Chapter 8 PARTY WARS.
SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW.
The music was so loud it felt like the floor itself had a pulse, as it started thrumming up through my heels, and my bones, until it was inside me. Gold lights dripped from the ceiling in thick chains and ribbons, as the entire room smelled like champagne, cigarettes, weed, and the kind of trouble you couldn’t wash off in the morning.
Lucien’s hand was still at the small of my back as we moved, with him guiding me forward through the crush of bodies. He didn’t look at anyone, but everyone looked at him. That was the thing about Lucien Ravenscroft; you either watched him as he walked into the room or you pretended not to while burning up with jealousy on the inside.
And tonight, I was on his arm as two things;
His fake girlfriend.
His public possession.
“You’re staring at me,” he murmured, leaning just close enough against the stairs as he pulled me close to him, removing any space between us so that his lips brushed the shell of my ear.
It was deliberate, especially since everyone was still watching us; even though they pretended to be interested in something else as they tried to busy themselves with something or someone else.
But I knew they were still watching and waiting for something that would point out that this was the fake relationship it was.
“Careful, scholarship girl. People might think you want me.” Lucien whispered in my ear. His warm, minty breath made me shiver internally, but I looked at him like I was unfazed.
But I had a feeling he knew just how much he affected me.
I didn’t answer; mostly because if I opened my mouth in that moment, something dangerous might come out.
Like 'you wish'. Or worse, 'you’re right.
Because for some reason, probably his charm, and the way he was so seductive without even trying, I'd found myself drifting to him with one desire;
To have a taste of him.
We passed Roxanne at the bar. She was draped over Matt like a snake. The moment she saw us, a smug smile stretched itself on her lips, as her eyes narrowed in slits. Her lips curved when she saw me. It was slow and poisonous.
Next thing I knew, she turned to her band of bimbo girls, and she whispered something to them as they sat around her in dresses less flattering than hers.
It was like they made it their mission to make her always look better than them.
Whatever she said had them turn to look at me, and all of a sudden, their laughter sliced through the bass like knives. It felt like a pack of hyenas was laughing at a lion cub as they circled it, all ready to sink their fangs into its belly.
Seeing that, Lucien’s fingers tightened on my waist. “Ignore them.” He said, forcing my eyes to look back at him, and no longer on them.
Except ignoring them wasn’t an option.
In less than no time, Roxanne stood and made a show of clinking her glass and calling out over the music. “Everyone! Look, Sloane Bishop! Looking,” her eyes skimmed down my dress like she was searching for any flaws “—expensive. Who bought it for you?”
The room seemed too still for a second as some of the guys made wincing noises in mock injury at me. All of a sudden, heads turned, and phones lifted as everyone's eyes fell on me. The music has stopped, and the room is quiet.
This was blood in the water, and Roxanne was smiling like a fucking shark.
Before I could react, Lucien stepped forward with his body between mine and every staring eye in the room, as he pulled me behind him in an act of protection so swift, it almost made me think this wasn't fake anymore. His voice was hard as he stared at Roxanne with an angry expression.
He looked scary in that moment as he stared at her with what looked like so much hatred in his eyes, I almost got scared for her.
. “Careful, Roxanne. Jealousy’s an ugly color on you.”
Her lips parted. In shock as she stared at him. It seemed she never expected him to speak to her like that. “Jealous?" She paused as she stared behind him, her eyes drifted in on me with condescension. "Of her?”
Lucien didn’t even blink. He responded immediately. “Of course. You couldn’t pull off that dress if you set it on fire and walked through the ashes.”
The crowd erupted in hysterics as everyone bellowed in laughter at his response. Roxanne’s cheeks flushed red in embarrassment and rage. She reached over and grabbed Matt’s drink and downed it, with her eyes locked on me like she wished she could burn holes through my skin with the force of her stare.
Lucien’s arm slid around my waist, pulling me flush against him without warning, and he crashed his lips to mine.
With wide eyes in shock, which elicited a whimper, he devoured my lips like it was his last meal after a long fast.
He didn’t just kiss me — he claimed me in front of the rich kids of Ravenscroft High for the third time. It wasn’t a soft or sweet kiss; instead, it felt like it was a dare, a brand, the kind of kiss that left no room for denial as people gasped, cheered, and filmed us.
When he pulled back, his eyes were dark, as he stared at me with heaved breathing, and a look that screamed 'You're mine.'
He whispered to me, “They still think I’m faking it, too, that I don’t want you.”
My pulse skipped in my arms at the tone of his voice. It was husky, warm, and full of command. “And?”
He smirked, slow and dangerous as he said. “Want to prove them wrong?”
Before I could answer, a crash split the air, as glass shattered somewhere on the other side of the house. Gasps rippled through the room as someone stood abruptly and yelled, “Check your phone,” and then, like wildfire, the whispers spread. Everyone stood with their phones out as they scrolled away.
I pulled mine from my clutch. The screen lit up with a group chat I didn’t remember being in. At the top was a photo.
It was of my grades...well, someone's grades because this certainly wasn't mine. The person made it seem like all I got in school were fails, and I was with the king of Ravenscroft just to excel.
The caption read: 'Guess tuition isn’t the only thing she’s working for.'
I froze as every cell in my body felt like it was trying to retreat inward, away from their prying eyes, their smirks, their silent judgment.
I was so focused on them that I didn’t even hear Matt’s footsteps until he stood in front of me.
“You should leave,” he said, voice pitched low, like we were still friends. His eyes flashed with what looked like concern, but I knew better than that.“Before it gets worse.”
Something sharp and cold sliced through the humiliation as the pain of his betrayal burned deep and new all over again. “You mean before I ruin the performance you and your little actress started?”
Matt’s mouth tightened at my response as he stared at me in shock. “You’ve changed.”
“Yeah,” I said, stepping closer so my voice wouldn’t have to carry. “I stopped being stupid enough to think you cared about me.”
Lucien moved before Matt could answer. He didn’t touch him, not quite—but the way he stood, the way his presence swallowed the air, and the sheer power that came from being the king of the school, it made Matt take a step back immediately.
“Touch her, and you burn for it,” Lucien said, his voice in a low growl that didn’t need to be loud to be dangerous or lethal to anyone who listened.
Roxanne’s laughter rang out again in front of us, but it was thinner this time around as it stretched tight. “Wow. I didn’t realize I’d invited the circus.”
Lucien’s smirk was pure malice. “One rumor deserves another, remember? Let’s play, rat.”
She turned to him with anger in her eyes, "Rat?" She asked, but Lucien didn't spare her another glance.
And just like that, he turned to Theo-- one of his horsemen-- across the room. And with a single nod, Theo was on his phone.
Seconds later, the first gasps started; this time, they were louder and sharper as everyone's phones buzzed, and they stared at their screens. My phone buzzed again, but I didn’t need to look to know it was bad; everyone's reaction was enough.
From the way Roxanne’s face drained of color, I knew it was worse.
She shoved past us, and Matt chased after her. Lucien’s arm tightened around me. “You fuck with her, you fuck with me. And you all know, my revenge burns hotter than the fucking sun."
And then he kissed me again, harder than before, until the noise of the party blurred into nothing and all I could taste was fire.