Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 176345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 882(@200wpm)___ 705(@250wpm)___ 588(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 882(@200wpm)___ 705(@250wpm)___ 588(@300wpm)
“Stop worrying so much,” I add.
He flicks my forehead so hard I wince. “What the fuck did you do that for?”
“Because I fucking care about you,” he retorts. “And so should you.”
“I’m gonna chop off your finger if you ever do that again,” I retort, threatening him with a finger equally deadly.
He snorts. “Remember what Dad said; no fighting on campus.” And he rubs my beautifully combed hair so wildly it pisses me off to the point of screaming out loud.
“Felix! My hair!”
Now I’ve gotta spend another fifteen minutes brushing out all the tangles to make it perfect and smooth again.
“Looks lovely. Catch you later,” he says before he walks off, leaving me fuming and ready to rip him a new asshole.
Suddenly, someone throws their arm around my shoulders. “Hey! Who was that handsome guy?”
It’s Brooke, one of my fellow Beta Pi sorority girls who has a room right across from mine. She casually throws her long, wavy blond hair over her shoulder and side-eyes Felix. “Friend of yours?”
The thought that she’d be even remotely interested in him makes me want to puke.
“My brother,” I reply.
“Oh …” She licks her lips. “Well, if he’s avail—”
“No. He has a girlfriend.”
And besides, I would never, ever introduce one of my friends to Felix.
In fact, I would rather swallow one of those dead rats he feeds his snake than see him kiss one of my friends. Gross.
“Aw … Well, if they break up, tell me first, ’kay?” She winks.
No thanks.
“Oh, what have you got there?” she asks, and she rips the paper from my hand before I can tuck it into my pocket.
“Just some stupid list my brother gave me,” I reply. “It’s no big deal.”
I try to steal it back, but she won’t let me.
“These names. These are all Phantom guys,” she mutters. “And some from Tartarus too.”
I frown. “You know these guys?”
“Yeah, of course I know the Phantom Society and Tartarus. They’re only the biggest frat houses on this entire campus.” She snorts. “Everyone knows about them.”
Well, I didn’t. I’ve been far too busy with my studies.
“Can I have it back now?” I ask and snatch it away.
“Why did your brother give you this?” she asks.
“I don’t know. He just told me not to ever talk to any of these people.” I shrug. “Whatever. It’s not like it matters.”
She makes a face. “Wow, your brother sounds really obsessed. And protective. Which is kinda hot.”
I give her a playful punch on the shoulder. “Oh my God, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Well, this is more like a grocery shopping list than anything else.”
I laugh, and she hooks her arm through mine as we walk across campus, headed straight toward the boys my brother told me not to interact with. “Look. Some of the boys from your list are over there.”
Brooke winks at the dudes near the fountain.
“Phantom Society boys are notorious heartbreakers … and rich,” Brooke adds, gloating. “So I’m definitely gonna try my shot.”
“I’m not stopping you,” I muse.
It’s not like I haven’t noticed them, but I really don’t want to go over there. They give me the creeps. The way they’re looking at us. At me.
As if they want to eat me alive.
I throw my hair over my shoulder, determined not to let them get to me. But we’re steadily closing the distance, and Brooke’s heading straight toward them.
Right as we pass them, Irina, my other Beta Pi sorority housemate, suddenly runs up to me and squashes me into a hug. “Lana!”
“Whoa, whoa!” I mutter as my feet cave under the added unexpected weight, and I fall backward into the fountain.
Midway, I’m stopped.
A firm hand presses into the small of my back.
A chill runs up my spine.
When I slowly turn my head, I stare straight into the face of the guy hiding in his hoodie. But he has only one green eye and one icy white one covered by a gnarly-looking scar from his brow to his cheek.
And I can’t stop fucking staring at the one functional eye, sparkling and filled with regret. Hauntingly beautiful. Like he’s looked death in the eyes and returned from hell itself.
“Sorry!” Irina drags me away, pulling me out of the spell. “I got too excited.”
I don’t even know how to respond. I can still feel his fingers even though they’re no longer pushed into my flesh. Like a memory imprinted straight into my skin.
“Thanks,” I mutter over my shoulder at the guy who saved me from a dirty birdbath.
“Sure,” he replies, tucking his hand into his pocket.
But the glimmer in his eye makes it hard to look away.
Especially with the other guys staring at me over his shoulder. It’s like they’re deciding whether to let me walk or drown me in the fountain.
Fuck.
“Don’t look too long …” the one with the blond hair murmurs. “Or you might lose one too.”