Hating You (Blackthorn Elite 1)

My gaze swings to the clock, hanging on the otherwise bare wall. Shit, biochemistry starts soon. Scrambling off my bed, I quickly get into a pair of jeans and sneakers. Grabbing my bag and sweater on the way, I’m out the door in two minutes.

Speed walking down the stairs and across campus, I make it to the building in under ten minutes. When I look inside the classroom, I notice neither Parker nor his friends are there yet. Leaning against the wall next to the door, I wait for him. The other students who pass me to get inside mostly ignore me, but here and there, I get a nasty look as well, and I wonder what Parker told them about me.

Nervously, I shift my weight back and forth on my legs. When I finally spot him coming around the corner, my nervousness turns into a mixture of excitement and fear. My pulse thunders in my ears, and when he looks up, our eyes lock. Every cell in my body heats, threatening to combust. He looks angelic, but like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, he hides his dark side well. I snap out of the trance I’m in when I see a deep frown settle into the hard ridges of his face.

Then he’s heading straight for me. Walking with a purpose. His stupid long legs eat up the space separating us.

“Stupid, stupid girl. You don’t know when to quit. I thought I specifically told you not to come to class,” his voice is piss and vinegar. Reaching me, he gets right in my face, not keeping any personal space between us. I try to back up, but I’m already pressed against the wall.

I’m trapped all over again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the professor passing us on his way into the class. Parker is clearly hovering over me in a threatening manner. Doesn’t he see that? Oh, wait, he does, and he doesn’t care. Dr. Dawson hurries by us and closes the classroom door behind him, proving my statement to be true.

“I know what you said, but I can’t just stop going to class. I need to be here, okay? Trust me, I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me to be, but I don’t have a choice.”

Parker lifts a thick brow and places a hand on the wall next to me, caging me in. Having him this close makes it hard for me to think, to breathe. “And why should I care about what you want or need?”

“You don’t have to care. I know you hate me and that’s fine by me, but I’m not stupid, I know you still want me. Maybe we can come to an arrangement?” Just saying the words makes me feel dirty and cheap. I can call it whatever I want, justify it with the fact that I’m doing this for my sister. But, in the end, I’m doing nothing more than whoring myself out.

“What kind of arrangement?” Parker smirks widely, and all I want to do is wipe that smug smile off his face.

“Whatever you want,” I shrug. Unable to stand the triumphant look in his eyes any longer, I avert my gaze. Concentrating on some random spot behind Parker, I continue, “Let me stay here, at least this semester.”

“What exactly do I get in return?” He sounds seriously intrigued now.

“You know what.” He is not seriously going to make me say it, is he?

“I want to hear you say it.” Of course, he is. Please, someone, kill me now.

“Whatever you want,” I repeat, “if you want me to suck you off, I will.”

“I want more than you sucking me off. Although, that would be a good start.”

“You want to fuck me? Fine, I’ll do that too, but I need something else.”

“Is that so? It seems you’re not really in a position to be asking me for favors.” I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

“If you want me to fuck you, willingly, then I want an invite to the fundraiser your dad is hosting, on top of being able to stay here for the rest of the semester.”

“Hmm…and why do you want an invite?”

I chew on the inside of my cheek until the copper tang of blood fills my mouth. He is enjoying my misery. Every minute of it.

“It doesn’t matter why I want an invite. Can you get me one or not?”

A heavy silence blankets us, and I worry for a second that he might say no. If he does, what the hell am I going to do? Beg, plead? I hate feeling as helpless as I am right now. When he still doesn’t say anything after a while, I return my gaze to his face. I find him studying me, his eyes scanning my face for something. What exactly, I don’t know.