Chapter 4: Dangerous Deals

ARIA’s POV

I sat in the corner of the empty hallway, my knees pulled to my chest. The laughter still echoed in my ears. Zane's mocking voice. The phones recording everything. The way everyone had looked at me like I was a joke.

How could I have been so stupid?

And Reed had been there. Sitting two tables away with his brothers, watching the whole thing. By now, they all knew. They probably thought I was even more pathetic than before.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

I looked up to see Bianca Sterling towering over me, her perfect blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. Her friends flanked her like vultures.

Before I could move, she grabbed my hair and yanked me to my feet. Pain shot through my scalp.

"You disgusting bitch!" she snarled. "You actually thought you could have my man?"

"Let go of me!" I tried to pry her fingers away, but her grip was iron.

"Zane is mine, you freak! How dare you even think about sleeping with him?"

"I didn't sleep with him!" The words burst out. "Not yet anyway."

Did I really just say that?

Bianca's eyes flashed with rage. "Not yet? You think you'll ever get the chance?"

She shoved me against the lockers. My back hit metal with a painful thud.

"Let me tell you something, Omega," she hissed, her face inches from mine. "I already slept with Zane. Last weekend, actually. And he was incredible. Best night of my life."

Each word was designed to hurt, and it worked. Jealousy and humiliation burned through me.

"He knows exactly what to do with his hands, his mouth, his—" She smiled cruelly. "But you'll never know, will you? Because you're not worthy. You're not experienced. You're just a pathetic freak who plays with herself in her room."

My blood ran cold. "What did you just say?"

"Oh, did you think I forgot?" Bianca laughed. "I found your little diary last year, remember? All those dirty thoughts you write down. All those toys you use because no one wants to touch you."

No. No, no, no.

"Stay away from Zane Parker," she warned, her voice dropping low. "Or I'll make sure the whole school knows your disgusting secret. Imagine everyone knowing what a desperate little slut you really are."

She pushed me to the ground. I landed hard on my knees as she walked away, her laughter echoing down the hall.

But as I stood up, brushing off my jeans, something changed inside me. Instead of feeling defeated, I felt angry.

I'll show her. I'll show all of them.

I would sleep with Zane Parker. I would make him want me so badly he'd beg for more. And then I'd walk away, leaving him just as humiliated as he'd left me.

I managed to avoid everyone when I got home. The Steel villa was big enough that I could slip upstairs unnoticed. Or so I thought.

In my room, I locked the door and collapsed on the bed. My mind raced with plans. How could I make Zane notice me? How could I make him crave me?

Maybe if I learned more about sex. Maybe if I practiced...

I reached under my bed for the small box I'd hidden there. My cheeks burned as I pulled out the toys I'd collected over the past year—the vibrator, the dildo I'd been too nervous to actually use.

I lay back on the bed, my heart pounding. Maybe if I understood my own body better, I could—

The door opened.

"What the—" I scrambled up, clutching a pillow to hide what I'd been holding. "The door was locked!"

Reed stood in the doorway, holding a master key. His dark eyes swept over the scene—me on the bed, the toys scattered around me, my flushed face.

"Get out!" I shouted, mortification washing over me.

He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "I came to check on something in here. Didn't expect to find... this."

"Just leave, please!" I begged, trying to shove everything back in the box.

But Reed walked closer, his gaze intense. "I was at lunch today. Saw your little confession to Zane."

I wanted to disappear. "Don't—"

"Do you really want to sleep with him?" Reed asked bluntly.

The question hung in the air. I couldn't meet his eyes.

"That's none of your business," I whispered.

"You're doing it all wrong, you know." He gestured at the toys. "If you're trying to learn about sex, this isn't going to help you seduce anyone."

My face burned hotter. "I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" He moved closer, standing at the edge of my bed. "Because from what I saw today, you know nothing about seduction. Nothing about what actually makes a man want you."

"Stop it," I breathed, but my body was already responding to his proximity. That same heat from last night was building again.

"It's more exciting than you think," Reed said, his voice dropping lower. "Real sex. Real pleasure. Nothing like what you're doing to yourself alone in this room."

He leaned over me, his hands bracing on either side of my body. I fell back against the pillows, trapped.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Giving you an option." His lips brushed my ear. "I could teach you. Give you a proper sex education. That way, when you go after Zane, you'll actually know what you're doing."

"Why would you—"

His mouth cut off my question, claiming mine in a kiss that made my whole body ignite. His hand slid up my thigh, fingers tracing patterns that made me gasp.

"Don't refuse," he murmured against my lips. "I can teach you everything. How to touch, how to move, how to make a man lose his mind wanting you."

His hands roamed over my curves, exploring every dip and swell. I knew I should push him away, but my body arched into his touch instead.

"This is crazy," I panted.

"Is it?" His thumb brushed over my nipple through my shirt, and I moaned. "Or is it exactly what you need?"

I should say no. This is wrong. He's my stepbrother. He hates me.

But when his hand slipped under my shirt, touching bare skin, all my protests died.

"We could make a deal," Reed whispered, his fingers trailing lower. "I teach you everything. You get Zane Parker. Everyone wins."

"I... I..." I couldn't think straight with his hands on me like this.

"Say yes, Aria." His mouth found my neck, sucking gently. "Let me show you what real pleasure feels like."

My mouth opened to answer, but then I heard it—the door opening again.

I turned my head and froze.

Cole and Jasper stood in the doorway, their eyes dark with the same hunger I saw in Reed's.

"Looks like we're just in time," Cole said, closing the door behind them.

"What—" I tried to sit up, but Reed held me down.

"Relax," Jasper purred, moving to the other side of the bed. "You wanted to learn about sex, didn't you? Consider this... an advanced lesson."

My heart hammered wildly as all four brothers surrounded me, their hands reaching out, their eyes promising things I didn't understand but desperately craved.

What have I gotten myself into?