007

~Katya

My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. My back hit the cold wood of the door, towel clutched so tightly against my chest that my knuckles turned white.

God, could this day get any worse?

"What... what was that?" a sleepy, raspy voice mumbled from across the room.

I snapped my head up. Kimberley was sitting up on her bed, rubbing her eyes with the back of her fist, her hair a messy bird's nest.

She blinked at me, her eyes slowly focusing on my flushed face and the desperate grip I had on my bath towel.

"Did someone knock?" she asked, yawning lazily.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, trying to force my heart back down into my chest.

"Yeah. Your... your brother was at the door."

That instantly woke her up. Kimberley’s eyes went wide, and she sat up straight, tossing her blanket aside.

"Wait, Ray? Ray was here? What did he say? Did he leave?"

"He said he came looking for you," I said, my voice higher than usual.

I backed away from the door toward my closet, desperate to get into actual clothes before anyone else decides to drop by. "I told him you were asleep, and... well, then I shut the door."

I omitted the part where my entire upper body was almost on full display for him, obviously.

"Oh, vintage Ray," Kimberley groaned, rolling her eyes as she swung her legs over the side of the mattress. "He’s such an overprotective pain in the ass sometimes. He probably just wanted to check if I was settling in or if I needed money for groceries."

She looked at me, a sudden mischievous grin spreading across her face. "So... what did he say to you? You look weird!"

I pulled an oversized grey hoodie and a pair of dark sweatpants out of my bag, sliding them on as fast as humanly possible under the cover of my towel before letting the wet towel drop to the floor.

"He's fine," I lied smoothly, running a comb through my damp hair to buy myself some time. "Just took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting a guy in the girls' hostel."

"Right? He thinks rules don't apply to him," Kimberley laughed, standing up and stretching her arms over her head. "He's a final year student here, majoring in business administration. Everyone on campus knows him. Honestly, Katya, half the girls in my old high school class used to follow him around like lost puppies. It’s disgusting."

"I can see why," I muttered under my breath, the image of those sharp, confident eyes sweeping over my body flashing unwanted across my mind.

"Wait, did you say he was cute?" Kimberley asked, catching my tone and stepping closer with a wicked smirk. "Oh my god, you thought my brother was cute!"

"I didn't say that," I countered immediately, throwing my damp hair towel onto the back of a chair. "I was just startled."

"Mhm, sure, Katya," she teased, bumping her shoulder playfully against mine. "Look, since you're all dressed and I'm wide awake now, we should go grab dinner at the campus lounge! Ray mentioned earlier that he was hanging out with some of his friends near the quad. We can catch up with him!"

The thought of facing Ray again after slamming a door in his face made my stomach do a nervous flip. But then another thought hit me.

Niklaus wanted me locked away, isolated, and obedient. He wanted me sitting in a corner, weeping over his black card and waiting for his next command.

Fuck him.

I looked at Kimberley, forcing a slow, rebellious smile onto my lips. "Sure," I said, grabbing my phone from the bed. "Let's go.”

She was practically bouncing on her heels by the time we stepped out of the dorm, the cool evening breeze brushing against my face as we headed toward the central quad.

We hadn't even made it halfway across the cobblestone courtyard when a loud, sharp voice called out from the pathway near the library.

"Kimberley! Where the hell are you going without me?"

We both turned. Walking toward us with a swagger that practically screamed attitude was a girl with sharp eyeliner, high waisted leather pants, and a denim jacket slung over one shoulder.

She looked like trouble in the best possible way.

"Brenda!" Kimberley gasped, waving her over.

Brenda caught up to us, her eyes instantly locking onto me with keen interest. "Who's the new girl? Don't tell me they actually gave you a normal looking roommate."

"This is Katya!" Kimberley beamed, gesturing between us. "Katya, this is Brenda, my stepsister. Which means she’s also Ray’s stepsister, unfortunately for her."

"Hey," Brenda said, giving me an approving nod and a slow, wicked smirk. "Don't listen to Kim. Ray’s an idiot, but at least he’s useful for getting us into the high end lounges without paying cover fees. Speaking of... are we going to see him?"

"Yeah, he's at the quad lounge with his friends," Kimberley said.

"Great. I’m starving, and Ray’s buying," Brenda declared, effortlessly falling into step beside us.

When we finally walked into the open air campus lounge, the bass from the speakers was humming softly in the background.

The place was packed with upperclassmen, but Ray was impossible to miss. He was sitting at a corner lounge booth, draped casually over the leather seat with one arm stretched along the back, a drink in his hand.

Sitting across from him was just one other guy, scrolling through his phone.

"Ray!" Kimberley called out as we approached the table. She frowned, looking around the nearly empty booth. "Wait, where’s everyone else? I thought you said the whole group was hanging out tonight."

Ray leaned back, his deep, dark eyes shifting slowly from Kimberley to Brenda and then landing directly on me.

A slow, lingering smirk played at the corner of his lips as his eyes swept over my oversized hoodie, as if he could still perfectly picture what was underneath it just an hour ago.

My cheeks burned instantly, but I held his gaze, refusing to look away first.

"They went to basketball training," Ray said smoothly, his voice low and rich.

Brenda crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "And why aren't you with them? Aren't you supposed to be on the team?"

"I'm the captain," Ray replied without a single beat of hesitation, leaning forward to set his glass on the wooden table.

He looked up at Brenda, then slid his gaze right back to me, the arrogance radiating off him in waves. "And I'm captain for a reason. I don't need training."

Oh, eish. He's proud.

The utter, unfiltered confidence in his voice was ridiculous. Niklaus controlled people through cold, suffocating authority, but Ray walked through life like he owned every room simply by stepping into it.

"God, you are so unbearable," Brenda groaned, rolling her eyes as she slid into the booth next to Ray's friend. "Katya, don't mind him. His ego is bigger than the entire campus."

Ray ignored Brenda entirely. His eyes remained locked on mine, a dangerous, playful spark dancing in his expression as he patted the empty leather cushion right next to him.

"Sit down, Katya," he said, his voice dropping an octave, heavy with unspoken mischief. "Unless you're afraid I'm going to drop something else.”