I cross my arms. “And that’s not a ridiculous thing to say. It’s not normal to belong to someone, especially when you don’t even want them to belong to you.”
Hunter looks at me like he finds me absolutely entertaining. “First of all, we do want you to belong to us. Zay is just full of shit. And second, when you’re in our circle, you will belong to us.”
I start to tell him that I’m not technically in their circle, but Hunter cuts me off.
“You’ll officially be in it today after you take the oath.” The edges of his lips curve upward. “And then you’ll belong to us, and we’ll belong to you. That’s how it works, little raven.”
“Then, doesn’t that mean you guys belong to each other, too?” I question with a snarky grin, figuring that’ll get them to stop, that these tough-ass guys won’t want me saying they belong to each other.
But Zay says nothing, while Hunter merely shrugs.
“Yeah,” he says, unbothered.
Well, okay then …
I rack my mind for a better comeback but come up blank.
Damn, I really need to start eating breakfast and drinking coffee in the morning to wake myself the hell up. The problem is, nine times out of ten, my uncle is in the kitchen, and I’d rather starve and be deprived of caffeine than willingly go into a room that he’s in.
“It’s part of the rules,” Hunter adds with an adorable lopsided grin. “That we belong to each other.”
“What other rules are there?” I ask, recalling how they mentioned rules several times yesterday, yet only one was specified.
“A lot of other stupid ones,” Hunter sulks but then wavers. “Well, not all of them are stupid. But the new ones Jax made up last night are.”
“Do I get to know these rules?” I shift in the seat. “Or are you guys gonna just keep on tiptoeing around them?”
“Yeah, you get to know them.” Jax appears by the open door. He nudges Hunter out of the way, ducks his head into the car, and then slides into the seat beside me. “Because you’re going to follow them, too.”
My brow teases upward. “I don’t remember ever agreeing to that.”
He reclines in the seat. “Being in this car means you’re agreeing to it. It also means you’ve agreed to be in our circle.” He says it like that’s that and there’s no arguing. Apparently, he’s never been around a girl like me before.
I rotate in the seat toward him. “I never asked you guys to pick me up this morning.”
He stares at me without a drop of emotion in his eyes, which makes his gaze unnerving. I refuse to look away, though, even though he’s making me feel kind of squirrely.
He might be the hardest person to read ever.
“You know what? You’re right.” With his gaze welded to mine, he slams his hand against the back of the seat right as Hunter is leaning it back. Then he shoves it forward.
“What the hell, Jax?” Hunter gapes at him as he jumps back out of the car.
Jax’s gaze remains welded to mine. “I think it stops at the end of the driveway. Am I right, Zay?”
“I’m not sure.” Zay picks up his phone from off the middle of the seat. “I can look it up.”
I know I should just drop it and be grateful that I don’t have to ride the bus, but their bossiness drags the stubbornness out of me. I might really be a freak ’cause part of me kind of gets off on this.
“You don’t need to look it up, Zay. I know where the bus stop is.” I keep my gaze on Jax as I signal for him to move out of my way with a flick of my wrist. “Let me out. I’ve got a bus to catch.”
“Stubborn fucking girl,” Zay mutters, tossing his phone onto the seat beside him.
Jax stares at me for a beat. “Fine. If you want to get out, then get out. No one’s stopping you.” A challenge glints in his eyes as he remains where he is and crosses his arms.
And I desperately want to win that challenge. I’m not even sure why, other than I hate being bossed around. It’s become my life, and I’m getting so tired of it. Tired of being controlled. So, lifting my chin defiantly, I kneel up on the seat, turn around, and swing my leg over his lap to climb over him. When I smack my head on the roof, I grimace.
Smooth,