Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,74

I recognize relief when I see it. Then he claps me on the back and says, “You got it.” And walks off, calling out, “Cades, my sweet little sparkly tart. You wanna play strip poker with me? I like that suit. Fucking flashy, babe. But I like what’s underneath better.”

Dante almost loses his shit as he starts walking towards Ax with both hands out, looking like a total asshole and spewing threats to back him up.

I laugh. I can’t help it.

Because Ax—that dude lives by his own set of rules.

It’s why he’s on my team.

He’s an out-of-the-box thinker if ever there was one.

And between him and Meat, Dante hasn’t got a chance in hell of getting a moment alone with Cadee.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - CADEE

I want to hate Cooper Valcourt. I really do.

I want to rail against him. And blame him. And hold him responsible for every bad thing that’s happening during the two-week period I spend wearing Mona’s surrogate shoes.

But I can’t rail, or blame, or hold him any more responsible than anyone else involved in this rush. Including myself.

Because we are just doing our best.

And while the bodyguards don’t erase anything that’s happening, they do make it tolerable.

Dante, however, is a resourceful little fuck. And he takes advantage of every free moment when I’m not being watched. He uses every opportunity during our two weeks together to torment me and put me in my place.

And he does it well. I will give him that. He is an opportunist to the nth degree.

So here’s how challenge one shakes out for me.

During the day we spend our time at the pool. Or inside the Glass House. Sometimes we go other places in the woods—he took me to the tomb once. Thought he was going to take me inside, but the bodyguard had other ideas, and then Cooper appeared and shoved Dante back to the Glass House while I tagged along behind them.

But for the most part we just sit out at the pool.

Most of the boys are enjoying their partners. They get a game of chicken going and they play in the water. They swing mallets at croquet balls. Eat long, leisurely lunches. It’s actually not a bad time.

If you’re one of them.

Because Valentina was right. Maybe Ax gave the boys the same speech about making us partners, because those boys seem pretty happy. Even Sophie and Michael have a pretty good time. He holds her hand and serves her drinks and little finger snacks. He tells her she looks nice and they take long walks together. She still shows up every morning with a too-red blotchy face. But she settles. And eventually, sometime around noon, she even laughs at Michael’s dumb jokes.

Even Ivan and Elexa seem to be enjoying themselves. They don’t hold hands or take long walks—and Ivan is a little crude for my tastes—but Elexa didn’t sic her bodyguard on him when he slapped her ass as he asked for a beer on day three. She seemed fine with it. At the very least, she made her peace. And even though Ivan’s words aren’t pretty, I can tell he has respect for Elexa. He’s not going to push her to suck his dick at night—even though Elexa sent her bodyguard back to Mona on day five and I’m pretty sure she is sucking his dick at night now. Ivan and Elexa have come to an agreement that they are in this together.

Maddie and Natasha seem to tolerate Jamie and Roland. They don’t commit quite so much, but there is no drama.

Dante and I, however… yeah.

That’s drama.

He just has it out for me. Bad.

Every day there is an incident. Every day I’m thankful for that bodyguard. And every day Dante reminds me that I don’t belong and that when he gets to the end of the summer and finishes the first rite, he will show me—and Cooper, by extension—how much power he really wields.

I try not to roll my eyes at him, but most of the time I can’t hold it in.

However, I am a little worried about the words ‘first rite.’

Not for me. I’m not going to the final ceremony at the tomb with the other girls. That will be Mona’s job.

But Ax is always somewhere close by when we’re at the Glass House. So he and I have gotten close again. He mostly lives to make Dante’s life miserable and I don’t interfere. But every now and then he’ll take a break and sit next to me