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“Yes, I am. Be careful, little fawn. There are beasts crawling in these hallways. I wouldn’t want to see you get eaten.”

Suddenly, I found my resolve and maybe a little of my lost mind.

“Are you out of your mind? Who the hell do you think you are?” While I tried to push away from him, he had me crowded against the wall, one leg casually pressed against mine. He wrapped his hand around my throat for a second time, and I felt a hitch in my chest, panic rising to the surface. Once again, I refused to provide him with a second of satisfaction that he’d unnerved me, glaring in his eyes with utter defiance. Everything about him screamed control and power, the corded muscles in his neck straining.

“I’m one of the hosts for the evening. It would seem you’ve been a naughty guest, snooping where you don’t belong. The things you could see might make you go blind.”

There was no doubt Jonas had seen my face. Another trickle of fear pounded my system, but I refused to let Weston see how scared I was. At this point, the objective was to get the hell out of here in one piece. “I was looking for my friend. Maybe you’re right in that one of your Neanderthal assholes plans on eating her.”

He laughed, finally releasing his hold on my neck. I took a deep breath, mesmerized by what appeared to be a luminescent glow in his eyes. However, the look on his face was pure evil.

“Nah, darlin’. Kennedy already belongs to us. She knows we can do anything we want. We own her.”

Jesus. The sense of entitlement was worse than I was used to, even at a school where the kids wore an attitude like an allowance given their stature in life. “You can’t own a person, or did you skip out on your history lessons? You certainly don’t appear that intelligent.” I knew I was pressing my luck, but maybe if I ruffled his feathers, he’d leave me alone since I refused to be one of his groupies.

The look of amusement on his face faded. “I suggest you watch your mouth.”

“Why? I can do and say anything I want since I’m a free woman.”

He pulled away a few feet, and I took that as the single chance I’d get to run. I didn’t make it more than three feet before he snagged my arm, yanking me toward him with my back against his chest. As he ground his hips, pressing his throbbing cock into my bottom, I hissed, doing what I could to elbow him.

“I’ve been patient so far, sweet Ava , but a man can only handle so much. I suggest you learn your place.”

--


Ava

This was getting serious, more so than I understood.

What unnerved me the most about Weston was how aloof he was, as if manhandling a stranger was just a typical day in his world. The traitorous sparks continued to swarm my core, the electrified heat unwanted yet impossible to ignore.

Weston continued glaring at me with an impassive, lecherous desire. He truly believed I was his for the taking.

“My place? Let me go, or I’ll have you arrested.” I realized my threat meant nothing to him. When he laughed, the sound reverberating in my ears, I shivered uncontrollably.

“You have a lot to learn, but your training starts now.” He kept me in his clutches, my struggles meaning nothing as he led me down a different hallway to a set of stairs. There was no way I was getting out of his hold. When he jerked me into the stairwell, he pushed me against the wall, gripping my chin. “And baby, as of right now, you belong to us.”

Us.

Who was he talking about—the entire house, or the particular group of men Kennedy had warned me about too late? I glared him in the eye, doing everything I could to keep from showing any fear. The bastard didn’t deserve a single emotion other than rage. “I don’t think you have any idea who my family is.” While Weston was extraordinarily gorgeous, there was a detachment in his eyes that kept a cold shiver flowing through every inch of my body.

As if he had no conscience.

“I assure you that we know everything there is to know about you, including the adorable mole just under your left breast.”

“What did you say?” Had the bastard been watching me? Oh, my God. The Maria petal. I almost choked on the realization that I’d been one hundred percent right.

“You look particularly delicious in your pink nightie, and I do so love the flamingo shower curtain you girls selected. Girlie and innocent. Is that what you are, little pet?”

Now I couldn’t stop shaking. He and his disgusting friends had stalked me. They’d gone through my things. They’d had cameras installed. Oh, God. Nothing had been sacred. I chewed on my inner cheek to keep from making a single sound, a feat I was certain I couldn’t maintain. Why did I have a horrible feeling Kennedy had allowed them inside? No. I refused to believe that about my friend. We’d talked about boys and our future and how many kids we wanted to have, lamenting over our controlling parents. She wouldn’t do that to me. That meant the three Elite members she’d warned me about were more dangerous than I’d thought. The question remained. What did they want from me? A plan so extravagant couldn’t be just about sex.

While I was paralyzed with horror at a reality that seemed far removed from anything that could possibly occur, he laughed.

The sound was dark, angry, and very seductive. When he lowered his head, his lips only centimeters away, I bit down on the lower one until I tasted blood. Weston didn’t react right away. Then he jerked his head back, issuing a low, throaty growl.

“Bad little pet. You’re going to pay for that.” He wiped his thumb through the drops of blood, shoving it into his mouth and acting as if he was sipping nectar from the gods. “As far as the fucker who spawned you. I assure you, princess, that he can’t save you. We are far more powerful than daddy dearest.”

A prickle of heat mixed with the increasing fury. There it was. The reason for the charade. The hatred of my father was evident. But why? He didn’t run in the same circles. He was a good man who had happened to make a fortune. The vile determination in Weston’s voice kept my stomach in knots. Challenging him would mean nothing.

After laughing again, he pulled me up the stairs with enough force that I tripped several times. By the time he got to a door on the fourth floor, I was in a panic, fighting him with everything I had.

He was too strong for me and pushed me into a room without much trouble.

“Our lioness had arrived at our lair,” Weston chortled.

Two other men were inside, one of them Christian. Weston released his hold, shoving me further into the room, then standing in front of the door.

The third man that I’d seen but hadn’t talked to studied me intently, his eyes full of the same hunger I’d seen in the other two. They were also just as hypnotizing, drawing me into a level of darkness that yanked at the already lit fire in my core. I would never understand nor forgive myself for my body’s reaction. However, whatever they had in mind had nothing to do with passion. Their determination was all about power and complete control.

And revenge.

I felt it in my bones.

He had a sharpness about him that made it feel as if a cold arctic blast had shot through the room. He looked at me as anyone would when regarding a possible purchase.

To him, I was nothing but something to be owned.

“Well. Well. The little lioness bites,” the third guy said after glancing at Weston’s lip, his deep voice resonating in vibrating jabs.

“Yeah, I do. You should see what I can do with my fists,” I responded, backing as far away from them as possible. I’d spouted the words without thinking. Now, my heart was in my throat, a crushing boulder threatening to suffocate me.

When the three of them laughed, I shivered visibly. The third guy swaggered closer until he was only a few inches away. “My name is Clinton Cross, Ava . I’ve been waiting for a very long time to make your acquaintance.”

“I wish I could say I’d paid any attention to you at all. You’re just not noteworthy.” Of course, I’d seen him before, all three of them. They were impossible to miss as they strolled through the campus together, shoving aside anyone who’d dared get in their way. But something nagged at the back of my mind. Then I remembered. I’d literally run into Clinton on my first day. He’d been helpful, including managing to find my dorm room. As his dark eyes assessed me, I realized his assistance had been nothing but a ploy.

“Is that really the truth, lovely Ava ? I’ve noticed how you watch us cross the campus. I’ve seen the clear look of lust in your eyes.”

He wasn’t wrong, all three men being the things my darkest fantasies were made of. “Then you need to get your eyes checked.”

The three of them laughed is if watching a comedian on stage.

“I decided this is the perfect moment for the three of us to claim you.” Clinton was obviously in control.

“You mean, you’ve been stalking me.”

The corners of his lips turned up, and he raked his heated gaze down to my toes. He was just as gorgeous as the other two, sophisticated in a way most twenty-two-year-old boys couldn’t be. He appeared older, the dark, curly hair thick, the stubble crossing his angular jaw adding to a sense of danger and seduction. As if sensing I was attracted to him, the moment he eased his lingering look upward, he stopped on my breasts, dragging his tongue across his sensual lips.

“We do anything we want to those we own.”

God, the arrogance was disgusting.

“As I told your buddy, you can’t own a human. You’re not just an asshole but a fool if you think you’ll get away with keeping me for any length of time. My father will see to it that this house and every member of the Elite is expelled. And I’ll be there when they toss your asses outside the pearly little gates.”

Clinton obviously didn’t like my smile or my sense of humor. He grabbed my arm, twisting it around my back as he pulled me against his heated body. “That can’t happen if you’re locked inside a cage, but I’m getting ahead of myself. First, you’re going to be punished for your egregious actions. Going where you don’t belong inside this house will only provide you with answers you won’t like. But afterwards, if you’re a good girl, we’ll teach you what rapturous pleasure is all about.”

“You’re out of your mind.” When he dragged me onto my toes, fisting the back of my hair, I reacted without thinking, spitting in his face. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”

Clinton closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring. He kept his fingers tangled in my hair, freeing my arm as he wiped the glob of saliva from his face. When he opened his eyelids, the deep gray I’d seen before drifted into obsidian black, the snarl he wore cold and calculated. I expected him to backhand me or worse. What I didn’t expect was the smile crossing his face.

“I like this girl very much. More than I should. I think all three of us will enjoy playing with our new pet tremendously.”