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“It only happened once. Actually, I don’t know if you can say it actually ‘happened.’”
“What does that mean?”
“We were at his house hanging out and his parents weren’t home. He wanted sex, and when I said no, he thought he’d ‘encourage’ me into bed by dragging me back to his room under the guise of picking me up romantic-style. After he tossed me on the bed and I tried to get up, he shoved me back down and tried to pin me. Baseball players tend to leave bats lying around, but I doubt he’ll make that mistake again.”
The image of her swinging for the fences and knocking that son of a bitch unconscious was so satisfying, I smiled broadly. It must have looked exactly as creepy as it felt, because she raised a brow in question.
“I hope you knocked his ass out of the park. Record-breaking home-run.”
River grinned in return. “The words concussion and cranial hemorrhage were thrown around by his parents when they called the cops on me.”
“They didn’t arrest you, did they?”
“Nope. The asshole was dumb enough to have a camera set up and recording already. When the cops found it, there wasn’t any chance in hell he’d get off scot free. He only got a slap on the wrist, but at least they couldn’t charge me with anything.”
“That’s such bullshit. He should have been prosecuted for assault.”
“Yeah, but we know that’s not how things go.”
Sadly, she was right. That wasn’t the reality we lived in, and it was utterly infuriating.
“Well, I hope he at least has lasting effects from it.”
“I heard his short-term memory isn’t so great.” Her evil smirk warmed my heart.
“Riv, just because that guy was a piece of shit doesn’t mean all men are. I know it’ll take time, but I think maybe you should give Ben the chance to show you who he really is.” It dawned on me that I should take my own advice and not blame every man for the actions of one, but that was later-Thea’s problem to deal with.
“Maybe.”
I’d take that. It was a far cry from an enthusiastic willingness to open herself up to him, but it was still a step in the right direction.
River shivered beside me. “It’s freezing out here. Wanna head back?”
“Thea.”
I’d been about to tell her that no, in fact, I’d rather freeze my entire ass off than go back into that party, when my name was called out from behind us.
How did he find me? Did they really let him off campus?
Glinting golden eyes met mine when I turned to find Remy cutting his way through the scattered pedestrians, his beautiful features furrowed in concern, chest rising and falling quickly.
“What’s wrong? I felt—I thought you were in trouble.” He caught himself before revealing too much.
“All good. Just a little run-in with my favorite archenemy.”
“What happened?” His features darkened, promising vengeance for any suffering she may have caused me. Illyria might be a cunning bitch, but against Remy she was hopelessly outmatched.
The thought warmed my heart.
“I’m gonna head in. Come find me when you’re ready to go.” Remy’s arrival had caused River to revert to her usual brusque behavior. She was on her way back to the party before I could ask her to hang on for a moment while I dealt with him.
Alone with Remy on the sidewalk, I unconsciously ran my hands over my dress. His eyes followed the path of my hands, flaring with too many emotions to decipher.
“I assume Illyria is not responsible for your current state, then.”
“Okay, how fucking crazy do I look?” Forgetting about my appearance while I was distracted by River had been easy enough, but now I was going to wonder if everyone who gave me a passing glance could tell what I’d been up to.
“You don’t look crazy, Fury, you look… well and thoroughly loved.” The sudden thickness in his voice was like a caress to my already sensitized skin. I expected some kind of disapproval, even a hint of jealousy, but all I heard was a slow burn of desire.
