Page 31 of Casualties

“Did you just roll your eyes at me?”I crack my neck and move in close, pressing her back against my car.

“I will turn that pretty little ass of yours pink with my hand.Do it again; roll your eyes.I dare you.”My hand holds her chin up to look at me as she shifts uncomfortably, attempting to look away.

“You’ll wh-what?”Finally, the Ice Princess thaws a bit.

I shouldn’t be talking to her like this, but I’m on the warpath for her to pull her head out of her ass.I’m irritated at how naïve she is.Maybe if she wasn’t so angry with me, she wouldn’t be so hell-bent on going against everything I say.

“You heard me,” I say low and slow to make my point.I'm not taking it back.

She's frozen in place as my hand travels from her chin to her hip.Our eye contact is heavy, I don’t think we're even blinking.She's beautiful in every way, but even more so when she's startled with nerves.Her breaths are rapid and fast, causing her chest to rise and fall against my abdomen.Her bra is thin—I can feel her nipples pressing through her shirt.All I can think about is sucking each one into my mouth, nibbling them with my teeth.She may hate me, but this verbal sparring is turning her on.I’m sure her mind is screaming at her to pull away, but her body wants me closer.Fuck me.

She may not want to admit it to herself, but she wants me.At least, her body does.

My gaze breaks away from her as I hear footsteps approaching.I release her with a quickness and take three large steps back, when Morgan and Scott walk up.Morgan doesn’t look any less pissed, but softens his voice as he speaks to her.

“Ainsley, get in the car.I let Jacky Boy know we're taking you home.Date’s over.”There's no give in his words, no matter how soft his tone is with her.

Accepting defeat, she huffs out a breath of irritation and jumps in the backseat.I'm about to get in the driver seat when Morgan stops me.

“You were right.I thought I could listen to my mom and give her room to meet new people, but she obviously has horrible taste.We need to make sure she stays away from him.Perfect timing for babysitting duty, with this job we're on.”The laugh that escapes him is not one of amusement.It’s sarcasm.Scott cuts in.

“Hey, if my uncle has you on a big job, I can help,” he says.

Scott has offered his tech services to his uncle before, but Denny sought us out for a reason.He doesn’t want his nephew anywhere near his business dealings.I’m not even sure Scott is aware of Sanctuary Upstairs.He's never brought it up, and neither have we.

“All good dude, we have the job with your uncle handled, but we could use your help keeping an eye on Ainsley.”Morgan’s eyes are pleading with Scott to say yes.

“Man, I don't want to be your sister’s babysitter.I just watched how she reacted to you guys interfering.Personally, I would like to keep my balls and self-esteem intact.”Scott matches us in size, but has more of a nerdy look to him.His outfits consist of polos with Chinos, and he wears big black square-framed glasses.He looks genuinely scared at the thought of Ainsley attacking him for watching over her.

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.I don’t want her anywhere near that dipshit.Please, man?”Morgan has his hand on Scott’s shoulder in a half-bro hug.

“Okay fine, but you seriously owe me.I may need therapy once she notices I’m watching her and decides to go ape-shit on my ass.That office bill is yours.”He lets out a small laugh as the three of us get in the car.

I look in my rearview mirror at Ainsley as she furiously texts on her phone.I’m sure she’s giving Cassie the tea on what went down just now.She doesn’t look up at me, and we all ride in uncomfortable silence back to campus.So far, this year is a fucking shitstorm, and I’m not sure it’s getting better any time soon.

TWELVE

AINSLEY

We pull up to my building, I have never jumped out of a vehicle so fast.Who the fuck do these two think they are?Annoying—that’s what they are.I am so embarrassed for the scene they caused.“Date’s over…”Jackson and I didn't label that a date.I’m not looking for a boyfriend right now, but he's nice and I do enjoy spending time with him.

Morgan knows I'm pissed, so he gives me a half-assed wave goodbye.I see Ace try to get out of his car, but I refuse to have another conversation with him.So I do what any mad-as-hell girl would do: I flip him off and jog to the door of my dorm to hopefully stop him from following me.

As I enter my room, I notice that Cass isn’t back yet.I guess the date must be going well.Today's events replay in my head.Morgan and Ace obviously have a major stick in their ass when it comes to Jackson.I don’t understand why.They are just as much—if not worse—fuckboys than Jackson, so they have no room to judge him.So what if it turns out Jackson is exactly who they say he is?Then we can be friends and nothing more.I'm not this stupid, naïve girl they think I am, and I am more than capable of taking care of myself.

Pacing the room back and forth, I kick off my Chucks and think back to the heated encounter with Ace.Did he say he would spank me?What the fuck?

I don’t have words for what he said to me and how he was saying it.I should be furious—and I am.But why was I also getting turned on?No one has ever spoken to me like that.The way his jaw ticked and the low tone of his commanding voice should turn me off, not do the complete opposite.I'm ashamed to say I wasn’t pushing him away.If anything, I was leaning into his pull.

My reaction to his crass words surprised me.I’m not used to getting a tingling sensation between my legs every time I am close to someone.Even when I thought I was in love with Ace, it was all an innocent young girl crush.Now I have these feelings that make me think maybe Ace spanking me would be hot.I won't lie, our recent angst-filled fights cause a lot of heat.Only it goes nowhere, because he remembers I am Morgan’s little sister, and I remember he is a giant asshole.

After I change into something more comfortable, I curl into my bed under the covers, needing a nap.I swear, every day since I got to school has been a shitshow.Except for the night I hung out with Jackson—that was easy and comfortable.Holding my phone up, I decide to ask Jackson if the dreaded charity ball I’m being forced into is the same one he is being forced into.

Me

Hey I’m really sorry about lunch today…

Jackson

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