CHAPTER 5

RIVER

For one glorious second, I just stare at her. Did she seriously—

My jaw tightens. She did.

The girl has been standing there mouthing off to me for the last five minutes, and now she’s decided insulting my breath is the line.

The corner of my mouth twitches before I can stop it.

I lean a fraction closer. Close enough that I catch everything I shouldn’t.

Fuck.

She’s beautiful. Annoyingly, unfairly beautiful. Up close it’s worse. Those sharp eyes. The full mouth that’s been throwing attitude nonstop.

The way her lips part just slightly before she delivers another hit. Soft. Pink. The kind of mouth that would look better wrapped around my cock than around more sarcasm.

And she smells fucking delicious—warm and sweet under the hallway air. The kind of scent that short-circuits my brain every time I inhale.

If Lisa wasn’t involved, I’d already have her pinned against this locker for a completely different reason. My cock is heavy and interested, pressing hard against my jeans.

That fact alone should piss me off. A girl talking back this hard is supposed to make me want to shut her down. Instead it’s making me harder.

The more she pushes, the more I want to push back in ways that have nothing to do with threats.

“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve,” I tell her, voice low.

Her brows lift. “Is that supposed to scare me?”

“No.”

I force myself to hold her gaze. Fail for half a second and drop it to her mouth anyway.

Those lips curve into that infuriating little smile and all I can think about is how easy it would be to wipe it off—with my mouth, my teeth, my cock.

“It’s supposed to tell you that most people would’ve learned to shut up by now.”

She gives me the smile again.

“Well, I’m not most people.”

No. She fucking isn’t.

She leans her head back against the locker, still staring straight at me.

“Back up. You’re blocking my locker, taking up oxygen, and somehow managing to make both look like a personality.”

My jaw clenches. She’s unbelievable. Most people would’ve backed down five minutes ago. Most people wouldn’t have made it past the first warning.

She looks at me like I’m an inconvenience, and every second she keeps talking my eyes drift back to that mouth.

“Honestly,” she adds, looking me dead in the eye, “for a campus king, your hospitality is a little disappointing.”

A low sound leaves my throat. My eyes drop to her lips again—longer this time. Anger. Hunger.

Something darker I don’t want to name. A visible shiver runs through her. Good.

“Hospitality?” I repeat, voice rough.

“You mean why I haven’t shoved my cock down your throat or fucked you against this locker yet? That kind of hospitality?”

Her eyes flash.

“I wouldn’t touch you or your cock if you were the last guy on campus. And I sure as hell wouldn’t let you fuck me.”

I hold her stare. The corner of my mouth curls.

“Feeling’s mutual. I don’t want to fuck you either.” I lean in another fraction, eyes on her mouth. “But I *will* fuck with you.”

She doesn’t flinch. Just gives me that same sharp smile.

“Cute threat. But if ‘fucking with me’ is the best you’ve got, you might want to workshop it. I’ve dealt with worse than a campus king with a bruised ego and a hard-on he can’t control. Now move. Some of us have class you fucking moron.”

“Watch it,” I say quietly.

“Or what?”

The bell screams. She’s late. I catch the end of a blonde curl between my fingers and tug just enough to make her notice. My gaze stays on her lips the entire time.

“You don’t want to find out, new girl. But I can promise it’ll be the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.”

I hold her there another second, staring at that mouth, then drop my hands and step back just enough to give her air. My jaw is tight. My cock still hasn’t gotten the message.

She glances at Jax, then Knox, then back at me.

“You can keep standing there looking scary. You can keep your friends flanking me like this is some kind of power move.

None of it’s going to change the fact that I’m not apologizing for telling Lisa and her pack to back off. And I’m not asking permission every time I open my mouth.”

The hallway has gone quiet. Everyone’s watching. My eyes keep dropping to her lips anyway.

I lean in again. Close enough to catch her scent. Close enough that another inch and I’d taste that smart mouth myself.

“You’re going to learn real quick that this campus doesn’t work the way you think it does.”

“And you’re going to learn real quick that I don’t care how this campus works,” she fires back. “I care about people leaving me alone when I tell them to. Lisa didn’t. Now you’re here. Same result. Leave me alone.”

Silence stretches. My eyes are on her mouth again. Fuck. Without the Lisa situation, this would’ve already ended with her legs around my waist.

“You have no idea who you’re talking to,” I say, quieter.

“I have a pretty good idea. You’re the guy everyone else is afraid of. The one who walks down the hall and expects the crowd to part. The one who gets texts the second someone doesn’t treat his people like royalty. Congratulations. You’ve got the whole school trained. I’m just not part of the program.”

Jax shifts beside me.

"This bitch isn't gonna fold, man."

"No," Knox says, almost thoughtful. "She's not."

I don't look at them. My eyes stay on her — specifically on the mouth that keeps saying things that should make me want to ruin her in every non-sexual way possible. Instead I'm just... aware of her. All of her. More than I want to be.

"Last chance. Apologize for what you said to Lisa. Mean it. And stay out of her way."*

*She smiles. Small. Sharp.

"And if I don't?"

The air between us pulls tight. I force my gaze back up where it belongs.

*l"I'll make sure your time here is a lot less comfortable than it needs to be."

She lets out a short breath that might almost be a laugh.

"There it is. The threat. Took you long enough. Most guys lead with that — you at least tried the cold stare and the looming first. Points for variety."

She straightens, still giving me nothing.

"Here's my counter-offer. Take your two friends, step back, and go find someone who actually wants to play this game. I don't. I'm not interested in your hierarchy, your rules, or your protection detail for Lisa. She came at me. I handled it. If that's a problem for you, it's still not my problem."

Jax is openly grinning now. Knox has stopped looking amused and started looking interested — which is worse.

*Something in my chest sharpens, tightens, refuses to let go.

"You're going to regret talking to me like this."

"Maybe. But not today. And not because you said so."

She holds my stare another second, then looks past me toward the hall.

"Class is about to start. You three planning to stand here all period, or can I get to the lecture hall without an escort?"

I keep looking at her — the set of her mouth, the way she refuses to drop her eyes, the blonde curl I tugged twenty minutes ago. Fuck. Without Lisa in the picture, I'd already know exactly how far I could push this. How fast she'd fold, and whether she would at all.

Finally I step back. Half a step. Jax and Knox follow. The wall around her loosens.

"This isn't over," I tell her.

"I'm sure you'll text me about it. Or have Lisa do it. She seems good at that."

I stare at her one last time — eyes, mouth, eyes again — then turn. Jax and Knox fall in beside me. The hallway starts breathing again as we move.

I don't look back.

I still don't know her name.

But I already know I'm not done with her.

---