"You're not going," Theo said, arms crossed, leaning against my doorframe like he owned the air in the room.
I blinked at him, holding my phone. "Excuse me?"
"I said you're not going. That party's not for girls like you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Girls like me?"
"Innocent. Dumb enough to get hurt."
"You don't get to decide what I do."
He pushed off the doorframe, stepping closer. "This isn't school, Aria. It's different. That crowd? They chew up people like you and spit you out for sport."
I stood my ground. "And what—you're going to protect me? Again?"
He didn't flinch. "No. I'm warning you."
I swallowed the heat rising in my chest. "Noted."
But the moment he left, I slipped on a black crop top, the shortest skirt I owned, and texted my ride.
Because screw Theo Blackwood.
I wasn't a doll he could lock in a glass case.
The party was chaos the moment I stepped in.
Loud music. Lights like strobes. Rich teens doing lines of powder off crystal trays while others disappeared upstairs to do God knows what.
"Aria Monroe in a skirt?" someone shouted over the bass. "Did hell freeze over?"
I turned and saw Jace, red solo cup in hand, grinning.
I forced a smile. "Just trying to fit in."
"You're doing more than that," he said, eyes raking over me.
He offered a drink. I took it, even though I hated the smell. I needed to feel normal. Invisible.
I needed to stop thinking about him.
But of course, fate had other plans.
I was halfway through a bitter sip when the room went silent.
And then I heard his voice.
"Get the f* away from her."**
I turned—and there he was.
Theo.
Storming through the crowd like the devil himself. Black shirt, sleeves rolled up, rage in his eyes.
He shoved Jace aside, hard.
"Are you insane?" I hissed. "You followed me?"
"You think I'm letting you drink some mystery cup from him?" He grabbed the cup and threw it to the ground. "Are you trying to get drugged?"
My face burned. "I can handle myself!"
"You're shaking."
"I'm not!"
He stepped closer.
The music started again, but it felt like everything went quiet around us.
"You're not like them," he said, voice low. "You don't belong here."
"Then where do I belong, Theo?" My voice cracked. "Because I sure as hell don't belong in your world either."
Something shifted in his eyes.
He reached for me—but stopped short. His hand hovered near my jaw, his fingers twitching like he was fighting himself.
"I shouldn't…"
"Then don't," I whispered.
But neither of us moved.
Not for a long second.
And then?
He kissed me.
It wasn't gentle.
It was messy. Rough. Raw.
A collision of mouths and bottled-up heat and months of forbidden tension exploding like a lit match on gasoline.
I gasped. He backed me into the wall. One hand in my hair, the other gripping my waist.
"You drive me f***ing insane," he whispered between kisses. "I can't stop thinking about you."
My knees buckled.
I didn't know who I was in that moment. I didn't care.
All I knew was that I wanted more.
More of his lips.
More of his touch.
More of this chaos.
But just as fast as it started, he broke away.
Breathless. Shaking.
"This was a mistake," he growled. "You should've stayed in your room."
And then he was gone.
Again.
I returned home in silence, my lips still tingling, my mind a wreck.
But as I walked upstairs, I saw something that made my blood run cold.
Gregory.
Standing at the top of the stairs.
Watching.
"I didn't hear you come in," I said, voice shaky.
He didn't smile.
Didn't blink.
"Big night?" he asked.
I nodded slowly. "Just a party."
"Who dropped you off?"
"A friend."
He stepped closer. His eyes flicked down to my skirt. "That's not what you wore to school."
I felt sick.
He was looking too closely.
Too intently.
I backed toward my room. "I'm tired. Goodnight."
But before I could close the door, he said one more thing:
"You remind me of your mother when she was younger."
The door clicked shut behind me, and I bolted it immediately.
My heart thundered in my ears.
That wasn't a compliment.
That was a warning.
A hint.
A threat?
I couldn't sleep.
Not after what happened.
Not after what almost happened.
The taste of Theo still burned on my lips.
But Gregory's stare?
That haunted me deeper.
Something was wrong in this house.
Something was very, very wrong.
And the worst part?
The only person who might protect me… Was the one person I wasn't allowed to want.