the fucking coward he is. Cassian immediately moves to follow him, but Lucas grips his arm, pulling him to a stop.
“Don’t,” he warns softly. “It’s not worth it.” A wide smile erupts on his face, chasing the cold from his eyes, as he stares after Emmett’s retreating back. “The coward will get what he deserves sooner rather than later.” As if coming out of a daze, Lucas shakes his head before turning towards me and extending his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman escorting his girl to a ball. He ignores a fuming Mariabella completely. “Come. We need to get to class.”
“Are you okay?” I ask Mari, ignoring Lucas for the time being.
“Yeah.” Her jaw clenches. “I don’t know what his problem is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Emmett drunk in his life.”
“Some guys are just assholes,” Cassian replies as he slings an arm over my shoulder once more. I’m beginning to realize that out of all the guys, Cassian demands the most physical affection. Hugs, casual touches, chaste kisses. I’m sure if I would allow him, he would fuck me in front of the entire school, if only to prove to them that I’m his.
And he’s mine.
“You do see the irony of that, don’t you?” Mariabella retorts, giving him a narrowed-eyed glare. He scoffs.
“I’m a reformed man now, Mari.” He ruffles her hair like a parent would a toddler. “Get with the program.”
With one last glare at my…umm…boyfriend? Friend? Acquittance? Enemy? Mariabella turns towards me and offers me a one-armed hug.
“I need to go. See you at practice.” She glares at the guys, waves goodbye to me, and then stalks down the hall towards her sixth hour. I swear she’s the only person alive who would dare to go toe to toe with the Devils.
And live to talk about it.
Maybe Karsyn will beat their asses if they ever disrespect her, or maybe they know how much she means to me. Either way, Mariabella is immune to their wrath.
I wrench my gaze off of my friend and focus on Lucas, surprised to see his arm still extended the same way it was a minute ago.
“Shall we?” he asks, and after only a moment, I place my hand in the crook of his elbow and allow him to guide me to class.
Chapter 48
After cheer practice, I exit the school to see all four guys waiting for me in front of Elias’s Jeep. Even Karsyn, whose football practice got canceled when the head coach came down with the flu.
My eyes wander over all four of them, marveling how lucky I am to…
To be dating all four of them.
The thought slips into my head unbidden, and I immediately try to stomp on it, refusing to stop until it’s nothing but guts and blood. Because I’m not dating all of them. There is one Devil that I refuse to even think about like that—Lucas fucking Scott.
“Hey, baby!” Cassian’s eyes glimmer like we’re sharing an inside joke. I suppose, in a way, that we are. I bite my lip as I remember how his cock felt sliding in and out of me, how his huge hands felt tangled in my hair and pulling at my breasts, how his lips felt on my skin.
“We thought we could hang out for a little bit,” Karsyn confesses as he pulls me against his chest. Is this going to be our thing now? Casual, intimate touches? Despite years of ingrained hatred towards the Devils, I can’t deny how badly I want this. All of this.
“Like a date,” interjects Elias as he slides his fingers through his shoulder-length hair. He grabs an elastic off of his wrist and quickly piles the silky strands into a bun at the nape of his neck. I don’t know which look I find sexier on him—the unruly, disheveled one that makes me think of bad boys and motorcycles, or this one, where only a few wayward curls frame his strong jawline and chiseled cheekbones.
“A date,” I repeat as Lucas wordlessly takes my backpack from me. “With all of you?” My eyes drift to Lucas before I can stop them, and he winces. It’s barely perceptible, a slight twitch in his features, but it’s enough for me to see that my words unwittingly hurt him. But like always, he covers up his emotions with a droll, almost bored look.
“I can go somewhere else, if you wish,” he states expressionlessly.
“If you wish,” Cassian mocks with an eye roll. “What century is this, man?”
Lucas stiffens ever so