Page 6 of Beg for It

“River?” I ask, but as soon as the name leaves my mouth, I see him coming out of the shadows, stepping next to the one called Henley. He’s tall, a little shorter than Brooks. Shaggy black hair, and every inch of visible skin is covered in tattoos.

My cock twitches and I swallow down the lump in my throat. As if he can feel my eyes on him, River looks my way.

It’s like time stops and I forget to breathe.

“You okay man?” Jamie snaps me out of what ever the fuck that was.

“Yeah.” I let out a shaky laugh, trying not to make it obvious my breathing is off. “So, why do I have to stay away from them?”

“Not good people. They run this school, this fucking town.” he sighs. “They’re a part of a crew, it’s not really a secret. But trust me, it's not worth getting on their radar.”

My stomach drops at the mention of a crew. Doesn’t matter what crew, all of them around here are usually connected in some way, even if it’s just to do business with one another. I thought I was free, I thought I’d have a sense of some sort of normality.

“Jamie. What crew are they in?” I ask anyway.

“The Devil’s Reapers. They’re the sons of a few of the members. Although River’s dad is the head of the whole thing.”

My breathing picks up as I try really hard not to freak the fuck out. Of course the sons of my father’s biggest rivals would attend the one place I needed to escape.

“I gotta go.” I tell Jamie, standing on shaky legs. I need to go. I need to get back to the dorms and lock myself behind closed doors so I can fucking breathe and figure what the hell I’m going to do.

“Cam, wait.” Jamie calls out, but I take off through the back yard. They’re not by the door anymore, so I take the chance to slip into the house. Needing to get out of here, I avoid the crowd and try to find another way out.

I’m not paying attention, lost in my own mind and panic, when I crash into someone.

“Shit. Sorry man.” Hands on my shoulders steady me. My eyes flick up and I bite back a whimper as I look into bright blue eyes. Henley. He gives me a small grin. “Where you off in such a rush?”

HENLEY

Holy shit. I wasn’t planning on cutting off the guy with the pink hair as he tried to make his escape, but I can’t help myself. Large cornflower blue eyes look up at me, his cheeks flushed with either embarrassment or anxiety. I’m not quite sure yet, but I’ll enjoy every moment as I find out. My teeth sink into the flesh of my bottom lip as I listen to him apologize and stutter.

He’s really cute. I don’t really find myself pulled to people, since I usually would much rather pull them apart like the wings on a butterfly instead. Finding out what makes them tick and then destroying them is typically more enjoyable. Hmm, even his nose is adorable.

It’s distracting.

“Stop apologizing,” I command, brows drawing down for a moment as I raise my hand to draw the barrage of words to an end. “Why haven’t I met you before? I know everyone.”

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. It’s the week before school officially starts, and the freshmen are fresh meat. I don’t know everyone yet, but I have profiles drawn up on many of them. I don’t recall having anything on him, which makes him an enigma.

I don’t like wild cards. I need to find out more about him.

Is he a beta? He smells like one, but he looks almost too delicate to be one.

“I’m new, and was accepted late,” he says before pressing his lips together to stop from talking. Cute. Usually I’d be all for not babbling and making a fool of himself, but I need more. I’m too intrigued to be happy with what he’s given me so far.

“What are you?” I ask, leaning in to sniff him. I know it’s rude, I just don’t give enough shits to care what people think.

“I’m a beta… Are you seriously smelling me right now?” he gasps.

“You smell good,” I say, because there’s a small hint of something that I like, but can’t place. I don’t give a fuck about what people think. I don’t want him to run again, so I’ll try to dial it down a little. For now. “Why are you leaving? You really should stay.”

“I… don’t want to start anything,” he says vaguely, chewing on his lip. Instead of finding him less intriguing, I decide right then and there to be his new shadow.

Reaching out, I surprise him as I pull his tortured lip away from his teeth. “This is my house, and nothing happens that I don’t know about,” I tell him proudly. “You’ll be safe tonight to stay and party.”

It’s the truth. My pack members, while dangerous as a whole, won’t fuck someone up at a party unless they're offended. I don’t see this adorable beta getting pulled into their orbit unless I put him there. The jury is still out on if I will or not. It really all depends on if he’s hiding something from me. There’s something about him that I just can’t place.

Fuck, it’s going to bug me… First, I need to get some information before I decide to play God.

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