Page 3 of Kingston
A growl begins to work its way up my throat. “I don’t fucking like it. And I have a lot of goddamn questions.”
“For sure. But think about it. Do we want a repeat of last year, drawing all sorts of attention to ourselves? To the brotherhood? If she thinks she’s capable of surviving the initiation and passing whatever test is thrown at her, I say we let her goddamnproveit.” He throws his arms out from his sides for emphasis. “It’s on her if she can’t handle whatever is doled out. She obviously has some reason why she wants to be part of this brotherhood and subject herself not only to living with a group of college-aged men but also to being at their mercy.”
His questioning gaze feels like it’s piercing my skull. I press my lips together in a tight line, then slide my focus to Cannon. Motherfucker nods. I let out an exasperated groan. “Fine. Cannon, bring her in here, would you?”
While he’s gone, I step closer to Archer and whisper harshly. “You know I’m not going to go easy on her.”
He huffs out a disturbed laugh. “I never thought you would.” His eyes flick past mine, and, without having to turn around, I sense Cannon has returned with Elliot. He shuts the door behind them with a resounding thud.
I don’t even let her sit down. Instead, I cross the room in long strides, backing her up to the door. She blinks up at me with deep, dark eyes, her lashes fluttering. My gaze is drawn to the plush pink of her lips, and I have the errant thought about what it would be like to taste them. That image in my head has a growl rumbling deep in my chest. I brace one forearm on the door over her head—she can’t be more than five foot four without the heels—and lean in, my face hovering before hers. “Do you understand what becoming a part of this brotherhood entails?”
She swallows visibly, and the scent of her soft perfume drifts up my nose as I wait on her answer. “Yes.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “I’m expected to live here, get to know all of you, and I’ll have to pass a final initiation test of some sort.”
“Of some sort,” I repeat slowly, then pause, a taunting smile twitching onto my lips. “Yeah, you could say that. This initiation. It’s meant to breakmen. While you’re getting to know us, as you said, we’re learning you. Each initiate faces an initiation and test unique to them because it takes something different to cause each person to give up. We’re the elite at this school, and we don’t accept weak links. Let’s be clear. This isn’t a game. You’ve agreed to subject yourself to whatever we see fit. You’re female, likely to be degraded based on your gender, have it used against you. You’ll do what the brothers say, follow our rules, earn your place. If you don’t, you’re—”
“I’m out. I get it.” She stares up at me, those dark eyes of hers one hundred percent defiant. I’m sure she’d like to think she’s hiding her nerves from me, but her breathing is ragged, and her cheeks are pink. There’s a firm set to her jaw, though, that I wasn’t expecting. The thought of her staring up at me from her knees is like a sledgehammer to my solar plexus.Oh, fuck no.I have to be in control here. I work to steady myself, slowly taking in air, then letting it out. We’re in a bit of a standoff. She interrupted me. Got a little mouthy. That’s not going to fly, and she needs to understand that right fucking now.
Before I know I intend to do it, my arm shoots up between us, and I wrap my hand around the front of her neck, holding her against the door. “Do you? Because different things break different individuals. You’ll take whatever your brothers dish out. Youwillobey.” On those final three words, my grip tightens, and she winces but, surprisingly, her hands don’t attempt to pull me off her.
She simply grasps my shirt, her fingers clenching in the fabric, and glares at me with contempt. “I can take whatever you can dish out.”
My temper flares. “If you want to be part of thisbrotherhood, you’ll have to deal with everything that comes with it. Make no mistake, we won’t go easy on you because you’re female. It’ll be more difficultbecauseof it. We’ve broken bigger, stronger initiates than you. There are only eight of us, currently, for a reason.”
Her chest heaves at my words, and a swallow works its way down the slim column of her throat. I squeeze tighter and she winces, her fingers gripping my shirt more tightly.
“Kingston, man.” Archer’s voice reaches me through my haze of anger.
My voice is gravelly and low—and leaves zero room for arguments. “I’m handling this.” When I get like this, they know better than to think there’s any stopping me. I’m like my old man. Fucking lethal when pushed.
I release her neck to rest my hands on her shoulders and wait calmly while she drags one breath after another into her lungs, her chest heaving with the effort. My palms cup her shoulders, thumbs brushing back and forth. She relaxes in my hold. And that’s when I duck my face close to her ear and whisper loudly enough for the guys to still hear me. “Why thefuckare you here?”
Elliot draws in a breath and lets the air out in a ragged exhale. She won’t look me in the eye. Not a good sign. And yet, no matter how much that disturbs me, my eyes follow the slow drag of her tongue over her lower lip. I definitely don’t know her well enough to say whether she’s trying to distract me, or simply doing it subconsciously.
She takes another quick breath before she begins. “I’m here because—”
Archer interrupts, holding up his hand. “She’ll answer that question”—I frown, glancing at him to see his eyes pinned on her, studying her hard—“but she should have to do it in front of the entire brotherhood.”
I grit my teeth, agreeing it’s best to have this entire debacle brought to the group as a whole. No secrets. I turn to check with Cannon to be sure we’re a united front on this, and he shrugs, eyeing Elliot with the sort of eager fascination that already spells trouble. His lips press tightly together, but he nods as he turns my way.
Finally, my gaze settles back on our interloper. “We’re in agreement. And now that we know you’re fully aware of what you’re doing, let’s take you back to the other brothers and get on with it.”
I swear there’s a slight bit of trepidation in her body language when she stiffly nods. It’s about time we see what she’s really made of or if she’s completely full of shit, not worth the time or the disturbance she’s about to cause.
THREE
ELLIOT
My heart is beating sohard, I’m terrified it’s audible. It’s a rapidthump, thump, thumpin my chest, accompanied by sweat dampening my lower back and sticking uncomfortably to my blouse. These guys—Kingston, Cannon, and Archer—are something else. They’re the seniors—the leaders—and are very much in control of what happens to me. I’m scared shitless about which brothers they’ll assign as my sponsors for the initiation process. With my luck, it’ll be that asshole who answered the door and his dickhead buddies who’d been snickering behind their hands at me the entire time I was forced to sit and wait with them.
Kingston leads the way down the hall to the living area with Archer at my back. I peek out of the corner of my eye at Cannon walking beside me. I don’t know what to make of his quietly commanding presence or the fact that I’d hopped to my feet earlier when he’d come to collect me. He hadn’t even said my name. He’d simply appeared in the doorway and when our eyes connected, I’d bolted from my seat in response to the unspoken demand. I’m not stupid. It’s in my best interests to play along for now.
When we reach the living area where the brotherhood is waiting for us, I feel the heat of curious eyes on me. Knowing I can’t give an inch, can’t look like I’m weak, back down, or run away, I swiftly meet each gaze before moving on to the next, silently challenging the entire group to say anything, and at the same time, taking stock of each and every one of them.
Oh, Jesus.Which of these assholes interacted the most with Will? Or was he assigned to the seniors who have since graduated? How am I going to untangle this mess?
Taking a calming breath, I lower myself onto the offered space of a large L-shaped leather couch and look around the room. I have no desire to draw any more attention to myself than necessary but am fairly certain that hope is futile. I’m the sole focus of attention, and for good reason.
I try to put it out of my head and study this place I’ll be calling home. This spacious, high-ceilinged room is clearly an area these guys spend a lot of time in. With assorted couches and cushy chairs arranged in several different seating areas, the space also boasts the biggest TV I’ve ever seen mounted on the wall opposite the couch I’m currently perched on. I turn my head to the right, noting the enormous fireplace with a reclaimed wood mantel at the one side of the room. I wonder if they’ve ever even lit a fire in here since winters in Georgia are so mild. My eyes flick upward to the huge Kingston University lion gracing the wall right above it.
