Page 98 of In Darkness We Claim

My cocky smile grows as my competitive edge flares to life. “Too fucking right.”

Although she projects an air of disbelief, the smile on her face tells me she gets it. “That’s why the outfit is so important. You want to show the Hawks that you have the best Prize?” She phrases it like a question.

I lean in close, my lips hovering beside her ear, loving the way she shivers from my proximity. “I don’t need a Halloween costume to show that, sweetheart. No matter what you’re wearing, you will be the most beautiful girl in the room, and everyone will be jealous knowing you belong to me.”

A flush spreads over her cheeks as she drops her gaze to the floor, too shy to meet my eyes after hearing the intensity in my words. But I don’t need her to believe me; I know it’s true. There’s not a single girl on this entire campus that holds a torch next to Harper.

“I’ll make sure the outfit is good anyway,” she mutters.

I reach over and tip her chin back, forcing her to make eye contact with me. “You’ll look fucking gorgeous in whatever you pick, but the sexier you are, the harder I’ll fuck you.”

Her eyes darken with lust, and before she can say anything, I capture her lips with mine, stealing another passionate kiss. When we pull back, both of us gasping for breath, my blue balls throbbing painfully in my much-too-tight jeans, I go to stand.

“Enjoy the rest of your lesson,” I tell her, before adding, “I’ll claim my IOU very soon.”

Her gaze drops to my straining bulge, which is at eye-level with her now that I’m standing up, and a mischievous smile tugs at her lips. “I look forward to it.”

I laugh as I stride out of the classroom, not caring that I’m disrupting the lesson yet again. All I can think about is claiming my IOU as soon as possible, or my balls might actually drop off.

Ihave one foot over the threshold of Crowhurst House when Xander’s booming voice has me frozen. “Where the hell have you been, Radley?”

I wince, suddenly remembering that I should have been at my combat training session with Xander, instead of making Harper come in the middle of her lesson. She’s far too distracting for her own good.

“Sorry, I had somewhere I needed to be,” I tell him, remaining as vague as possible, since I’m almost certain he won’t approve of the truth.

He advances towards me, a look of fury etched on his face as he glares at me. “So you didn’t storm into your Prize’s classroom and disrupt her lesson instead of attending your fucking combat training session with me?”

He doesn’t even try to hide the sarcasm in his voice, and I mutter a curse under my breath. Of course, he fucking knows where I’ve been. He doesn’t miss a bloody thing.

I shrug my shoulders, trying to appear casual. “She needed to be taught a lesson.”

Xander shakes his head in despair, leaning in closer so only I can hear, since we’ve gathered a bit of an audience. “You were seen kissing her. Is that not against your rules?”

My brow furrows as I rack my brain, wondering when I told him about my no-kissing rule. “How do you know about that?”

“It’s my job to know everything.” He says it like it’s common sense, and I guess that’s the only way he can keep track of three-years’ worth of Crow Pledges with superiority complexes and attitude problems.

“It’s not what you think.” I cringe at the answer that slips out, which is made worse when Xander rolls his eyes at me.

He lets out a harsh laugh as he says, “Whatever you say. I just don’t want you to balls up your High Crow position because of some fucking pussy.”

It takes every ounce of control I have not to unleash my barely restrained anger at him talking about Harper like that, but I keep my mask of indifference in place as best I can. “I have earned my position, and nothing will change that.”

His eyes narrow on me, as if he doesn’t quite believe me. “You need to remember, she is your Prize, nothing more. You have no future with her, and that will never change.”

As if I need him pointing out the fucking obvious. The ticking clock hanging over our heads is louder than ever now that I’ve admitted I want Harper. I know our time is limited, and we have no future, but hearing it aloud makes it even more real.

“I’m well aware of what my future entails; my father has been drilling it into me since I was a child. It’s not something I’m ever likely to forget,” I say through gritted teeth.

Xander lets out a sigh as something that resembles pity flashes across his face. “Being a Legacy Order member can be tough, and I’m sure your father being on the Council is even harder, but it doesn’t change what is expected of you. If anything, it raises the standards.”

I’m completely over the conversation at this point, but Xander will only kick my arse more if I show him the disrespect that’s threatening to slip out, so I remain quiet.

With a huff, he takes a step back, talking louder so the nosey bastards watching can hear him again. “Get your arse in the gym. After you’ve done a hundred laps, then we can begin our training session. Instead of the hour you should have done, you’ll do two. You have five minutes to get your arse in the gym. For every minute you are late, I’ll add an extra ten laps. You’ll never miss training again.”

He doesn’t even wait for a response before he spins on his heel and stalks off towards the gym, and I let out a loud groan as the bastards watching laugh under their breaths. All it takes is a glare from me to silence them as I run to my room.

Xander’s poorly veiled threat about my time with Harper running out repeats in my head, and I hate that he’s yet another obstacle standing in our way. As if we don’t have enough of those fuckers. Still, when I think back to the way she came on my hand in the middle of her class, trying not to make a sound, it’s really hard to have any kind of regret.