“O-OK.” She stood up and sat next to me as I tucked my dick away, the confusion evident on her face. “Um, what’s your favorite color?”
“Blue,” I said, thinking about bumblebee’s eyes. “Yours?”
“Mm, pink.”
Figured.
“Uh… what do you plan on doing after Bolten?”
She bumped her shoulder against mine and smiled. “Marriage. Kids. I’ll probably do some time at college because Daddy thinks I need to be able to support myself and learn the business side of things in case I don’t get married, but really, what an absurd idea. Of course, I’ll marry. What are you going to do?”
“My life is planned out for me. Probably Mayfair after Bolten. It’s where Dominic and Vincent will probably go as well. Then I’ll work for Dom.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure you want to do that? Work for Dominic doing… whatever really bad things you do?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Dom and Vincent are my best friends. I was born and bred to work with them.”
“You said with. Don’t you mean for? I mean, Dominic is the son of a mob boss. He’s the heir to, like, everything. You’re not his equal, Levy. I think you should try to break away from that life. You and I could go off to Mayfair or Princeton or Harvard together. We could get married someday, and you could take over Daddy’s company. You’re much better than some henchman. You know that, right?”
“I’m not a henchman. I’m Dom’s equal.” I tried to keep the snarl out of my voice, but it was damn hard.
“You aren’t,” she murmured, cradling my face and giving me a look of sympathy that made my guts churn. “And you never will be.”
I gritted my teeth and forced a smile onto my face. “Guess that’s my problem then, huh?”
“Really, it’s our problem,” she said softly. “You’re my boyfriend. We both come from powerful families. Although I’d say mine is a bit more than yours. It doesn’t mean we can’t rule this campus. I mean, people worship Bianca, and she’s nothing. She came in here engaged to Hail. Then she cheated on him with Dominic, and now they’re married. It’s like she’s trying to get clout for being a whore.”
“Bianca is not a whore,” I snapped at her. I’d pretty much called her one earlier, but I hadn’t meant that shit. I was just pissed off and regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth.
“Whatever. I heard she’s cheating on Dominic with Vincent.”
“Where did you hear that?” I tried to keep the humor out of my voice, wondering if maybe I’d been part of that rumor at some point.
It wasn’t like she and I hadn’t done stuff together. Good stuff. Fucking amazing stuff.
She shrugged. “Everyone. Honestly, don’t you pay attention?”
“Guess not.”
“Besides, I heard her dad was involved in this money laundering scheme with her stepdad, David D’Angelou. I guess her dad was playing both sides with the Ivanovs and De Santis family. That’s how he came up missing. And Bianca was the payment to David D’Angelou for her dad messing up. Like, it was basically give up his family or die, so he gave them up. David needed a way into Ivanov’s good graces more than he already was. So he wanted to secure it with a marriage. That’s why Hail was engaged to her.”
“How…where did you hear this?” I asked, frowning.
“Promise you won’t get mad?”
I stared back at her not ready to promise a damn thing.
“Please, Levy?” She pouted, pushing her cashmere-clad breasts out to me.
Fuck it.
“Promise.”
She smiled triumphantly. “I was seeing Drake for a little bit over the summer. It wasn’t serious,” she rushed on when she saw the look on my face. “I was going through a rough patch with my boyfriend and wanted to get back at him, so I messed around with Drake. I regret it now because he definitely wasn’t someone I should’ve associated with, but he told me things when we were together.”
“Did he tell you anything else? Like where Bianca’s dad is?”
“Mm, I don’t really remember.”
I clenched my fists. “Did he tell you anything else? Maybe about my brother Stefan?”
She cocked her head at me, her eyes narrowed. “I know a few things.”
“Like?” I was losing my patience.
“You of all people should know nothing in this world is free, Levy,” she murmured, leaning in and brushing her lips against my stiff ones. “If you want information, make me believe it. Make me believe I’m the only girl in your world. I saw the way you stared at Bianca tonight. I want you to look at me like that. I want to own you how she owns you. I want you to be mine and me to be yours. Me and you, Levy. Say it. Prove it.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse thundering in my ears.
But I wanted information. I needed it.
“Me and you,” I choked out, the words like acid on my tongue. “Us.”
She let out a soft giggle, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. “Now prove it.”
Nausea twisted in my guts like a snake. I had to do this. I was in charge of getting this deal for Dom, and I needed any information Celeste had for me. I leaned in and kissed her, ready to pay whatever the cost was. What choice did I even have? For Bianca. For my brother. For Dom and Vincent.
This was for them.
I pushed her back onto the bed and undid my pants.