I laugh again, I just can’t help it. “What the hell is going on? Who do you think you are to tell me what I can and can’t do? This isn’t school.”

“I won’t allow you to put your safety at risk just for the sake of being stubborn.” His fingers trace a line across my cheek and I flinch, recoiling from his unfamiliar touch.

His expression darkens and he closes in on me, backing me against the wall and keeping me prisoner with his body. “You flinched. Why? I’d never hurt you. You’re mine, I’ll only ever protect you.”

My lips part to speak, but I have to swallow several times before my mouth is moist enough to make a sound. “What if you’re the thing I need protecting from?” I whisper.

A soft smile graces his lips, showcasing how full they are. “No one can protect you from me, little bird.”

A shudder racks through me at the threat and promise in his words. He’s telling the truth, or at least he believes what he’s saying is the truth. This time when he reaches out to touch me, he does it slowly, making sure I know it’s coming. His palm strokes over my head, trailing his fingers over my braid before giving it a gentle tug and smiling to himself.

“We should go. I take it you haven’t eaten yet?”

Blinking up at him, I shake my head. “Esteban makes me something on my break.”

“Who the fuck is Esteban?”

“The chef,” I whisper, fear roiling to life in my stomach. For the first time since I found them sitting in my section, I’m starting to sense the danger I’m in. Sebastian is an Elite, they see themselves as untouchable, above the law. His family is powerful old money, and just the mention of their name and the potential reach they have was enough to make my boss fire me. I’m out of my depth. I’m sixteen, a virgin and although not poverty stricken, my family is basically destitute in comparison to his wealth.

In the space of an hour, I’ve walked headlong into a cautionary tale, the kind you see on after-school specials, that warn about rich older boys preying on girls like me. They spoil them with money, treat them like they’re special, then rape and murder them, discarding their bodies on the side of the road or in trash cans like they mean less than nothing.

Lost in my own thoughts, I startle, flinching again when he presses his lips to my cheek, kissing me as he takes my hand in his. Twining my fingers with his, he half leads, half drags me out of the dingy corridor and into the restaurant where the other three boys are waiting for me.

Three matching smirks stare back at me when I take in the other Elites. Clay is all classic blond surfer, messy hair, his tie loosened and askew. Evan is polished, his hair combed into a side part, black-framed glasses giving him a Clark Kent vibe that I’m sure makes even the smart girls swoon. Hunter, the only one who I haven’t been directly introduced to, is by far the biggest. With broad shoulders, he’s the tallest of the four, and his sheer size is intimidating even though his face is angular and beautiful, almost in spite of his behemoth frame.