Page 33 of Villain

Fight another day.

“Okay,” he said tightly. “I’ll do it.”

“Do what?”

“Whatever it is you actually want me to do.” He turned to Lake, wanting to be clear that he in no way believed, even for a second, that this was about wanting to date him. “Whatever that really is, I’ll do it.”

“Good choice, Songbird,” Lake praised.

And then he kissed him.

Chapter 9:

“I think you broke him,” Yejun teased less than ten minutes later when the four of them stepped out of the cafeteria and into the cool midafternoon air. The sky was unusually bright, with not many clouds dotting the light blue canvas and no signs of rain.

Which felt odd, considering Nix’s mood called for it.

His fingers brushed against his lips, slightly bruised from the rough kiss Lake had just imposed on him. He could still hear the gasps and chatter from the other students when it had happened, and a quick glance over his shoulder showed many of them had followed to the glass doors and the windows and were not so subtly staring out at them.

“He’s not a fan of public displays of affection,” Lake said matter-of-factly, not so much as a whisp of remorse in his tone.

Nix’s eyes narrowed and he dropped his hand, fisting it at his side. “You know that, and yet—”

“It’s all part of the game, Nixie.” West flicked him under the chin and then stepped backward down the stone stairs. “I’ve got to run.”

“Me too.” Yejun practically hopped down after him, spinning once he’d made it to the stone path so he was facing Lake and Nix. “You’ve got this?”

Lake merely waved a hand off to the side, dismissing them. Yejun laughed, but West’s jaw tightened and he shook his head before the two of them left. If the reaction affected him at all, Lake didn’t show it. Casually, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his black slacks and then tipped his head in the opposite direction, indicating Nix should follow.

“I’m not a dog,” Nix stated. “And if you expect me to do something, you’re going to have to use your damn words first.”

He didn’t so much as blink. “You’re so obedient when you’re Nightingale.”

“None of that was real.”

Lake’s mood darkened. Nix wasn’t sure how he picked up on that considering the man’s expression never wavered, but he knew the instant the change happened.

And he instantly regretted being the cause.

“Why did you do it?” Nix asked, desperately catching onto the first thing he could think of to change the subject and possibly return Lake to the robot version of himself. It was creepy, sure, but safer. The last time Lake had gotten annoyed with him…

He’d let West choke Nix on his cock.

Nix didn’t want or need a repeat.

“We can’t talk about it out here,” Lake said. He didn’t wait for Nix or explain where they were going. He didn’t even listen and ask him to follow, trusting instead that he would out of what had to be sheer arrogance.

Arrogance that wasn’t misplaced since Nix fell into step behind him like the good little puppy he’d just claimed not to be.

This was all for Branwen though. He could do anything for her, even lower himself like this. Even make out with the head of the Demons in the middle of a crowded cafeteria. Hell, worse, if it came down to it.

Though, he was pretty sure he’d draw the line at what Yejun had suggested. Nix was never going to be comfortable with public sex. Kissing though?

“Is that going to be a regular occurrence if I go through with this?” Nix wanted to be mentally prepared for things like that. “And what was that about dating all three of you? Were you guys serious?”

“You made it sound like you were smart enough to realize there was more to it,” Lake drawled, leading them to the nearest parking lot. “West may have hacked into your private file, but that only gives us facts. Where you were born, where you attended school prior to transferring to Foxglove, things like that. He might think differently, but I believe it’s impossible to fully know someone just through the use of a computer.”

Nix opted not to point out that they’d broken several privacy laws if what he was saying was true. Not only because it would be hypocritical of him—he’d started it by infiltrating the Enigma app, after all—but also because it’d become abundantly clear already that people like the Demons weren’t held to the same legal standards as the rest of them.

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