Page 79 of Princess of Hawthorne Prep

Her fingers curl into the soft cotton of my T-shirt in an attempt to drag me closer. “I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. It’s not like she’sthatpretty.”

I suck her skin into my mouth. She tastes nothing like Delilah, and as much as I want to shove her away, I need to see it through. From the tidbit she dropped last night, she knows exactly what Jasper has been up to. All the games he’s been playing at our expense.

I want answers.

And I want them now.

My fingers torment her stiff little bud as my voice grows rough, telling her what she wants to hear. “You’re right. The guy is totally pussy whipped. I want to know all the ways he’s been fucking with her.” There’s a pause before I add, “Like at the fundraiser.”

A groan that has absolutely nothing to do with the way I’m playing with her slips free. “What he did that night was totally messed up.”

All the rioting noise in my head goes quiet as my gaze sharpens. “You mean outing my dyslexia?” My lips flatten into a thin line so they won’t curl into a snarl.

“Yeah. He snuck into the headmaster’s office after football practice and dug through your records. I guess it was written in there somewhere.”

Motherfucker.

It takes every ounce of willpower to tamp down the growl rising in my chest.

“About a month ago, he started to suspect that something was going on between you two.”

“There wasn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter, he wanted to destroy any tentative friendship so she’d have no other choice but to stay with him.” A hard glint enters her eyes. “I told you already, he’s obsessed. I don’t understand it at all. What’s so special about that girl?”

Everything.

Delilah is so fucking sweet. Nothing like the other girls who attend this school. What kills me is that I actually believed she purposefully led me on as some kind of a joke.

I should have known better.

I should have trusted my gut instead of allowing Jasper to fuck with my head.

So…if he orchestrated that, what else is he capable of doing in order to get her back?

I’m afraid to dig for the answers but I need to know the truth. I need to know how badly I screwed up. Accusing and punishing her for things she had no knowledge of.

I force out the response, even though nothing could be further from the truth.

“There’s not a damn thing that special about her.” I press against her body, ghosting my lips across hers as I graze my knuckles along her cheek. “You’re the one everyone wants.”

“Really?” Cautious hope flares to life in her eyes.

I almost feel bad about my deception until I remember that Aubrey knows exactly what Jasper has been up to and has eagerly gone along with all his plans. This girl deserves everything she gets. She’s eaten up inside with jealousy. What she doesn’t understand is just how ugly it makes her.

“He drugged her at that party, didn’t he?” I whisper as my breath feathers over her parted lips.

The words might be arranged in the format of a question, but it’s not one. Deep down, I already know the answer. The pieces of the puzzle were all there, waiting for me to move them into place and make a clear picture. And now that they do, I could kick myself for ever believing she was fucking with me.

Aubrey tilts her head as her eyelids lower and a whimper of need escapes.

When she remains silent, I repeat the question.

Only harsher this time.

“He drugged her, didn’t he? That’s why she doesn’t remember anything that happened that night.”

The arousal dancing in her eyes is snuffed out as a flicker of fear flashes in them.

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