Page 45 of Sinful Desires

Once the elevator came to a stop, we both stepped out onto the cement floor. Cold air seeped through my jacket, forcing goosebumps along my arms and legs. I tugged my jacket tighter around my small figure, hoping to shield myself from the temperature change.

“This way,” he instructed, stepping around me.

He led me to a room on the far side of the building. It had to have been soundproof, because as soon as he opened the door, noise bled out into the atmosphere. I followed him down the steps and into what appeared to be an arena. A boxing ring sat front and center with bleachers surrounding it. The stands were full of people and my heart pounded from the mere thought of having all those eyes on me.

Monroe was on the opposite side of the arena from where we were standing. Hunter, Myles, and Foster surrounded him along with a few other people I didn’t know. Foster spotted us first as we approached, his gaze darkening as he looked between the two of us.

When my eyes found Hunter’s, he shot me a knowing smirk, causing my face to heat from what we’d done last night. Regret lingered in the back of my mind, but it wasn’t as potent as I expected it to be.

Monroe turned to look at me. “I didn’t think you’d actually show up,” he commented.

I rolled my eyes. Typical. “That’s because you don’t know me,” I retorted. “Now where do you want me?”

“On your hands and knees preferably,” a familiar southern accent called out before my teacher had time to reply. I glanced over my shoulder, just in time to see Rocky approaching. He threw his arm around my shoulders like we were supposed to be best buds or some shit. His blonde friend snickered from behind him but didn’t comment.

“Barlow,” Monroe sneered. “This isn’t your group.”

Rocky released a breathy chuckle, causing my knees to weaken. Damn he was fine. “Those aren’t the rules though, now are they, Mr. Monroe?”

Whatever that meant, it had pissed my history teacher off. Monroe ground his teeth in frustration.

“Rules?” I asked with curiosity.

Neither of them paid me any mind. Instead, Rocky’s blonde friend stepped forward with a less than friendly look on his face. “You do remember the rules, right?” He questioned in a taunting manner.

With all the commotion going on, I hadn’t realized that Collin had moved to join his friends across from me until our eyes met. The look on his face sent a thrill through me. His gaze had darkened, and his jaw was clenched so tightly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d shattered his own teeth. When his eyes swept over Rocky’s arm draped around my shoulders, the puzzle started piecing together.

Was he jealous?

“Fine,” Monroe said, turning to me. “We do things in teams. There are four of them. You can either choose what team you want to go in, draw at random, or let me pick for you.” Relief flooded through me at that knowledge. Hell no, I wasn’t going to choose this one. “Keep in mind that if you’re on another team, you will be expected to fight members from the opposing teams,” he explained. “That includes this one.”

My breath caught in my throat as I processed that. Rocky’s arm dropped from around my shoulders and curled around my waist instead. My heart pounded as he gave me a reassuring squeeze that caused stupid butterflies to erupt in my stomach. Stomping out the butterflies, I shrugged out of his grip and shot him a glare.

Returning my attention to the guys standing in front of me, my gaze snagged on Myles who was smirking. He probably hoped I’d choose a different team so that he’d be able to put me on my ass. Unfortunately, I couldn’t win here. If I chose to stay on Monroe’s team, I’d have to be around Myles way too much for my liking. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that.

With my mind made up, I turned to look at my history teacher. “I’ll take my chances with Rocky.”

Myles’ smirk turned into a full-on grin that had my pulse racing. Collin and Hunter wore matching expressions—both sporting a clenched jaw.

Monroe let out an annoyed huff. “Then go.”

Rocky took off, leaving me and his friend to trail behind him. He led us to the opposite side of the gym where another group of people were standing.

“You made the right choice,” the blonde dude said.

I nodded, knowing in my gut that he was right. Now, I just needed to avoid getting placed up against Myles.

He gestured toward the bleachers, motioning for me to have a seat. “The first stand is always for the fighters,” he explained with a grin. I cautiously took a seat with him not standing far away from me. Rocky was in the middle of talking to a few of the other fighters a few feet away.

“I heard you can place bets,” I pointed out, vaguely remembering that being mentioned.

“Yeah, through there.” He pointed to an open door where a line was already forming. My eyebrows raised with interest. When I didn’t appear to have any more questions, the blonde dude walked back over to his friend. They seemed nice enough.

I took this time to look around, stopping when a large black scoreboard came into view against the wall closest to me. The top twenty names were listed, all with high scores. Myles was in the first spot with Foster second, and then Rocky. Jax was fourth with Collin behind him. There were a few girls on the board too, but not many.

“The top twenty get special privileges,” Gia’s voice cut in as she plopped down beside me. “But only small stuff. It isn’t until you hit the top ten that you really get into the fun stuff.” She smirked. “Like leaving campus etcetera.”

“Are you on this team?” I asked, looking around.

---