I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. My brother had no idea how dangerous this would be for her. “This will be her freshman year. I want her to have some semblance of a normal year. New friends, dorm room, feeling lost—that bullshit.”

A grin teased at the corners of Logan’s mouth. “Sometimes I forget how much of a softie you are inside. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do, but first, can we stop at that liquor store? I really do want to get some booze.”

I pulled in and he went inside. The conversation was dropped, and when Logan came back with enough liquor for half the wedding, his whole attitude was gone. The rest of tonight was about having fun.

Tomorrow we were heading to Cain University.

SAMANTHA

It was College Move-in Day and the day I used to dream about.

It was the epitome of freedom to me. Freedom from my mother’s tirades. Freedom from the unhappiness in the house. Freedom from her highs and lows. Freedom from her. Even when we’d first moved in with Mason and Logan, I’d still longed for when I could go away to college. That was the last link in the chain. Mason and Logan protected me from her, but I hadn’t been physically free from her until James took her to a hospital. College was the final breakaway from her, and here I was.

I was free. Finally and for real.

Mason and I walked past a mother and daughter hugging each other with tears in their eyes. That wasn’t me. I was on cloud nine. Malinda offered to come, but I didn’t want her and David to wait one more day for their honeymoon. They deserved to be happy, and with Mason beside me, this was my happiness.

This day was finally here. Literally. We were at my dorm room.

Mason opened the door and went inside to put my bags on the nearest bed. He stood back and watched me come inside.

My dorm room was one large square. Behind the door were two dressers. The beds were pushed up against the far wall, set on top of each other, and a window was in the corner. A desk was next to it, along with two dressers against the third wall. The second desk was right next to the door.

I nodded to the bed where Mason already put my bags and put my bag on the desk by the window. I wanted that corner area for myself. I wanted the window view, looking out over a quad surrounded by sidewalks and trees. A group of guys were throwing a football around, and two groups of girls were laying out, already reading books or studying.

It was my little corner of home.

Mason asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to live with us?”

I ran my hand down the desk, feeling the wood and the little indent of someone’s initials carved into it. I shook my head. “No. I want this year.”

He nodded. “I know.”

We talked about it at length before. Mason was worried about Sebastian, thinking he was going to try to hurt Mason through me, but that was the problem. If Sebastian were going to use me to hurt Mason, that meant Mason would have to know about it. I didn’t know what Sebastian had in mind. I was assuming some form of mental manipulation, but he’d have to line up. I had gone against some of the best. It wasn’t going to work, so here I was. Mason was worried about me. I was worried about him.

Mason, Logan, and Nate had been hush-hush about their plan to battle against Sebastian. I was not to be a part of it—that was all I knew—but they didn’t know my plan.

I would not allow Mason to be hurt. I was protecting my man this time. It was my turn to keep secrets. This was going to be the one and only secret I would keep from the man I loved.

Mason would never know how Park Sebastian was trying to hurt me.

“Oh.” A nervous laugh came from the doorway. A very tall, very slender, and very beautiful girl with almost white-blond hair stood there, holding on to two bags slung over her shoulder. She adjusted one of the straps and flashed perfect, white teeth, smiling at us. “Hey. I’m Summer.” She focused on me. “You’re Samantha?”

I nodded. “Sam.”

“Oh, nice.” She came in, putting her bags on the floor. “I was nervous I got the wrong room. Again. Apparently, we have floors that go that way and floors that go this way. I didn’t realize our floor was one of those that went this way.” As she talked, her hands made motions to the left, to the right, and back again.

I was mesmerized by her languid motions. As she moved, it was like she was gliding or floating. I’d never seen anything like it. Heather was sexy, and she commanded that attention, but Summer was different. It was like she was a gazelle or a goddess.

Sparkling bracelets slid over her arms as she was motioning, still talking and laughing, now explaining how maneuvering through the packed hallways had gotten her even more lost. She was saying this to Mason, her eyes transfixed on him. She tilted her head backward, lifting her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before grazing her fingers down the side of her cheek and lingering there for a second.

That was when the momentary spell was gone. Poof. I snapped to attention. Her eyes were dilated, and her lips were plumped out a little bit.

My roommate was attracted to my boyfriend.

I interrupted whatever she was saying, “Mason’s my man.”

Her voice cut off, and she looked at me. Her eyes were wide, surprised. “Uh…yeah.”

Mason coughed, frowning at me. “I already told her that.”

“Oh.” He did?

“He was telling me that he had a brother here, too.”

I frowned, glancing at the hallway. “Logan was supposed to help me move in.”

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