Page 9 of Tell Me Why
“Savano?”I repeat, deliberately keeping my voice even. I just came in from surfing, so my hair is still soaking wet. Removing the towel from my neck, I step toward her. She smells exactly the way I remember, like coconut mixed with something sweet. “As inShadow and AshSavano?”
She glances down quickly, then back up, her gaze catching mine. “Yes. Sin Savano is my brother.”
I shake my head and take another menacing step toward her. I could rip her apart right here, right now, and notoneperson here would try to stop me. The thought excites me more than it should. “You’re either super ballsy or super fucking stupid to walk in here like this…”
“Why are you here? What do you want?” Jackson asks, his tone harsh, which is typical for him, even on a good day.
I watch her closely as she considers her answer. Her cheeks are flushed, and fear flickers in those whiskey-colored eyes. Good. It shows she has some sense. Sheshouldbe afraid.
She pulls in a heavy breath. “I, um…there have been rumors circulating about what happened on your front lawn a few weeks ago, and in a world like ours, I know what that means…”
I’ve known about Eve for a while now. From the moment she stepped onto campus, she’s been working overtime to blend into the wallpaper. It’s like she goes out of her fucking way to dress down and cover up that body. Leggings. Oversized sweaters. No makeup. She thought all that would keep me from noticing her. Yeah, no. It had the opposite effect. For weeks, I’d watch her in class and wonder what she was trying to hide…
Now I know.
I narrow my eyes at her. “Why don’t you enlighten us?”
“My brother moved on you,” she says simply. “And I know something like that can’t go unanswered.”
Ash laughs sardonically, the muscles in his shoulders tensing up. This guy has been going through it lately. He’s usually pretty chill, but ever since the incident on the lawn, he’s been on edge. Can I blame him, though? We’ve all been on edge...
“Movedon us?” Ash spits. “Your brother slaughtered one of our members on our fucking front lawn.”
Eve pulls her eyes away from me to focus on Ash, and Ifeelit. I feel the absence of her gaze. “You killed our cousin,” she says.
Apparently, that’s true. We didn’t know it at the time, but her cousin was Tyler Savano—a member of the Burning Crown who fucked up royally. He was warned, and he didn’t stop, so the Sacred Sons made the call to excommunicate him–and the only excommunication from the Burning Crown is death. And as far as my brothers and I are concerned, how we deal with our members is our own damn business.
Sin Savano clearly didn’t agree, so he recruited Gabriel—myfucking cousin—and used him against us, like a Trojan-fucking-Horse. When that didn’t work out, Sin ambushed us here, at Rush House, and slit Gabriel’s throat. Lucas was also stabbed, and he barely made it out of that shit alive.
So, yeah, to say her brother “moved on us” is the understatement of the fucking century.
Ash moves toward her, and I lift my arm to stop him from making contact. “If you’re here to make a case for your brother,” I say, holding Ash back. “Then you’re wasting your breath.”
Her eyelashes flutter, and I can tell she’s taken the bait. “I’m not here to make a case for him. I’m here to offer myself as payment for what he’s done…”
The room goes silent as the other guys absorb what she just said. It’s Ash who speaks first. “What does ‘offering yourself for payment’ mean exactly?”
She lifts her hands. “It means…I’ll do whatever you want. My brother has no idea I’m here, and we’re very close. If he knew I was staying here, it would kill him.”
I allow my gaze to rove over her body, which is hidden beneath a loose-knit sweater and a pair of jeans. I can still feel the warmth of her pussy on my fingertips. I can still hear her quiet, almost inaudible moan the moment I took control of her body…
Moving toward her, I grab her chin. She flinches, and I smile. “Whateverwe want?” I ask, purposefully trying to provoke her. I know how much she hates me, and the feeling is mutual. But tormenting her is quickly becoming my favorite thing.
She swallows. “If it means you won’t hurt Sin, then…yes, anything.”
Good. I’m relying on that sisterly devotion to see my plan through. And devotion is something I can relate to. When Lucas was injured in the attack last month, and we didn’t know if he’d make it, something dark slithered around my heart and took hold. It was a cold, desperate feeling I never want to experience again—and that’s where Eve comes in.
But I already know she can be obstinate. I’ve seen it. So as a test, I force her chin up and lean in, pulling her bottom lip between my teeth. I bite down gently.Mmm, she tastes like coconut chapstick, and I have the sudden, irresistible urge to rip this bitch apart with my teeth. It’d be so fucking fun.
Her eyelids flutter closed, and her muscles tighten, but she remains perfectly still. She doesn’t resist or try to push me away. I linger for a second before breaking contact and taking a step back.
Damn.My tongue darts out to lick my bottom lip and use the pad of my thumb to wipe the corner of my mouth.Mmmm.It’s not just her pussy that tastes sweet. Her mouth does, too, and I already want more.
“Take your shirt off,” I tell her.
Lucas says something from across the room, his voice breaking through the haze. I lift my hand and snap at my brother to shut him the fuck up. “Ah, hold up,” I say to him, never taking my gaze off Eve. “Let’s see if this chick is serious.”
This whole damn thing hinges on whether or not she can set her hatred aside and submit to the Sacred Sons, tome.
