“You’re doing it again,” Lucas teases.
I point toward the screen. “I’m watching this.”
“No one’s watching this,” he scoffs.
I take a quick look around. Literally no one was actually watching it. A few students were blatantly on their phones while others were doing assignments from other courses.
Jesus hell.
He leans closer to me, and I swear I can smell mint on his breath. “We thought we might talk treasure tonight.” He watches for my reaction, waiting.
Talking treasure with them is something I’ve been putting off, but I also know it needs to happen. It’s not just about the treasure for me though. It’s about finding my dad, too, and we won’t be able to do that unless we go up into the mountains.
The note said, “Find the treasure and find your dad.” If these people aren’t fucking with me, then that’s exactly what I need to do. It’s Stone who’s holding me back. I still have a mental barrier the size of the Titanic when it comes to him, and it certainly doesn’t help when he’s a gigantic asshole.
“I promise Stone will be on his best behavior.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I tell him with a sigh. “Because he wants to know everything I know, and if he thinks I’m going to give it to him, he’ll be a stand-up guy for point seven seconds.”
“Meh. Maybe point five.”
I smirk at Lucas. “How’d you get mixed up with him anyway? All of you,” I tack on. I’ve always wondered how their friendship started. First, it was just Lance and Stone all over the news. Then, we started to see Lucas next, followed shortly after by Wyatt. I never dared pose the question to my father. If I seemed at all interested in the Jacobs, I would’ve had to endure an hours long lecture about how evil they were.
Lucas’s brown eyes darken over like storm clouds rolling across the desert. He runs his hands through his unkempt hair that manages to look sexy as hell. If only my curls could pull off that look, I’d be one happy girl.
“That kind of information will cost you,” he teases.
“Cost me?”
“A date.”
“A date?” I say it so loud that the professor shushes me and glares at Lucas again. Lucas and I school our features, pretending to watch the movie until the curious onlookers turn back around.
When they do, Lucas grins at me. “Ever been on one of those?” he whispers.
His tone, even now, sets my skin afire, leaving a burning in its wake. “Maybe I have,” pretending to be coy, even though I’m sure I’m not fooling anyone. Least of all him.
I think back to the guy who took my V-card that summer. We kind of dated. If sneaking off to fool around means dating, then we definitely did that. But I don’t think that’s exactly what Lucas has in mind.
“That pretty blush is back in your cheeks, Dakota,” Lucas says, pitching his voice low, making me swoon all over. “Care to tell me what you’re thinking about?”
My face burns hotter as I try to regain control over myself. This guy just does something to me.
He chuckles, moving his desk closer until they touch. Our shoulders brush. I refuse to look at how close he is, my face burning up as I try to listen to the dull narrator’s voice talk about some animal that has a head of a lion but a body of a— Honestly, I don’t fucking know. Unless that TV starts showing giant pictures of dicks, I’ve totally lost interest.
Lucas’s breath hits my skin, and I freeze right where I am. My muscles tense. All those things that boy and I did that summer, turn to Lucas and I doing them. My mind is a wonderful place to be. I’ve always thought so. The things my brain can conjure up to take me out of my everyday surroundings makes it my most precious commodity. When life was hard, my imagination kept me sane.
Lucas trails his fingertips over my thigh. My leg jumps in response. I’m barely breathing at all as he moves his hand higher and higher until his wrist brushes my stomach. My muscles tense underneath. My core ignites like an inferno just begging to be released. I haven’t been this strung up in a while.
“Dakota, you...” He licks his lips and trails off as his fingers move over the seam of my shorts until he’s cupping me. His breath comes out in a whoosh. “Jesus fuck, girl. You must be on fire.”
He traces a trail up the inseam of my linen shorts until I squirm in the seat. The desk creaks, and he stops. The muscles in his arm flex. With his other hand, he pushes my notebook onto my lap until it rests against the desk and my thighs, completely blocking anyone’s view of what he’s doing. I’ve never been more thankful to be sitting in the back corner of a classroom.
His fingers start exploring, and I grip the edge of my desk. Much surer now, he works his finger up and down my inseam, pressing the doubled fabric to the side so it feels as if he’s sliding right over my panties.
I know this is wrong, but I can’t help myself. Lucas is eye candy on a whole other level. My brain also tries to tell me that he stood next to me earlier in the cafeteria, sticking up for me. But let’s get real. That’s not what this is. This is about release, plain and simple.
“How far will you go?” he whispers, more to himself than to me.
I buck into his fingers, and he grips the desk now, pressing his lips together to keep whatever sound he was about to invest in back.
“You think because it’s dark in here, they
