Page 55 of Princess of Hawthorne Prep

I can’t bring myself to glance at the muscular lacrosse player. I’m afraid of what I’ll find in his expression.

The boat sways beneath my feet as I lower myself to the smooth wood of the deck. Even over the noise of the motor, the silence that surrounds us is deafening. Another wave of humiliation crashes over me as I hang my head and inhale a deep breath before forcing myself to meet Austin’s penetrating gaze.

At the first movement forward, I hear, “OMG, what is she doing?”

“Is she actually…crawlingto him?”

Unable to focus on the burst of chatter, I stare at Austin, silently begging and pleading with him to end this before it goes any further. Instead, he watches me as I carefully move toward him.

The time it takes to reach him seems to stretch forever, almost as if I’m a million miles away when in reality, there are only ten or twelve feet separating us.

“Damn,” some guy says.

I refuse to look.

When I’m directly in front of Austin, I have to tilt my head to hold his gaze as he stares down at me. Aubrey is still curled up on one side of him and Sloane is on the other. Unless he wants me to sit on his lap, I have no idea where I’m supposed to go.

It’s as if he can read my mind.

His expression remains impassive as he spreads his thighs farther apart. “You can sit at my feet.”

My eyes widen as his words circle viciously through my head. It takes effort to swallow down my protests as I force myself to settle between his outstretched thighs. The low hum of voices explodes around me, but I keep my gaze pinned to the teak. Any moment, I’m going to self-combust from the mortification that eats me alive.

I remind myself that this was my choice.

Austin didn’t force me to do anything.

“What is she? Your pet?” Aubrey grumbles, none too pleased to have me near Austin.

“No.”

He doesn’t bother to explain the situation.

Even though my back is turned, I feel the burn of his gaze licking over me, heating me up from the inside out. It’s almost laughable that I’d been looking forward to the boat ride so I could snap some photos. Now, I just want to get it over with. My life has turned into one humiliating moment after another, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

Austin’s palm settles on the top of my head before stroking down the length of my ponytail.

“See? She’s exactly like a dog,” Aubrey says with a nasty laugh.

“Well, I’m not cleaning up after her if she takes a shit on the deck,” Sloane snickers.

Austin remains silent, continuing to stroke his hand over my hair. If we weren’t in front of all these people, I might actually find the touch soothing, but I can’t shake off all the prying eyes.

Minutes tick by and the conversations pick up around us. The tension in my muscles gradually loosens. Each time his fingers drag across my scalp, the sensation echoes throughout my being. He repeats the gesture until I’m lulled into a strange state of relaxation. Or maybe it’s the gentle rocking of the boat as it moves over the waves.

Just when my eyelids begin to droop, he wraps my hair around his hand until the length is taut and pulls against my scalp. I gulp when he carefully tugs until I’m left with no choice but to tip my head back against his thigh and meet the dark depths staring down at me. Once my attention is locked on him, it’s impossible to look away. The longer our gazes stay fastened, the more everything around us fades until Austin is all I’m cognizant of. He leans forward until he can place his other hand against the delicate column of my throat.

“Your pulse feels like a hummingbird beating its wings against a cage.”

When I swallow, the light pressure against my flesh grows in intensity. His grip remains loose.

“I didn’t think you would go through with it,” he murmurs.

“I promised that I would.”

Our gazes continue to cling, and in that moment of intense connection, nothing else matters. Not the way these people are watching us or the mortification I’d felt as I crawled to him.

Just Austin.

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