“I’m sure Penny will be reasonable.” Harper’s words have a slight bite to them.
“Jack.” I nod to him. He stands with a smirk and heads over to the girls’ table. All the girls are on high alert as he approaches. They give him their coyest smiles. My eyes are on Harper as she narrows her eyes on those girls.
Some reach out and drag their fingers on Jack’s arm or leg. One actually tries to grab his ass before he makes it to Penny. A little growl works its way out of Harper. Caden chuckles and turns her face to his before capturing her lips.
Heat wells in me as she leans into his kiss and makes a soft noise of surrender. Caden has this bond with her I don’t understand. She wanted him to be her first and gave it to him willingly. Every first I got from her, I took.
Nico clears his throat, and I look over at him. He nods toward Jack and Penny heading to our table. Caden and Harper pull away from each other, but their eyes are darkened and their breathing is quick.
Her eyes find me, and she wets her lips. My cock twitches, but I’ll have her to myself this next period. I keep my gaze neutral as I turn to Penny.
“Hi, Harper,” she almost sings. She practically buzzes with nervous excitement. Grinning, she glances back at the table she left.
I’m not sure what this girl will expect, but hopefully it’s basic and not something we won’t do.
“Hi.” Harper looks to me.
My chest swells, but I don’t let it show. This she gives me. When she can’t speak for herself, she trusts me to speak for her. It’s a start. I lean forward on the table.
“You want to be friends with Harper.” It’s a statement of fact, but I wait. Penny glances at me and then drops her gaze to the ground.
“Of course. She’s nice.” Penny smiles, and her gaze returns to Harper. “She needs a group to help with the other girls.”
She’s not wrong. We can’t do much to the women, especially if we stay true to our word. It’s easier to seduce than punish. And we won’t be seducing anyone but Harper this year.
“What do you want?” I fold my hands on the table as I look her over. She has blond hair and brown eyes. Cute, but not sexy. Her crop top covers more than most girls’, only revealing a little of her stomach. Her skirt goes to about mid-thigh. She’s one of the girls who was off limits because she had a boyfriend in previous years.
When I glance over at the group she came from, they all have similar backgrounds. Not virgins because of boyfriends, but they also never played with the horsemen for the same reason.
She crosses her foot behind her leg. Her cheeks flush pink. “Uh…”
“This is your opportunity to ask for something before we ask you for something,” I explain. “We need your help. So if you have something you want, ask for it now, or we’ll assume you’ll do it solely to be Harper’s friend.”
What I’m saying is a trap, but our girl can’t have clingers constantly trying to use her. It’s better if she knows who they are from the beginning.
Penny glances over her shoulder toward her friends. “We do want to be friends with Harper, but…”
Eli leans back. Some of the anger brewing in him sizzles in his eyes. He’ll punish Harper for this.
This is our world. People use us to get things. We take that into account with every interaction. Harper’s going to need to figure that out.
“But?” I probably look bored, because I am. Everyone wants something from us. It’s the way things have always been.
She bites her lip and glances at Harper. “We want to sit with you guys at the party on Friday night.”
When Harper raises her eyebrow, Penny adds, “Just sit. I swear. We won’t do anything unless asked.”
Penny’s cheeks flare red, and she doesn’t meet my eyes.
It’s not a huge ask, but it will make Sidney’s group insane, which might stir up more problems for Harper.
“Your group will help Harper with the other girls if we aren’t around?” I want her to know what I expect.
“Of course.” She smiles softly at Harper.
“Harper.” I turn to her. This is her ask, not mine.
Harper straightens. “My mom works nights this week. I want to tell her I’m staying at your house, but I won’t be staying at your house.”
