Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,86

Water clung to her lashes, dripping like tears beneath those big blue eyes. Hell, there were probably real tears mixed in there too.

Her lips parted, but no words came out and for a moment I wondered if we’d broken her so soon. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work. She was supposed to keep bouncing back, fighting, denying us, driving us all crazy as fuck. At least that was what I wanted from this. Saint probably did want her broken and Blake just wanted to punish her for his grief.

“Come on, baby,” I said, offering her my hand, my tone almost touching on soft. I was a damn guardian angel right now, come to rescue her from the dark. Those assholes just got drunk and would have left her out here, but not me.

She hesitated for a long moment before extending a trembling hand to me.

I reached for her, her ice cold fingers completely enveloped in mind. I couldn’t say I remembered holding hands with a girl before now. And this wasn’t how it tended to look in the movies either. Usually there were goofy smiles and blushes and feelings. But here I was, the monster who’d done this to her, standing in the rain and offering to let her live like it was some great act of kindness. Unfortunately for her, kindness didn’t come into it. I was just being practical. What was the point in owning a girl if I didn’t look after her too? She was mine now. Which meant I wouldn’t let bad things happen to her. At least not bad things like dying. And she could rest safe knowing that no fucker in this school would so much as look at her, let alone hurt her unless it was one of us.

I pulled her to her feet and she fell against my chest as her frozen legs failed to hold her up.

“I got you,” I promised, catching her beneath her thighs and sweeping her into my arms. I swear to all that was holy, this really was like one of those movies. Didn’t they always go running to each other in a storm? I mean, I’d taken a casually paced stroll and she’d just waited beneath a tree, but aside from that, this shit was the same. Fucking poetic.

She curled against me, freezing fingers pressing to my skin and I found I didn’t mind that at all. Sure, she was just using me for my body heat, but I was still the hero in this. And I couldn’t say I’d ever played any part aside from the villain before this moment.

I walked quickly, heading up the long path which circled the campus as I took the most direct route to the Cypress Gym.

Monroe had gotten me a key cut sophomore year after he realised it was safer to trust me with access to a punching bag at all times than to risk me using the other students’ faces whenever I lost my shit. Which was incredibly often.

Tatum stayed silent aside from the chattering of her teeth as we ascended the hill and I carried her all the way to the gym with the rain still hammering down. I managed to hook the key from my bag as we arrived and I unlocked the building before carrying her inside and locking it again to make sure we weren’t disturbed.

The scent of chlorine assaulted me as I walked down the dark corridors towards the pool.

Tatum peeled herself away from my chest as she looked around with a frown.

“W-why are we here?” she asked and I was pleased to hear her voice.

“Gotta warm you up,” I said. “And I thought it would be nice for us to get better acquainted. Seeing as you’re mine now and all.”

She didn’t dignify that with a response, but I felt her posture tighten at my words. Better get used to it, baby.

I knocked open the door to the pool room and the low, blue lights they left on in here overnight filled the space.

Tatum was still shivering in my arms, but it was already less than it had been.

I skirted the pool and headed for the hot tub and sauna on the far side of it. They shut the sauna down overnight so it was gonna have to be the tub.

I set her down on the tiles beside the huge round tub and casually flipped the lid off of it. I hit it a little too hard and the damn thing