Page 13 of Hush, Hush

“I sure hope that’s the case, Fledgling Astor. I know how proud your father is. You competed so well in the trials. I would hate to see our first female member not make it to graduation as a Knight.”

His steady, carefully compiled words deaden my stomach. The threat is clear. What Keegan thinks of me matters. What the rest of the Knights think of me also matters. Their opinions will make a world of difference moving forward. Keegan was smart enough to understand that and is now exploiting me for it. He knows how furious I must be underneath this calm mask.

Constructing a response is difficult, but I do my best. “That would be a shame, but I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

Sir Reginald dribbles his fingers across the cherry wood. He shifts his scrutinizing stare from me to Keegan. “Acceptable, Fledgling Forbes?”

“Acceptable,” Keegan says, smiling. As soon as Sir Reginald’s attention fixes elsewhere, he mouths,For now. If I could give him an invisible dick punch, I would. He deserves it and more.

“Excellent, do keep me updated on the situation, Keegan.” The elder gets to his feet, checking his watch. “I’m afraid I’m late to play squash with your father.”

Keegan stands. “Give my father my best.” He holds his hand out, and they shake as if co-conspirators. I swallow the bile inching its way up my throat in response.

Sir Reginald stops at my chair and places a hand on my shoulder. “You should join a planning committee, Delilah. Make friends. Network. The Devil’s Night Party planning should be starting soon.”

Devil’s Night? Even though I’ve never heard of it, I nod at my assessor, making sure to give him a winning smile lest he think I’m a miserable bitch.

His footsteps echo around the chamber until he exits through the doorway. He takes some of the tension with him, but not all of it. Keegan grins, a purely evil sentiment because he doesn’t realize what he’s done. The weight of everything that just happened comes crashing down. Now that I don’t have to pretend, I start sucking in air to calm myself. The idea of graduating as a Knight has never seemed so far away. It’s as if I can see my goals toppling to the ground one-by-one. I blink before peering up at Keegan. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“You wanted to play games, I’m playing games.”

“Is this about the guy at the café?” I ask incredulously, my fingers curling into my palms. Keegan rolls his eyes, squats to pick up his suede messenger bag, and starts to walk from the room. I scramble after him, whisper-shouting to him as we go. “It is, isn’t it?”

“This has nothing to do with that loser,” Keegan argues. “It has everything to do with you making me look like a fool though.”

The tunnel opens up into the main chamber. The bulbs that they have in the chandelier make it look like the room is lit by real flames. Lights dance across the floor as I close the gap between us. “You mean after you called me a lesbian and told everyone I was a virgin?”

Keegan stops with his hand on the door release. “Everyone knows we’re getting married one day. You made me look like an ass, Delilah. Hitting on some other guy in front of me. Implying that you were going to lose your virginity tohim.” He flicks the lever up, and the rock door swings toward us.

“Are you listening to yourself?” I practically screech once we’re outside. “How many girls have you been with? How many have you paraded in front of me?”

“Paraded is an exaggeration.”

I grip his sleeve, and he turns to face me. His blue eyes spark, and I nearly topple over from the force behind them. He’s really angry for someone who acts like he doesn’t care about me. “Just admit you made a dick move and I’ll apologize for the barista stunt,” I offer. I’m throwing him a major bone. None of what he just did to me inside the Knights headquarters is okay. Even if he does apologize, we’re so far from being even. The part of me that’s talking is the one that’s always been in love with Keegan Forbes. This little piece inside of me knows there’s a good guy lurking in there somewhere.

Keegan’s brows pull together, the area between his eyes dimple with concentration lines. They smooth out barely a second later. “Can’t do that, Dee. You crossed the line. You went so far over the line that you need to be punished.”

He turns and walks away. I stare after him, slack-jawed for a few moments before I barrel after him. There’s no way I can let him get away with that. “Is this about sex again? You’re willing to dangle the Knights over my head because I won’t have sex with you?”

He shrugs. “I never wanted you to join the KOA.”

“So, what?” I’m hot on his heels as he makes his way around the building and strides across the stone pavers. Fallen leaves dot our path, crunching underneath our solid footsteps. “So, because you never wanted me to, that means I shouldn’t? You don’t get to make all the decisions, Keegan. This is what I’m talking about when it comes to you. It’s my right as an Astor to be a Knight. I worked hard. I made it. You don’t get a say.”

Before I know it, Keegan’s taking stone steps two at a time. Glancing up, I realize we’re at my dorm. He enters the front door like he owns the place and continues up the stairs where he stops at my door.

I block it, fanning my hands out and clutching the frame. “What are you doing? You’re not going in there.”

His eyes gleam from the challenge. “You’ll let me in, or I’ll start telling every single one of your house mates that you’re a virgin. Maybe I’ll even drag one of them out here and fuck them while you watch.”

I glare at him and his cut, muscled chest. He’s not just going to leave, and he’ll probably do one or both of what he just threatened me with. Since I don’t want our business broadcasted, I turn my back, fish my keys out of my bag, and open the door.

Upon entering, Keegan drops his messenger bag on the floor. The thwack it makes against the wood planks raises the hair on my neck as I place my own bag gently down on my desk. “I never wanted you to be a Knight because that’s not how things are supposed to be, Delilah. I’m the man. I’m supposed to go to CU. I’m supposed to graduate with honors as a Knight. I get the good job, running my father’s company, providing for my wife,” he bites out, voice eerily calm, even though I detest the sentences he strings together. “I don’t want my wife competing with me for every damn thing. I can’t even be a man around you. You won’t let me perform my basic duties,” he snarls while greedily taking in my body. Taut muscles, tense enough to theoretically snap at any moment, tighten even further.

“You think I’m emasculating you?” My mouth drops the longer I think about it. He totally does. This actually makes sense. It’s totally Keegan’s MO, and I’m not sure why I never put it together before. “Keegan, I’m—”

“Stop,” he demands, lifting his hand. “I know you’re about to spout some feminist bullshit at me. I get that you want to be your own person, but there are some things that are sacred.”

“Like the Knights?”

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