Treachery Prequel

Luca

Three drinks in and I was feeling good for the first time in the past month. My body was loose, my cheeks hurt from smiling, and my clothes were sticking to me from the sweat I’d worked up dancing.

I was surrounded by partially dressed women, and although I’d looked at them with sympathy for their lack of modesty while I’d been sober, I now felt a little jealous that they weren’t weighed down by sweat-laden cotton, their skin free to breathe as they twisted and turned, laughed and gyrated around me.

Not much of a drinker, I’d worried that the alcohol would bring too much to the surface for me, my inhibitions lowering and my walls crashing down so suddenly that the problems I was facing would float to the top.

There was too much weight riding my shoulders with school alone, but to add my mom’s health into the mix, I knew I had a storm brewing inside me that I didn’t want people to discover.

But rather than the alcohol opening me up until I couldn’t ignore the problems I was facing, it had the opposite effect. My worries bled away as I danced and let go of all my worries.

No longer did I feel the pressure of being the perfect student.

My concern for my mom was hidden behind a haze of inebriation, keeping me from losing focus on the job at hand.

The only problem was that I had no clue how to accomplish that job. I needed Ta

Unfortunately, I was wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I had run out of ideas as to how I would trigger the asshole to become the bully I knew he was.

Every so often, I’d glance Ta

Flashing him warm smiles that taunted, Come over here and do something about it, I continued my one-woman show of enjoying myself without repercussions in his space.

An hour had passed without my knowing it, my phone vibrating in my pocket once or twice before I finally walked away from the dancing bodies to pull it out and check the message.

Immediately, my expression fell, the alcohol-induced confidence bleeding from me to see that Clayton had gotten stuck handling some last minute assignments.

Me: What do you mean can’t make it? Like, at all? You’re my ride home.

Clayton: Sorry. I’m sure Gabriel can give you a lift. I’ll make it up to you.

Well, shit. Things got a lot more complicated with my buffer absent. I considered giving the game up entirely, but then tossed that thought away because I’d come this far already.

“Another drink?”

A red Solo cup was suddenly dangling in front of my eyes, the color attracting Ta

Eyeing him without looking directly at him, I wrapped my fingers around the cup and twisted in place to lock stares with Gabriel.

“We have a problem,” I yelled over the music, my permagrin in place because even though my buffer was gone, I was still feeling pretty good.

“And that is?”

“Clayton’s not coming.” I made a pouty face and stuck out my bottom lip. Gabriel leaned close, snapping his teeth at my mouth like he would bite it.

“Why is that a problem?”

“He was my escape plan,” I explained. “Now I have nobody to drive me home later.”

Gabriel’s gaze slid Ta

“Not a problem. I can drive you.” Playfully, he shoved me toward the people dancing.

“Go. Have fun. Let me know when it’s time to leave.”

I stumbled a few steps forward from the shove, alcohol sloshing over the rim of my cup, but then Gabriel grabbed my arm again and pulled me close to him. With his chest pressed to my back, he leaned in to speak against my ear.

“And by fun, I mean actual fun, Luca. Don’t go poking the bear if you can’t handle the bite that comes with it.”

Gri

Interesting.

An idea came to mind that I hoped Gabriel would help me pull off.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Deep laughter burst against my cheek. “Sure you don’t.”

Spi

“Dance with me.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, his eyes blinking closed slowly and opening again. “Nice try,” he said while laughing, “but I won’t be the one to help you win against me in our deal.”

Grabbing me by the shoulders, Gabriel spun me in place, slapped my ass and pushed me forward toward the crowd of dancing women.

“Try not to spill your drink,” he shouted over the music.

Turning to glance over my shoulder, I watched Gabriel leave the room, my eyes drifting back in Ta

There was no way in hell I was wi

Another hour passed, and I caught myself watching Ta

It didn’t matter in the long run, he wouldn’t be charging at me with a sure thing sitting in his lap. I’d decided to give up in my quest when an arm wrapped around my waist, a deep voice I didn’t recognize suddenly a rumble against my ear.

“I’ve never seen you before. What’s your name?”

My body was still moving along to the beat when I twisted in place to see a stranger standing behind me, glimmering blue eyes locking to mine as his mouth pulled apart in a teasing grin. He started dancing against me, his arm tightening around my waist as our chests crunched together.

Although I was a crappy dancer, this guy wasn’t, and within seconds he had us moving as if we weren’t two bodies, but one.

“Luca,” I answered, heat chasing down my skin that I tried to convince myself was from the crowd around us and not from the way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful girl in the room.

“What’s yours?”

I was surprised I’d never seen this guy before, but Yale was a large campus and it was possible he was another senior who shared none of my classes.

“Shane. Why haven’t I seen you around here before? Are you a student?”

It was the alcohol. It had to be. There was no way in hell that this man could move so sexy that it was causing my heart rate to speed to unhealthy levels and my breathing to come out in quick, desperate rasps of air.

I felt dizzy in his presence, my focus stolen by a pair of sapphire blue eyes that had no shame while capturing mine. His hips rolled against me as his hand slid down to cup my ass, his movement directing my own in such a way that I felt like my body had finally learned what it meant to move to the beat of music.

“I am,” I answered, but my voice was so weak, he couldn’t hear me. A teasing grin split his lips wider when he leaned in to press the heat of his mouth against my ear, sending another dangerous ripple of electricity through my struggling heart.