Page 97 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5

“My way out of this hell.” He slid the keycard down the front of my dress.

This time I was going to slap him. Because his hand had frozen on my left breast. James Hunter was not a very nice boy.

Just as I was about to lift up my hand, I realized he was staring at something behind me. And he looked even more pissed off than I was. I turned around to see Matt walking into the ballroom. With Rachel on his arm. If I thought the room had shushed when I walked in, this was a whole other level. It was freaking silent.

Matt’s tux fit him perfectly. And Rachel looked beautiful on his arm. They were both smiling and it felt like a punch in the gut. Maybe James was right. Maybe I did hate Matt. Maybe I did want to get back at him.

Matt’s eyes locked with mine. His gaze traveled down to where James' hand had just dropped the keycard in the front of my dress. Matt’s smile faltered, despite the fact that he was literally walking into the dance with another girl.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” James said.

“Not if I do it first.”

“Better idea,” James said. Before I even realized what was happening, James had pulled me back into his arms. And his lips were on mine. Revenge tasted bitter even though his lips were sweet.

Elite - Chapter 31

Saturday

I would have blamed the kiss on the fact that James was drunk. A lot of things James did could be blamed on that. But he didn’t taste like alcohol as his tongue traced my lips. And I didn’t smell any smoke on him either. He was sober. He knew what he was doing. He knew exactly the reaction he would get.

I heard the gasps around us.

Part of me wanted to open my mouth to James. How could Matt walk in here with James’ girlfriend on his arm? How could Matt pretend he was still interested in me, making me promise him a dance? How could he be so cruel? I didn’t even recognize this version of him.

James’ hand tightened on my waist.

But I recognized this feeling. The want. It’s how Matt used to kiss me. And I knew I’d kind of dated Felix. And I was kind of seeing Miller too. But I never did any of it to intentionally hurt Matt. I did it because all he ever did was hurt me.

Maybe James was right. Maybe revenge would make us both feel better. After all, he was an expert in this area, not me. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kiss him back. It felt wrong. This wasn’t me.

James moved his free hand to the back of my head, locking me in place.

“Kiss me back, Brooklyn,” he whispered against my lips. “Hurt him back. Let him know how much it fucking hurts.”

It was wrong. All of it was wrong. It was like I was literally staring sin in the face. And hatred. And sadness. James was in pain. I knew it, because I felt it too. I was freaking drowning in it.

“Please,” he whispered. “Do it for me.”

I put my hand on his chest like I was going to shove him away. But instead my hand froze there. When I first saw James, all I could see was the sadness behind his eyes. I wasn’t attracted to him because we were both drowning. But maybe he understood me better than anyone else here.

James looked down at my hand and then back at my face. It was like the permission he needed. This time when he lowered his mouth back to mine, I parted my lips for him. I let him use me just this once. Because Matt fucking deserved it. He was a terrible friend. It was as if Matt’s favorite pastime was ripping out people’s hearts and stomping on them for fun. And I was so tired of all the games. I was just so freaking tired. So for just a second, I wasn’t drowning alone. I was drowning with the saddest boy at Empire High. And maybe doing this favor for him would make him feel better. Even it was for just a few seconds.

“What the fuck, James?” Matt was pulling James off of me. He shoved James hard in the chest and James’ crown toppled off his head.

“What?” James said with a smile. “I thought you liked to share.”

Matt took a swing but James ducked.

I realized that maybe James was sober for the first time in weeks because he had been hoping for this fight. Planning it. Using me. I’d already known it, but I still felt cheap.

“Enjoying my sloppy seconds?” James asked. “You can keep Rachel. I’m pretty sure I like Brooklyn better anyway. Finders keepers, if you know what I mean.”

“James, stop,” Rachel said. “Please just talk to me for five seconds so I can explain. You owe me at least that.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” James said. “Besides, I’m busy. I was just about to take Brooklyn to my suite. Right, babe?” he said to me with a wink. “She promised I could be her first.”

God.It was the absolute worst thing he could possibly say. Not just because it was horribly embarrassing. And untrue. But because Matt was convinced that he’d be all my firsts. My whole body felt hot as everyone’s eyes turned to me. Couldn’t James see that he was making everything a thousand times worse? I shouldn’t have listened to him. Revenge didn’t make anything better. And I didn’t realize that James had a death wish.