Chapter 30
Guinevere
“N o, you have to put it into different words. You can’t read right off the PowerPoint,” Ryker stares at me, looking as clueless as ever. Our project is due in less than twenty-four hours, and I am exhausted.
“Why not? Isn’t that why we made it?” he asks. I involuntarily roll my eyes. Has he never given a presentation before? Who am I kidding? He’s probably never had to.
“We made it so everyone can visualize what we’re saying, and to use it as a guide as to what to discuss next.”
Ryker looks like he’s about to fall asleep as he sits on the floor at the end of his bed while I pace his room. There’s no way we’re going to be ready for tomorrow. Ryker is unteachable.
“Ryker! Wake up, we need to practice!” I chastise.
Ryker jerks, his body sitting up straighter and looking a bit less like it’s about to fall over in exhaustion. He stretches his long, strong arms over his head and yawns obnoxiously .
“Hey Rebel, why don’t you just do all the talking? That’s what you do best,” he mocks.
I scowl at him, grabbing the rugby ball off of his dresser and throwing it at him. He holds his arms up in front of him, effectively blocking it.
“Funny,” I say with the fakest of smiles. Ryker shrugs.
“I wasn’t being funny; you talk a lot.”
“I despise you.”
Ryker blows me a kiss and winks, making me roll my eyes in annoyance.
“Can you be serious for like, one minute? We really need to get this down,” I ask, practically begging. Ryker sits up, crossing his legs and setting his hands in his lap.
“Fine,” he says earnestly, his lips forming a straight line. My eyes narrow suspiciously, but I turn my back to pull up the next slide on my laptop.
“Thank you. Okay, so do you want to-” I’m cut off by a thump on my back, turning around to see the rugby ball fall to the floor in front of me.
I whip around to Ryker, who’s leaning his back against the end of the bed, his hands behind his head and his legs outstretched in front of him with a cocky smile on his face.
“Seriously?” I yell, completely exasperated. It’s like dealing with a toddler. Ryker holds his hands up in the air in mock surrender. “We have shit to do, Ryker. If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’m just going to-” Ryker stands from his spot on the ground, walking over to stand in front of me. I look up at him, his green eyes hooded and laced with desire.
“Okay, okay. I’ll be serious now. Show me what I have to do.”
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My eyes flutter as they adjust to the sunlight pouring into the small space. Once they’re finally not fighting for their life, my gaze sweeps over a strong tan arm draped over my waist. I follow the arm up to the face and see Ryker sleeping peacefully.
“Shit!” I say, a bit too loudly. We must have fallen asleep while working on the PowerPoint. We have class in a few hours.
Jumping off the bed, I look around for my phone which I find on the ground at the end of the bed. I check for any missed calls or messages and find that our group chat has blown up overnight.
Four Hot Girls it’s real and I’ve experienced it first-hand. Now that it has, I don’t want it to stop.
After, we didn’t discuss it at all. Instead, we, or well, I jumped right into the project again. Ryker actually gave me and the project his full attention for the rest of the night. He accepted his part in it and did a really great job with explanations.
Of course, it was hard for me to concentrate because I was watching his mouth as he talked, remembering how it felt while he ate me out and made me come, twice, with his tongue. I shudder at the thought of how many women he’s had to sleep with to perfect that.
Not that I care who he’s slept with. Or do I? I told myself that last night was going to be a one-time thing, just to get rid of the pent-up frustration and stress. But I don’t know if I’m going to be able to stick to that, because that was the best sex I’ve had like, ever.
I won’t admit it to Ryker just yet. He’ll know he was right. I don’t hate him as much as I thought I did or wanted to. Somewhere along the way, the hatred turned into lust, and lust turned into a night of Ryker completely ruining any other guy for me.
With another groan, Ryker grabs his phone of the nightstand, squinting at it as his eyes get used to the shine of the screen.
“Fuck, we slept late,” he says, not even sounding concerned that we have less than an hour to get ready for class.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Why did you let me fall asleep?” I accuse. I should have been home, getting a good night’s rest and setting an alarm for an appropriate time to wake up.
Ryker shrugs as he sits up in bed, running a hand through his tousled hair. God, he looks sexy in the morning.
Knock it off, Gwen. Focus.
Ryker stands, the sheet falling as he walks away from the bed, buck naked. My head tilts as I watch him walk to the bathroom, his taut ass moving with each step. Then, he’s walking out, and his dick is standing at full attention.
He wipes his hands on a towel and smirks.
“Bite that lip any harder and you’re going to bleed,” he comments. I hadn’t even realized I was biting my lip.
I shake my head, attempting to focus on what needs to be done.
“I have to go. I have to get ready,” I tell him as I hurriedly grab my things and shove them into my bag, throwing it over my shoulder. As my hand touches the door handle, I turn around to find Ryker watching me. “Please don’t be late,” I plead.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he says, giving me a salute.
I roll my eyes and run out of the room. On my way down the stairs, I run into a tall, muscular figure.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I begin as I look up, seeing a face I recognize.
“Gwen? What are you doing here?” Holland asks with an inquiring gaze. Wow, he really does look like Ellie, just with facial hair and muscles.
I straighten, smiling shyly because I was just caught leaving Ryker’s room at eight in the morning. I feel my cheeks heat, and there’s no doubt they’re bright pink right now.
“I was just… I’m just leaving,” I point down the stairs.
“Did you stay the night?” Holland’s eyes sweep me from head to toe. I nod.
“Um… yeah. Ryker and I were working on our project, and we fell asleep,” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, shifting from one leg to the other. Holland nods slowly in understanding, still looking a bit skeptical. But I don’t have time for questions, I need to get ready for class.
“Listen, I gotta go get ready, but I’ll see you later? K, great. Bye!” I run past a stunned Holland and out the front door of the Elite mansion, straight to my house.
After taking a quick shower to rinse off the smell of sex, I throw on an old pink floral blouse I’ve had since high school and pair it with some black jeans. I don’t even bother drying my hair, opting for tying it up on the top of my head.
I top off the look with a bit of mascara, grab my bag, and run out the door.
No one was in the living room or the kitchen when I got home, so I didn’t have to deal with being interrogated by my crazy, lovable roommates. But I’m sure I’ll get bombarded later.
I feel good about today and the work we did on this project. I think Professor Whitely will be thoroughly impressed.
It’s funny, how just a few weeks ago I thought my life was going to implode after being forced to work with Ryker Steele, but here we are, actually getting along.
Oh yeah, you’re getting along really well, Gwen, my thoughts say.
As long as Ryker shows up, we should be totally fine. I just saw him less than an hour ago, and I assume he doesn’t need that much time to get ready.
Walking down the path to get to Mallory Center, I change the song I’m listening to on my phone and look back up to see I’ve been joined by a shaggy blonde with blue eyes.
I pull my headphones out of my ear, shutting them back in their case.
“So, a sleepover with the Ryker Steele, huh?” Damian mocks. I elbow him playfully as I roll my eyes. Damian grabs his arm as if I’d actually hurt him.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. It was late and we had to finish up the PowerPoint,” I defend. Damian shoots me a knowing glance.
“And then you fell into his bed. Tell me, is he as good as all the girls on campus say he is?” Damian chuckles to himself.
“Why are you the way that you are?” I ask as we walk up the stairs to our classroom.
“Gwen,” a deep, familiar voice says. The sound send’s shivers down my spine, causing me to stop dead in my tracks. Damian and I turn around to meet the gaze of Ashton Davis. The prick that wants to use me as part of his revenge plan with Ryker.
My blood runs cold at the sight of his battered face. A big purple and yellow bruise covers the right side of his jaw, and his nose looks out of place, like it’d been broken.
Ashton stares at me, but his eyes look empty. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days, and if I wasn’t standing here with Damian in front of our crowded lecture hall, I might be afraid.
“What do you want, Ashton?” I ask in a repulsed tone, finally working up the courage to respond.
I watch him carefully as he takes a small step forward, leaving only a few inches between us. I can feel Damian tense beside me, but I do my best to stand tall and look unaffected.
“Just wanted you to see your boyfriend’s handywork,” he grimaces. My brows furrow. What the hell is he-
And then it hits me. Last night in the library, Ryker’s cut up hand, the way he pulled it away from me and ignored my questions about where it came from. I asked him if he went after Ashton, and he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.
Ryker did go after him. My stomach clenches, and I don’t know whether to feel thankful or appalled at the fact that Ryker actually beat Ashton’s ass.
Damian watches me carefully and I give him a curt nod, letting him know he can head into class. He gives me a wary look before glaring at Ashton and making his way inside the room.
My gaze settles on Ashton as his lip curls slightly .
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I say casually. It’s not a complete lie, since I don’t really have any proof that Ryker did anything.
Ashton shakes his head and chuckles, but it’s not an amused chuckle, it one of disbelief.
“You’re not a very good liar, Gwen,” he replies with malice, making the hair rise on the back of my neck. “He told me to watch my back… now tell him to watch yours.”
With that, he pats my shoulder with his big hand and stalks away, as if he didn’t just threaten me.
Rage boils inside me as I watch him leave, thinking about how Ryker told me he wouldn’t go after him, and he did anyway. How maybe if Ryker had listened to me and just let it go, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
But no, Ryker Steele does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And now I’m the one that’s screwed.