Their Dangerous Game (Untouched #1)

Chapter 1

The Last

Harper

My high school motto: Stay under their radar.

The guys who will one day rule the world. Gods who choose to walk amongst us. Giant walking assholes who exploit everyone’s weaknesses.

Eli Jacobs, Jack Hill, Caden Ross, and the worst of them all, Luke Foster.

Of course, they’re all completely gorgeous with a long line of willing female victims to service their every need. They have it all. Money, looks, sex, and smarts. They rule our school. If someone doesn’t cave to their will, they have the power to make that person’s life hell.

Their nickname on and off the football field is the four horsemen.

Yup, like the apocalypse. Is it odd? Yes. But everyone accepts it. And the guys own it.

They destroy anyone in their path. Their drive and determination took the Sherman High School Mustangs to their first State Championship in twenty years. And their second. And their third. No one doubts this year will mark their fourth.

We’re seniors now. One more year to avoid them and then off to college where the horsemen are just a footnote in my history.

It’s not normal for an almost eighteen-year-old girl to play a game of hide and seek with four guys who don’t know they’re playing. But this town and this school make them powerful in a way that isn’t normal.

I’ve always been a little bit of a loner.

I have a single mom. Don’t really remember my dad.

Had one friend who moved away when we were in sixth grade.

I got lucky when MacKenzie Campbell moved here and decided I’d be her friend back in middle school.

It was around that time the popular boys were gaining more followers and power.

Until freshman year, I was your typical wallflower. Happy to sit back and watch other people live their lives. I thought in high school things would be different. We’d all be small fish in a much bigger pond.

Kenz and I even went to the cafeteria back then to eat.

Until two weeks into freshman year. No one knows the whole story, but it’s been gossiped about over the years.

Apparently this junior cheerleader, who was queen bee, used her supposed virginity to pit Luke, Jack, Caden, and Eli against each other.

That’s the theory at least. I mean, I was there and still don’t know what she was thinking.

The guys were all at their own table. Even as freshmen, they were the center of attention. The table of cheerleaders were to their left and to their right the other football players. They made waves bringing in wins when even the varsity players had already lost their first two games.

In walked Kylie Elias in a short skirt and a top that showed off her breasts. Her blond hair was perfectly styled in soft waves and her blue eyes were narrowed on the horsemen’s table. Her heels clicked on the linoleum floor as she made her way to the table.

When she sat in the seat between Eli and Jack, she leaned in to talk to Eli privately. Luke’s cold blue eyes locked on her. He cleared his throat loudly, and Jack let out a laugh that captured everyone’s attention. The hum of conversation died down to a murmur.

“What do you want, Kylie?” Luke asked, and you could hear a pin drop.

I held my breath, waiting.

“Fuck off, Luke. I’m talking to Eli.” She turned her head away from him, and even I knew that was a mistake. But I watched the horsemen in middle school and knew to keep a low profile. Back then they weren’t quite who they are now.

Luke laughed, and so did the other horsemen. It sends chills down my back even remembering it.

“What did she ask?” Luke turned to Eli, who smirked.

“She wants her panties back.”

Laughter lit the air in small bursts from around the cafeteria. Kylie’s face turned red and she slid her hands over the hem of her skirt. She stood up and put her hands on her hips.

“Well?” She held out her hand to Eli with an expectant look, choosing to brazen it out.

The guys all stood and reached into their pockets. Each of them pulled out a pair of lacy thong panties. They walked around the table and placed them in her hand. When Eli added his, he smirked in her face.

“Looks like you’ve lost more than your fair share of panties to us.”

“That’s not all she lost.” Luke winked at her and leaned back in his chair like a king.

Her cheeks were red and her eyes narrowed. “You’re nothing more than a freshman. Powerless.”

The room grew quiet again. My heart pounded. Caden’s laugh filled the silence.

Her gaze jerked to Caden.

“You didn’t say that when you were riding my cock.” He pressed something on his phone and sounds of moaning echoed in the room.

“Yes. Oh, fuck me, Caden, yes!” Kylie’s voice was breathless but still recognizable.

“Guess our night wasn’t that special after all.” Jack sat on the table with his feet in the chair. “Was I even your first?”

Kylie opened her mouth to say something, but Caden said, “I was her first.”

“Wasn’t I your first?” Luke smirked.

She closed her mouth.

Eli leaned in but said loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear, “Next time you want to lie to a guy about your virginity, maybe try not to fuck his friends first.”

Kylie gripped the panties tight as she turned and hurried out of the cafeteria. My stomach twisted. There’s no way I wanted to be party to any of their games. I couldn’t risk being humiliated that way. I wouldn’t recover.

It was the last time I went to the cafeteria, but they didn’t stop with Kylie.

If someone crossed them, that person was either humiliated or beaten up. As freshmen, they were more powerful than the seniors. And now, they own this school.

And I avoid them.

It’s the first day of my senior year. I get to my first class early so I don’t chance a run-in in the hallway with them.

I pick a seat near the front, away from the door.

If one of the horsemen happens to be in the same class, they sit in the back row, but they almost always note who sits in the first row.

So the second or third row is my spot, and by the windows so they don’t have to pass me on the way to their seats.

So here I sit, wearing my favorite black skater skirt, knee-high socks, a Nirvana graphic tee—because vintage—and a pair of black and white saddle shoes. I even tied my long brown hair up in a high pony. It’s cute, but not in a distracting way. At least it shouldn’t capture their attention.

This is my last year in high school and I’m going to crush it.

Quietly. Without attracting their attention.

It would be easier if they were as ugly on the outside as they are on the inside.

Frankly they’re beautiful, and I don’t mind looking at the beautiful boys.

What girl doesn’t? But I’m not about to become one of their notches.

They’ve made their way through almost every girl in school and rarely go back for seconds.

But they don’t fuck with freshmen. At least not after our own freshman year.

I’ve made it to the beginning of senior year and I feel confident I’ve managed to slip under their radar. It’s a skill, not going to lie. I’m not one of their so-called unfuckables, or girls that aren’t pretty enough to warrant their attention, but I’m also not the hottest.

I am, thankfully, unnoticeable.

They don’t have any reason to mess with me. It’s almost like a game that I’m so close to winning.

I check my phone as students file in, talking to their friends like they didn’t spend all summer hanging out. There’s obviously new gossip the first day back. One more year and I’m out of here. College will be where I can shine.

Kenz drops into the seat beside me. “Oh my god, I have to tell you about last night.”

I slip my phone into my pocket and smile at my bestie. The only gossip I could think of is… “Let me guess, you finally went all the way with Brandon.”

She grins and nods, leaning in to keep it quiet. “I’m pretty sure that makes you the last virgin in our class.”

My brow scrunches up. That can’t be right. “Margaret Carter.”

“This summer. Band camp.” Kenz holds up her hand. With each name, she puts down a finger. “Rachel Hayes, Eli Jacobs at a pool party. Parker Ford, Jack and Caden at her house.”

“Wait, both of them?” Damn. That’s one dedicated virgin to get a double hitter. Can’t say I’m not impressed. To get not just one horseman but two on your first time is unheard of. Or was. From all accounts, these guys have the equipment to back up their reputation as huge dicks.

Kenz nods. “Melody Griffin, some other camp guy. Me, Brandon.”

She wiggles her pinkie finger.

“Oh, fuck.” That leaves me. Might as well paint a fucking target on my back for the four horsemen. Suddenly, I’m regretting wearing a skirt.

The horsemen make it their mission to defile virgins. Granted, it took them three full years to get through our grade level. Surely, there are plenty of junior and sophomore virgins to get through. It’s not like they defile all the virgins, but they do seem to be on a mission.

Our class is a point of pride for them to leave no virgin unfucked.

Not dating or going to parties has assured I stay off their radars, but it also means I remain untouched.

I’m not a prude, but I also don’t want to be part of the game these guys play with girls.

If there was a guy at this school I thought I might be able to date, I would have made an attempt.

But honestly, the good ones are taken. And while the bad ones are gorgeous, I don’t want to add to their numbers.

“They can’t know, right?” I whisper to Kenz. I don’t stand out. They probably don’t even know my name. That’s my hope.

“If they’re keeping track…” She shrugs. “Probably not though. I mean, it’s not like they know who’s had sex and who hasn’t unless it was with one of them. Girls talk but not to them. That would be stupid.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I can’t help but look at the door.