CHAPTER 1
NOBLE
I hear the conversation as I’m passing Rob Track’s room.
“You don’t mind if I change, right?”
“I’ll wait outside,” says a soft female voice.
“Nah. That will take extra time and I’m only going to take a minute.”
“I promise I’m fast.”
Rob chuckles. For some reason, I stop. I don’t know why. I don’t like Rob and wouldn’t go into his room if I was paid.
“Yeah, I bet you are but you’re not leaving.”
I hear a small yelp followed by “Hey, what’re you doing?” from the girl.
“Why don’t you reach inside my pants and find out?”
I stare at the ceiling and blow out a short breath. Of course, the dickhead is harassing some poor girl. We’re not even a week into the start of classes, and he’s already a problem.
I shove the door open—hard. Inside, Rob has his paw wrapped around the girl’s upper arm. Her hands are up in a defensive position. At their feet is a bucket. It’s an ugly scene, but five minutes later, it could’ve been far worse.
With a jerk of my head, I motion for the girl to get lost. She twists out of Rob’s grip, drops down to grab her supplies, and scuttles past me, leaving behind a scent trail of bleach and nervousness or maybe fear.
Rob puts his hands on his hips. “What the hell, Noble? There are rules here. Rule number one: Respect your brother’s space.”
“You’re not my brother, and if I hear you’re harassing other women, I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to you at the next chapter meeting.” I slam the door shut and start down the hall.
The girl is plastered against the wall, her bucket clutched tightly in one hand and the mop in the other. I check my watch. My old man is due to hit the front door any minute, and I want to head him off. The last thing I want to see is my fraternity brothers falling over their dicks to get his autograph. He’s an asshole and is only here for a photo op because his PR scheme to make my mom look like the devil is failing. I can’t leave this girl alone, though, because the minute I’m gone, Rob is going to be in her face.
I’d heard he was a problem, but Somerset is a big campus. Prior to this year, I have had zero interaction with Rob—even within the fraternity. With over three hundred members, there’s no way you can know every single person, even though that’s what they try to sell you on. I wouldn’t even be in this fraternity if my grandpa Noble Patton III hadn’t attended. He’s my mom’s dad and a stand-up guy. Practically raised us after my old man noped out of the scene to chase hookers and blow.
“Come on,” I say. “You’re with me now.”
She doesn’t move, doesn’t say a word. Instead, she stares at the rubber tips of her worn Converse tennis shoes. Maybe she didn’t hear me.
“Let’s go. Downstairs.” I point toward the landing.
Still nothing.
“If you don’t come with me, Rob’s going to come out here and hassle you again. I won’t be able to save you, so either come with me now or stay here as prey. Your choice.”
“That’s no fucking choice,” she snaps. Her head comes up, and her blue eyes pin me to the wall.
My breath stops at the sight of her face. She’s gorgeous. Drop dead, movie star gorgeous. I feel the urge to drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness for sins I haven’t even committed. I run a hand through my thick hair. This animal house is no place for a girl that looks like her. Even the best-behaved guys are going to lose their shit around her.
“You’re going to be a real problem, aren’t you? Who hired you?”
“Why does it matter? I got this job fair and square.”
“You’d be better off cleaning at a hotel than this shithole. Look, we’ll sort this out later, but for now I—”
“Mr. White. Dude, I can’t believe you’re here,” cries someone downstairs.
“Ah hell. Too late.” The old man showed up, and now it’s going to be impossible to get rid of him. My brothers in the house are going to fawn over him like he’s the second coming of Christ, and he’s going to eat it up because he’s a megalomaniac who lives off the adoration of others.
I give the girl a rueful look. “Be careful around here, okay? I’m not around much, but if you need a place to hide, I’m the last room at the end of the hall. My code’s 1759.”
I force myself not to stare at her because she probably gets enough of that. I’m at the top stair when I hear a soft voice say, “Thanks.”
Downstairs, I hear more guys rushing to the front. More people asking for my dad’s autograph. More people gushing over how great an actor he is, how they loved his last movie, which has to be a lie because he hasn’t had a hit in at least a decade, and the last movie was this wasteful navel-gazing mess where he played an old man who all the teen girls in the neighborhood desperately wanted to fuck.
I turn abruptly, grab the girl’s hand, and stride toward my room. There’s no reason for me to see my old man. He wants me to join the throng of adulating fans, and I hate his guts. Might as well chill in my room with this gorgeous girl.
“What are you doing?” she says, not really protesting.
“Like I said, you’re with me now.”
CHAPTER 2
AUTUMN
I’m with him? What does that even mean? Still, curiosity has piqued my interest as he enters the code to his room. This is the only room I don’t clean because of the lock on it. He pulls me inside with him, shutting the door behind us.
I swallow, realizing I’ve let a man lead me into his room after I barely escaped another’s. Would someone save you only to harm you? Probably. I should know better. I escaped one horrible foster home growing up, thinking I was going somewhere better. But I’d been sadly mistaken and was put into another equally as bad, if not worse. I take a deep breath and push those terrible memories to the back of my mind.
“I should probably—”
“You want something to drink?” The handsome stranger cuts me off by pulling me deeper into his room.
It’s bigger than the others in the frat house. I’d say it’s at least twice the size of the ones I clean. An open door even leads into a private bathroom. I glance around the room. A bed sits on one side with nightstands on each side of it. He’s even got a sofa and desk in here.
“I’m not thirsty,” I lie. He leads me over to the sofa before letting my hand go to walk over to the fridge and grab a couple of bottles of water and a can of soda. He brings them back, setting them on the coffee table before he drops down on the sofa.
“You can sit.”
“I need to finish cleaning.” I was almost done before that jerk Rob grabbed me. I’ve had a few of the men say offhanded gross comments to me before, which I ignored. This is the first time one has actually grabbed me. I’m starting to see why this job was open. I’d been on a waitlist with the university for a job opening. It’s easier to work on campus when you don’t have a car. The pay is not the greatest, but it’s better than nothing.