Preston steps forward, one of his legs on either side of my knees, so I’m face to face with his crotch. He runs a hand over the top of my head and down the back until he’s cradling the back of my neck, nudging me forward, even closer to the subtle bulge I can see in his slacks.
“My eyes are up here,” he says, a taunt in his voice.
I jerk my gaze to his, my cheeks flaming. “Is this some kind of joke?” I ask.
One look at Devlin tells me otherwise. He looks like he’s about to blow a fuse. His face is red, and his fists are trembling at his side. But he doesn’t move while Preston releases his hold on my head, and without a word of explanation, reaches behind me and buckles his necklace.
seventeen
Crystal
For a second, no one moves. The cafeteria is so quiet I can hear Mabel chewing. Then Devlin turns and storms out, and the whole room erupts in frantic whispers and excited chatter. The Darlings know how to make drama, that’s for damn sure.
A strangled noise comes from Dixie, and she jumps up and scurries for the door.
“You guys are assholes,” I say to Preston and Colt. I stand, ready to go after her, but Preston hasn’t moved from where he stood to put the necklace on me, so I’m flush against him when I stand. I put my hands on his chest to push him back, but he reaches out a finger and tips my chin up.
“Devlin told me what you said about me,” he says. “Just so you know, I’d never rape you. I’d make you want it so bad it hurt, and then I’d give it to you until you begged for mercy. And then, Manhattan, I’d make you cum so hard it was agony.”
Before I can think better of it, I reach up and slap his face. Preston’s eyes flash with that terrifying, psychotic blaze of rage I’ve seen before. Before he can lift a hand to retaliate, Colt throws an arm around his neck, hooting with laughter as the buzz in the room becomes a roar of excitement.
I’m so grateful for Colt that I could cry, but I don’t have time for that.
“Only Devlin gets to talk to me like that,” I say to Preston, then shove past them and take off after Dixie or Devlin. I don’t know which one I need to talk to first. When I asked for them to get rid of the Darling Dolls, I didn’t mean I wanted all the necklaces for myself.
I spot Dixie at the end of the hall when I step out of the cafeteria. I call after her, but she ducks around the corner into another hallway. “Dixie,” I call again, jogging after her. My heart aches for her. I have to tell her I had no idea, that I don’t want Colt. I have to give her his necklace.
Suddenly, a hard hand wraps around my upper arm, spinning me around and slamming my back against the lockers. “What the fuck was that about?” Devlin demands, his icy eyes burning into me like frostbite.
“I don’t know,” I say, trying to yank free of his grasp. “They’re your cousins. How should I know what sick games your family thinks up?”
“That wasn’t my family’s doing,” he snaps.
“Then take it up with your cousins,” I say, trying to push past him. “I need to talk to Dixie.”
Devlin grabs my wrist, pinning it to the locker above my head. “You said you weren’t fucking Preston. You said he didn’t even touch you. And I’m such a fucking fool that I believed you, Crystal. I should have seen through that in a second. What guy could resist getting his dick wet when he saw your body all tied up, every inch of you bare and ready for him?”
“He didn’t.”
We stare at each other, and I can feel him trying to make me submit with his will alone, trying to make me cave and tell him what he wants to hear. But I won’t be the girl to betray him like that. I won’t lie to him, and I won’t put a wedge between him and Preston.
“I know my cousins,” he says slowly, stepping forward until his body pins me against the lockers. “I know they don’t give those necklaces to girls they’re not fucking.”
“You think I’m fucking your cousins behind your back?”
“What else am I supposed to think?” he growls. “Is this all just another part of your game? Some sick plot you cooked up with them while I was in jail?”
“Devlin, no,” I say. “There’s no game. I didn’t know they were going to give me those necklaces any more than you did. If I’d known, don’t you think I would have stopped them? At least Colt. You know Dixie’s obsessed with him.”
Devlin glares at me, his nostrils flared as his gaze burns into mine. “Prove it.”
“I will,” I say. “Just… Give me a few minutes to talk to Dixie. She’s really upset.”
He presses forward, grinding the ridge of his cock into me. “Does it feel like I’m going to wait?”
“But—”
“If you don’t want me to pull up your skirt and fuck you right here against the lockers, then we’d better take this somewhere private in the next sixty seconds.”