Fuck me.
Maize though, she’s not the kind of girl to take. From what I knew of her, she’d worked her way through high school on scholarship, and is here at Kingston on one as well—up until I hit her in the head with my football. She works hard to get what she needs, and really, if she becomes a sugar baby, and is doing chores, homework, and whatever else needs to be done, that’s working hard to get what she needs too, right? I’m not sure I’m buying that logic either. I thought about straight up offering her money, but I appreciate my nuts between my legs, not shoved down my throat.
My door flies open and I spin around to see Theodore, also known as Thor because of his size and longish blond hair, come racing into my room. He looks a little like a superhero in his robe. He practically skids to a halt when he sees me in mine.
“What the fuck, dude?”
I’m tall, but I still have to lift my gaze to meet his eyes. I square my shoulders. “You’ve got a problem.”
“Fuck no, but you never play. What’s going on?” He backs up and leans against my doorjamb, blocking all light in the hallway. “Wait, does this have something to do with that girl you ruined?”
I cringed. “Ruined? I didn’t ruin her.” My gaze goes to my bed. If I had her on the mattress, beneath me… then I might ruin her. My cock takes that moment to thicken. Not that it takes much when I’m thinking about Maize. Jesus, she’s so fit, so tight everywhere, and those fucking kissable lips. I almost tasted them in high school. Almost had my tongue in her mouth, but she had to go and ruin things by pantsing me. Yeah, she’s the one who ruined things, not me.
Thor frowns. “Well, she’s never going to run again, you know that, right?”
“I thought you were a psych major. I had no idea you were getting a medical degree on the side.”
He bursts out laughing, pushes off the wall and slaps me on the shoulder. “You need to relax, my man. Get your ass down there, get a bid in on the hottest girl, and do yourself a favor and get laid.”
“Yeah, okay,” is all I say, even though I have no intention of sleeping with Maize. He moves and I step around him, the knot in my stomach growing tighter and tighter as I adjust my robe and make my way to the basement. My brothers are all standing around, waiting for the invites to enter. I stand back a bit, and question my sanity. I can’t do this. I just can’t. I’m about to bolt, never to set foot in the basement again, when the large solid brass bell rings.
Thor throws his arm around my shoulders and walks me to a chair. I tuck my hood around my head and drop into a chair. Thor sinks into the chair beside me, and while he’s in his robe, I think he just likes attending, and right now is enjoying my nervousness. He’s already got a girl, and from what I’ve seen, the two are getting along just fine. The other day, he put a gorgeous diamond on her neck, a thank you for doing his homework. It’s a win/win, right? Not that I’d let anyone do my homework. I’m not risking expulsion from campus, and how would that look for my dad. Nope, I have to stay on the straight and narrow.
Then what the hell are you doing here, dude?
I take a deep breath as the first girl is led to the stage. She’s dressed cute, flirty lingerie as she flaunts herself in front of the guys, and in no time at all, the bidding begins. I shift in my chair, restless, not really expecting Maize to show up, yet on some ridiculous level hoping she does. I glance at the door, which is locked and closed now and guarded by Andrew. Maybe she gave him the card and bolted. Heck, maybe Kaitlyn did it for her. She is in a boot for a busted ankle, and probably can’t walk too far. As the time slowly ticks by I become more restless by the minute and I pull my phone out to scroll through social media. Thor nudges me when the last girl takes the stage.
“Doesn’t look like she’s coming,” he points out.
I can’t tell whether I’m happy or disappointed that she never showed up. I push to my feet, ready to go back to my room and get out of the ridiculous robe. “Just as well,” I say. In the dark room, I maneuver around a long oaken table and tall marble columns, when a noise on the stage pulls my attention. I spin, and when my heart leaps into my throat, I’m able to answer my earlier question. It was disappointment, pure unadulterated disappointment that I wasn’t going to get a chance to bid on the girl that’s been in my fantasies a time or two—even when I hated her. I go perfectly still, take in the gorgeous brunette standing on stage, unsure, vulnerable. My pulse picks up as my protective instincts kick in full force, and one word bounces around inside my brain.
Mine.
I silently walk back to Thor, and without looking or speaking to him, quietly drop down into my chair. On the stage, James starts the bidding, and I raise my hand, and in a low, disguised voice—yeah, she’ll probably run if she knows it’s me—I shout out a ridiculous number that will more than cover her tuition. No fucking way is she going home with anyone but me tonight. Chairs scrape the marble floor as my brothers shift in their seats, trying to get a look at whoever started the bidding at such an unusually high price. I square my shoulders, my eyes on Maize as she tries to
