Read the room, jackass.I flick his forehead with my index finger. “Don’t insult me with a shit lie. You’ve been avoiding me. Why?” By the time I finish talking, my face is two inches from his ear.
Can’t avoid me now, bitch.
He whips his head toward me, whisper-yelling, “You didn’t tell me you were with that psychopath.”
I rear back. “Which psychopath?”
One comes to mind, but there’s no way we’re thinking about the same person.
“Kohen.”
“Are you insane? I wouldn’t touch that man if he were the last person on Earth.” Mentally, at least, I wouldn’t go anywhere near him. Physically? This slut likes whatever it is he’s packing. My ovaries see him, say “wow, so strong,” and think he’s a suitable mate to procreate with. “Why would you think we’re together?”
Elijah throws his hands up. “Because he shoved me and threatened me!”
I snort. I’d do the same to Elijah too. “For what? Wait, let me guess, you looked at him for too long? You made a joke about him being held back a year? Ooh, ooh, I know. You called him Kiervan.” It’s gotta be one of those. Not that he knows who Kiervan is. That man only reacts that strongly when either of those things are mentioned. My house is evidence of his tantrum.
“No,you.” At the face I pull, he explains, “He practically pissed all over you.”
“Never say that shit again.” I blanch. “The only thing he’d do is pour gasoline over me. Now, how about we pick up where we left off yesterday, huh?” I glance around to ensure the teacher isn’t looking our way, then place my hand on his thigh. “What have you got for me?”
He stiffens. “Are you sure nothing is going on between you and the new kid? He made it seem like you guys were an item or something.”
I scowl at the imagery and the fact that it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it should. My reaction to my thoughts about that crazy hunk of a man should be visceral and make me throw up on the spot. Instead, my head goes a little light thinking about having all that muscle beneath me and having his golden eyes tear into me in an entirely different way.
“The man has a few loose screws,” I purr. “Don’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth.”
I can’t say Elijah looks any more at ease about my admission than he was a minute ago, but eventually, his shoulders slump slightly. “I’m out, and my guy won’t have anything for a couple more days. But you still owe me for yesterday.”
It’s my turn to tense. Now,thisreaction is near visceral. There’s noway I’m going anywhere near his disgusting penis unless I’m hopped up or he’s waving a more figurative carrot in front of my face.
I’ve never done any kind of sex sober before, and I don’t intend to start now. The lights would have to be off, and even then, I couldn’t stomach it. Especially when I know for a fact it will end with me feeling unsatisfied and in desperate need of a shower. I definitely will not die a virgin, but my fingers would have racked up considerable mileage before then.
I snatch my arm away and glare at him. “I was ready to pay up with my hand, but you were nowhere to be found.Youfuckedmearound.”
Elijah frowns. “I told you that lunatic tossed me around.”
Welcome to my life, bud. I roll my eyes and then frown, feeling my face heat. “Fine. Next time you have something to give me, come find me.”
“You think a handjob is enough after all the shit you’ve leeched?” His nostrils flare as he speaks.
Throwing caution to the wind, I palm his cock and hold back bile. He snaps upright, gaping at me but hardening all the same.Gag.
The hair at the back of my neck stands on end like I’m being watched. “Harsh words, Elijah.” I lean in closer, so my chest brushes against his arm. “Get me something worth my time”—and will make me lose all sense of reality so I’m not aware of what I’m doing—“and you might find something… warm and wet in return.” My voice is silky smooth even though acid is rising up my esophagus.
I pull away and pat the top of his head like a dog, then slide back into my chair, unable to get comfortable. It feels like all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. My head slowly inches toward the source of the vacuum, and my mouth goes dry.
My eyes meet Kohen’s, and all sense of disgust evaporates out of me. He feels like a real danger for the first time since I’ve met him. The pyromaniac isn’t just looking at me like he’s going to eat me alive, he’s looking at me like he’s about to commit murder. The question is, who’s the victim?
I whimper and press my face into the pillow, all my muscles protesting. A solid eight hours, zero bathroom breaks, or soul-altering dreams might solve all my problems.
After flipping my pillow over and beating it half to death, I lie back down, the faint whiff of the weed I scored earlier reaching my nose. Maybe if I didn’t constantly feel like I’d been hit by a truck, I would get an epiphany about the course my life was going down, and then everything would suddenly be in order.
The shitty sleep has everything to do with the shit Elijah gave me two days ago, and smoking a joint has done nothing to make sleeping possible. Come to think of it, I need to change tact and go right to the source. Take out the middleman and see if Elijah’s dealer can score me some vitamin K and give me a bump; then Bob will most definitely be my uncle.
A couple more minutes pass, and I turn over, tangling the sheets and ratty blanket between my legs as I do. My exposed leg skirts the edge of the bed, and not for the first time, I’m loving the central heating this place has. It’s a fucking Christmas miracle that I haven’t needed to sleep in a coat and hoodie to survive the colder months.
Now, even though it’s freezing outside, I’m in here at risk of a tit falling out of my singlet, and the bogeyman getting an eyeful of my ass. This really is the life. If only I were born into a wealthy family.Oh wait.
