I waved at Mac as Hawke continued to walk us down the hall. We exited the double doors and ended up outside. One of the things I liked about the school was the open courtyard. All the students moved through it, heading to their next class. No one spoke to us as we walked, parting the crowd like the red sea.
I sipped my drink. “Do they always do that, or was it because of the incident in there?” I asked.
I should probably reprimand him for it. Hawke had looked so happy when he found a soda I liked. He went through all that trouble for me.No one does anything for me.
“Mhm.” Hawke pulled me down in between his muscular thighs and wrapped his arms back around me.
I relaxed in his hold. It felt nice being touched beyond sex or violence. “Why, because you’re kings?” I air-quoted the king part, making fun of the whole thing.
“That’s a part of it, but even if we weren’t kings, they’d still do it.” Hawke ran his fingers through my hair as he continued to talk. “They’re afraid of us. Luxious is an heir of one of the founding families. Samson has taken down families that are above his own. Rem is from the Hell’s Chaser biker gang. Although she’s not a part of it, that’s only because she has a pussy. She’s made it well known she is far better than half the men of the biker gang.”
“And you?”
It was all information Mac had given me but hearing it from Hawke sounded less out there and more of a daily fact. Like the sky was blue. Not to mention it made me feel closer to them somehow. I knew I was supposed to steer clear, but that boat had sailed off a long time ago.
“I got away with manslaughter at six.”
My entire body went stiff. “Six?”
Hawke’s fingers stopped moving. For some reason, I began to rub his leg, trying to soothe him. I preferred the easygoing Hawke.
“Yeah, the lawyer got me off on insanity charges.” His fingers slowly started to move again.
“How... How did it happen?”
“Me killing someone?” Hawke tilted my head back, and I was met with an intensity I wasn’t sure I was ready for. “Or how I got caught?”
I bit my lip as I thought about what I wanted to know and what I was willingly subjecting myself to. “Both.”
Hawke’s eyes widened slightly before he smiled. It was far warmer than any grin he’d given me before. It was fewer teeth and more on the gentle side. He lowered his head, and I stopped breathing as his lips hovered just over mine.
Seconds ticked by, and I reached up and pushed down the back of his head, pressing our mouths together.
A fire built in the deepest part of my soul and spread throughout me uncontained.This is dangerous.
Hawke pulled back, his beautiful eyes searching my face. “If you keep doing things like that, Corpse, I really will think you plan to keep me forever.”
Forever. A simple word that weighed heavily on my chest. It was a lot to take in, but I couldn’t find the words to brush it off. To tell him no. They were lost, along with my common sense.
I said nothing as I drank more of my soda. Hawke’s arms held me close and secure. I was missing class but couldn’t find it in me to care.This peace that surrounds us, I never want it to disappear.
Hunger clawed at my stomach.The bell rang, and the only class I didn’t have one of the kings in was finally over. I’d been called up to the board on multiple occasions. I stood up, ready to go to lunch.Maybe I’ll have pizza and a burger. My mouth watered at the thought of a juicy burger. Add in a milkshake, and I would be in fucking heaven.
The day had been going good. I’d forgotten about the target on my back. At the last second, I noticed a guy stuck his foot out to trip me. I sidestepped and flipped him off, barely giving him attention.Goddamn assholes. He had a letterman jacket on, and I made a mental note it wasn’t just the football team targeting me. I took more precautions with my clothes and bag. There hadn’t been any more incidents with trash except in the locker assigned to me.
“Trash,” a girl spat as I passed by.
Why the fuck couldn’t they leave me alone? I stopped in my tracks and turned toward her and the friends surrounding her.
“You have something to say?”
She flinched back, but either her brain wasn’t functioning, or the fact she had friends behind her gave her some sense of bravado.
“Lisa is coming back to school, and when she does, you’re done for.”
“Did you miss why the queen bee is out in the first place?” Being five-nine meant I was taller than most girls. I looked down my nose at her. “If you want, I can give you the same vacation package as Lisa.”
“Just try it. The kings won’t be able to shut everyone down,” one of the girls behind her said.