Elite (Eagle Elite) - By Rachel Van Dyken Page 0,22

already the type of girl that got really moody when I couldn’t eat. The waiter had already disappeared.

I was going to be late for class.

The rest of the day slipped by. My only companion was the growling in my stomach. And yes I was aware how pathetic I was being. I was actually quite thrilled to be invisible considering the happenings of this morning.

And then Lucifer decided to make an appearance. It was like he appeared out of thin air. I mean, I guess I was looking at the ground. But still, the minute my eyes snapped up, there he was — icy stare full of beautiful sin.

I sighed and put my hand out on my jutted hip.

“There were rumors you didn’t get lunch.”

My eyebrow arched. “Rumors, huh? Well, alert the authorities. Oh wait, I forgot, you’re what? The judge, jury, and—”

“—Stop.” He said it so low I almost didn’t hear the words. Nixon walked toward me. I had nowhere to go but backward down the hall, and really that just seemed like a waste of time, so I tried to sidestep him.

His muscular arm popped out of nowhere, nearly bruising my windpipe in the process. “I’m speaking to you.”

“And I’m leaving.”

“Just…” He scratched his head and then did something totally out of character.

Nixon smiled.

My heart skipped a beat, or maybe seven. I lost track when I stopped breathing like a normal human being.

Without me even realizing it, he had pulled me to the side of the hall and was pinning me against the tiny alcove in the wall. Great, nobody to witness my death.

“Eat,” he urged.

My mouth snapped open to say something snotty, but the minute it did, he forced a granola bar into it.

My stomach growled with joy and my embarrassment skyrocketed as he looked down and smirked. “See? I knew you were hungry.”

I took a bite and pulled the granola bar out of my mouth. “Of course I was hungry, you ass! I was in the Red Cafeteria! I half-expected to be eaten myself in that place, and they don’t serve meat. NO MEAT, Nixon! Some cow has to live another day because the people in there eat tofu! Do you even know what that stuff is made out of?”

His eyes widened. He opened his mouth but I poked him in the chest. He flushed and then jolted away.

“And let me tell you something else. I did not sleep with Tim! Well, I may have slept, but I definitely didn’t touch his— And, and… I—”

His eyebrows rose as I lost my train of thought. He licked his lips and leaned forward. “Oh do continue. I love getting reprimanded. You gonna spank me later too?”

I felt my nostrils flare, but of course my stomach hadn’t forgotten it was starving, which of course made Nixon laugh harder. “Good Lord, woman! Just eat the damn granola bar and say thank you!”

Thank you? Did he want me to thank him for what just transpired over the past twenty-four hours?

And suddenly I remembered. I hadn’t seen him last night. That was all Phoenix and a bit of Chase. Bastard.

“Where were you last night?”

Nixon’s smile froze on his face. “I gotta run.”

“Wait.” I grabbed his arm. His muscles flexed beneath my fingers.

I noticed as light tremble in his arm as he jerked away. “Please.” His eyes closed briefly. “Don’t touch me.”

And then he was gone.

Chapter Ten

I wish I could say my days got easier. That after the granola bar incident everything was peachy. For the rest of the week the Red Cafeteria still served nothing but tofu and vegetarian options. By Friday the following week, I made a mental note to go grocery shopping for snacks that weekend the minute classes were over.

Luckily, the notes had stopped.

Well, actually it wasn’t necessarily lucky, because that meant I had to eat whatever was in front of me. I decided that tofu burgers weren’t so bad if you bathed them in ketchup, which I did every day. I even closed my eyes in hopes that God would sense my plight and turn my tofu into a giant cow.

I was just finishing my burger on Friday when someone approached my table. Yes, I was still sitting alone.

“Can I help you?” I asked sweetly.

The girl leaned forward until her boobs almost spilled out of her white button up shirt. “Yes. I was told to give you this.” She thrust a note into my face and waited for me to take it.

My fingers gripped the small white paper. Carefully