Don't Look Away : A Dark College Romance (Legacy of Lies Book 3)

Chapter 3

I’m shakenby Lux’s story, but I manage to keep my tone even, and my expression neutral. I’ve done extensive reading on Lux’s past; anything and everything my private detective could both legally and illegally get his hands on. And the story she’s telling me differs from other accounts.

Pushing off the bed, I grab my phone. I desperately need to change the topic and give myself time to process all this. Without looking at her, I open my food delivery app. “I’m going to order something to eat. What do you want?”

“I’m not hungry,” she answers.

I turn to look at her. “You’re eating something. You can’t live off of fries and root beer alone. How about sushi?”

She shrugs one shoulder, so I take that as a yes.

Once I have that ordered, I toss my phone back down onto the nightstand and move to the bathroom. “It’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks.”

Grabbing a couple of washcloths, I hold them under the warm water, then wring them out. I use one to clean myself off, and the second one I take out to Lux, so she can do the same.

“Thanks,” she says again. Wiping herself down quickly, she hands the washcloth back to me and then settles back under the covers.

I grab a clean pair of underwear, then pick my clothes up off the floor and tug them on. “I’m going downstairs to grab the food.”

As I turn to leave the room, Lux calls my name and stops me. “Roman?”

I turn around to face her.

“You don’t hate me, do you?” she asks, sitting up, holding the blankets to her chest.

“Why would you ask me that?” I ask with more annoyance than I intended.

“I don’t know, you’re acting weird.”

I shift on my feet, hand still on the door handle. “It’s just everything. It’s a lot to take in,” I say. “I can’t help but put myself in that guy’s shoes, and I wonder if him being thrown in jail was fair when he was clearly having a mental break.”

My words are like missiles launched in her direction, and I can see the exact moment they make impact. Her face goes white.

“Fair,” she repeats, almost in disbelief. “Fair?”

My hand drops from the door handle, and I sigh. “Listen, Lux. Let’s not get into this now. I’m going downstairs to grab the food, and after we eat, we can talk about it, if you want.”

The expression on her face shifts from shock and disbelief to anger in the span of a millisecond. She slips out of bed, completely naked, and starts walking toward me. If she had a weapon in her hand, I have no doubt she’d use it against me. Thank God she doesn’t. Her death stare is weapon enough.

“The food can wait,” she says, advancing on me. “I want to talk about it now. What exactly do you mean by fair, Roman? Was it fair when he harassed my friends? Hunted me? Threatened me? Was any of that fair?”

God, there’s so much to unpack here, and I don’t really feel like she’s in a place to listen to what I have to say. “No,” I reply. “None of that was fair. I’m sorry that happened, Lux. I really am.”

She stops a few feet away from me. “But you believe me, right?”

I’m not prepared for that question, and I stumble over my response. “Of course, I do. But….” I run my hands through my hair, searching for the right words. I let my hands drop. “I have someone close to me in jail, and I know exactly what a place like that can do to someone. It’s brutal in there, and ten years in a place like that is like manufacturing a monster. And this guy…he’s going to come out worse than when he went in, guaranteed.”

She narrows her gaze at me, and clamps her mouth shut, like she’s shutting down. I close the distance between us and run my hands down her arms, but she doesn’t move. She just stares at me, half-angry, half-lost in thought.

I kiss her on the forehead. “Get some clothes on. I’ll grab the food.”

“Yeah,” she says, turning to find her clothes.

When I get downstairs, the usual crowd is gathered—Wyn, Gabriel, Nathan, and a few others. I motion to Jackson, Lucas, and Christian. “The study, now.”

Christian has a girl on his lap and groans audibly. “Fuuuuck, dude.”

As I pass through the room, on my way to the study, I motion to Nathan. “I have food arriving in the next fifteen minutes. Put it in the kitchen for me.”

“Will do,” comes his reply.

As I walk into the study, the guys follow me, Jackson shutting the door behind us.

“Dude, what was happening upstairs? It sounded like you were ripping her apart up there,” Lucas laughs, falling into one of the upholstered chairs. “I thought I might have to intervene.”

“Yeah, that shit was loud, man,” Christian adds, laughing as well. “I’m surprised none of the neighbors called the cops.”

“Whatever,” I say dismissively. “It’s not like you guys are fucking quiet.”

“So what’s up?” Lucas asks. “Did you manage to talk to her between orgasms?”

Of all the guys, Lucas knows me the best, and he must realize something is up. He knows I wouldn’t call us all together like this without good reason.

I pace the room. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve talked to her, and uh…I need more time.”

Jackson glances around like he’s looking for a hidden camera or something. “Is this a joke? More time? Roman, we have one fucking week until shit goes down.”

I rake my hand over my face, the tension in my shoulders making me feel like I’m going to fucking snap. “Okay, so we buy more time somehow.”

Christian shakes his head slowly. “We’re out of time. Roman. You know that. It’s why we put this whole damn plan in place. You assured us you had this shit under control.”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t have anticipated how fucking stubborn she is,” I yell that last part, because fuuuck, I have to admit to losing control, and that just doesn’t sit well with me. But I have no choice but to tell my boys what’s up.

“What’d she say?” Jackson asks stoically from a chair in the corner of the room. “I mean, word for word.”

Crossing my arms, I just shake my head.

“What the fuck, dude?” Christian says, and I can see the rising anger in his eyes. I have to be careful with him. He’s a chill guy…until that fuse is lit, and then who fucking knows? When he’s pissed, he’s a beast.

“What am I supposed to say, Christian? Tell me.” When he doesn’t immediately answer, I glance around at the other guys, looking for an answer. “How the fuck is this supposed to go exactly?”

For all of our planning, and all of our scheming, we never thought out exactly how this conversation would go. And if I’m being honest, I didn’t think it would take much persuasion at all. Maybe I’m a little too used to getting my own way, I don’t know. But one thing is clear—Lux has a mind of her own, and she isn’t afraid to tell me to go fuck myself.

“Just make your fucking case,” Christian says.

“And if she runs, and tells the police?” I ask. “Then I’m fucked.”

“How did we not think about this before we brought Lux here?” Jackson asks.

Last summer, I set up a scholarship so specific, there was no way Lux wouldn’t qualify. My people even reached out to her high school English teacher to encourage her to apply, under the guise of an Exeter University West recruiter. The only catch was that Lux would have to maintain a certain GPA. I don’t give a fuck about her GPA, but it’s standard language for a scholarship, so we went with it in the interest of looking legit.

“We didn’t think about it,” Lucas says, his critical gaze shifting to me, “because Roman assured us that convincing her wouldn’t be a problem.”

I spread my arms wide. “I was wrong. There. Happy?” Goddamn. “The question is, what the fuck do I do now?”

“Cut her loose,” Jackson says with a shrug. “She doesn’t know anything yet. Her friend is dead. There’s no reason for her to stay here. If she leaves, then none of this gets exposed.”

“Yeah, except we’re right back at square one,” Lucas adds.

“It’s better than us getting pulled into this shit, too.” Jackson looks at me. “What do you say, Roman?”

For some reason, my heart is pounding against my ribs. The idea of letting Lux go, of walking away from this, fills me with panic. Lux has gotten in my head.

Lucas starts laughing, loudly, tipping back in his chair, just fucking cracking up.

“What’s so damn funny?” his twin asks.

“Dude is losing it,” Jackson adds dismissively.

“He’s falling for her,” Lucas says between gasps, holding his stomach. “Oh, my God. How did we not see this coming?”

I scowl at him. “Shut the fuck up. You don’t know shit.”

“Nah, man, think about it,” Lucas says, sobering just enough to make his point. “He won’t take the final step and talk to her. Why? Because he’s fucking afraid.”

“Lux could destroy me,” I say defensively.

Lucas shakes his head. “You’re afraid she’s going to run. You’re afraid she’s going to hate you.” He laughs again like this is the most amusing thing ever. Asshole. “She’s got you in a chokehold, Roman.”

The other two scrutinize me with horrified looks on their faces like they’re looking at me for signs of disease.

“Dude, how good is that pussy?” Christian asks.

Jackson stares at me. “That bitch has got some dark witchy siren shit going on, man. If you’re falling for her—”

“I’m not falling for her,” I yell before he can finish. “She’s our last shot. That’s it. That’s all she is to me—a means to an end.”

They don’t need to know that my heart speeds up in her presence, or that my cock swells at the mere thought of her. They don’t need to know that I crave her smell, or the sound of her breathless moans when she comes.

I have my feelings for her under control. I mean, mostly. I can walk away from her at any time. Do I want to? No. But I could if I had to, and that’s the point.

Even I know that’s a fucking lie, but I cling to it because I have to. I have to believe I can walk away, otherwise, I’m falling into the trap my brother warned me about.

Once you get a taste of her, trust me, brother, you’ll always want her.

“So what do we do?” Christian asks, breaking my train of thought.

I shrug one shoulder. “I guess I just stay the course. What other choice do we have? I still have one week to convince her…”