When I reach my dorm though, all thoughts of how good the guys smell evaporate from my mind. While I was taking my time showering and getting cleaned up, Alyssa and the others made their next move.
All my stuff sits in the hallway outside the room.
I know without even trying it that the door will be locked. Their message is as clear as if they’d scrawled it on the wall in red paint. You’re not welcome here. And they didn’t even bother to pack my things up before they moved me out. Shirts and clothes are spilled everywhere, all my worldly belongings piled up haphazardly. I just hope they didn’t break anything.
Well, fine. Fuck these bitches. They don’t want me here, and frankly, I don’t want to live with them either. If they think I’m going to cry or beg to stay, they really don’t get me at all. Besides, I know of a place where I will be welcome.
I start gathering my things and packing them into my bags properly, taking special care with the photographs. As I zip the last suitcase closed, I notice something is missing—they forgot to take my mom’s painting off the wall.
Steeling myself, I knock on the door. Alyssa opens it with a placid, triumphant smile on her face. The effect is only slightly dampened by the purple and blue half-circle under her eye.
“Yes?” she asks in a falsely sweet voice.
She’s probably expecting me to pitch a fit, maybe to attack her again. In fact, I bet she’s counting on it. She’d probably love to turn my eviction from our dorm room into a chance to get me booted from the whole school for fighting. But I won’t give her the damn satisfaction.
Instead, I just point behind her. “You forgot something.”
She turns to look, confused, and I slip past her.
“Hey!” she yelps.
I walk past Megan, Cristina, and Kendal, who gape at me. Then I take the painting off the wall. “Just fetching this,” I tell them.
A stunned silence fills the room as I walk past Alyssa again and finish packing up my things.
“Where are you going?” Kendal finally blurts out, a confused look on her face.
“Not sure why you care,” I reply. “But don’t worry. I’m going. You don’t have to live with me anymore.”
All packed once more, I lug my suitcases away, leaving the four of them staring after me in silence. Ha. That’ll take the wind out of their sails.
Cam answers the door to the room he shares with Dmitri and Asher, and his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline when he sees me. I must be quite a sight. My dark brown hair is still slightly damp from the shower, I’m going commando under the men’s clothes, and I’m awkwardly hauling three suitcases.
“Oh shit.” He bites his lip. “You look like you’ve had a day and a half, Sin.”
“Don’t ask. Thanks for the shirt, by the way.” I peer behind him. “Long story short, I’m out of house and home. Mind if I crash with you guys for a while?”
“Not at all,” Cam says, grinning.
“Yes,” Dmitri grunts from behind him.
“Overruled,” Asher adds.
“Great.” I nod at Cam in thanks as he helps take my bags and leads me into the room toward the empty bed. “You’ll hardly even know I’m here, Dmitri.”
“It’s against the rules,” the surly man replies, folding his arms and glaring at me.
I meet his gaze head on. “Do I look like I give a fuck about the rules?”
Something that might actually be respect flickers in his dark eyes, and he moves slowly toward me. My skin heats, but I don’t back down even a step.
“So long as you’re willing to accept the consequences,” he murmurs in a low voice.
Holy fuck. I know he’s talking about getting busted by the admins, but it sounds like something else—as if the consequences of living with these three men is going to be something very dirty. And like he’s got every intention of helping carry out those “consequences.”
I hope my voice doesn’t betray any of the thoughts and images racing through my mind. My damn overactive imagination is coming up with some very… interesting scenarios, and it’s making my whole body flush.
“I am.” Meeting his gaze, I keep my voice steady. “It’s hardly worth complaining to the school administration. More than likely, they’d give Alyssa a slap on the wrist and just make us keep rooming together. It’s a toxic environment already, and that would only make