21. Jace

21

JACE

A s we watch Alec storm off, Devin and I standing there in shock, we feel the weight of his frustrations hanging over us. I glance at Devin and he looks as uneasy as I feel, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he drums his fingers on the tile counter.

"This is crazy," Devin says, breaking the silence.

"I agree," I say, picking up my bowl and dumping the cereal in the sink. I've suddenly lost my appetite. "We wanted to humiliate her but when she left last night, the desire to hurt her sort of…fizzled out for me."

"Me too," Devin agrees. "I don't know if she's trying to manipulate us, but we've been doing it right back to her. This whole thing has become a twisted obsession for us. We're supposed to be rebuilding Sigma, not trying to ruin some girl's life."

I exhale sharply, running my hands through my hair. "We need to pull back. If we stick to the charity events, focus on the frat, and initiating the pledge class, we'll be fine. The harder we go after Tessa, the more likely this will all blow up in our faces."

"Yeah," Devin agrees. "Forget about her. We just move forward from here. We have to go pick up supplies for the toy drive anyway. Let's get out of here and forget about last night."

The two of us clean up and head out, walking toward the student center to grab the stuff we need for the upcoming month-long toy drive that's going to kick off the holiday season.

I'm trying to shake off the lingering tension when something catches my eye. Up ahead, near the campus security office, I spot someone and slow down, nudging Devin.

"Hey, is that Tessa?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

Devin's eyes follow my gaze. Our eyes lock on her and we see her with two campus cops, talking animatedly with them, using her hands to gesture wildly. Devin's jaw tightens.

"You don't think she's talking to them about us, do you?"

My stomach churns. "Has to be. What the hell else would she be doing there?" I clench my jaw hard enough to feel a tick. "Why is she suddenly throwing us under the bus?"

Devin curses under his breath. "That's probably why she rushed off last night," he says. "She probably wanted to tell them that we took advantage of her. God!" he yells, drawing attention from nearby students.

I pull him aside, keeping us hidden from Tessa's view. "I knew it," I say, shaking my head. "She played us, again. Fuck."

Frustration rises. "Maybe Alec was right. We just need to find the perfect way to get her to back off once and for all. Last night didn't go the way we planned but we can do something else."

"Let's invite her to the toy drive event next week," Devin suggests, his eyes never leaving Tessa's form. "We can do it there."

I rub my hands together. "Sounds good," I say. "Let's go over and pretend we have no idea what's going on, we'll invite her when she's done talking to campus police. If we play nice, maybe she'll feel guilty for trying to screw us over."

We wait until we see her start to leave before the two of us stroll toward her, aiming for nonchalance. "Oh hey, Tessa," Devin calls out, pretending to have just spotted her.

"Everything okay?" I ask. "You ran out so fast last night. Did something happen?"

Tessa stares at us for a moment, a frown on her face like she's got a mental debate going on inside her head. "It was a campus security issue with my dorm," she says. "It's all been handled now."

Devin steps closer. "Sorry to hear that. We missed you when you left."

"Yeah," I add, standing in front of her. "We were all hoping for a repeat performance. But maybe you could come to the toy drive fundraiser next week," I offer.

Tessa blinks at us, narrowing her eyes for a moment. "Are you sure you want me there?" she asks, hesitation etched on her face.

"Absolutely," Devin assures her. "It's at the campus café. You can come and get free cookies and coffee as long as you donate a toy."

A smile starts spreading across her face. "That sounds like fun."

Devin glances at his watch, concern on his face. "Oh shit, I need to take this stuff back to the frat house so I can get to class. Jace will give you the details but I gotta go," he says. I hand him the box of supplies I'd picked up and he takes off, waving at us as he leaves.

This leaves me alone with Tessa and she turns to me, eyes wide. "Do you think we could maybe go somewhere and talk?" she asks. "I have something I want to ask you."

"Uh…" I run my fingers through my hair, trying to decide if I have the energy for this. "Sure, let's go back to the frat house. I've got to organize the supplies anyway."

We start in that direction, the conversation a little stilted between us. Tessa asks me more questions about the toy drive and I give mostly rehearsed answers, stuff we've said to the press before.

Once we're inside though, things take a turn. It's as we're climbing the stairs to my bedroom when I realize I've been watching Tessa's ass from behind, fixated on how good it looks in the high-waisted trousers she's wearing.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I find myself pinning her to the door, kissing her senseless. We pull apart and I lick my lips as I look down into her eyes, seeing the same lust reflected there.

"Fuck, you were incredible last night," I say, picking her up around the waist as I continue to kiss and grind against her, holding her up to my bedroom door. "You drive us all crazy. You're so hot and cold and somehow it never feels like enough."

"You're the one driving me crazy," Tessa complains as she tangles her hands in my long hair. "You act so disinterested and then turn on the charm and I'm putty in your hands."

I smirk, leaning in to nip at her lower lip. "It's just who I am, sweetheart," I say, my voice low and rumbling as I grab both of her wrists in one hand and pin them up over her head. "You're going to grind against me now, and you're going to get yourself off like this, baby. Understood?"

Tessa makes a little moan of assent and starts rocking her hips against me, her clothed pussy grinding into my covered erection. I'm painfully hard in my jeans but I don't care. Right now all I care about is drawing more of those delicious, needy sounds from the sexy woman in front of me.

My mouth sucks a mark into her neck before moving back up to leave little kisses along her jaw. She ruts against me, hips working faster now as she leaves wet kisses along the column of my throat.

Our mouths crash together again, seeking each other out and hers opens up for me, letting my tongue invade. We continue kissing, the room quiet save for breathy moans and the soft sound of fabric rustling.

"Oh God, fuck, I'm so close Jace," she whispers, voice harsh in the quiet. "Don't stop, oh don't stop."

I press her into the door, letting her roll her hips as fast as she wants so my cock is slotted right between her apex, and a high-pitched cry tumbles from her lips as she comes apart underneath me.

"Fuck!' she cries out and I cover my mouth with hers, swallowing the sound so we don't disturb any of my brothers who might still be asleep.

Our foreheads press together as we catch our breath, the two of us staring into each other's eyes. It would be so damned easy to get lost in them, I decide as I gently lower her to the ground.

She moves on shaky legs, reaching for her bookbag from where she dropped it on the carpeted floor. "I should go," she says, looking like a rumpled, hot, sexed-up mess. "I need to clean up before my next class."

"You look fine to me," I tease, enjoying the way she squirms under my gaze.

"It's embarrassing to be all wet like this," she whines. My smirk grows wider, proud of the fact that it's all my fault she's like this.

"Catch you later then, sweetheart," I say, giving her one last kiss. She leaves and I lean against my door and smile to myself before it turns into a frown.

Wait a minute. Wasn't Tessa going to ask me something?

Frowning, I glance down at myself in the mirror. There's a wet spot at the front of my jeans and I pull them off, mind racing. Was this whole thing just an excuse to get me alone again? Was she just using me like she did last night?

A knot forms in my stomach. Is this some kind of game to get more "evidence" that she can use against us with campus police?

She wouldn't do that. Would she?

I'm angry with myself. I can't believe I let myself get close to her again. When will I fucking learn that Tessa Collins is not to be trusted? What will it take for me to stop thinking with my dick for once?

A snarl rips out of me and I bang my hand against the dresser, causing my headphones to fall off. My hand stings as I bend down to pick them up, but it's a painful reminder that Tessa has never given us a truly good reason to trust her in the first place.

We need to make her pay for using us, and we need to do it soon.