Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 44252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
He looked so different in a preppy ass uniform, but not in a bad way. He looked like the personification of sin and heartbreak.
“And the sweet little lamb was ravaged by the wolf.” His husky voice snaked across the short distance between us.
I stupidly glanced around to see if he was talking to someone other than me. When I looked back at him, his pretty eyes met mine and a smirk had one side of his perfect mouth tilting up.
His reference had me thinking about the night behind the brownstone. It’d been natural for the wolf to seek me out since I had gone as Little Red. Letting the wolf taste and claim me was another story.
My heartrate spiked, and the longer I stared at him, the surer I became. All those subtle hints he dropped didn’t seem so subtle anymore. His voice alone nearly cemented the fact, something I’d never forgotten.
But how could I have slept with Judas Barron and not known it? No one had said anything, either. Where had Audrey been that night? I couldn’t remember.
“Are you the lamb then?” I retorted, stepping forward with the intention of heading into the office.
“We both know I’ve always been the wolf.” He took his time dragging his eyes up and down my body.
Was that confirmation?
Ugh. I needed to stop.
What did that matter anyway? People hooked up all the time. Maybe some other girl would’ve had a meltdown and lost her shit, made a total fool of herself over him.
Me? I knew who the hell I was. Self-sabotaging my dignity for a boy, even if he made the deepest, darkest part of my soul preen with interest, would never happen. Hell would freeze over before it was a possibility.
“That’s unfortunate then. I’m pretty sure he gets his in the end.” I flashed a smile and continued on my way.
I was slipping into the office before he could reply, shutting the glass door behind me.
“Good morning,” I greeted the older woman behind the administrative counter. She was adorable with her seashell earrings and matching floral blouse.
“Good morning! What can I do for you?”
“I need to collect a senior student ID and a schedule. I’m—”
“Miss Clermont?” she cut me off.
“Er…yeah, that would be me. I take it you guys don’t get a lot of new kids, huh?”
“Not for senior year, but I’m sure you’ll fit right in. You look like a good girl.” She smiled kindly.
“Thanks.” I returned her smile with one of my own. If only she knew the half of it.
“Hm, well look at that.” She lifted a neon sticky note and showed it to me. “Judas Barron will be your chaperone for the day.”
Oh, god no.
Her eyes snapped to mine, and I realized I’d said that out loud. The door opened again from behind me, and I decided right then to make a clean getaway.
“I mean, I don’t want to put him out. I know how busy he must be, being an honors student and what not. My best friend goes here too. She can show me around.” I was talking out of my ass. I had no clue if Judas was on the honors or not, but with his family’s money backing the school, I couldn’t imagine him not being at the top of the top.
“You could never put me out, principessa.”
He didn’t just call me that in front of this woman.
“Oh, well, there you go then.” She beamed from him to me.
“Let’s go, Rhiannon.”
I was partially surprised to hear him use my actual name for once. “What about my ID card?”
“I’ve already got it.”
That explained why he’d been standing out in the auditorium. Damn. I really did have to go with him. I blew out a breath and turned towards the guy who was quickly becoming the bane of my existence, following him out reluctantly.
“I have to wait for Audrey.”
“She’s handled,” he replied in a bored tone, barely sparing me a second glance.
I glared at his back. “What does that mean?”
“It means start walking, or I’ll drag your ass up the hallway.”
The hell he would. From my peripheral, I saw the kind older woman watching us from the office. If not for her, he would have been cussed out. I wasn’t trying to have my parents called on my first day of the school year.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t a scholarship kid, which meant they’d done some miraculous hustling to get me in.
I’d have to grill them later. Honestly, I felt a little bad. Some kid deserved this spot, had worked hard for it. I hadn’t. I didn’t even want to be here. I gritted my teeth and followed my ‘chaperone,’ catching up to him in a few easy strides.
“Why did you volunteer to show me around?”
“Because.” He kept going, not even looking back when he reached for my wrist and pulled me alongside him. When a few students needed to pass, practically gawking at us along the way, he moved me even closer.