Page 10 of Reign of the Queen
He starts his lecture, and once again, I'm called up to introduce myself to the class. The fourth time's a charm, I guess. Just as I'm about to sit down, Theo, the controlling, antagonizing dick, puts his hand up.
"Yes, Mr. Saint-Lambert?" The teacher nods, rolling his eyes.
"Sir, just wondering what school Miss Stratford attended. She neglected to mention the name," he says with a concerned, fake expression.
The rotten snake, he knows very well I didn't neglect to mention it. I purposely left the name out.
"Oh yes, Miss Stratford, could you enlighten us on where you attended previously?" Mr. Countham asks, looking beyond bored.
I give Theo a raised eyebrow. He really thinks he's one step ahead. Little does he know I am not playing in the minor leagues with him. I'm about to be at the top of the food chain here.
"Of course, Sir," I give the teacher a polite smile and stand like the queen I am. "I attended the prestigious Malbern Upper East Side Preparatory." I give our teacher a nod and then regain my seat in the daintiest way possible.
Mr. Countham lets out a whistle. "Malbern, huh? An exceptionally fine institution of higher learning. Many of our esteemed previous Supreme Court Judges and captains of industry attended there. Very well, Miss Stratford. I will have grand expectations for you."
"Yes, sir, thank you." I smile. Turning my head to look at Theo, I give him a small smile and a wink. His eyes widen slightly, but that's all the reaction I get from him.Take that, you schmuck.
After the class gets going, there are no more inquiries from the kings, but I can feel them each watching me. It's like little ants crawling up my skin. I look over and catch Mateo intently looking at me. A strangle look of pondering on his face.
Carter’s eyes are just fixated on my knee-high covered legs. His gaze is so unnerving that I want to smooth my hand down my skirt to make sure he can’t see up the damn thing, but doing so would show weakness, so I force myself to stay my hand. Just then, Raegan passes me a note under the desk.
Huh, people still do the note thing; what are we in, the 90s? I open the note, trying to hide it under the lip of the desk so Mr. Countham doesn't catch a glimpse.
Digits? -Finn
Reading the note, I raise my head and stare past Raegan and Theo to where Finn is sitting. He catches me looking and gives me a panty-wetting smile. I nod my head to Raegan and motion to the note. Once she reads it, she smirks, her eyes bright with mischief, and mouths, "Well?"
Is he for real? Digits? He’ll be lucky if I don't give him a damn tombstone number.Well, I guess if we are going to play this out, then I might as well make it fun. I write back to Finn on the note:
Sorry, stranger danger and all, I don't give out my number to people I don't know.
Guess I'll have to get to know you first…
-M.
I pass the note back to Raegan, who throws it in Theo's lap when the teacher’s distracted. I watch for Theo & Finn's reactions as they read the note. Finn immediately stares up and gives me a smile.
Theo gives a dark look like he's contemplating the meaning of the note and reading into it.Go ahead, read into it, you chump.
Just then I feel fingertips brush my hand on the tabletop, the feeling so slight that I almost think I imagined it. I look sideways and see Mateo smiling at me. “Did you just touch me?”
“Maybe? I just wanted to see if your skin was as soft as it looked.” He shrugs like it’s normal to go around touching other people uninvited. “I would love an opportunity to touch other parts of you Mia.” He smirks.
Unbelievable. They desire to just slap him races through my body, but before I can react, Raegan grabs my hand and pulls it under the table in a strong grip. “Don’t murder him yet, there will be time for that later,” she whispers.
I get myself under control and she releases my hand. I don’t bother looking back at Mateo, knowing if I do, my anger will rise again. Thank God for my Raegan, my ride or die, someone has to ensure my temper doesn’t have me going off plan.
After class, Raegan and I grab our things from our lockers and head out to the parking lot where my light gray Range Rover Sport is sitting. Passing Spencer on the stairs, Raegan and I stop to chat with him for a bit before heading to my car. As we approach, I see Carter leaning against the bumper, and the other three kings—sans Melinda—standing close by. I give Raegan a wink, which she rolls her eyes at.
"Carter, what are you doing?" I ask as we approach the vehicle.
"Waiting on you, blondie." He gives me his best seductive smile, which has a momentary effect on my ability to think clearly.That boy is stupid good looking, I have to keep reminding myself of the villain underneath all that impressive façade.
"How'd you know that was her car?" Raegan demands, full of snark, arms crossed over her chest, head tilted to the side like she can't wait to hear what's going to come out of his mouth. These kings better watch out, they think Raegan is this quiet, timid little pushover, but she’s not. She’s a witty, sarcastic firecracker with a huge protective instinct and with me by her side, they’re about to see how fearless she really is.
"Don't you worry about that VP's daughter; I got my ways." He moves away from the bumper and approaches us slowly.
"Interesting…" I let slip as he approaches, I move around him and unlock the car doors. Just as I open my back-passenger door to throw my school bag into. I'm pinned against the side of the car, the door slams shut, almost taking my fingers with it. A much larger hard body pushes my front against the vehicle, his body flush against my back and his scent assaulting my nose.
