Ruins of Temptation (Corium University Trilogy 4)

She offers a soft chuckle. “I was thinking about my mom. It’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to her. I don’t even know if she’s okay or not.”

“I’m sorry.” I’m not. I’m glad. She needs to suffer.

We move to the end of the row, then round the end of the shelves. “Lucas has been a big help,” she murmurs while wiggling her fingers at Quinton. I wonder how he’d react if I gave him the same little wave. I can just see him launching himself over the table to get to me.

“Lucas?” A big help? I’m finding that hard to believe.

“Sure. He’s been great.”

Are we thinking of the same person? “How so?” I ask, trailing behind her. This isn’t what I’m supposed to be interested in, but now that she’s started talking about him, I can’t help wanting to hear more.

“He’s taken a lot of time to teach me self-defense. I’ve gotten a lot better at it.” She grins at me over her shoulder. “I’ve even knocked him on his ass.”

Right. Like she could do that. Then again, she killed Nash. Maybe she gets, like, serial killer strength when she’s upset. “That must’ve been satisfying.”

“It was. He’s not a small guy at all, but I knocked him flat. It made me feel strong. Not physically, but, you know. Inside.”

“Sure.” And I feel strong inside when I remember how weak he is for my pussy. Yeah, she and I are not the same at all. “So you spend a lot of time together?”

“Whenever he can manage it. He’s pretty busy.”

No shit. She starts flipping through a mystery book like she’s thinking about checking it out, while I can’t stop staring and wondering why the two of them are spending all this time together. Has he been trying to get in her pants, too?

Part of me loves the idea of Quinton going nuts, knowing the school’s headmaster has a hard-on for precious little Aspen. It must drive him out of his skull. Is that why he won’t let her out of his sight? I mean, she’s not in any danger around here anymore. Why is he up her ass all the time?

Is it because he hates all this time she’s spending with Lucas? Maybe he doesn’t trust him. I wouldn’t, either, but then I know he has nothing against fucking the girls around here. Does Quinton know that, too?

“He’s not as bad as he seems. Lucas, I mean.” She’s still going on and on, lost in her own world where she’s the star and everybody revolves around her. “At first, I figured he was a total monster, but things are different now.”

She giggles to herself. “And now that I’ve met the rest of his family, it’s easy to see where he gets that edge from.”

He even introduced her to his family? I figured maybe he has a thing for her, but now I’m thinking it’s bigger than that. What is so special about this girl?

Why can’t I be the special one for once?

Jesus, get it together. Preston would hate it if he knew I was letting myself get distracted. Nash deserves better than this. I can let myself obsess over Lucas later.

I lean a little closer to her but make it look like I’m reaching for a book. “I’m surprised Quinton doesn’t mind you spending all that time away from him,” I whisper.

I can’t help it. He’s still glaring at me. I’m not even sure if he’s blinking.

She snickers. “His bark is worse than his bite. Most of the time.”

Something tells me I don’t count. Is she this naïve? Or just stupid and self-centered enough to think everybody is as lucky as she is?

“But seriously,” I continue, still whispering, “how does he handle you spending time with Lucas and not with him?”

She lifts a shoulder. “Sometimes he’s there with us. He does like to follow me around most of the time. We have to compromise.”

How fucked up are these two? I only thought I knew before now. “I see.”

“Don’t let him get to you,” she murmurs while flipping pages of her book. “Time will change things. It always does. Once he sees you’re just a normal person, he’ll get over it. I keep telling him life is too short.”

Like Nash’s life. I want to take this book I’m holding and smash it against her head until there’s nothing left of her but blood and hair and bits of skull. She took Nash away and has the nerve to stand here and talk about time healing everything.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “I mean, that’s good to know.”

The sound of Quinton clearing his throat cuts through the otherwise quiet space. I guess we’re being too secretive for him. Now that I know she’s basically cheating on him with Lucas, I can understand a little better why he always acts so jealous. If he feels helpless because his slutty wife can’t keep away from Lucas, he’ll want to take it out on people like me who haven’t done anything wrong.