Page 39 of Alluring Darkness

“Gift,” Raina scoffs behind me where she walks down the final couple of steps.

“We almost thought you were going to stay home and play with her the whole day,” Jace says, wiggling his eyebrows. “It’s almost eight o’clock.”

The moment Raina’s feet have left the steps, she makes a break for the front door.

“Jace,” I snap, since he’s standing closest to it.

Raina makes it all the way to the door and shoves the handle down, only to find that it’s locked. And before she can unlock it, Jace slams his palm against the door and leans on it. Anger flickers in Raina’s green eyes as she turns to glare at me.

“You’re riding with me,” I say by way of explanation.

She starts to protest, but Kaden cuts her off by saying, “Then let’s get going.”

Our footsteps echo between the dark wood panels as we start towards the door. Rico falls in beside me.

“You sleep?” he asks casually, but his eyes tell a different story.

I hold his gaze for a second longer than necessary before admitting, “Yes.”

Surprise flickers across his face. It’s there and gone again so fast that I know none of the others have seen it. Then a smile, one of those genuine ones that make his eyes light up, spreads across his face.

But all he says is a neutral, “Good.”

Hot September winds wash across the fields, bringing with them the scent of warm grass. I glance up at the blue sky and the bright sun climbing over the horizon. In this part of the country, fall is still a while away.

After locking the door behind us, I start towards our cars in the driveway.

Raina apparently tried to bolt again because Jace is holding her by the arm next to my car now. She glowers at me like a bloody raincloud.

“Stop being so fucking difficult and just get in the car,” I say.

For a moment, it looks like she is going to fight me on it. Then she clicks her tongue and snaps, “Fine.”

She tries to yank her arm out of Jace’s grip. He doesn’t let her. Instead, he raises his eyebrows at me in silent question. I nod.

Raina mutters something under her breath as he at last releases her and strolls over to his own car. While I round the Range Rover, she climbs into the passenger seat and slams the door shut much harder than necessary.

“Careful,” I say as I slide into the driver’s seat and close the door with much better care. “You break it, you buy it.”

“A bit too late for that, don’t you think?” she replies, giving me a mockingly sweet smile while twirling a set of keys in her hand.

Shaking my head, I start the car and drive us towards the main road.

When we pass the series of buildings where the dorm rooms are located, Raina glances towards them longingly. “Can’t you just let me out here?”

“Why?”

“I need to take a shower before I head to class.”

With her eyes still on the buildings, she runs a hand down over her inner thigh. My cock pulses, and I have to grip the steering wheel hard.

“I’m still sticky from last night,” she continues. Tearing her gaze from the dorms, she turns to face me again. “And it’s your fault, so the least you can do is to drop me off so that I can take a shower.”

“I don’t remember you complaining last night. In fact, I distinctly remember you begging me to make you come.”

She crosses her arms and draws her eyebrows down. “I didn’t beg.”

“You saidplease.”