TWO
DREDYN
Eden’s End.
Our annual baptism, thrown by Omega Chi Kappa to celebrate the start of another corrupt elite year at Ashen Grove University.
We invite the OCK legacy freshmen and break them in. Remind them that even if their fathers were good enough, they have to be too.
My frat brothers sprawl across the lawn and pour into the OCK house where the music is loud. A few nod to me as I take the steps two at a time inside the house. At six and a half feet, it’s hard not to miss me, and more importantly?—
I am the fucking president of this debauchery.
And I love every fucking second of it.
A pretty blonde hands me a beer the moment I enter the threshold. Her green eyes beam brightly up at me as her fake lashes blow a gust of wind across my face. I’m pretty sure I’ve fucked her.Maybe. Who the fuck cares. I open the cap and chug the bottle before chucking it against the wall. It shatters, causing a few people to shriek at the sound, making me chuckle.
I’m late to my favorite party of the year. A night of reckless indulgence. Usually, I’ll take a few girls and fuck them without guilt. If you never know who she is, how can you regret ruining her?
Every surface of the house is occupied. Girls with their skirts pushed up, guys with their heads thrown back, bodies grinding to the music.
Jasper is probably up in his room, hoping he can burn this place to the ground. I would probably let him after the party ends. But the university is still pissed about the chapel stunt last year. Burn one fucking Ferrari and suddenly the administration wants your head on a spike.Hypocrites. At least Talon’s dad was able to get me out of that one.
I round the corner, trying to make it to the stairs so I can go drag Jasper’s sorry ass down here, when something flickers at the edge of my vision. A figure—small and delicate. She’s halfway through the hallway when she turns her head, just enough for me to catch the edge of her profile.
She’s wearing a mask, a black one with large bunny ears that cuts off just where her nose is, and her eyes shine through them despite the dim lighting—baby blue, but almost silver in the dark. Her mouth is painted a deep maroon, the kind of shade that would smear like blood if I ran my dick across it.
And suddenly, I’m hard.
Not just because she’s hot. Not because she’s dressed like sin incarnate.
But because I knowher.
Mara fucking Black.
Also known as: the future president’s daughter—campaign princess. She’s also the twin sister of the president of the fraternity that has been a thorn in my fraternity’s side for decades. Long before I was even a thought in my parent’s mind.
Tattoos cover her arms, her thighs, curling up her ribs and disappearing under the short crop top that stops just below herbreasts. All of it is bold, black work. Webs, skulls, a naked girl riding a snake. It’s beautiful.
Her face is plastered everywhere; you can’t escape social media without seeing her. Yet here she is, a beautiful, alternative version of America’s sweetheart.
My grin spreads slowly, crawling across my face as she looks straight at me and freezes. Her eyes go wide with panic, then she bolts, turning and slipping through a narrow side door that leads down to the basement.
A game of chase?
I follow her downstairs, faint music humming through the floorboards above us. We don’t keep much in here except some broken furniture, a couple punching bags, and chemicals for the indoor pool.
Mara is playing the innocent girl in the scary movie quite well, and I’m the monster that follows her. I duck underneath a sagging beam and find her. Scared breaths stutter out nervously, her fingers twitching beside her.
She’s smaller up close. Vulnerable in a way that makes my skin itch and my cock ache. I can see the pulse jumping in her throat as I move closer toward her. Her eyes dart toward the stairs, but she knows there’s no escaping.
My smile is wide. “Well… hello there…”
She flinches at the sound of my voice, andfuck, I feel it all the way to my cock. She steps back, then again, until her spine hits the concrete wall. Her fingers clutch the hem of her skirt.
“Um-m…” she stammers. “I—I didn’t mean to come down here.”
Got you.
