I sighed heavily and looked up at the intimidating building. I needed to do this for him, for us. It was why I had applied.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped away from him and gave them both my most confident smile. “I’ll be fine, Grandpa, but I’ll miss you so much.” Warm tears streamed rapidly down my face as I stepped into his embrace.
“I have some things for you. I know…” Grandpa coughed and wiped at a few of his own stray tears. “I know she would have liked you to have them, Trace.”
Wordlessly, he walked away from me and pulled a small box from the back of the car, then returned and handed it to me. “Don’t open it until you’re in your dorm. Oh, sweetheart, I’m going to miss you so much.”
I hugged him again and closed my eyes, memorizing the way his spicy scent filled my nostrils with all the comforts of home. “I’ll miss you more.”
“Not possible,” he said with a hoarse voice. “Not possible, sweetheart.”
He released me and folded some cash into my hand. I looked down into my clenched fist, where a few hundred dollar bills were rolled with a rubber band. “I can’t take this.” I tried to give it back, but he put his hands up and chuckled.
“Nope, your grandma would roll over in her grave if she knew I was dropping you off at some fancy school without an emergency fund. You keep it. You hide it in your pillow or something, okay?”
“Grandpa, we don’t live in the Depression anymore. I don’t need to go hiding money under my mattress or in my pillowcase.”
He narrowed his eyes and laughed. “Just keep it safe.”
I hugged Grandpa one last time. He sighed heavily into my shoulder. “Be safe, Grandpa. Don’t let the cows out and keep milking the goats. I really will miss you.”
“And I you… Just, do me a favor.” He pulled away and looked into my eyes as I nodded. “Be careful. There are people out there who…” He cursed. Grandpa rarely cursed.
“What is it?” Okay, he was starting to scare me.
He looked behind me and pressed his lips together in frustration. “Nothing. Never mind. Just be careful, okay, sweetheart?”
“Okay.” I kissed his cheek.
Grandpa grinned and got into the car. I waved as he drove off, then turned back toward the girl with the clipboard.
“Okay.” I took a soothing breath and faced my future. “So where to?”
“Name?” she asked, sounding bored.
“Trace Rooks.”
The girl smirked and shook her head as if my name was the most amusing thing she’d heard all day. Was everyone rude here?
“It’s your lucky day,” she announced, motioning toward the building. “You are in the United States.”
I looked around just to make sure I wasn’t getting punked. “Um, yeah, I know. I’m American.”
“Gee.” She put the pen in her mouth and sighed heavily. “I didn’t know that. You seemed foreign to me. Where did you say you were from? Wyoming? Do they even have electricity there?”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but she interrupted me… again.
“I know where we are, New Girl. Rooms are themed based on countries. Don’t ask me why; it’s just how it’s done. Your room is the United States Room. Go make yourself at home. Oh, and welcome to Elite.” She eyed me from head to toe twice before finally spinning around and returning to the building.
How was I supposed to get all my stuff in the building? Wasn’t there some sort of welcome packet or directions or something?
I vaguely remembered some information that had come in the mail the week before. It had my student ID card, amongst other things. I rummaged through my purse and found the packet and quickly began scanning it for the schedule.
“Are you lost?” a deep voice asked from behind me. I turned around and quickly came face to face with the same guy I’d seen before. Only this time he had three friends with him, not one. Lucky me.
“Nope. Apparently I live in the United States.” I gave him my best smile and tried to lift my heavy suitcase with my free hand. It didn’t budge and I almost fell over. Awesome.
“I’m Nixon.” He moved to stand in front of me. His icy stare did weird things to my body. I’m pretty sure what I was experiencing was called a panic attack. Every part of my body felt hot and then cold, as if I was going to explode any minute.
“Tracey, but everyone calls me Trace.” I held out my hand.
He stared at it like I was diseased.
I quickly pulled it back and wiped it on my jeans.
“Rules.”
“What?” I took a step back.
The guy from before named Chase left the waiting group and approached us. “He’s right. As cute as you are, Farm Girl, someone needs to tell you the rules.”
“Can it be fast?” I asked with an overwhelming sense of irritation. I was tired, jet-lagged, and about five seconds away from crying again. I’d never done public school, let alone a private Elite school where the guys were tattooed, pierced, and better looking than Abercrombie models.
“You hear that, Chase?” Nixon laughed. “She likes it fast.”
“Pity.” Chase winked. “I’d love to give it to her slow.”
I gulped. The two guys behind them laughed hysterically and high-fived one another.
“The rules.” Chase began circling me slowly, making me feel like one of those carcasses vultures feed on. Fantastic.
“No speaking to the Elect, unless you’ve been asked to speak to them.”
“Who are the—”
“Nope. You’ve already broken a rule. I’m speaking, New Girl.” Chase smirked. “Geez, Nixon, this one’s going to be hard to break in.”
“They always are,” Nixon replied, lifting my chin with his hand. “But I think I’ll enjoy this one.”
Okay. It was clear someone had just dropped me into a horror movie where I was going to be offed at any minute.
“If an Elect talks to you, never make eye contact. Because, technically, you don’t exist. You’re just a pathetic excuse for a human being, and at this school, you’re a real tragedy. You see, while one of the Elect is out running for president and basically ruling the free world, you’ll be lucky to be working for one of our companies. You follow the rules, and maybe we’ll throw you a bone.”
Furious, I glared at him, ignoring their second rule. “Is that all?”
“No,” Nixon answered for Chase. This time his touch was smooth as he caressed my arm. I tried to jerk away. His face lit up with a smile, and honestly, it was like staring at a fallen angel. Nixon was gorgeous. He was an ass, but he was a gorgeous ass. “You feel this?” His hand continued moving up my arm until he reached my shoulder, and then his hand moved to my neck and his thumb grazed my trembling lips. “Memorize it now, because as of this moment, you can’t touch us. We are untouchable. If you as much as sneeze in our direction, if you as much as breathe the same air in my atmosphere, I will make your life hell. This touch, what you feel against your skin, will be the only time you feel another human being as powerful as me near you. So like I said, feel it, remember it, and maybe one day, your brain will do you the supreme favor of forgetting what it felt like to have someone like me touching you. Then, and only then, will you be able to be happy with some mediocre boyfriend and pathetic life.”
A few tears slipped down my cheek before I could stop them. I knew I needed to appear strong in front of Nixon and Chase. I just… I didn’t have it in me, not when he would say such cruel things. I choked back a sob and stared them down, willing the rest of the tears to stay in. I didn’t care who these guys were. They had no right to treat me like this, though it still stung. I so desperately wanted to fit in.
He jerked his hand away from my face. “Pathetic. Are you going to cry? Really?” Nixon scowled and held out his hand to Chase. Chase handed him some Purell.
“Don’t want to get farm on my hands, you understand.” Nixon smiled such a mean smile that I literally had to clench my hands at my sides to keep from punching hi
m in the face and getting expelled.
“Don’t even think about it, New Girl. You touch me, I tell the dean, who just so happens to be Phoenix’s dad. We control the teachers because, guess what? My dad pays for everything. Now, if you have any questions about what we talked about here, please direct them to Tex and Phoenix, ‘kay?”
The two guys who had been standing back from us waved and then flipped me off.
“That’s how they say hello,” Nixon explained. “All right, Chase, it seems our job here is done. Oh, and Farm Girl, don’t forget. Classes start tomorrow. Welcome to Hell.”
Buy Links
Amazon
Nook
iBooks
Eagle Elite Series Reading Order and Release Dates
Elite
Elect
Entice
Elicit
Bang Bang (novella September 2014)
Enforce (Elite from Nixon and Chase’s POV December)
Ember (Phoenix’s story 2015)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over 29 books. She is obsessed with all things Starbucks and makes her home in Idaho with her husband and two snoring boxers.
OTHER BOOKS BY RACHEL VAN DYKEN
The Bet Series
The Bet (Forever Romance)
The Wager (Forever Romance)
The Dare
Eagle Elite
Elite (Forever Romance)
Elect (Forever Romance)
Entice
Elicit
Seaside Series
Tear
Pull
Shatter
Forever
Fall
Strung
Wallflower Trilogy
Waltzing with the Wallflower
Beguiling Bridget
Taming Wilde
London Fairy Tales
Upon a Midnight Dream
Whispered Music
The Wolf’s Pursuit
Renwick House
The Ugly Duckling Debutante
The Seduction of Sebastian St. James
The Redemption of Lord Rawlings
An Unlikely Alliance
The Devil Duke Takes a Bride
Ruin Series
Ruin
Toxic
Fearless
Shame (October 6, 2014)
Other Titles
The Parting Gift
Compromising Kessen
Savage Winter
Divine Uprising
Every Girl Does It
A MATTER OF FATE
Book One of the Fate Series by Heather Lyons
A month before he’d disappeared from my dreams, we’d been standing in a lake, neither of us caring that our clothes were soaking. The sky was a vivid blue, streaked with oranges and reds at the horizon—a sunset that told me sunrise was coming. These were my least favorite moments of the day, knowing my time with him was up.
“I wish I could control time,” I’d told him. “Then I’d make sure we could be here forever. Together.”
“Yeah?” he’d asked, resting his head against mine. There was a soft breeze blowing across the lake, warm and gentle. His hair, so very like strands of silk, ruffled against my cheek. I loved that feeling. Craved it.
“Most definitely.”
“I wish I could cement the door here, so it wouldn’t be so hard to find.”
That surprised me. “What door?”
He’d laughed. “The one I use to leave my dreams to come to yours.”
At the time, I’d chalked that up to wishful thinking. “How did you discover the door?”
“I think the first time, I was dreaming about a playground. A ball I was playing with rolled into some trees nearby. I went to look for it, and found a door instead.”
“Did you go through it that night?”
“No. It took me a few nights to dream myself to the door and then to clear away all the plants blocking it. And then the night after I finally had it cleared, I sat and stared at the door for a long time. I was scared at first, I think. But sooner or later, curiosity got the better of me and I went through it.” And then the sky had turned orangeish-purple, and a loud sound pulled me away from him, with everything rushing backwards and forwards at the same time.
But now, Jonah’s here with me, and we’re both awake. It’s almost too much to bear.
“Then, it wasn’t by choice?”
“No,” he says, startled. “Is that what you thought?”
“I didn’t know what to think. I still don’t know what to think. How is this possible? Why are you here? How are you real? Oh my gods, you’re real.” I marvel at being able to really, truly touch him. It’s heaven.
His hands, warm and strong, cup my cheeks. I stare into his gorgeous eyes while he says, “Chloe don’t you know, haven’t you always known? My heart belongs with you. I’m here for you.”
Joy crashes through me, and I lose my breath as I begin to free-fall. I am beyond giddy.
I am in love.
Karl was so right. When you let go and allow the Connection to take place, it’s worth everything.
“Did you miss me at all?” I ask, running my fingers through his hair. Goose bumps race across my skin.
“You’d question that, after everything we’ve ever meant to one another?” he asks, exasperated. This isn’t a new sort of reaction from Jonah. Questions like this, he’d once insisted, should never be asked, because I should always trust in his feelings for me. And I hadn’t over the last two months. I’d been so stupid to even doubt him. “Of course. Every moment of every day.”
Purchase Links
Amazon
Barnes Noble
iTunes
Kobo
AUTHOR BIO
Heather Lyons writes epic, heartfelt love stories and has always had a thing for words. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. She and her husband and children live in sunny Southern California and are currently working their way through every cupcakery she can find. You can find out more about Heather at www.heatherlyons.net.
Rachel van Dyken, Elicit
(Series: Eagle Elite # 4)
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends