Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 153544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
“I’m assuming you’ll clean it up and replace my vodka,” Jeremy says from the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed.
“It’s my vodka. Fuck off.” My cousin shoves an ice pack on his swollen jaw and props his foot on the edge of the sofa.
Leaning against the counter, I cross my legs at the ankle. “Bad mood?”
“And you’re not? That loser won against you.”
I lift a shoulder. “I won something better than a meaningless match.”
Like Glyndon’s company and even a temporary truce from fighting me once she was watching those fireflies—and I wasn’t touching her.
She eventually relaxed once I forced my hand to remain still. Something that proved to be harder in practice than theory. Turning this into a habit is out of the question. After all, I only need her to get her guard down a little, let me in a little so I can figure her all out and, in retrospect, delve into the reasons behind my interest in her.
Am I ready to go the extra mile for that? Sure as fuck.
Considering the crease in her brows when I drove her back to her dorm, I’d say I still have a ways to go.
She’s a stubborn, hotheaded little shit, and I’m here for every fucking second of it.
Glyndon might be the solid, huge rock, but I’m water and water might slam into the rock at first, but it’ll eventually break through it.
“What’s better than winning, motherfucker?” Nikolai grunts. “Next time, don’t take my fight if you’re going to lose it. My image is at stake here, Satan’s heir.”
I pull out my pack of cigarettes and stare at it for a beat, remembering Glyndon’s words from earlier about poison. Then I shake my head and stuff one between my lips. “I assume you won the one after?”
“Barely,” Jeremy answers on his behalf, then heads to the minibar and pours himself a drink. “An art student nearly beat him to death first.”
“Bullshit!” Nikolai jumps up and points his ice pack at Jeremy. “I was only taking it easy on him at the beginning. And that bitch is no ordinary art student. He obviously works out.”
I raise a brow and blow out a trail of smoke. “Superhuman art student?”
“Maybe one of those comic book superheroes, huh?” Jeremy prompts. “Posh rich boy by day and vigilante by night.”
“With a mask, a cape, and a bat car.”
“Maybe a suit, too?”
“Fuck you both simultaneously.” Nikolai flops back against the sofa. “For your information, Landon was the reigning king in all the championships he participated in AND he’s the current leader of the Elites.”
Jeremy props an elbow on the counter beside me and takes a sip of his drink. “Our Niko actually knows information like that? Since when?”
“Since Gareth was whispering in my ear. And what the fuck? I know all the information.”
“That implies you’ll use violence.”
“Of fucking course. Why would I need to fill my head with other boring information?”
I tap the cigarette in the bottle of water, letting the ashes tarnish the pure liquid. “Landon?”
“Landon King,” Nikolai offers. “Creighton’s cousin, or second cousin, or what-the-fuck ever. I say if his bitch clone brother hadn’t shown up out of thin air, he would’ve kept the fight going all night long. That crazy motherfucker smiles when he’s beaten up, like you, Satan’s heir.” He kicks the table, and it tumbles down, all the glass shattering to minuscule pieces. “Let’s fight, Killer. I still have energy to purge.”
“Pass.” Not only will he go for hours on end, but I’m also in a good mood and don’t want to fight.
It’s not my preferred purging method, anyway.
“Control your temper.” Jeremy sits beside him and offers him his drink. “It’s going to get you killed one day.”
“One day isn’t today.” He swallows the contents of the glass in one go. “And it’s not temper, it’s energy, Jer. Goes all the way to my dick. I should’ve gotten laid tonight.”
“So Landon and his twin brother ruined your night?” I circle back to the topic at hand.
“Fuck those rich little boys, especially the dainty one who looked no different from a lotus flower. He shared Landon’s looks but had the aura of a weakling.”
“Not to mention, he stole your fun,” Jeremy points out and Nikolai tsks.
“Stole your fun, how?”
“Well, cousin, as soon as that dainty lotus flower showed up, Landon hiked up the aggression and went all in. But when he left, Landon actually lost. Just like that. Talk about weird twin shit.”
He was probably scaring his brother.
Well, fuck.
Maybe Glyndon is right and her brother is on the spectrum. I know Eli King is for sure. We met as kids through our parents, and he was the only one who had a look that mirrored mine.
Irrevocably bored.
Now the question is whether to eliminate Landon or not. Let’s wait and see if he forms an obstacle in my endeavors with Glyndon first.