“Come on, babe.” His fingers brush across my cheek, but I swat his hand away, still bracing my right hand on the doorframe.
“Don’t touch me!” I grit out. “Andnevercall me be ‘babe’ again.”
“Isn’t it time we put the past in the past? It’s a new day and I’m here with a peace offering.” His honey eyes slide down my body, landing on my chest. The corner of his lip lifts in a smirk, causing my stomach to stew with heat.
I instantly drop my hand from the door and cross my arms over my chest, knowing that the hand-ripped V in my tee shirt shows more skin than I’d like him to see. “Thanks, but no thanks. Any offering from you comes with a price I’m not willing to pay.”
“Do you two know each other?” Riley points between us, standing off to the side while taking all of this in.
“No,” I spit out at the same time Jagger says, “Yes.”
“They don’t know me at all. Not anymore.” I go to close the door, but Jagger presses his hand to it, stopping me from shutting it any farther.
His fingers rake through his light-brown hair. “There’s a party tonight and your presence is required.”
I swallow hard, trying to hold myself together. I will not let any of these boys get the best of me. “Oh yeah? By whom? You?”
“By all The Lawless. Keep in mind, you’re on our turf now and what we want, we get.”
Laughter climbs up my throat, spilling out more violently than I intended. “Well, you can tell the rest of The Lawless I said to suck my dick.”
Jagger puffs out a breath, his eyes locked on mine. “You have a dick?”
“Yes, I do.” I smirk. “Wanna see it?”
He laughs menacingly. “Nah. I’ll just ask my good friend Crew to confirm. He should know.”
My cheeks immediately flush with heat and a rage consumes me that I fear I won’t be able to control. “Get out!” I shove him from the doorway, causing him to stumble into the hall. “And don’t come back unless you want said dick shoved up your ass.”
“Oooh. That sounds fun. We’ll have to try it. Only, I’m a giver, not a receiver.”
“Fuck you, Jagger. And tell your friends I said the same.”
“I sure will, Scar.” His voice rises to a near shout. “I’ve got no doubt they’ll happily accept thefuckinginvitation.”
“Ugh,” I huff, slamming the door shut as my blood reaches its boiling point, “God, he’s so infuriating.” My back presses against the wall and I close my eyes, willing myself to get a grip.
I will not let them get the best of me.
“Oh. My. God.” Riley drags out the words. My eyes open as she says, “We have so much to talk about.”
I push myself off the wall and walk over to my bed, picking up my bathroom bag. I need to change the subject, and fast. “How about that tour?”
“Are you sure you don’t need a minute to cool down and figure out how you’re going to get yourself out of this? Talking to a member of The Lawless like that…” She halts. “I’m afraid you just put a target on your back, Scarlett.”
She seems genuinely worried, which is cute, considering she has no idea that these guys don’t scare me one bit.
I straighten my back and place a forced smile on my face. “I’m not the least bit concerned. Bathroom? Please?”
It’s obvious my downplay of the situation has her on edge. Regardless, she pulls the door back open very slowly. Her head pops out first and she looks both ways before saying, “He’s gone.”
“Ya know,” I begin as our feet pad down the hardwood hall, “you shouldn’t be concerned either. They aren’t as badass as they want people to think they are. I mean, anyone can pull cruel pranks and treat people like shit. Doesn’t make them superior.”
“No. But their position does. Prior to my attendance here, I may not have beenasintimidated. But being a Rook during junior year was brutal.”
“A Rook?”What the fuck is a Rook?
Riley looks at me like I should know exactly what she’s talking about. “Come on. You have to know what junior year is like here. We all assumed maybe that’s why you skipped out and came in late.”