Len made me rock hard, and that was both an unwelcome distraction and a relief. Each night, after hours of first base, I’d crawl back to my room, dizzy because all my blood was in my cock, and beat one off before passing out in bed. I came buckets. I hadn’t come often before my arrangement with Good Girl, and never this much. I’m talking enough to fill a milk carton. I had to Google that shit to see that it was normal.

For some reason, Lenora seemed perfectly content to kick me out as soon as we were done. Neither of us wanted anything more, so I wasn’t exactly fucking begging for spooning. She didn’t strike me as clingy or possessive, and I dug that.

I even started feeling a little sorry for hijacking her internship.

Okay, not really.

My streak of not seeing people in a castle full of fucking people ended on my sixth week at Carlisle Prep. It was ten past seven in the morning, and I strode down the fourth-floor hallway where all the interns, assistants, and staff resided.

Basically, all the assholes of legal age who could fraternize with each other without getting their asses thrown in jail.

That’s when I saw Arabella slipping out of a room.

Edgar’s room.

She closed the door with a soft click, tucked her chin down, and shook her head. She looked like shit—tired, emotional, crying. When she looked up and spotted me, a slow, bitchy grin spread on her face.

She wiped her cheeks clean of tears.

“Thought you’d look for me, Spence.” She popped one hip out, parking her hand on her waist. She wore…what the fuck was it that she wore? Some sort of red, lacy nightgown with a matching robe. She’d clearly paid the sculptor a social call. On her back, most likely.

I continued advancing toward Len’s room, ignoring her. She followed me, chasing my steps like the desperate Chihuahua she was. Good thing I didn’t have any loyalties to Lenora. Breaking the news that her fifty-something pops was porking a teenager would make for awkward foreplay conversation.

Not that we had any, thank fuck.

Although, I couldn’t be completely sure I wasn’t going to tell her, either. Who the fuck knew what was going to come out of my mouth when I met her again? Sometimes I wanted to ruin her, sometimes save her, and most times I was indifferent to her existence, save for what her stupid body made me feel.

“Did I tell you all my clothes got stolen and burned last week?” Arabella called after me. “I had to walk around in an actual uniform until my parents shipped me some clothes.”

I knew. I was the one responsible for it. Arabella seemed to have completely forgotten that the last time I saw her, she’d set Lenora’s house on fire and left me to save her. I thought it’d be a nice way to say hello without actually seeing her face.

“Damn shame.” I moved deliberately fast to make it hard for her to keep up. “Then again, most of the time you’re out of your clothes and on your knees, so I bet no one will notice.”

“You’re so funny.” She swatted my shoulder, shadowing me, still. “Where’s your room?” she panted.

She’d been crying just a second ago, but now looked like a ball of fucking sunshine. I hated soulless, preppy, hedge fund girls. I passed Len’s room and headed toward mine. I didn’t want Arabella anywhere near my business.

“It’s room stop-being-so-desperate,” I quipped.

“I haven’t seen you around, and we live on the same floor.”

I passed my room, too, reached the wide stairs, rounded them, and went down the other stairway, toward the second floor. She followed.

“I’m working,” I said finally.

“Well, I’m not.” She burst out laughing. “Poor Raphael, or whatever his name is. Vampire Girl helps him sometimes, but honestly, he’s lonelier than a virgin in a Panic! At the Disco concert. I go downtown every day in search of cute clothes and, like, a life. There are zero malls in this area. Total bore.”

So Lenora was still hanging out with fuckface. I made a mental note to remind both of them to keep their hands to themselves. My pulse began to drum against my throat.

Best friends since childhood, my ass. I’d seen how it ended between Knight and Luna. Spoiler: They weren’t very platonic since she’d started gurgling his cum on a daily basis.

I rounded the hallway, proceeding to the last stairway. Arabella could barely breathe, I moved so fast.

“C’mon, Spence. I’m lonely as hell.”

“Leave, then.”

She was the one who’d begged me to score her this gig when I dragged her ass to Indiana. I couldn’t even remember why I’d complied—something to do with pissing Len off, and knowing I’d have a steady girl to suck my cock in a place full of minors. Didn’t seem like such a bad deal at the time…