Chapter 25

I'm still fumingat Roman when we walk into the restaurant at the end of the pier. All the guys are already here, including Nathan, and a few of the girls. I spot Wyn, and make a beeline for her. The whole group takes up three separate booths, all lined up along the back window, overlooking the ocean.

"Hey, girlie," Wyn says, scooching over in the booth, so I can sit next to her. Roman breaks off to sit with the rest of the guys.

With a quick "hey," I pick up a menu and peruse the options. I'm starving. All I've had to eat today is a bagel, and Roman ate half of it.

"Hey, you, uh, okay?" Wyn asks.

I turn my body toward her, so I can talk to her without everyone else hearing. "Roman is a fucking asshole."

She looks confused. "You're just figuring this out now? I thought you already knew this. Grass is green. The sky is blue. Roman is an asshole." She shrugs like, what's the big deal?

I roll my eyes. "I made the mistake of opening up to him about my past this morning, and he just threw it in my face."

"Typical guy." Wyn sighs into her coffee. "Honestly, though, Roman wouldn't know sympathy if it were down on its knees sucking his dick."

"Yeah," I say, feeling validated. Thank God Wyn gets it. "Exactly."

The waiter comes around and I order a burger, fries and a chocolate milkshake. The other girls at the table just glare at me, disgusted. They're all stick thin, sipping on their iced teas with a basket of cold fries sitting in the middle of the table.

I don't give a flying fuck, though. I'm hungry, and I'm eating actual food.

"So tell me what happened," Wyn says when I'm done ordering. The waiter brings me a glass of water. "What were you guys arguing about?"

Everyone is still giving me side-eye from across the table, but they've fallen into their own conversations. I turn back to Wyn and lower my voice. "I tried looking Roman and his family up on the internet, and found nothing. I mean, absolutely nothing except a bunch of articles about how much money they've donated to the school." I roll my eyes, because I just can't help it. "But when I asked Roman about it, he got all defensive. And I mean super defensive, especially about his brother."

Wyn nods. "Suspicious."

"I know, right?" I lift my hands, like what the fuck? "He's hiding something, I just know it."

I don't tell her about the note from Bree, because I'm not really sure who I can trust. Wyn is pretty solid, but she's also a fully-fledged member of the Burning Crown, so I don't know.

Wyn leans back against the booth backrest. "I mean, he's ExU royalty. Of course he's hiding something. The four families are shady as fuck. How do you think they got where they are? By helping out at church and rescuing puppies? No fucking way."

I swallow, and glance at Roman, who's sitting in the booth to my right. He's laughing at something Lucas said, completely over all the shit that just happened with me in the parking lot.

Asshole.

Here I am stewing, and he's just over there enjoying himself. If I could punch him in the face again, I would. And I would enjoy it, too.

"You're glaring at Roman," Wyn points out. "It's creepy."

I don't shift my gaze. "I'm thinking about all the different ways I can murder him."

Wyn laughs. "I do that on the daily, but with Gabriel. Hot, rich guys are the worst, because they know what a commodity they are around here. Goes straight to their heads."

"That"s the truth," I say, sighing. "Where is Gabriel, anyway?"

Wyn suddenly focuses on the fries in front of her, taking one and placing it in her mouth. "He's at his house, pouting."

I pull back to look at her. "Pouting?"

"We had a fight about some bullshit," she says vaguely. "I feel like we're always fighting lately. He's in some kind of mood."

"Yeah, I get it," I say.

My gaze slides to a table across the restaurant, on my left. There's a sexy morsel sitting all alone—long hair, pulled up into a messy man-bun, tattoos snaking up his neck, and a delicious smile spread across his handsome face. He keeps glancing over at me.

As soon as my food comes, I pick it up, and start to get up.

"Where are you going?" Wyn asks.

I lean over and whisper in her ear, "To piss Roman off."

"Oh, damn, Lux, that's not a good idea," Wyn says, but I'm already headed over to the sexy stranger's table. He looks up at me when I set my food down in front of him.

"Can I sit here?" I ask.

He smiles. "Sure."

"So what's your name?" I ask.

"Elliot," he says with an awkward laugh. "What's yours?"

Already, I feel Roman's eyes on me. It's like a sixth sense I've developed since arriving at ExU. When Roman's focus is on me, it's like an electrical current zipping up my spine. I don't dare look over there, though, because then he'll know I'm just sitting with this guy to fuck with him.

"Lux," I say, shoving a fry into my mouth, then taking a sip of my chocolate shake.

"That's an unusual name," he says.

I laugh like I haven't heard that a million times. "I know, my mom is weird," I say by way of explanation.

Elliot takes a sip from his drink, then sets it down. "Are you attending ExU?"

"Yeah, anthro major," I answer. "You?"

"Nah," he says with a smile. "I'm surfing professionally right now."

"Oh," I say, feigning interest. "How does one surf professionally?"

His face lights up, and I can tell I've hit a topic he's passionate about. "Well, there are these competitions, and—"

"What do you think you're doing?" It's Roman. He's standing next to the table, glaring down at us.

Elliot looks between Roman and me, confused.

With a sigh, I look up at Roman. "I'm in the middle of something here."

He doesn't even answer me, he hauls me up by my elbow, and pulls me to the nearest exit, which happens to be a small patio area that looks out over the ocean. It's cold, though, so no one is out here.

"Hey, stop, I'm not done eating." I pull against him, but it's useless. He's too strong. I'm not going anywhere unless he allows it, which is exactly the point he's trying to make, I'm sure.

Control. It always comes back to that one thing with him.

Once we're outside—and out of earshot of everyone—he releases me. "What the fuck was that, Lux?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "What do you mean?" I act confused, but I knew what I was doing. And it worked. Not sure I should be glad about that, though, because I didn't anticipate him yanking me out of the restaurant in front of everyone. I just thought he'd silently stew, then confront me later about it.

Clearly, I miscalculated.

"You know better."

I flash him a confused look. "Know better than to what, talk to someone? You know, this is really starting to feel like a cult—"

Roman steps up to me, pressing me against the wall with his large body. "You just put that guy in danger, Lux, but I'm sure you fucking knew that."

"Why would he be in danger? That's a bit dramatic," I say. "I approached him, not the other way around. Everyone saw that."

"It's blatant disrespect, Lux, and that shit just doesn't fly here. A guy just doesn't sit back and let his chick talk to other guys. Now something has to be done about it."

What the fuck kind of caveman shit is that? "He doesn't even attend ExU," I say, rolling my eyes. "So he doesn't know about you and me. Besides, I was just talking to him. Obviously nothing scandalous happened, so there's no score to settle. You can chill."

He inches even closer, so his lower half is touching mine, pressing me harder against the concrete wall. He lowers his head, so his face is right up in mine. "You don't get it, do you? You're a part of the elite now, and we have rules. Rules that govern every fucking thing you do."

My heart thuds against my ribcage. "I never asked for this," I tell him for the millionth time. Maybe one of these days, it'll get through that thick skull of his.

"Neither did I," he says through gritted teeth. "And yet here we are."

"And what if I don't want to follow your rules?" I ask.

He stares down at me with so much disdain, I wonder where it came from? If I piss him off so much, then why keep doing this? Why not cut me loose?

"Then I guess I'll have to show you what happens when you don't," he says ominously.

Uh. What the fuck does that mean? He's already forced me into a relationship with him, lured me into fucking him, taken my dorm room away…what else is there?

"Maybe I should just take you right here," he continues. "Show your new little friend who you belong to."

Uh….shit. "I think he knows that by now."

Dipping his head, Roman brushes his lips over my eyelids, then my cheek, and finally my lips, just a featherlight touch meant to entice. "Knowing it and seeing it are two different things."

I have a sinking feeling this isn't an idle threat. He would absolutely fuck me in front of all these people—who are, at this moment, craning their necks to look out the windows and see what's happening.

I tilt my head. "Are they two different things, though? I think they're mostly the same."

"You're so determined to challenge me at every-fucking-turn," he says against my lips. "And I've played nice. But maybe it's time I show you that shit like this isn't cool."

He's been playing nice this whole time? The Roman I've known is rough, and bossy, and a complete asshole. If all I've seen so far is his nice side, then I'm seriously fucked.