Page 48 of Wicked Lord

He finally swung his gaze to mine. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, blondie.”

“Yes, I do. I’ve seen what lengths you’ll go to for your friends, hell, for me. You’re a super sweet and caring guy. Whatever you did in the past doesn’t matter anymore. You have to let it go.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew…” His words trailed off as he pulled the Jeep into a parking spot across the street from the Zeta house.

“So tell me.”

“I can’t. It would only put you at risk. I don’t want you getting sucked into my drama.”

“Uh, I think it’s a little late for that.” I hitched my thumb over my shoulder. “You already made me an accessory to breaking and entering or trespassing at the very least.” I shot him a smirk.

He dragged his hands over his face and loosed a breath. “I never should have let you come.”

“It’s funny that you think you canletme do anything.” That finally coaxed a smile out of him, and my chest immediately felt lighter. “You want to come up for a bit?”

A twinkle of mischief lit up those warm baby blue eyes. “You want to practice that PDA we were talking about?”

A laugh bubbled out, and I smacked the big flirt on the shoulder. “No, I just thought you might want to talk some more.” I shrugged. “You don’t have to tell me what happened, but just know I’m here for you. Just like you were there for me at thegala. I’ve never had this before.” I pointed between the two of us, my cheeks heating from embarrassment.

“A friend?”

“Yeah, that.” I glanced out the window at my sorority house across the street. Three years as a Zeta and I couldn’t say I’d made one true friend. It was pretty sad actually.

Axel’s fingers tangled with mine, and he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I’d be honored to be your friend, Battenberg.” He reached over and unbuckled my seatbelt, then did the same with his. “So do you have any food in your room? We never did get to eat dinner…”

“I bought you some more of that gourmet chocolate you like so much.” It cost more than my manicure, so I’d been forced to cancel my appointment with Wendy this week. Dad had cut my allowance this month, so things were tight.

His bright eyes sparkled as a smile slid across his lips. “You’re the best, babe.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “It still sounds weird.”

“Fine, I guess we can brainstorm more pet names over chocolate.”

“Deal.” I slid out of the car and led Axel across the street.

A rush of rowdy voices drew my attention toward the adjacent Alpha Tau Omega house. The front door whipped open, and a familiar form stumbled down the steps.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Axel growled.

The circle of frat guys surrounded a clearly wasted Cordelia.

“Is she hooking up with every damned guy on the planet?”

I laced my fingers through his, leaned in close, and whispered, “Calm down. This is perfect. Just wait and see what happens when she sees us together.”

“I don’t know, Lore, I’m not exactly in the mood right now.”

“Hey, Axel!” Even from this distance, I could hear the slur to Cordelia’s words. The girl was a hot mess. It was so obvious shewas acting out to get her ex’s attention. She staggered toward us, a frat boy on each side.

I clung onto Axel’s arm. “You can do this. Just keep cool.”

As Cordi neared, she wriggled free of the males and quickened her steps.

“Hey, come back here, sexy,” one of the guys called out.

She twisted her head over her shoulder and waggled her fingers. “Be back in a few, boys.”

Once she reached Axel, her smile softened. “Hey, baby. I’ve missed you.” Her eyes were glossed over, her purple hair a tangled mess.