Page 35 of The Wallflower

“What do you want?”

“To feel you strangling my cock with that tight pussy, of course.”

His response startles me, and I knock over a paper cup I didn’t realize he’d set there. The hot liquid spreads across my textbook.Goddammit.With a huff, I mop at it with some tissues.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re disgusting?”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Sure, but I’ve been called worse.”

I’m sure you have.

Refusing to get into an argument with him, I change the subject. I don’t want to relive the memory of what happened between us.

"Obviously, you don’t hang out in the library often, nor do you look like you’re studying, and you can’t make me believe you actually came here to do something nice… So what’s up? Why are you here? What do you want from me?"

I’m pretty sure he’s following me or stalking me. Maybe both. It’s not a coincidence that he would show up here, especially knowing this is where he can find me. He wants something, maybe more of what happened in the woods? I hate the way my body lights up at the reminder of the way he made me feel and how savagely he took me. Shaking the memory away, I meet his eyes, and he holds my gaze. A smirk is painted on those criminally full lips like he enjoys my refusal to cower.

After a minute, I swallow hard and give in, looking away. "Just tell me what it is you want."

"Would you believe me if I said all I wanted was to see you and bring you some coffee?”

I stare down at the rapidly wrinkling textbook in front of me. So much for selling this one for the money Mom needs. There are others, though. I can make do. I’m reminded of the check he gave me. I can’t bring myself to cash it. Yet if I'd made it to the cabin...despite...everything...I wouldn't have had any qualms taking that money. Then again, I'd have earned it. Unconventionally, but I'm okay with that. But this way, him just handing me a check, it makes me feel cheap like he bought my virginity or something. I slip the check I've been staring at for hours, contemplating what I’m going to do with it, out from under the stack of notebooks and hold it out to him. Maybe him showing up here is a sign. After the store incident with his little friend, I don’t want to look like a charity case, not any more than I already feel.

"Here. Take it back. I don’t want it.” Yes, I know I need the money, but I also care about my pride. I care about integrity, and I want him to know I can’t simply be bought like an item on the shelf.

He tilts his head, and his dark russet-brown hair falls across his forehead, those dark forest-green eyes piercing, narrowing to slits as he studies me like a bug beneath a microscope. "Hmm, and why is that?"

I reach farther, extending it toward him. "The reason doesn’t matter. All that matters is I don’t want it.”

In an instant, his body goes rigid, his nostrils flare, and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. If he possessed the will to expel daggers from his eyes, I’d be dead this very instant. "Is my money not good enough for you,flower?”

Strangely, I’m annoyed by the mocking way he says that stupid nickname he’s given me. I shift in my chair, unease coating my insides. For some reason, I thought this would be easier. I guess I shouldn’t assume anything when it comes to thisNeanderthal. Slowly, I drop my hands down to my lap, the check still clutched tightly in my fingers.

"Of course you would think it has to do with you. Believe it or not, I don’t care about your money. What I care about is integrity, and the fact that I didn’t earn this check. Therefore I don't want it."

I watch his face intently, noting the curl of his full bottom lip and the low, simmering rage flickering in his eyes. He shifts forward like a panther ready to pounce, bracing his forearms on his knees. He looks like the evil villain in every one of my romance books. Instinct guides my movements, and I jerk away, my blood pressure rising with every shallow breath I take. I know very little about this man, but what I do know is enough to make warning bells go off in my mind. Like most red flags, I ignore the desire to run and remain seated. If that night in the woods taught me anything, it’s that if I run right now, the only thing that he will do is chase me, and I don’t want that to happen. This isn’t a game.

"You’re a smart girl, Bel. Do you really think you didn't earn that money after what happened?"

His words sting like a belt across bare skin. Who cares if he has money, power, and looks? It doesn’t mean he can act like a self-righteous prick.

“I'mnotfor sale. What happened in the woods has nothing to do with this money. If you’re insinuating that you bought my virginity, then we’re going to have a problem.”

"You can’t buy something that isn’t for sale, Bel, but for fun, let me play devil's advocate here, and let’s say you made it to the cabin. Would you not have taken the money then? Even if you acquired it the same way."

He is definitely fucked if he thinks I’m going to let him try reverse psychology on me. I look him dead in the eyes, refusingto show him anything. I’m sure other girls would bow at his feet, but I’m not them.

“I wouldn't have acquired it the same way. Getting to that cabin would’ve meant I didn’t get caught. It also would’ve meant I hadn’t given my virginity to some random stranger in the cold woods, either.”

It's his turn to shrug. "Not necessarily true. Making it to the cabin was all you had to do to win. I had my sights set on you and planned to claim you one way or another. You could’ve continued on your merry way afterward. I wouldn’t have stopped you.”

I turn to fidget with my books, anything to distract myself from his bigger-than-life body and presence. "I don’t recall you being overly helpful afterward…"

His fingers graze my chin, and I shiver as he tilts my face up, forcing me to meet his icy gaze. "Take the money. You need it. I don't. This isn't something I'm going to continue negotiating with you."

You need it. I don’t.It’s difficult to remain calm when he speaks words that are so truthful, it hurts.Is that how he sees me?I guess I shouldn’t care because who the hell is he? But I don’t want to be seen as Oakmount’s charity case. The girl who sold her virginity for ten thousand dollars and is willing to give blow jobs if you pay her an extra five during tutoring. God, I’m stupid.So fucking stupid.Next, someone will tell the administration I’m sleeping with the students for cash instead of helping them get better grades.

Shifting from his grasp, I slam the wet book shut and gather my things into a neat pile before shoving them into my bag. Our eyes collide when I look up from the bag. He’s studying me, his dark brows furrowed, confusion flickering in his gaze. Despite the warning going off in my head, knowing my next move might be my last, I grab the remaining coffee he brought me, extend myhand over the trash can, and drop it inside. Usually, I’m not this ballsy or ungrateful, but I want him to understand where I stand with him, and that’s not even on the same continent.

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