Page 16 of Swamp Princess

“Damn it, Haven. Spit it out.” I need her to rip it off like a Band-Aid. If she is fucking Blaise I need to know now so I can go fuck up his mustang.

Her eyes get a little wilder, and I can see the beginning of tears before a single one drips down her face. “I made out with Damien.”

Relief washes through me in an instant. She didn’t touch Blaise, and as much as I know I don’t have that claim on him, I want her as a friend. Should she have touched him, I may have smashed her pretty face against this table. Though what she did say, shocks me.

“You did what?”

“Damien.” Haven squeaks out. It was just making out though, nothing more.”

“Haven, do you know who he is?” I whisper shout. “He’s a fucking king of South Warren.”

“So, My brother is a Sky King, and he is not that bad.” She crosses her arms over her chest and I have to snort at her. Remington is not that bad? She’s blind.

“Regardless, Haven, he is dangerous.” Damien is just as vicious as Vince but his charm disarms most people, leading them into his trap.

“I thought you would be happy for me.” Haven pouts and I decide I am not going to be dealing with her shit this morning.

“No, you didn’t. That’s why you asked me not to be mad.” I stare at her until she cracks a smile.

“That’s not why I said that.”

“Oh, why then?”

“Because I thought you also had something too, not as heavy as you do with Blaise but something since even when we were dancing, his eyes strayed to you.”

I frown. “Damien is just a flirt and Blaise is the only one I have something with. You're old enough to do what you want, and I guess compared to Vince, Damien isn’t so bad, but just think about it before you do it. Okay?”

Haven nods and digs into her food. I am not going to be the one to stop her from doing what she wants. I always hate when people tell me what I can and cannot do. I just hope she heeds my warning. I linger a little longer, watching her eat as my appetite disappears. I leave to head to my first class again.

Writing is my first class and I know I have it with Remington. In the swamps, I was bold and wanted to know that I could affect him, that someone from the swamps could affect a rich dick like him, but now, I feel my nerves peeking through.

This is his school, and he is at the top while I am just some swamp bitch like everyone calls me. I raise my chin and I enter the classroom. Mr. Brooks and some students are already there. I notice Remington immediately and my mind jolts to the kiss. His lips were soft and as much as I hate it, he kissed like he wanted to own.

I slide into the seat next to him and start pulling out everything I need and avoid looking in his direction. I can feel his eyes steady on me as I open my laptop. I don’t know what he is thinking but it is distracting.

Finally, I turn to him. “What?” His eyes are full of mischief and his lips still look pouty. I can see a little marking from where I bit his lip while we played the game at the club.

Remington smiles and it sends sparks right to my core. “Just thinking about that kiss.” He pauses and his eyebrows raise. “I can tell you’re from the swamp.”

That is not what I was expecting. “Why do you say that?” The moment he smirks, I know I should have kept my mouth shut.

“Because I can tell you’re a whore like the rest of them.” He leans closer to me, lowering his voice, his closeness despite my hormones shooting sparks through me. “Don’t ever fucking think to touch me again.” He leans back as my mouth hangs open. He didn’t have to play the stupid game. It was his choice and then he took the kiss further than was necessary.

“Fuck you.” Is all I manage to say to him. Embarrassment crashes over me. Being here is making me feel more self-conscious than I should be. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. These people come from money while my home is smaller than this classroom.

He laughs as Mr. Brooks gives us the prompt for today. I force all my attention into the writing assignment, tuning out Remington. Once the class is over, I hit submit, happy that I was able to finish while still in class and not worry about it later.

As soon as I stand, Remington is right behind me and before I get close to the exit, I feel someone shove me and I fall. Looking up, I watch Remington move over me and he smirks down at me. Pissed, I stand and start gathering my stuff. Nothing looks too damaged and that makes me feel better.

Picking up my phone, I see a message. Having changed my settings to a more private setting, the name doesn’t pop up right away and I unlock my phone and see that Vince messaged me.

My stomach sinks as I realize that he just gave me exactly how many days and hours I have left before I am forced to marry this man. Clicking the phone back off, I sigh. I don’t know what I am going to do about him yet.

* * *

Kingston

Ten reps of twenty done. It’s upper body day and after practice, it kills me but as the captain of the team, I force the guys through. We are playing South Warren soon and I don’t want us losing. Everything about South Warren sucks, except their football team which has demolished us almost every game.

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