Page 44 of Pretty Secrets

Not this.

Keegan’s head snaps back, and a part of me celebrates Leo’s actions. The other remembers the boy my sister fell in love with. The same boy I think I recognize now. How did they leave things? He wasn’t at her funeral, but he looks like he’s…

Maybe he’s not sad. Maybe he’s guilty.

I press my lips into a thin line as Leo gets in another punch. Crossing my arms, I watch as the guy who tormented my sister gets what’s coming to him. I know he fucked around on her. I know he made her miserable. I know he—

Alaric and Oliver pull an enraged Leo off of Keegan who has fallen to a knee, shaking fingers coming up to wipe blood away from his nose.

Leo breathes rigidly, his whole body moving with the mechanics of it. Still taut with tension, he looks as if he could go at him again.

He shakes the other two off and turns. His hard gaze collides with mine, and the world stands still. Everything that’s reeling in his eyes is currently embedded into me.

Anger.

Fear.

Sadness.

The whole slew of negative emotions swirls there like he feeds off them. If that’s his appetite, I understand why he has the reputation he does.

But it moves something inside me. A slight shift that…makes me feel sorry for him.

“Astor, get your ass in the building.”

And there it goes. As quick as it came, the feeling left. Gone. Vanished. I brush past him, rolling my eyes until I feel a smack on my ass.

Hard. So hard, it still stings when I glare over my shoulder at him.

He smirks at me while shifting his hair back into place as if beating up rich heirs is something he does daily for fun. “You’re a caveman.”

“And you like it,” he says, gaze dropping to my breasts.

I don’t need to look down to know that I’m nipping. I can’t remember if I was nipping before he punched someone or after, but it’s not like I’m going to tell him, anyway. “It’s cold out, asshole.”

He whips off his hoodie, displaying his white wifebeater underneath, and throws the clothing at my face, along with a whole lungful of his essence.

He smells damn good.

This push and pull with Leo is fun, but what if Keegan is right? I already know I shouldn’t trust these two, but he acted as if there was something else. Like I got the Knight knockoffs when it came to my grouping. If they gave me the team that should be riding the bench, there could only be one reason—and Keegan called it. They reallydon’twant me here.

“Eden!” Keegan growls, but a hand on the small of my back pushes me through the entrance.

I already know who it is before I look. Oliver doesn’t touch me like that, and it’s too soft to be Leo. He’d drag me in kicking and screaming rather than put a gentle hand at my back. “We have to get you inside on time,” Alaric relays as if he has to give a reason for hurrying me.

I begin to pull Leo’s hoodie on, but Alaric stops me.

“Not a good idea.” His face colors as I look at him for an explanation. “You have to use everything you’ve got to get in. If I were you, I wouldn’t cover up. They don’t want people who walk around in hoodies. They want members who command boardrooms. If you’re cold, next time wear a blazer.”

His focus drops to my chest, and I’m fully aware my professor’s stare is on my tits. It’s hard not to flush and react.

Slowly, he drags his gaze away. “They were going to get married, right?”

I nod, my throat closing up. “They had a strained relationship, but yes. It was Astor and Forbes approved.”

“She didn’t like him?”

“It was the other way around. Delilah thought she could save everybody. In my opinion, Keegan isn’t worth saving.”

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