“And I’ve got a knife strapped to my thigh. Shove anything close to my ass, and I’m going to use it on your dick.”
He shrugged. “Might be worth it to get to spar with you.”
I almost stopped walking. “You mean you enjoy getting your ass kicked?”
“I enjoy…” He drew out the word and shoved his hands into his pockets. “…fighting you because at least it means we’re doing something productive with our hate, at least when we fight, I can make you sweat in an entirely different way, make you moan with pain instead of pleasure knowing they come hand in hand, make you scream my name in hatred reminding me what it was like when you screamed it in ecstasy, so yeah, I like sparring with you.”
My eyes widened as I gave him a hard shove. “You sick pervert, I had no idea fighting was your foreplay.”
He stopped walking and jerked his chin up at me. “Liar.”
My cheeks heated. “I’m serious!”
“Cut the shit, Serena.”
“You think you know me so well?”
“I think if I put my mouth between your thighs, you’d be embarrassed with how ready you are for me.”
I gulped as my legs trembled. “Yeah, right.”
“Another lie.”
“Junior—”
“Because we both know that it’s your foreplay too. In fact, I bet you’re itching to grab that knife and aim for my heart. Too bad we’re out of time.” He was looking over my head; everyone was walking in our direction. I looked back at him only to see him an inch away from my face. “Don’t worry, when we get home, I’ll let you hit me.”
I glared and then smiled. “Promise?”
He barked out a laugh. “Damn, even your hatred makes me hard.”
I fluttered my eyelashes, then grazed the front of his pants and whispered, “I know.”
“Keep doing that, and I’m going to pin you to the nearest tree, and you’re supposed to be playing nice with Tank, remember?” His voice lowered. “Just remember that nobody will ever get you the way I do.”
“You sure about that?” My voice wobbled.
“You need it as much as I do.” His eyes flashed. “You’re sick with it.”
He wasn’t wrong. I hated it when he knew my hot buttons. Already I felt my body burning for his, itching to both punch him, then grab him by the back of the head and force our mouths together while we grind on each other’s bodies until we both find release without even taking our clothes off.
“Tonight,” I said in a challenge. “I’ll spar with you tonight.”
His eyes widened in surprise, and then his entire face seemed to go dark. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Midnight,” I whispered. “Prepare to get your ass kicked.”
“I’ll be out for blood,” Junior promised.
“The only blood you’ll be seeing is yours.”
“We’ll see,” he grumbled, and then everyone was surrounding us, chatting about classes, and pretending to be so normal my head hurt.
“You guys ready?” Claire rocked back on her feet like she was getting ready to sprint to the other college and sing at the top of her lungs. Yeah, something was definitely not right.
“Let’s hit it.” Junior turned, but not before I saw him palm the front of his pants like he needed to remind himself that walking with an erection could cause physical harm to his body if he tripped.
I suppressed a snicker and earned a sharp elbow in my side, compliments of Junior as we walked across campus and toward the new college, ready to meet our normal friends and the guy I was supposed to crack.
With the sick and twisted relationship of me and Junior hanging between us like an unbreakable thread.
Great.
Chapter Eighteen
Junior
Watching the girl whom you both loved and hated flirting with someone who could be a sworn enemy while fighting a semi for two hours was sweet hell.
Tank talked how he walked.
Fucking slow.
If we went any slower, we’d be crawling on our hands and knees; he wanted Serena to see everything.
New student center? Check.
New freshman dorms? Check.
Mess hall? Check.
Finally, we ended up at his dorm, which went over like nails on a chalkboard as he swiped his key card over the slot and explained that they had upped their security during the remodel.
“Wonder why,” Breaker said under his breath as we all slipped into the main part of the dorm. It was senior housing, which at least let us know how old Tank was since he hadn’t exactly told us.
He wrapped an arm around Serena and guided her toward the elevator. She leaned into him and stretched her lips in a smile that I knew wasn’t real, but you’d think she just gave him a handjob with how pumped he looked.
I ground my teeth.
“Down boy,” Ash said under his breath. “This was your plan, remember?”
“She never listens to me,” I grumbled.
“She likes to provoke you. Do you really think she’d say no to a chance to get under your skin? Again?” Ash chuckled and slapped me on the back. “Look, this is good; we get insider information, and we don’t have to kill anyone.”