18. Mason
Chapter 18
Mason
My first class is after lunch, so I volunteered to take the morning stalking shift. The three of us very rarely eat breakfast together—Knox only has coffee in the mornings, and watching Silas eat runny eggs makes me want to barf. Which means I get to watch Nim working her way through a breakfast burrito all by myself.
I have a fucking boner by the time she’s done.
Most of the girls in this place either skip breakfast, or follow Knox’s black coffee diet. Those that do eat have a bowl of fruit or a smoothie.
Nim eats like she just got off a desert island where she’s been stranded for months with her pet football named Daisy. Not that she’s vulgar about it, but it’s obvious she’s passionate about food.
I like that about her. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one here who appreciates the Academy’s cuisine. Knox turns his nose up at everything he deigns to put on his plate, and Silas grabs the first thing he sees and eats it like he’s in a competition.
But Nim? I can watch her eat all day. In fact, I’m already planning to swap stalking shifts with Silas so I can do lunch with her too.
Well, not with her. That’s not the plan. But close enough to watch, that’s for sure.
I opted for a stuffed omelet this morning, but it’s gotten cold how I’ve been fixating on Nim. Her roommate is sipping on a smoothie, but they pause for the odd chat.
What has Furino told Nim about us? She’s so far down Cinderhart’s social ladder, she might as well not bother climbing. Which makes her biased against us, of course. It was that whole thing between her father and Knox’s dad. After that shit went down, Romi’s future is as certain as whether there is a “theory of everything”.
Which is saying a lot, because this town has nepotism down to an art. The only jobs you’ll see in the Littlerock Gazettes are for things like janitors or call center operators. Anything less menial is handed down from father to son or, in rare cases, father to daughter.
Offspring are groomed from a young age to continue in their mother or father’s footprints. It’s the only reason why an only child like Eliza Jackson will be the CEO of her father’s finance firm when he retires.
Smaller families like theirs are rare in Cinderhart. People here pop out kids for a reason. The last thing you want is to give up everything you’ve worked so hard for because your child doesn’t make it to adulthood. Multiple kids secures your family line and preserves your creed for future generations.
Cinderhart families have the same desire to replicate as a virus does. And, usually, with the same dire consequences.
After an incredibly satisfying breakfast for both of us, Nim heads to her first class. It’s ground level, so I can keep an eye on her from the courtyard through one of the windows. She spends quite a bit of time in the front talking to the teacher before taking a seat in the back.From the scowl on her face, it’s obvious she enjoyed her breakfast more than this class. So why did she choose it? Her second class seems to end on a similar note, with her taking up a seat in the back after a long chat with her professor.
An hour before lunch, Nim heads for the library. This time of year, students spend free periods in the courtyard, before the cold sweeps down the mountains and makes that impossible. Nim doesn’t feel the need to take the opportunity of today’s abundant sunshine.
Which is a pity—I would have paid good money to watch her sunbathe like the other girls do. The sunlight playing on her hair, her skirt inched up her legs. God, I’d give my left nut to watch her take off those stockings. There’s nothing sexier.
Christ, what’s wrong with me? I can’t walk around with a fucking hard-on. I need to get my head out of the gutter.
I follow Nim into the Academy’s massive library on the ground floor of the south wing, slipping behind the first stack so I can adjust my cock.
The shelves are too high for me to look over. The ones near the back go all the way to the ceiling and have ladders to reach the top. But by peering around the stacks and holding up a folio book to shield my face, I can watch her without drawing too much attention to myself.
Nim heads straight for the librarian behind the circulation desk in the middle of the library. Her hair is in the same bun as yesterday, but it looks sleek and shiny. I slide behind a different stack, watching her over the top of my book.
“Is that you, Mason?” someone purrs from less than a foot away.
Christ. I snap the book closed and spin to face Eliza Jackson. “The fuck do you want?”
She ignores my tone, her brown eyes taking in every inch of me. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen you in here without your hand up a girl’s skirt,” she says, giving my book a dismissive glance. “Do you even know how to read?”
My hand curls into a fist. I press it into the shelf beside my head before putting my book on a nearby sorting shelf. “Best you fuck off back to hell before Satan realizes he’s missing a demon.”
Eliza quirks an eyebrow at me. “You know, you’re the only person who’d dare speak to me like that.” She curls her tongue, running it over her top lip. “It gets me so wet, Bennett.”
“I don’t have time for your shit,” I tell her, rolling my eyes as I turn my back on her.
A cool, slim hand glides over my shoulder. “That’s not what Butcher Bennett said when my daddy gave him that loan.”
“We settled our debt a fuck long time ago, Jackson.”
“Why are you following her?” Eliza asks, changing subjects as soon as she realizes she’s not going to get a rise out of me. “Did you break all your other toys?”
Jesus, if there’s one woman I’d do grievous bodily harm to, it’s Eliza fucking Jackson. And not in a sexy way. I pull away from her touch, trying to keep my irritation from flooding up past the point of no return. “I’m not following anyone. But if you don’t back off, I’ll get Knox to write you up.”
Eliza cackles like the fucking witch I know she is. “You don’t scare me. None of you do.” She gives me a sardonic smile. “Serpents my ass. More like lambs.” She laughs as she walks past me, headed straight for Nim.
I stand my ground. No way Eliza’s going to make me back down. I’ve been stalking Nim, sure, but I wasn’t hiding the fact.
Probably why Eliza noticed. Probably the only reason why. She’s vindictive and catty and downright evil...but she’s not winning any spelling bees anytime soon. She’s perfect cheerleader stock—pretty dumb. And she doesn’t look anywhere as tasty in her uniform as Nim does. She’s built like a plank, where Nim’s all juicy curves.
When she touches Nim’s shoulder, the younger girl flinches and turns wide eyes to her. It’s obvious she’s not sure what to think about Eliza.
Good girl.
They talk for a few seconds, then Eliza glances at me over her shoulder. Nim frowns, seeming almost irritated, and then she locks eyes with me.I stand straighter despite myself. Maybe I even puff out my chest a little more. Nim stares at me, and the color drains from her face.
Eliza walks away, and Nim quickly turns back to the librarian, waving dismissively before heading for the closest exit.
Fuck!
It’s the predator in me that sees something cute and fluffy trying to run away and immediately gives chase.While I’m running, I send a group text to Silas and Knox.
She hurries into the courtyard, but as soon as the first student comes into view she slows into a fast walk. One hand starts patting at her hair, the other tugging her blazer straight.
Oh, baby girl...if you had any clue about what I’m about to do to you, you’d keep running.