“Then you need to find a new school.”
I jut my chin. “That’s not an option. I’m only zoned for McKenzie.”
“Then drop out early. You’re eighteen. No one will stop you.” He stands as well, moving towards me while I move back until he has me pinned against the door.
“No, I need to go to school. If I don’t attend class, I no longer qualify for my housing.”
“Why would you tell me that?” His expression is sad as he rubs his thumb over my bottom lip. “Why would you just hand me leverage?”
With his eyes devouring my face, it’s hard to swallow. Hard to do anything except wait for a demand that it’s a foregone conclusion I’ll obey. “Please.”
“Say that again.” He takes my hands and presses them above my head. “I like to hear you beg.”
“Please, Zach. I need school.” His pupils enlarge, spinning outwards with delight as I whisper again, “Please.”
Then he releases me and backs away. I take a deep breath, relieved and missing his body at the same time. I wish my head would get with the program and make up its damn mind.
“A loyalty test, then. You do what we say without question and once we’re all sure where we stand, you’re free to stay.”
“One test?”
“Ten. That’ll let us know you’re serious.”
“Three.”
“Five.” He moves back against me and when his lips press against my ear, my hips buck without warning, and I hate myself. Hate my body for betraying me.
Hate that Zach doesn’t even seem to notice.
“Five requests and you have to obey without arguing. Nothing forced. Nothing illegal. Just follow the instructions and at the end, we’ll let you go.”
“And if I can’t?”
A smile crawls across his lips with such delectable slowness that my stomach turns somersaults.
“Then we’re back here, Lilac.” His mouth is now so close to my ear that the tiny hairs along my cheek stir. “And by then I’m sure you’ll be begging me to do all the things I have planned for you.”
He traces a lazy spiral on my midriff, easing my top higher.
“Or the gun goes to the police and you’re out of options.” He arches an eyebrow. “See? Right to the end, you get to choose. No one’s forcing you to do anything. Do my bidding or take the punishment. It’s up to you.”
One small nod, then I close my eyes and he’s gone before I open them. He clambered over the windowsill and walked away, the same route he must have used to get inside.
Five wishes. My throat tightens.
Five and then it’s done and I’m free.
CHAPTERFIVE
LILAC
When I emergefrom my bedroom an hour later, my two flatmates stare at me with far more interest than I’ve seen from them before. To be fair, I’ve mostly stayed out of their way, hoping they’d stay out of mine.
Rosa Fenn, a wickedly smart eighteen-year-old who’s already on her second year at uni, tosses me a knowing smile. “You realise there’s a prohibition on having boys in your room, don’t you?”
My muscles freeze me to the spot. “What? Where? No, there isn’t.”
Finley Moore, a remedial student who splits time between high school and the Polytech where she’s learning how to dismantle and reassemble car engines, tosses me a knowing grin. “I like how you don’t deny that you snuck your handsome-as-shit boyfriend into your room for hours of playtime. Just go after the details of your contract.” She taps her temple. “Smart.”
