Page 4 of Spin the Damn Bottle

Nothing but ice. The same cold void that has inhabited my heart since my twin brother’s death.

The one thing stronger than the practicality of a legacy match is the law of attraction. I’ve only heard of a handful of instances where men and women in my shoes broke a betrothal arranged by parents to unify filthy rich bloodlines. It’s always because one of the parties was obsessed with someone else. Obsessed enough to turn their back on billions of dollars.

Nadia Reyes moved me at my worst, when I was staring at the void and wanting nothing more than to jump. I need her. She doesn’t make me happy as such. It’s not an emotion I can sustain for long. She makes me feel, which is better. With her, I’m almost human.

I was pragmatic enough to test her, check whether she could handle pressure. I knew very little about her at the start of the fall, and a weak spirit can’t possibly survive in our world. Nor can a prudish one. If she’d fail, I would have still kept her, but I would have had to take precautions. Hide her, lock her away. Marry Yuki and never let world discover my vulnerability. I don’t think it’ll come to that. Nadia is perfect for me. Soft enough to bend to my rule, proud enough to resist everyone else.

Until the fire, that is.

Her limit literally is murder attempts, and I can respect that. She’s ready to give me everything else. My job is to handle her safety.

I watch Marie rub her cunt and moan, throwing her head back. I grin as Melina moves to kneel in front of her, across from my seat on the limo. Careful never to turn her head toward me, my friend goes to town on the bitch’s pussy.

Cain’s equally vigilant, so his face never appears on the video I’m filming from the camera hidden on the lapel of my jacket. He stands next to Marie’s seat, the pants of his tux open at the crotch. She doesn’t need to be told to take his cock in her mouth.

I don’t move. I don’t think I even see any of them. All that matters to me is that I have another pawn.

I don’t know who tried to take Nadia off my board. I have too many enemies. Those who want me. Those who want to use me. And the many who just hate me.

There isn’t a shadow of a doubt in my mind. That fire that burned her, scarred her skin was about me. And I’ll repay that debt with interest, in charred flesh and spilled blood.

CHAPTER FOUR

Tall gilded gates, even higher tuition, and a small army of guards keep the rabble out of Cross and Roses, one of the most exclusive secondary schools in the country. Sitting in the back of my uncle's Maserati, right behind my cousin, I feel my stomach drop as we approach.

For two years I was ignored. Then I made Jace look in my direction, and suddenly everyone knew exactly who I was, for the worst reasons. Just like that, he set the entire school against me. By November, he and I were…whatever we were. Since the school dances to his tune, that meant that they started to leave me alone.

What now? I broke up with him. I just don’t know what to expect.In a way, I preferred when I was sure I was walking into a lion’s den last fall. The uncertainty is more daunting.

Lucius slows to a stop where the long line dropping kids off after the Christmas break starts.Parents aren’t allowed within the building unless they have appointments, so everyone is leaving their kids here.

He turns to me and smiles, though it doesn't reach his usually warm brown eyes.

My uncle's a handsome Italian man in his early forties. Several of my friends call him a DILTF, and snicker lewd comments I try to bleach out of my mind for my sanity. I've seen his kindness, his gentleness, his care. I've also seen his wrath. Since my accident, he's letting me glimpse something new. Coldness.

He's pissed about what happened to me. Not just pissed, freaked too. I've never seen him as scared as the Sunday night he burst into my hospital room, half an hour earlier than my own parents, demanding to know who was responsible and swearing to make them pay.

Come to think of it, he's not unlike a certain boy I've tried to banish from my mind.

In vain.

"You're sure you want to go back to this school? I can enroll you somewhere in the city."

I shake my head, though I'm not that certain it's wise. But what choice do I have? Switching school halfway through the year in my senior year? I might as well kiss my dream of attending Tisch goodbye. I'm not that good a student, and at a new school I'll take forever to catch up. "I'm fine, Tio, really. It was just a freak accident."

I don't believe that. He doesn't believe that. Even the super dumb princess from Enchanted wouldn't believe that. But saying it makes me feel better, and for all his worry, my uncle approves of my standing my ground. That's what he would do. We're Astrellas, after all.

He redirects his attention to his son. "You'll look after her."

That's not a question so much as an order, to which Lucas nods darkly.

I roll my eyes. Right. For all two or three days per month he'll turn up at school.

My cousin’s finished most of his course requirements and could have graduated by now. He told me he still needs to pass PE, but I think that's bullshit; the only reason why he's coming to school at all is me. Checking on me, making sure I'm fine. This school full of privileged assholes can be a nightmare for those singled out, as I discovered last semester. Things might have been a lot worse for me, if Lucas hadn't occasionally checked in. He's sufficiently popular, and he made no secret of being in my corner, though I don't think many people realize we're related. On days he was around, I was left alone. Mostly.

I’m guessing that’s why Uncle Lucius is dropping us off together this morning: to make a statement. Show the world that I’m not without protection.

Usually, Lucas would have driven his Audi and I would have come in the Hulk, my new, and highly problematic, Mini. Uncle Lucius insisted to get it looked at by the exceedingly expensive shop taking care of his cars, and then Lucas suggested his car might need a tune-up too.