Page 59

“That’s not your call! Royer said—” Rat argues.

Knox shuts him up with a glare. “I’m on the executive board.” He nods at Miller. “And so is he. We’ve got a quorum.”

I feel like I’m teetering on the tip of a knife. I’m getting hurt one way or the other—how badly is in Knox’s hands.

“I’ll do it,” he says, holding his hand up to Miller before he protests. “I’ll maintain the integrity of the punishment and if I go over the line, I’ll take the consequences.”

“You’re fucking with me!” Rat shouts. “I’m the warden. It’s my job!”

“I’d watch how you speak to an upperclassman and officer,” Knox says, tone shifting dramatically. It’s the first real move of authority I’ve seen from him. “Get the fuck out of here before I turn this back on you.”

Rat’s eyes narrow and for a minute I think he may lunge for the paddle again but grabs the doorknob and jerks the door open. “You’re going to regret this,” he says, looking between us. His eyes linger on me the longest, and I can’t suppress the chill that runs through my veins. Right before he steps out and slams the door he adds, “Fuck you both.”

Knox walks over to the door and holds it open. He jerks his chin at Miller. “You, too. Out.”

“What? No. If you’re going to—

“Out, Hansen,” he says, giving him a pointed look. “This is the only way, and you know it.”

Miller’s jaw is so tight I think it may snap. He moves until he’s chest to chest with Knox, chin lifted. “I’m trusting you.”

“I know.” He tilts his head. “Go and make sure they don’t come in here before I’m finished.”

Miller exhales, hesitantly relenting. He gives me one last look before walking out of the room. Knox locks the door behind him. It’s just the two of us, the room quiet other than the pounding of my heart.

“Please, don’t do this.” It comes out shaky and hot tears burn at the corner of my eyes. I can’t help but stare at the paddle in his hand. The thick handle.God.“You don’t want to do this. What about last—”

He closes the space between us, fingers brushing under my chin as he tilts it upward. “This is happening, Reagan. You’re just lucky it’s me, not Rat. He would have torn up that sweet little ass and there’s no way in hell I was going to let that happen.” His hand creeps around to my lower back and he pushes his fingertips under my shirt, warm against my skin. “Miller knows what I have to do.”

“If you care so much about Miller, then why can’t we just pretend? How can you do this to him?”

“We’re brothers, sweetheart.” His thumb makes soft circles just above my crack. “We share everything. He trusted me to stay in that room with the information about you. He’s also trusting me with your ass.”

“You guys are crazy.”

He shrugs but grins. “We’re Zeta Sigs, which means what I’m about to do to you shouldn’t be a surprise.” He uses the paddle to point across the room. I follow its direction and see the slanted wooden desk top. “Drop your pants and bend over. It’s time for some brotherly love.”

24

Knox

Like the rest of the day, the scene unfolds both fast and in slow-motion. Forty-seven is a girl. Not just a girl, but Royer’s ex, Reagan. Miller knew it and kept it from me and Royer. Kept it from everyone.

Damn, he’s good.

I knew there was some rivalry between the two—especially over how initiation and the gauntlet were being handled. I thought it was just petty dick measuring. I see enough of that on the rowing team and figured it’d pass once we got through recruitment. I’d been content to let them piss it out, but watching this unfold? God, it’s a new level of deliciousness.

“Drop your pants and bend over,” I tell her. “It’s time for some brotherly love.”

Reagan trembles in fear and a twist of desire flickers in my belly. Sure, she still looks like a boy, except when I walked in Miller’s room earlier and caught her sucking his cock, I knew something was off. The slight curve of her body. Her narrow, tapered neck. Her tits when I finally saw them, round and perfect. But right now, physical looks isn’t what stokes the fire licking at my balls. It’s the waves of apprehension rolling off her, the sheer terror. She’s afraid of the paddle—ofme. And I’m here for it.

Her eyes dart to mine as she reaches for the button on her jeans. I give her an encouraging nod. “Part of having a successful plan is knowing when to pivot. Miller and I both know that. We’re brothers. Sharing this—you—with him is just an extension of that relationship.”

It’s in that moment that the fear vanishes from her eyes and is replaced with something else—hard determination. I shouldn’t be surprised. Anyone that gets this far through the gauntlet is made of steel. Despite what Royer and Andrea thought about her, she must be tough as nails. It just makes me want to see how she handles being on the receiving end of brotherly love even more.

Her jeans drop to her ankles, and I see her in a way that I couldn’t up in Miller’s room. The light in the parlor is bright, revealing the supple thighs and curvy hips she’s kept hidden underneath the fabric. The shorts go next, displaying the round swell of an ass only possessed by a woman. It’s instantly recognizable and my dick gets hard at the sight of the faint lines of her bikini tan.

She takes one last, long look at me, and I expect her to beg me not to do it, but her jaw clenches tight and she positions herself back against the wooden desktop, naked and sexy.