I hooked a hand behind her neck and collapsed my lips over hers. Not soft. Not the way a first kiss is supposed to be.
Cold water. Hot breath. Her mouth froze against mine for a second, then pressed back—uncertain, but there. We figured it out together, even managed some tongue. Not that I knew more than she did, but I wouldn’t tell her.
When I pulled away, her eyes were wide.
“Told you,” I said.
She splashed me in the face. “You’re an asshole.”
“Yeah.” I grinned. “And now you’ve kissed the Asshole-In-Charge. How lucky are you that I was your first?”
I break the surface now—years later—and the water in my lungs feels just as sharp. Chlorine burns my nose, but that’s not what’s making my chest ache.
It’sAshlyn.
The way she looked at me like I’d stolen something and given it back in the same breath. The way she let me.
I roll onto my back, staring at the curved ceiling of the natatorium, every stroke cutting through the water slower and slower. Landon’s words gnaw at me like teeth in my ribs.Princess treatment. Hasn’t fucked anyone else.Like he’s already figured out the one thing I can’t admit.
I want her. Always have.
And I can’t have her—not the way I want. Owned.Completely mine. Undermycontrol. No one else’s hands. No one else’s eyes.
Not without dismantling everything I’ve built. It would be admitting that what she did to me didn’t matter. ThatIdon’t matter.
She can’t even ask for forgiveness. An apology wouldn’t change a thing anyway. What she did cut me deeper than she even realizes. Worse—she wears those scars on my heart like trophies.
The thought curdles into something heavier, a black weight pressing down on me as I haul myself out of the pool. Water sheets off my body in rivulets, pattering against tile like a countdown. My hands ache to hold something fragile and break it.
I can’t have her freely, and I can’t forgive her yet.
I can’t survive without her.
So I’ll cage her and make her life a living hell.
By tonight, Ashlyn will be right where I can reach her—kneeling at my side in that bar. Watching while I wrap my fingers around other women’s throats. Smiling at them like she’s not in the room.
I’ll pretend she’s nothing.
If I can’t have her, I’ll make sure she knows she’llneverhave me.
My phone rings unexpectedly,and it’s my sister. Sighing with frustration, I pick up while walking toward her sorority.
“Calling to disappoint memore, Olivia?”
“Wetriedto end him, Aiden. Someone figured out our plan.” She’s quiet for a moment, then says, “We’ll try again.”
My heart sinks. The president’s still alive. Our plansdidn’t work. I hadn’t fully expected them to, but I’ve still got my angle to destroy Dean Twinston working in the background…
“Don’t fucking say anything in detail, O.” I glance behind my back, every shadow suddenly too close, but the walkway is empty.
“I’m not stupid,” she snaps.
I know she’s not. But she’s not me. Or Dad…
“Do you need help? I’m almost toOmegaHouse,” I ask, turning the corner behind the library, reaching Sorority Row.
“Actually, I wanted to ask you if you have Ashlyn Donovan’s number. She hasn’t been answering the one I have and?—”