Page 24 of Love to Defy You
“I love it here already,” she gushes. “The campus is so pretty, but the classes are so hard, so I haven’t had much time to make friends. I wish you were here.”
“Well, not all of us are smart enough to get accepted into Georgetown for pre-med.” I stick my tongue out at her. “But I’m not complaining. Check this out.” I flip the phone’s camera away from me and scan my closet.
Prisha gasps. “Oh, wow! Your bedroom is gorgeous, but where’s your bed?”
“This is just my walk-in closet.” The hem of my T-shirt dress falls to my knees when I stand, and I slide my feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers and walk to the door. “That’s the bedroom.”
“No way! Gosh, my whole dorm room is smaller than your closet. You’re so lucky.”
I flip the phone back to the front camera and retreat into the closet again, leaning against the countertop in the middle with my back to the door. “To be fair, I’d be happy with just the closet. It’s my favorite room in the house. I even read in here.”
“I would, too,” Prisha says. “It’s perfect. Way better than the supply closet at the President’s Academy.”
We’ve come a long way since the days of eating our lunch on bundles of toilet paper while hiding from the Aristocrats.
Grinning, I hold up my Kindle to the phone and show her the cover of our latest read. Prisha and I managed to get added to the street team of one of our favorite romance authors to receive advanced copies of her books. The latest ARC just came out last week, and this is our first chance to talk about it.
“Have you finished it?” I ask. “The scene where he bent her over and took her on the kitchen counter was absolute perfection.” I bring my fingers to my mouth and blow a chef’s kiss to the camera.
“And when he slapped the handcuffs around her wrists? I got chills.” Prisha visibly shudders. “But I’ll be honest, I still have five chapters left, so don’t spoil the ending.”
“Still?” I balk. “How did you resist binge-reading it in one night? I couldn’t put it down.”
Prisha pouts her lip. “I know, but I feel like I’ve been spending every waking minute with my nose in a textbook. Trust me, I’d much rather be reading spicy romance novels. They’re way more interesting than organic chemistry.”
“But you like chemistry.”
“Not as much as I like romance.” She rests her chin in her hands and gives me a dreamy smile. “Speaking of romance, how’s Prince Alek?”
“He’s good.” Although, the bruises on his face look even worse today than they did last night.
“What’s wrong?” Prisha’s smile falters. “Trouble in paradise?”
I shake my head. “No, no. We’re great. He’s just... sick, and with classes starting tomorrow, it’s not great timing.”
“Oh no, that’s awful. Is it a cold? I wouldn’t be surprised after going from Saint-Tropez to Zurich. That weather change is rough on the system. I’ll send you a recipe for kadha chai thatmy nanny used to make for me during cold and flu season. You should take some too so you don’t get sick.”
Guilt roils my gut. I hate lying to Prisha, but if I tell her Alek was beaten up in a secret hazing ritual, it’ll make her worry even more. I’m sure she’d have questions, and I wouldn’t know how to answer them since Alek won’t tell me anything. He’s been locked in his office all day.
“Thanks.” I give her a tight smile. “I’m sure it’ll help a lot.”
“Of course. Anyway, back to the book. Which chapter was that scene in again? I want to reread it.”
“I thought I highlighted it.” I tap my screen and start scrolling through the grid view of the pages. “But I don’t see it— Ooh, wait, I found it. Chapter nineteen.”
Prisha props the camera on something to free her hands and picks up her Kindle. “Yeah, this was my favorite sex scene so far.”
I quirk my eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t realize you had a bondage kink, Prisha.”
A faint blush appears on her golden cheeks, and she pushes her glasses up her nose. “How would I know? I’m still a virgin.”
“That’s okay. That’s what college is for, right? To lose your virginity?”
She throws me a pointed look. “I thought that was high school?”
“For me, it was, but we all know I was a slut.”
The corner of Prisha’s mouth quirks. “What do you mean,was?”
