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I frown at him. “I’m pretty sure I saw you with a beer bottle.”

He leans in, his hand coming to rest at my hip, his lips brushing my ear. “Non-alcoholic,” he says, his breath warm against my skin. “I can’t show up hungover to practice tomorrow.”

Oh. “Right,” I manage, because he’s too close now and it’s hard to hold on to any thought with his mouth so near my ear.

I should step back, because this is supposed to be me working him, not the other way around. But he starts moving to the music, his hand finding my waist, and I let him because pulling away would ruin my whole plan. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

People are watching us, but that’s the whole point, isn’t it? Jayden Burgess is dancing with the stalker girl as if she’s someone worth his attention. They’re all probably wondering what the fuck is going on and how they should react to it.

I wrap my arms around his neck, and his hands settle low on my waist and start to roam, his fingers sliding to the small of my back and up again. Unexpected warmth spreads through me as he pulls me in closer, so we’re pressed together. This is exactly what I wanted, but I’m way too distracted.

Damn, he’s so hot, and he smells so damn good. His cologne must be super expensive or something. Or maybe he gets it for free from his sponsors. My gaze lands on his mouth, and my lips part because...

Focus, Veronica! Snap the fuck out of it! You need proof or a confession. It’s why you’re here! Who cares that he’s hot? He’s an asshole!

His hand slides up my back and he tips his head, his face inches away from mine, his eyes on my lips. I don’t move. My heart’s beating crazy fast, and there’s something like a magnet pulling me toward him... Am I going to let him kiss me? Maybe. I really want to, no matter how crazy that sounds.

“We could go somewhere more private,” he says. “If you want.”

I blink at him. Riiiight. He wants to fuck me. Am I surprised? Nope, not at all.

“Even if you don’t want anything to happen, going to a room with me would do way more for you than hanging around out here,” he says. “If people see you leave with me, they’ll treat you differently.”

Like what? Calling me a slut too? Because I can totally see it happening, but maybe he has a point. It might help, and there’s a part of me that wants to say yes just to feel his mouth on mine and quit thinking for a while. His fingers press against the small of my back, and his eyes drift back to my lips. It would be so easy. One little nod, and I’d go upstairs with him.

And maybe after, he’d tell me something useful and I’d get what I actually came for. Or maybe his hands and his mouth would make me forget everything for a while, but tomorrow, I’d just face even more abuse. And the whole thing is just a game to him. He doesn’t give a fuck about me. He just wants a night of fun and maybe to brag that he fucked the crazy girl.

I lower my arms and step away from him. “No, thanks.”

His eyebrows go up, and an emotion crosses his face, but it’s too fast for me to identify. I spin on my heel and head for the edge of the room, feeling every stare following me.

Ah fuck it. Maybe everyone’s right, and there really is something wrong with me.

Chapter 11

JAYDEN

AS SOON AS I OPEN MY eyes, the first thing in my head is Veronica rolling her hips as if she wanted every guy in the room to watch her. When she had her arms wound around my neck and her body was pressed up against mine, I was so sure she was about to let me take her upstairs. Her eyes went to my mouth more than once, so I thought I had her. Or I could’ve sworn I did.

But then she pulled away and told me no, thanks, as if I was some random guy who’d offered to refill her drink. And she left, without so much as a glance back, and everyone I know was watching.

I groan and run a hand down my face. My cock is hard again because just thinking about her body against mine is enough to get me going, which is ridiculous. I’ve had girls lining up to get with me since the day I set foot on campus, but none of them ever got under my skin like this.

But a girl doesn’t press herself against you like that and let her eyes drift to your mouth if she’s not into it, so Veronica wanted me right up until the moment she decided otherwise. One second she was all in, and the next, she was gone. I’ve never had a girl do that, and I can’t figure out what changed her mind, which annoys me.

Maybe it’s the stalker thing messing with her head and making her too scared to trust a guy being nice to her, which is almost funny, since I’m the reason the whole campus turned on her in the first place. Or maybe she saw right through me and figured out I wanted something from her. I doubt it, though.

All I wanted was a taste of her, and I was so close to getting it. But she walked away from me at my own fucking birthday party while people watched. Getting shot down by the stalker girl... I bet some are still laughing about it. The star captain, turned down by the campus freak. It’s a nice clickbait headline, except it’s true. Fuck!

I should be glad she said no, since getting close to her is a job and nothing else, and whether or not I get her into bed doesn’t change what Supreme wants from me. But I wanted her, and now I want her more than I did before she turned me down, because she’s the only person on the whole campus who seems impervious to my charm.

And it’s not like I’ve got a choice. She’s not some girl I went after because I felt like it, so backing off isn’t on the table. Supreme wants her, so Veronica will end up right where I need her, whether she likes it or not. She’ll come around. They all do. I just have to figure out what actually works on a girl who won’t melt the second I turn on my charm, but once I figure that out, she’ll be mine.

I grab my phone off the nightstand to check the time. Practice is in a couple of hours, then classes, and then the society meeting tonight, so my day is totally full. Shit.

But Veronica can wait. I have to be patient, even if she makes me want to march over to her, grab her chin, and kiss her until she stops pretending that she doesn’t want me.

ONCE I GET THROUGH the last stretch of the tunnel and slip into the room at the back, the meeting is already underway, so a few hooded heads turn toward me. No one says anything about me being late, which is one of the few things I actually like about this shit society.