all the schools where I applied.

“Come on, smile. You got into MIT,” Chase reminds me, grinning from ear to ear.

“It was cheating. I might have taken someone else’s place—someone who deserves it more—because you had a chat with a friend of a friend.”

“Potentially…but I didn’t reach out to anyone in the scholarship department. Do you know how often they give full rides? They saw something.”

“Yeah. They sawyou, and decided they didn’t want to piss you off.”

“Baby doll, if they knew about me, they wouldn’t have given you money.”

That’s potentially true.

“Come on, Erica. You got into MIT. And I have a present for you, too.”

“I don’t need anything.” I don’t like him spending his money on me. It feels too much like he’s trying to buy me, and that’s never going to work.

“How about this?” He confuses me, holding out a small pot containing coconut oil, of all things.

I frown. “Oil?”

“I figured you might need it if you want to remove this.” He lifts my left hand and touches his ring.

I stare at his hand like it’s a snake. “You lost me.”

“Hopefully not.” He smiles, though it doesn’t reach his amber eyes. “You can remove the ring. You can walk away. I mean, I’ll chase you. My parents knew what they were doing when they named me. I’ll follow you wherever you’re going next, to Massachusetts, England, the end of the world. But I no longer want you to belong to me; not if I can’t belong to you.” He presses his lips to my mouth. “I love you too much not to let you choose.”

I stare, arms at my sides, completely taken aback. This isn’t how our relationship is supposed to go. Chase takes. He leads. He rules. Until today, I just had to let him. Now he wants me to take that one step and admit that I’m an entirely willing participant in his game. A player on his board.

I take the pot of oil and chuck it over my shoulder. “That’s a terrible gift, Archer.” I bring myself to my tiptoes to reach his mouth.

“I do hope you realize this was your one and only chance to get away.”

He’s wicked, selfish, spoiled, and potentially psychotic, but Chase Archer is also mine.

“Who said I wanted to be anywhere but here?”

The End

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