In the Arms of the Elite (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #4) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,47

that,” I manage to whisper as Tristan exhales against my ear, rubbing against me. He’s so close to breaking, so damn close. I want him inside of me so badly. I hate that he’s been with other girls and not me. I hate that he’s been with Lizzie. The thought makes me sick. “You like it when I’m a smart-ass.”

“You’re so infuriating,” he whispers, nuzzling against me. “I don’t understand you and your mentality at all. You don’t like money, and you don’t care about status. You memorize ridiculous formulas, and you defend monsters like Harper du Pont. Who are you, and where did you come from?”

“Marnye Elizabeth Reed, from the wrong side of the tracks,” I say, and Tristan yanks me even harder against him. He’s going to be difficult to handle, I imagine. He might be dark in the bedroom. I don’t care. I seriously don’t care. “At your service.”

“Huh, right,” Tristan scoffs, pushing away from me just before the door opens and one of the chemistry teachers walks in—I can’t remember her name, but she waves and smiles at me anyway. Clearly, she can’t see how worked-up I am right now, how hard my nipples are under my black button-up, how wet my panties are. Thank God that lady boners are invisible, right? “At my service. You only heel to one leash, Marnye, and that’s your own. Get the fuck out of here, and let me finish my work.”

Tristan reaches around me to snatch the pencil, spins it around and carefully erases the erroneous four on his paper. I smirk as I straighten my skirt out, turning around and walking backwards for a moment, like a total badass.

“Have fun writing up that physics report with a massive boner,” I say, and then I slam right into the chemistry teacher—that’s right, her name is Miss Terrenova—making her grunt.

“Massive boner?” she asks, and my face flames with heat. “Miss Reed, is that really appropriate conversation to be having in a place of learning?”

“Actually Miss Terrenova, I feel uncomfortable with her in here, like she’s trying to fuck me with her eyes.”

“Mr. Vanderbilt,” Miss Terrenova scolds, but she shoos me out the door anyway, my face flaming. Lizzie’s still there, waiting to escort me back to my room, but she looks confused, like she expected one thing to happen between me and Tristan … and got another.

“Let’s go,” I choke out, before I embarrass myself any further.

I can only take so much humiliation for one day.

Somehow, I figured when I turned eighteen, I’d magically become an adult and seem cool somehow.

Far from it: I feel more awkward than I ever have in my life, like a queen with a plastic crown.

Now, if someone would just reach out and help me fix it …

When Dad shows up for Parents’ Week, I excuse myself to the bathroom and hyperventilate.

He looks so bad … like, really, really bad.

“He’s going to die,” I whisper when Zack comes in and curves his arms around me, holding me from behind in the ladies’ restroom while fat tears drip down my face, and my body shakes with a sudden rush of adrenaline. Find a cure, save him, it screams, but how can I? What can I do? “Zack, he’s going to die.”

“Nothing is for certain, Marnye,” he tells me, his strong voice pulling me back from the edge just enough that I manage to turn around in his arms. He’s got his jersey on again, and I’m back in my uniform for one of the most important games of the year.

Tonight, there are going to be scouts in the audience.

And one of them’s from Bornstead.

So far as I know, it’s possible each one of these five assholes is considering going to the same college as me. Somehow, that makes things even harder. If they all applied to my school, and I don’t pick them … is that a betrayal somehow?

I swipe my arm across my face, but I feel tired. Sort of like Windsor looks nowadays. I’m still worried about him.

“You saw him Zack, you know him.” He narrows his eyes and tightens that full, lush mouth of his into a thin line. Even his sporty grapefruit smell can’t rouse me from the dark depths I’m swimming in. “He looks like a skeleton. He shouldn’t even be here, he should be resting, he—”

“He wants to see his daughter perform, Marnye,” Zack says, lifting my chin up and looking into my eyes. “Your dad is here, regardless of