Page 127 of Kings & Corruption

I instinctively tried to steady myself and appear less drunk. Call it a lifetime of conditioning and countless attempts to avoid the critical eyes of adults always trying to rain on our parade.

“Professor Ryan. What are you doing here? I mean, you're probably just out having fun right? Because teachers want to have fun too, I guess." I sounded like an idiot, but it was the best I could do in my current not-even-close-to-sober state.

He chuckled, and I had to admit, there was something a little sexy about it. "We do like to have fun on very rare occasions,” he said. "I'm just glad you're the one that caught me. I have to insist you call me Joshua now.”

We had edged to the side of the hall to let one of the girls who'd been in line pass, and I realized we’d stepped into a tiny vestibule that seemed to lead to some kind of office or supply room.

"You look great," he continued. His eyes shamelessly raked my body, leaving no doubt that he was all too aware we weren't in class.

The attention wasn’t necessarily unwelcome. I wasn't sure I was interested, but in my current state, I wasn’tnotinterested either.

“Thanks.” He didn’t look like a professor tonight. In fact, he fit right in with all the other cute, well-dressed guys in the club. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Was I flirting? I didn’t mean to be flirting, but a second later, he closed the distance between our bodies. He was standing only a couple of inches away, close enough that I got a whiff of his cologne, something a little too sweet.

“I’ve been wanting to see you off campus,” he confided, leaning in to speak close to my ear.

“Really?” I wanted to leave, to say something socially acceptable that would get me away from him, but my brain wasn’t working right, probably because it was swimming in alcohol.

“Really,” he said. His hand had migrated over my collarbone and down to my chest, his finger dipping toward my cleavage. “I felt it the second you walked into my class. That… spark. You felt it too. I could t— ”

The rest of the sentence was silenced by a high-pitched whine that sounded from his mouth when someone closed their fist around his fingers. It took me a second to gather all the pieces.

Neo and Oscar standing behind Joshua Ryan, looming like angry oak trees while Rock squeezed Joshua’s fingers in his enormous fist.

I think Joshua might have been screaming, but it was hard to tell with the music so loud. A second later, I heard the crack of bone.

That wasn’t hard to hear at all.

A couple of girls came around the corner, obviously looking for the bathroom. They took one look at the scene playing out in front of them and beat a hasty exit back the way they’d come.

“You’re touching something that belongs to us,” Neo said darkly, coming around to stand next to Rock, who still held the professor’s fingers inside his closed fist.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know!” Joshua shrieked.

He didn’t know? Wait… I struggled to make sense of what was happening, what was being said, all of it transpiring both too slowly and too quickly.

You’re touching something that belongs to us.

That part I got, and a rush of anger rolled through me. I wasn’t even into Joshua Ryan, but I certainly didn’t belong to the Kings.

“Listen you egotistical, posturing caveman.” Was I slurring? I couldn’t be sure, but I was definitely jabbing my finger into Neo’s chest while he towered over Joshua Ryan. “I don’tbelongto you. I don’t belong to anyone.” Yep, I was definitely slurring, but I was on a roll. “Just because I’m being forced to live with you, and just because you’re all stupid hot — yeah, I said it, you too, Mister Caveman — doesn’t mean Ibelongto you.” I tried to stand straighter as a demonstration of my autonomy. “So you can just take your supersized ego and shove it up your — ”

Neo rolled his eyes. “Drago,” he barked. “Get her out of here. Now.”

I barely had time to register the words before Oscar’s hand closed around my arm. “Come on, tiger. Time for a bowl of milk and a nice nappity-nap.”

“What…? You can’t just drag me…” I trailed off, because that’s exactly what he was doing. Well, not dragging me, but definitely propelling me along the hallway, back into the club, away from whatever Neo and Rock intended to do to Joshua Ryan.

He led me through the dance floor and stopped to say something to Claire. Her eyes widened when she glanced at me, but we didn’t have time to talk about what was happening. A second later, Oscar was on the move again, heading straight for the door of the club.

We spilled out into the night air a minute later, and I gasped as the cold hit my skin in the skimpy dress.

“That’ll sober you up,” Oscar said with a laugh.

I wanted to protest. I hadn’t agreed to leave Ruby’s, and I definitely hadn’t agreed to be dragged out of there by Oscar-fucking-Drago.

But I was suddenly exhausted, all the fight gone out of me. I just wanted to go home and sleep it off.

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