I shrug. “It’s already forgotten.”
When we get backto the table, she’s less tense. That might be the alcohol, but that could also be that she’s learning to trust me again.
“Just tell me one thing. Was it you who had locked me in a cupboard last night?”
I look at her blankly. “Would you believe me if I said it was for your own protection?”
She frowns. My hand is on her thigh, inching up between her legs, but I don’t go any further.
She shifts in her chair, all but squirming in her seat. I give her a lazy smile.
“Rome.” Fuck I love the way she says my name.
“Yes, my little mouse?”
Her frown deepens. “Let’s just get this straight. Putting condoms in my laundry is one thing, but abducting me and then sending one of your dickhead friends to scare me isn’t.”
Keeping my face void of emotion, I remove my hand to take a drink, my ring clinking against the glass as I do. “One of my dickhead friends?” I know before she opens her mouth, she means Carter.
“Blackwood,” she says.
Fucking prick. She said ‘scare,’ not ‘rape,’ so I know he didn’t get to her.
“He shouldn’t have done that. He’s pissed at you for getting his car privileges revoked. All the boys are. I told you they would retaliate.”
She gives me a tight smile. “You did.”
“I think I know who has your cat,” I hear myself say. “I’ll get it back for you.” What the fuck am I saying? Zane would call me pussy whipped right about now.
She lets out a breath. “Thank you. That means a lot.” She reaches for my hand to squeeze it, looking deeply into my eyes. “I’m sorry I kept accusing you of being the ring leader. I just don’t know what to do or how to get them to stop.”
“There is a way,” I say, shifting in my seat to hold her hand properly.
She bites her lower lip. “How?”
I let her see the sincerity in my eyes as I lean in, stroking her fingers and her palm.
“I can protect you. Right now, it’s open season. Anyone can play the game. Anyone can hurt you.”
“What do you mean?” She frowns, looking deep into my eyes. “Hurt me?”
My fingers graze the twisted scar down the middle of her wrist. She jumps, snatching her hand back.
I pick up my glass. “Did you check your apartment before you showered today?” I ask, knocking my glass back.
“No, why would I?”
“Carter stole your bag yesterday to get a copy of your keys cut. I would change your locks and check your apartment for cameras. If he can’t get the real thing, he likes to watch.”
“Right.” She looks at me. “So you really were doing me a favor by keeping me from going home last night?”
“It was either that or drag you to my room.”
She gives a shiver, one that makes my dick hard.
Sighing, she leans forward, raising her forearms on the table, her glass cupped in both her hands. “What would your protection entail?”
“Some sort of declaration to the school of who you belong to. They wouldn’t touch you if they knew you were mine.”