Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,128

darting along my flesh. “Say that again,” I half groaned and his eyes flashed with heat.

“Rip. Them. Apart,” he gave me what I wanted and I let my head fall back as a full groan fell from my lips. He released a wicked laugh then pointed to the mat. “We can talk while we stretch.”

“Sure,” I agreed then bent over to touch my toes, hoping to make him look at me. Because screw it. If the Night Keepers weren’t going to let anyone touch me, I could at least fantasise about my hot P.E. teacher from time to time. And I was more than happy to give him some reasons to fantasise about me too. Though when I glanced at him, he was pointedly not looking. And I guessed it had been stupid to think a teacher would want me like that.

I soon dropped down to sit and stretch my legs and Monroe joined me on the floor. “Tell me everything,” I asked of him and he drew in a long breath.

“I’ll start with Kyan as I know him best,” he said and I nodded eagerly. “I train him here pretty regularly. Fighting is about the only thing he’ll dedicate his full attention to. He’s a thrill chaser. If he sees some shiny new way to get a high, he’ll jump at it.”

I nodded, releasing a bitter laugh. “Like chaining a new pet?”

“Yeah,” Monroe growled, his jaw ticking before he went on. “As for his weaknesses? He’s only got one.”

“What’s that?” I was all ears, half tempted to crawl over to Monroe and curl up in his lap like I was listening to the best bedtime story of my life.

“He’s… lonely,” Monroe revealed and I frowned in surprise. He almost seemed hesitant to say it like he felt some loyalty to Kyan and I wondered if those sessions they spent together had bonded them more than he wanted to admit.

“Are you sure?” I questioned. “He’s got his friends.”

Monroe nodded firmly. “Yeah, but he’s constantly trying to fill the void that lives in him with fast motorbikes, bare-knuckle fighting and dirty fucks.”

My mouth dried out at that last one and I couldn’t help my body from reacting a little. Kyan may have been my enemy, but I could bet he was one hell of a lay.

I nodded slowly, stashing all of that information away for later. “What does that mean for me?”

“He needs a girl who can fill that space, he just doesn’t know it yet,” Monroe said, his gaze dripping down me.

I scowled, my walls slamming into place. “I’m not going to screw him if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“Trust me, I’m not suggesting that, princess,” he purred in a deadly sort of tone that reminded me Monroe had a darkness of his own living in him. “But if you get him hooked on you, make him fall for you until he’s begging, he’ll be putty in your hands. All he really wants is for someone to see something in him besides the violence and bullshit, something worth more than that. If you can be that girl then you’ll be the one owning him, not the other way around.”

I couldn’t imagine Kyan on his knees like that, but the possibility set my pulse racing. “He’s not an easy nut to crack.”

“You can crack him, princess. I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” he said with venom in his words like that enraged him. “You’ve just got to find a way to pick them all apart from the inside. If you get Kyan to want you, really want you, you’ll get him to fight for you too. He’ll stand up for you against the others, he has too much of a noble streak in him not to.”

“Pfft, how is he noble?” I scoffed.

“Just trust me.”

I rolled my eyes, but decided to drop it, desperate to get onto more juicy details about my enemies. “So what about the others?” I asked.

“Blake wants to be the top dog instead of Saint because he’s so competitive. He carries a lot of rage lately since his mom died and doesn’t handle his emotions well,” Monroe explained.

“I noticed,” I muttered and he nodded seriously.

“She died from the Hades Virus, you know?” he asked with a dark look. “That’s why he wants to blame you for it. Because of your father.”

My breathing stalled as I stared at him, Blake’s hate for me suddenly seeming so much more understandable. Not that the virus was in any way my