51. Thea
51
Thea
E den nearly fell off her chair when she saw me walk in with Kyril holding my hand. She mouthed what the fuck but I shook my head. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.
She wasn’t the only person who noticed. I spotted Olivia, Polly, and their little clique of she-devils watching me with expressions that ranged from disbelief to fury.
The sight of Kyril holding any girl’s hand was cause for gossip. No doubt my face would be plastered all over social media within ten minutes.
I hoped Torrance didn’t follow the abernethycollege hashtag on social media. If he did, I could expect messages incoming. There’s no way he’d believe this was a move to get closer to Cassian.
“Go sit with your friend and I’ll bring some food over.” Kyril didn’t wait for a reply. I rolled my eyes at his high-handed approach and went to join Eden at our usual table. It didn’t escape my notice that Michael sat next to her and the two of them were making heart eyes at each other.
I pulled out a chair. “Hey.”
“Don’t you ‘hey’ me, bitch! Spill the tea immediately!”
“Tea? I don’t drink tea, Eden.” Had she lost her mind somewhere between last night and this morning?
“Ugh, I sometimes forget you’ve lived a sheltered life,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Spill the tea means give me all the gossip. I want to know if you and the Russian are a thing now, and also what this means for you and Landon. Are you guys in a harem?” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “Please say yes!”
When I didn’t reply immediately, too overcome with the idea of fucking both Kyril and Landon, at the same time , she beamed at me hopefully while Michael looked like he wanted to move to another table immediately.
“I plead the fifth,” I muttered eventually. Kyril dropped a tray in front of me. He’d piled a plate high with fluffy pancakes covered in fruit and maple syrup. There was also a bowl of oatmeal and a second plate of eggs, bacon, and toast, with a side of coffee.
“I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got you a selection.” Eden fell into a shocked stupor for a moment before she leaned in and asked,
“Have you got a magic pussy? Nobody’s ever tamed the cranky Russian before.”
I picked up the mug of steaming hot coffee, black, just how I liked it, and swallowed a scorching mouthful. It helped clear my mind. Kyril sauntered off, presumably to fetch his own breakfast. Meanwhile, conversation picked up again around us, with various people tapping away on their phones while casting curious slash envious looks in my direction.
So much for flying under the radar at Abernethy College…
“Nope. Nothing magical about me.”
“Hmm.”
“Do you want anything else to eat, baby?” Michael asked, eying the feast Kyril had fetched for me.
“I’m good.” Eden waved her hand dismissively. He slumped in his chair, looking dejected.
“OK, well, if you’re fine, I’ll head off to class.”
“Cool, speak later!” Eden didn’t spare him a second glance as he walked away.
“Another dud?” I asked. Michael seemed like a nice guy. He was tall, cute, fit-looking.
“Hell no, he was freaking awesome in the sack!” She grinned.
“Then why are you being off with him?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m playing the game. I don’t want him to think I’m too keen. He’ll lose interest. Boys are all about the chase.”
On that basis, Kyril should have lost interest by now. He’d chased me, caught me, fucked me. Yet here he was, acting like we were fated mates.
This relationship shit was way too complicated. Thank God I was leaving soon.
“Ooh look, here’s the second member of your harem!” Eden smirked when she saw Landon sauntering across the cafeteria, causing every female within a hundred feet to swoon with longing.
The minute he dropped into a chair next to me, slinging his arm over my shoulders, flirty looks turned to death stares. The gossip, which had only just died down, kicked off again.
Greedy bitch!
What’s she got I haven’t?
How the fuck is she doing it?
Is it April 1st?
I ignored all of them. These pancakes were amazing, and I needed a massive hit of sugar, carbs, and caffeine to get me through my day.
Kyril reappeared carrying another tray of food. He frowned when he saw Landon sitting next to me.
“Move, mudak .”
“Aww, Kyl, you fetched my breakfast! Thanks, dude.” Landon reached out for the tray and then pouted when Kyril snatched it out of reach.
“I’m not your bitch. Get your own breakfast.” The Russian sounded irritable. Maybe he’d had even less sleep than me. I was still mad at him, but mostly I was tired and hormonal. At some point, we needed to talk about what happened last night, but not now. Now, I wanted to eat, drink coffee, and pretend my life was normal.
“ Sooo are you guys in a throuple now?” Eden asked, looking at Landon and then Kyril, who’d taken the seat on my other side while scowling at his friend.
Kyril grunted and dug into his mountain of bacon. I swear, there was legit a full pig on his plate. No wonder the guy was so stacked.
Landon smirked before snatching a rasher of bacon from Kyril. The Russian snarled at him but didn’t attack, which I was grateful for. If they decided to pick a fight with each other, I was in the middle, and I wasn’t in the mood to clean up bloody body parts.
It was way too early for that.
“Nah,” Landon mumbled around a mouthful of bacon. I schooled my face to hide my disappointment at his nonchalant reply. I guess he didn’t want me now he knew I’d fucked Kyril. Well, fine. Whatever. He could go screw Polly or whatever her name was. “More like a reverse harem,” he continued.
Wait…what?
Kyril ignored Landon, apparently more interested in his food, but his left hand dropped below the table and squeezed my thigh. I jolted with surprise and tried to shove his hand away, but he refused to let go.
Landon must have felt me tense up. He glanced down and then grinned. He leaned in and whispered in my ear,
“Once you’ve recovered, I fully intend to consummate our relationship, wifey.”
“In your dreams,” I hissed.
“Oh, don’t worry, you star in all my dreams, wifey.”
I huffed with annoyance, but it was hard to deny the effect his words had on me. A shiver of hot, needy arousal shot through me and I squeezed my thighs together to ease the ache.
“Oh look, here’s the third member of our harem,” Landon announced with a sly grin. Eden looked up with interest, and her jaw dropped.
“Milo?” she said in surprise. “He’s never shown any interest in anyone.”
I ground my teeth with annoyance. “Maybe he just hadn’t met the right person,” I snapped.
“True.” Eden looked at me for a moment and then grinned. “You and Milo are perfect together,” she concluded. “You have my blessing.” Then she turned to Landon and threw him a dismissive look. “Not so sure about you and fuckboy here, but I guess every woman needs at least one hot mistake in their backstory.”
I choked with laughter. Landon scowled but kept his mouth shut. “And as for the crazy Russian, well…” Her voice trailed off when Kyril looked up and glared menacingly. “All I can say there is…good luck, and make sure you buy a shock collar from Amazon. You’ll need it.”
Kyril growled angrily while I smothered another embarrassing snort, but when I slapped the hand resting on my thigh, he shut up. “Good boy,” I murmured. Perhaps he could be trained after all.
“Careful, my little gadyuka ,” he said in a low voice. “Rile me, and I will throw you over my shoulder again.”
I gripped my knife and threw him a feral smile. “Go on, try it. I dare you.” His eyes heated as he slid his hand higher, brushing over my aching pussy.
“Oh, kotenok , I can’t wait to fuck you again.”
“You had your fun last night,” Landon hissed, apparently listening to our conversation. “Our girl deserves some romance next time, not you rutting her against a tree.”
“Did you take it?” Milo asked. I looked up to see he’d taken a seat next to Eden. My brain stuttered for a hot minute.
Did he mean Kyril’s massive cock? Heat scorched my cheeks as a rogue memory from last night assaulted my senses.
When I belatedly realized what he meant, my arousal bubble popped and disappeared. Nothing like an unwanted pregnancy to kill my buzz.
“Um, yes.” I took another bite of pancake to distract myself from an anxiety spiral, but it tasted like ash.
“Good.” Milo nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer. “Cass is on his way down with our new roommate. You guys should probably say hello seeing as how you missed him last night.”
“Fuck,” Landon grumbled. “Couldn’t Cass get him moved? I don’t want anyone else in our apartment!”
Kyril grunted in agreement.
“You got a new roomie?” Eden looked surprised. “That’s late. Wonder why he’s only just shown up,” she mused. Then her phone buzzed. I watched her read the message and frown. “Shit, gotta go.” She shoved her phone in her pocket and stood. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she chirped at me before waving at the guys. “Later, bitches!”
I pushed my plate away, no longer feeling hungry.
“Had enough, wifey?” When I nodded, Landon picked up my cutlery and tucked in. There was plenty of food left.
Milo sipped his coffee while we all sat in silence and the other two ate their bodyweight in carbs and protein. I should have left them to it, but it felt good being sandwiched between Landon and Kyril. They were my protection against the world.
I could still hear the people around us whispering, but with Kyril acting like my personal pit bull, nobody had the guts to say anything bitchy to my face.
“Finally,” Milo muttered. I looked up to see Cassian striding toward us in his usual outfit of pressed shirt and tailored pants, perfectly put together, ready for a photoshoot. He made me feel like a homeless person most of the time.
Just as I was about to comment along those lines, I saw the guy behind him. The bottom fell out of my stomach and I froze.
The two of them reached our table. “Guys, meet Dario Peretti.”
“Dar? What are you doing here?” My brain went into free fall, spinning at a thousand miles an hour.
When he never showed up the night I planned to gift him my virginity, I thought something awful had happened. Torrance had been sniffing around for weeks, watching me more closely than normal.
It had become harder to escape and meet Dar in our special place. But we’d planned it down to the tiniest details. I’d stashed candles and a blanket. He’d promised to bring some wine and food.
It should have been perfect. Only it all went to shit when he didn’t show. When he left me sitting in the dark for hours, growing increasingly concerned something bad had happened.
And it had.
He’d left me a note in my room. A vile note telling me he never wanted to see me again.
He broke my heart, obliterated the last remnants of my childish innocence. I’d trusted him implicitly, yet he’d betrayed me.
I stared at him in shock, my head struggling to reconcile the boy I’d known as a teen with the man he’d matured into.
Dar looked the same, yet he was very different. Inky black hair still fell in curls over his brown eyes, but the handsome face I remembered was harder, the softness in his gaze when he looked at me missing.
He’d filled out a lot since the last time I saw him. Whereas he’d been leaner in his teens, every inch of adult Dar bulged with muscle.
Disbelief and shock at seeing him soon turned to anger. Why had he done something so cruel as to gain my trust and then betray me?
“Why, Dar?” My voice rose as the other guys looked at me and then at him, confusion on their faces.
“You know him?” Landon asked, the arm around my shoulder tightening possessively.
“Yeah, she knows me,” Dar sneered. “And I can see she’s already got her claws into you.”
Kyril pushed his plate away and stood, his huge body tense. “Be careful how you speak to my kotenok,” he snarled.
“Oh, she’s with you as well?” Dar nodded thoughtfully, jaw ticking. Like Kyril’s insinuation made perfect sense. “Of course she is. Sluts like her will fuck anyone.”
“What are you talking about?” The note he’d left me back then said I was a whore, yet it had made no sense to me at the time. It still didn’t. Until I arrived here, Dar was the only boy who’d touched me. Kissed me.
The hard shell protecting my emotions cracked and tears pricked my eyes. Who was this man and what had he done with the sweet boy I remembered?
This wasn’t my Dar. My Dar was kind, funny, and he cared about me.
At least I’d thought so until he left that note on my pillow, along with the bracelet I’d made him as a gift.
“I’m talking about how you were supposed to be mine, except you couldn’t wait, could you?” He snarled, lip curling up with derision. “No, instead of waiting, you went off and gave it up to a bunch of other guys!” His fists clenched as I tried to process what he was telling me.
My forehead scrunched in confusion. Nothing he said made sense. Kyril was my first. I hadn’t so much as looked at another guy until I came here. Why would he think differently?
“I fucking loved you, Thea! But you broke my heart and I won’t ever forgive you for that.” He picked up Milo’s mug of tepid coffee and threw it in my face.
It was like a scene from The Matrix, where time froze for everyone but me. Coffee dripped down my face in dark rivulets, staining my shirt.
The guys clearly had no clue what was going on, but Kyril reacted first. He launched himself over the table, fists flying, and then all hell broke loose.