Page 21 of Kings & Corruption

Willa

“Uh, yeah?” Enzo choked out, all his earlier bravado gone.

“Keep your eyes in your head where they belong,” Neo growled, his eyes flaming. He looked like a god in gray sweatpants. “Unless you prefer them swollen shut?”

Enzo’s jaw hardened.

“Yes? No?” Neo pressed.

Enzo shook his head.

“Good.” I had about a millisecond to appreciate Neo defending my honor before he gave me a look of disgust. “Maybe if your ass wasn’t hanging out, Enzo here wouldn’t be drooling all over the kitchen floor.”

“And maybe if Enzo wasn’t a Neanderthal, I could wear whatever I wanted without being objectified like a piece of meat when my back’s turned.” I smiled sweetly and held up the container of OJ. “Juice?”

Enzo stormed from the room and I made a mental note to put him at the top of a new list I would titleEnemies at Aventine, a list that was sure to be long and distinguished.

Neo stalked to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup while Drago pulled some glasses down from one of the cupboards.

I poured juice into the two glasses, pushed one of them toward Drago, and slid into one of the chairs at the island with my donut, juice, and coffee.

“Uh… I’ll check you guys later,” Matt said, clearly reading the tension in the room and deciding he wanted no part of it.

Smart guy.

“See you,” I said, just before taking a bite of the jelly donut.

I moaned and closed my eyes as the soft dough and sugary filling hit my tongue. I’d missed American donuts while I’d been traveling. The French might have killer croissants and the Italians definitely had killer cannoli, but sometimes you just needed a good old-fashioned donut.

When I opened my eyes, both Drago and Neo were staring at me like I’d been masturbating in the kitchen.

“What?” I asked, my mouth still partially full of jellied goodness.

But I knew. Their expressions said it all. Drago teased his lip piercing with his thumb, his eyes dark and liquid with lust, and Neo, for all his bluster, didn’t seem immune. Not according to the way he devoured me with his eyes, his gaze trained on my lips like he wanted a bite of me instead of one of the donuts in the box on the island.

“Don’t let this go to your head, tiger, but if you could see yourself eating that donut, you’d get a hard-on too,” Drago said.

I rolled my eyes, but he was so good-natured I couldn’t keep the smile from my face.

Neo just stalked to the fridge, where he removed a carton of Greek yogurt and some blueberries. I watched as he dished everything into a bowl.

“Doing a little reading?” Drago asked, eyeing the welcome packet on the island next to my plate.

“I haven’t had a chance to look it over.”

“Does that mean you don’t know about the ball tonight?” Drago asked.

“Shit… is that tonight?” I asked, my heart sinking. Everyone knew about the welcome ball. It was tradition, part of Welcome Week. I just hadn’t known it would be so soon.

Neo finished dishing his fruit and yogurt and put everything back in the fridge, then pulled his phone from his pocket and set it next to mine on the island.

“Is that a problem?” Drago asked.

“Um, no, it’s not a problem.” I mentally ran through the clothes I’d brought, hoping I was wrong, but nope, I was right: I hadn’t packed a fancy dress. I hadn’t even packed much makeup. I’d gotten out of the habit of wearing it while I’d been traveling, and I’d been angry and in a hurry when I’d packed my stuff for Aventine.

I silently cursed myself for not reading the orientation packet sooner.

Neo slid my phone toward me and pocketed his. He started for the hall with his bowl in his hand. “Be ready at nine.”

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