Page 15 of Wicked Elites

Shame and nausea hit me like a punch to the gut, making me double over. My legs shook, and I willed them to move. “I’m so sorry.”

“What are you still doing here, you fat, disgusting bitch?” The naked girl stood and rushed at me with her fists raised. “Get out!”

Panic spiked through my heart, bringing with it a rush of adrenaline that cured my temporary paralysis. I bolted out of the room with their combined laughter ringing in my ears.

Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and humiliation heated my skin. I should have clapped my hands over my eyes or turned my head — anything not to give them the satisfaction of their twisted little game. Now I would have to face them at the academy on Monday morning, knowing that I had been foolish enough to fall into their trap.

My vision clouded as I raced down the stairs, and I held onto the railing to stop myself from tripping. I reached the bottom and sprinted toward the door and turned around to see if one or both of them had made chase, when I collided into something hard.

“Hey.” Large hands held me by the shoulders. A soft, male voice said, “You nearly knocked me off my feet.”

I turned back, gaze downcast, and caught sight of the orthopedic walker around my captor’s left leg. It reminded me of a ski boot. “Sorry.” My gaze traveled up long legs and muscular thighs encased in worn jeans, and a long-sleeved T-shirt that clung to a muscular torso. “I was looking for my—”

A strong jaw, full lips, straight, aristocratic nose. Then my gazed fixed on a pair of eyes the most unusual shade of green. Not the usual multicolored hazel with bursts of yellow that made the eyes appear green, his were as green as a shamrock with golden flecks that radiated out to a ring as dark as pine. Chocolate-brown hair framed the entire, mouthwatering effect.

All the air left my lungs in a single breath. He was probably the most handsome guy I’d ever met. Even more devastating than Prakash and Leopold in all his naked glory. His face split into a crooked grin that made my throat dry.

“You didn’t complete your sentence,” he said in a smoky voice.

“I was looking for my sister and—”

“Her name?” His brows rose.

“A-Ashley.”

“And yours?” One of the hands on my shoulder traveled down the back of my arm, and his fingers wrapped around my elbow.

Pleasant shudders skittered across my skin. I cursed myself for hanging around to watch Leopold and that girl. Now my nerve endings were so sensitized, even an innocent touch sparked my arousal.

“W-Willow.”

His full lips quirked into a smile, and he inclined that perfect head and said, “Continue.”

“A-Ashley disappeared with someone called Bruce, and I can’t find her.”

“Aaah… Were you headed outside?”

“I’m going to call a taxi.”

His gaze dropped down to my lips. “Why don’t you let me convince you to stay a little while longer?”

Chapter 4

Hypnotism. That’s what it was. Those green eyes were a verdant kaleidoscope that had me mesmerized by their depths. My autonomic nervous system spluttered to a halt, and I forced breaths in and out of my lungs. A guy like this wasn’t good for any girl’s constitution, let alone mine. Yet my fight-or-flight response had once again frozen.

The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile, and my heart spluttered back into action. He had just propositioned me. Just as Leopold and that blonde girl had remained silent while I was behind the door so I could walk in on them. They had wanted my humiliation.

How could I be sure that this guy wasn’t just flirting with me only to tell me later that I wasn’t up to his standards? Cormac’s warning about covert sexual harassment seeped into the front of my mind, causing my stomach to sink.

“Actually, I’m leaving?” I kicked myself for sounding so unsure.

He tilted his head to the side and blinked, breaking my concentration for a millisecond. “Why?”

“This isn’t my sort of place.”

His grin widened, revealing a perfect set of gleaming, white teeth. “If Hessington Hall doesn’t meet your lofty standards, tell me what will?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”