I pause, just long enough to watch her blink.
“But I’m not letting you do that.” My mouth brushes her ear. “Because watching you rot in that cage would be merciful.”
She scoffs, but before she can hurl another insult, I act. In one move, I tug her off balance right into me. She stumbles against my chest with a soft gasp. The cup in her hand tilts, beer sloshing onto my arm and dripping onto the neckline of her top.
“Oops,” I say. Beer drips down her neck, disappearing into her shirt. My mouth waters.
“You—You did that on purpose!”
“Maybe.” I take the cup from her unresisting hand. “But since we spilled, we should get you a refill.” I snag another cup off the keg table without looking, shoving it at her lips.
“I’m not drinking that,” she growls.
“No?” I press the rim of the cup to her lips suddenly. “Knock it back, Black.”
She tries to twist away. “Dredyn, don’t?—”
I tip the rim. She jerks back, but a splash hits her mouth anyway. She sputters, glares, and—fuck me—swallows just to spite me. I don’t relent, pouring until she’s coughed down a few gulps.A trickle escapes the corner of her mouth and trails down to her throat.
“There you go,” I murmur, voice low as sin. “Good girl. Swallow for me.”
Mara chokes, sputtering. She shoves the cup away and coughs, wiping her chin with a trembling hand. She’s a mess now—beer glistening on her skin, anger and shock on her face.
“You’re insane,” she rasps.
“And you’re on my lap,” I counter.
Her eyes widen. “Wha?—?”
I’m already moving. I drop onto the bench, dragging her with me. One arm hooks around her waist, the other steadies her thighs until she’s straddling my lap. She’s warm and soft against me, her vanilla scent mixed with a hint of spilled beer—intoxicating.
“Dredyn!” she yelps, squirming. She pushes against my chest, but she’s not really trying to get free, just reacting on principle.
From a distance, we probably look like a couple getting cozy. No one around us gives a damn—they’re all lost in their own drunken fun. Mara realizes this too. I feel her stiffening as her eyes dart around and find no one to help.
“Shh,” I breathe against her ear. My hand slides onto her bare thigh, just below the red skirt’s hem. She sucks in a breath, freezing.
“Get your hand off me,” she whispers, voice half panicked, half aroused.
I brush my nose against her cheek, pretending I didn’t hear that. My hand drifts up her thigh, drawing lazy circles that have her breath stuttering even as she whispers for me to stop. “No one’s watching, Mara,” I murmur. “We could do anything right now and no one would notice.”
She makes a soft sound at that, a mix of fear and unwilling thrill. Her fingers dig into my shirt, gripping instead of pushing away.
She shudders in my arms. “This… this is just a game to you,” she says, as if reminding herself. Her voice trembles.
Maybe it is a game. But right now it sure as hell doesn’t feel like one. “You started it,” I murmur, lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Walking in here like you own the place, in that sexy little skirt. You knew exactly what you were doing to me.”
She turns her face and suddenly we’re nose to nose, sharing breath. Her eyes are huge, pupils blown. “I hate you,” she says, but it comes out weak.
“I know,” I whisper, almost gently. My fingers slip just an inch higher, under the edge of her skirt. The tip of my pinky grazes the damp fabric of her panties. Fuck. She’s wet. A primal satisfaction thrums through me. I nearly groan aloud as heat coils in my gut. My cock presses painfully against my jeans, aching to claim her here and now.
She’s a virgin, I’m sure of it. Untouched, innocent Mara, letting the campus villains corrupt her inch by inch. The realization makes me feverish with possessive pride.
Her lashes flutter.
She’s right on the edge, and so am I.
TWENTY
