Be My Brayshaw (Brayshaw High #4)(35)

Maddoc and I step out, simultaneously pulling the girls’ doors open before they have a chance to do it themselves.

Victoria stares at me, blindly snagging her backpack off the floorboard at her feet as she climbs out.

I allow my eyes to travel the length of her.

She’s small compared to me. Where my shoulders are wide, hers are narrow, almost petite, as is the rest of her body, but she’s got shape, subtle curves that make it impossible not to wish for a closer look. Even more so with the way she tries to hide it, always with the least amount of skin on display as possible.

She never openly flaunts.

Not that she has to, she’s got a natural lure she’s aware of and, if I’m guessing right, hates.

Her toned legs are constantly covered in cheap jeans, and she only wears tops she can tuck into the waistband. Most of the time she has a little jacket on, but it’s getting warmer, so today her flannel is tied around her hips. Still, her long sleeves hide every inch of her.

She’s left her hair as it falls, a little messy but still full and shiny, by the end of the day it’ll be thrown in a ball on top of her head. When I’ve seen her out, she has dark shit on her eyes, deepening the brown of her gaze, but on most days, like today, she wears little to no makeup, but her high cheekbones, dark lashes, and brows make it seem otherwise. Mix that with the natural swell her lips constantly hold and the shaded rosy red they tempt me with daily and she’s too fucking much, wakes up with that pouty baby doll look.

A legit sleeping beauty.

I draw my eyes back to hers and her chin lifts the slightest bit.

“Ready?” she asks, and I’m not sure if it’s a mask of bravery or stupid stride of confidence she shouldn’t hold.

I move a step closer, lifting my knuckle to her jaw, knowing dozens are staring and telling myself that’s the only reason why I want to feel more of her.

She’s as aware as I am others are watching, but instead of fighting, she allows me to tilt her head back farther.

“Better question.” I trail my knuckle down her throat and her head slowly rights itself. “Are you?”

Her eyes narrow. “Based on how you’re acting right now, I assume I’m the new pet, so I’ll ask you again.” She whispers, “You ready for this, Cap? ‘Cause you’re the one who ‘has’ to touch me today, then go home and convince yourself you didn’t want to.”

A dark laugh leaves me, and I shuffle closer.

“Oh, I want to,” I rasp, the honesty of my own words getting my blood pumping. “Pretty fuckin’ sure I made that clear.”

She looks away only to come right back.

“So, yes. I want to touch you in ways you couldn’t imagine if you tried, in places the sun’s never seen,” I admit, and her features pull. “But I have self-control.”

I take a few steps back, allowing her out of the doorway, but grip her upper arm before she’s fully free. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Like tempt you?” she throws back instantly.

“You could try.”

“Should I?”

Annoyance flares inside me, and she discreetly yanks free.

“I won’t play games, Captain. I did that for years because someone told me that was my purpose, and I’m not up for it anymore.”

My frown is instant. “What the fuck does that mean?”

She eyes me, but then shrugs and changes the subject. “I’m not going anywhere, so you’ll either come to understand who I am, or you won’t.”

“Who are you, Victoria Vega... Graven?”

Her lips smash together before a low chuckle leaves her. “Just a girl, capable of mistakes and living with regret like everyone else in the world, not that I regret all things I’d bet you want me to,” she says unapologetically, taking a small step away. “But I am human, no matter how much you try to convince yourself I’m a monster.”

“I don’t think you’re a monster,” I tell her. “But I know you’re a liar. I can’t trust you, and that is the issue.”

“Yet I’m sleeping down the hall, only feet away from the most precious thing in your world, and you’re allowing it. Demanded it even,” she calls me out, eyes bold and daring as she brings her body flush to mine. “Strange place for someone you can’t trust to be... don’t you think?”

My anger boils, a heavy tug stretching across my chest. “Don’t test me, Beauty.”

She steps back, flipping me off with both hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Beast.”

Raven’s light chuckle has my eyes flying over my shoulder and narrowing.

She gives a small smile, shrugging as Victoria walks away from me, and my eyes decide to follow.

This weekend was a bust.

Feelin’ out Jason was a waste, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

I tried to curb my appetite only to be forced to face what I was trying to deny—I only want her.

I could have at least fuckin’ hid it a little better, not let her in on my inner issues, but then a punk showed up and my possessiveness bared itself without permission.

If he thinks he can come in here and claim what he apparently believed to be his when he left, he’s wrong.

He can’t.

No one can.

Maybe not even me.