Innocent Princess (Modern Princess Collection Book 2)

by Lauren Helms

  Cameron stands, leans over, and pinches his lips together. "He's asleep." He's doing everything he can to not to laugh.

  "For Christ’s sake," Wells mutters. "Just leave him. Let's go eat."

  I stand and sling my backpack over my shoulder. I turn to Wells. He should be ashamed of himself. "You stop it. How would you like it if your friends just left you asleep somewhere?" These boys are using up all my glares tonight.

  "Friends. Eh, I don't think so. Maybe a long, long time ago, but not now. And you don't even know him." He sounds like a teenage boy. Cameron went through a phase in high school where he was all growly and whinny when he didn't get his way. This is Wells right now.

  "I'm going to wake him," I insist.

  "Just leave him," Wells mutters.

  I take a few steps to the side and step over the unoccupied seats to stand in his row, next to him. He's leaning back in his seat with his head leaning on his fist. His arm rests on the seat’s connecting desk.

  I lean down and place my hand on his shoulder and shake him gently. "Hey, Ryker, wake up."

  His body tenses ,and his head pops up. He looks at me and blinks, like he isn't sure what or who he woke up to. Next, he looks around the room and curses under his breath.

  "Riveting stuff, huh?" I can't help my smile. He's really cute. He's just out of it enough that I can tell he probably fell asleep shortly after class started. Not to mention the red mark where his head rested on his fist.

  He stretches to his full height. He’s so much taller than me. I'm a shorty, so ninety percent of the people I meet are taller than me. He's got at least eight inches on me. The hem of his shirt rides up as he lifts his arms above his head. My eyes snag on the tan skin of his lower abdomen. I drag my eyes away, and as I travel back up his body, I notice his smirk before I find chocolate brown eyes watching me.

  I turn fifty shades of red right there, the second our eyes connect. I hear a chuckle from behind me, but I'm stuck in place. I can't move my feet. I can't take my eyes off his, and I can't speak. What is happening to me?

  The chuckle turns into someone clearing their throat.

  Cam nudges my shoulder from the level I just left. "Zella, dinner. Let's eat."

  Ryker breaks our eye contact when he slides his gaze to Cam. It gives me just enough time to shake myself out of this daze.

  I turn away from Ryker, then pause, look at him, and smile. "Want to get some dinner with us?"

  Wells groans, and Cameron might have clapped. I'm not sure.

  Ryker's slow and sexy grin nearly melts me from within. "I'd love to."

  I don't want him to see what the nickname does to me, so I quickly turn and walk out of the row.

  Cameron falls into step with me as we walk down the stairs toward the exit.

  "Oh, Zells, I like where this is going."

  I smile back at him because I can't help it. I do too.

  Behind us, I hear Wells laying into Ryker. There are still enough students in the room that I'm unable to pick up any words. I look over my shoulder at them, and Ryker is watching me. He winks and…

  Ugh. I've got to get myself under control. He cannot have this much effect on me. And even so, he can't know he does.

  I need to dig deep for my inner Taylor Swift and show him who's boss. I have approximately sixty seconds before we are out of the room in a wide-open hall. Not to mention, I just invited him to dinner with us.

  Twenty minutes later, we are at the Dining Hall and each of us are moving through the lines in the respective sections. Cameron and I are going through the grill line, Wells picks up some sushi, and Ryker—well, I have no idea where he went off to. I briefly wonder if he changed his mind about eating with us and left. I try not to look around the room for him. Cameron would only give me a hard time about it.

  Play it cool, Zella, play it cool.

  After paying for our food, Cameron and I spot Wells sitting at a four-top table. He's alone. We sit down at the circular table, leaving the chair between me and Wells empty.

  I force myself not to look around the hall and make eye contact with Wells.

  "He's trouble, Zella." His voice is just above a whisper.

  "Why?" I put down the straw I worked on opening. I want to know why Wells doesn't like him.

  "Let's just say he doesn't always feel the need to abide by the law. You don't want to get messed up with that."

  "Like what kind of things?" Cameron asks through a mouthful of cheeseburger.

  Wells ignores his own food and leans in toward me. "He's a hacker."

  Wells stares us down like he expects our reaction to be dramatic, but Cameron doesn't react. I, on the other hand, lean back in my chair and run through my interactions with Ryker so far.

  At the tower, he told me he was taking note of the password so he could hack into the school network to change a grade. I laughed at his story. But now, maybe it wasn’t the lie I thought it was.

  "You're going to bite a hole in that lip there, Zella." The man in question slides into the last chair and plops his sandwich down in front of him, then slides his messenger bag over his head onto the floor next to him.

  I free my lip from my teeth and smile. So, the story about stealing the password wasn’t a lie.

  "Sushi? Pretentious much?" Ryker nods to the sushi on Wells’s plate.

  Cameron snickers, and I bite the inside of my cheek. We are always giving Wells a hard time about his affinity for sushi. Cameron doesn't mind it, but I'm not a fan.

  Wells huffs, opening his chopsticks, snatches up a roll, and he shoves it in his mouth.

  "So, Ryker, what did you think about that class tonight?" Cameron asks between bites.

  "Dude, that's some boring shit, all right. That's why I skipped last week." Ryker's admission stings just a bit, as I find it all fascinating.

  Cameron chuckles and gestures to me with his thumb. "Our girl here is an art major, so it's right up her alley."

  "Art major, huh?" He looks at me, assessing me. "I guess I can see that."

  "What's your major?" I break into the conversation. Less about me, I want to learn more about him.

  "Computer technology," he supplies.

  "Is that the degree most hackers get?" I dip my chicken finger into ranch dressing, then ketchup. Cameron chokes on his drink next to me, and when I look up to check on him, he's laughing. Wells smashes his lips together, fighting the laughter as well.

  When my gaze slides to Ryker's, he's staring at me. He doesn't look offended, but he's not smiling.

  I play back what I asked, and oh crap. But Ryker turns his glare toward Wells. "You told her I was a hacker? Really? Is this how you want to play this, Officer?"

  Wells's smile fades. There is some serious tension between these two.

  "I told her what she needed to know before getting involved with you. It's only fair." The anger pouring from Ryker is palpable. Cameron and I sit in silence, watching the scene unfold.

  Then, in an unexpected move, Ryker shakes off his anger, his shoulders relax, and he nods. "You know, you're right." Ryker turns back to his sandwich and takes a bite.

  Wells looks confused, and I'm not sure it’s safe for anyone else to talk yet.

  After he swallows his food, he adds, "The more we know about each other now, the more fun our first date will be." Then he winks at me.

  Heat consumes me. Surely, my face is candy apple red right now. If I'm not careful, he'll stop calling me Blondie in exchange for Red.

  Cameron whistles while Wells rolls his eyes and mutters a curse under his breath.

  "So, now that you know what I do in my spare time, what do you want to know? I'm an open book. However, I can't indulge too much with Captain Goody Two-Shoes here, or he might get his panties in a twist."

  Wells growls next to him.

  I open my mouth to ask something when Cameron interrupts, "I'd like to know how the two of you became so close?"

  Ryker chortles, but it's Wells who replies, "Roommates since freshman y
ear."

  Wait.

  "You mean you are still roommates?" Cameron stammers.

  "He's the best roomie a guy could want." Ryker looks affectionately at Wells, clearly to annoy him some more.

  "How do you not kill each other?" Cam's on the ball.

  I'm fascinated with these two strange boys.

  "We stay out of each other's way." Wells shoves another sushi in his mouth, and Ryker nods in agreement.

  After that, Cameron and I steer the conversation to school and our class. We've got our first test coming up soon, and we have a lot to cover in a short amount of time. We make plans to study, and to my delight, Ryker joins our study group. I’m slightly worried Wells might not approve, but oddly enough, he doesn't seem annoyed that we've added a fourth to our group. Maybe deep down, the two are friends, they just went in different directions. Maybe it's a love-hate relationship.

  I don't know. But I want to learn everything there is about Ryker Stone, and I can't wait until I get to see him next.

  6

  Ryker

  Sitting at my desk in my dorm room, I wrap up my computer project for class when I see I have an unread email.

  The subject: Your Resume.

  Immediately, I'm suspicious because I don't have a resume, at least not one in the traditional sense. I have the equivalent to one that I use on hacker job boards.

  Once I open the email, I quickly realize it’s in reference to the resume that wouldn't get me a part-time job flipping burgers. The sender’s address is a mix of numbers and letters, and by the looks of it, I'm going to have to do some digging to figure out who it's from. But it's the contents of the email that captures my attention.

  Ryker, your resume is impressive, though not unique. I have a job offer that I think only you would be able to pull off. Please contact me if you are interested in more details.

  Cryptic as fuck, that's for sure.

  I have a VPN, so all my Internet usage is done securely and nearly untraceable, though it's not iron-clad. Whoever sent this email took a risk. My interest piqued, so I shoot back a quick email. Minutes tick by and my computer dings with a reply. The content of the message is a username and a link to the ultra-secure messaging system most security-conscious computer users have on their systems. So, I pull up the software on my laptop and log on.

  I'm online for barely three seconds when a message box pops up. The same username from the email has sent me job information. Details about the job fill the screen.

  Holy shit-tarts.

  This job is... it's the real deal. All the hack jobs I've done have been child's play compared to this one.

  Hack into the Camelot University bank account, containing all the fundraising money, and transfer the funds to several offshore accounts. The payout? Fifteen percent commission.

  Last year, the school brought in more than two hundred thousand dollars. Shit. That would be thirty grand. Granted, thirty grand wouldn't come close to covering bail if the hacker got caught, but it sure is a pretty figure.

  There is a lot to consider, and with all the jobs I take, I consider the payout and the potential of being caught, thoroughly.

  I glance at the time and realize this whole exchange has me running late. I'm going to have to revisit this tonight. I log out of the messaging app and snap my laptop shut. The messaging system shows I've read the details, but I don't reply. The history of this conversation won't be saved, but if I decide to take the job, I'll have all the details I need.

  Right now, I'm late for a date—a study date with Zella and company. I quickly make my way through campus while contemplating the job offer.

  Several minutes later, I make it into one of The Labyrinth Library's elevators, I stare down at my phone, rereading another email that just came in. I'm not one to check my email multiple times throughout the day. It's normally just school-related, sale ads, and a few techie newsletters. However, this current email string has me pretty damn invested.

  You have five days to let us know if you want the job.

  That's a relief. Four days is plenty of time to assess the risk.

  I step off the elevator to the second floor, which is comprised mostly of study rooms. I chuckle at the fact that I've been in the library twice in one week. While I'm not big on study groups, I want to spend more time with Zella, even if it means more time with Wells.

  We've avoided each other since the dinner incident a couple weeks ago when he tried to make me look like a bad guy in front of her. Since then, I've been to class once, which was when Zella invited me to their study session.

  They didn't tell me what room they would be in, so I start walking. It doesn't take me long before I see them through the windowed wall. I slow my stride and take in the sight before me. Zella is sitting next to Cameron, and Wells sits across from him, with his back toward me and the door. Zella has a smile on her face while she listens intently to the conversation.

  I eye Cameron and wonder if something is going on between the two of them. They are always together, as I’ve seen them from afar several times over the past couple of weeks. They seem close, but I can't tell if it's just friendship or something more.

  I'm not sure there's room for one more suitor in the tiny room. Coming to a halt at the realization, I give this some thought. Clearly, Wells is into her. Though, I know Wells also has an on-again, off-again girlfriend. Maybe that ended. With the two of them, do I really want to throw my hat in the ring? I don't normally work for girls' attention, never had to. I've never had to fight another dude for one either.

  Something about Zella makes me want to jump in and fight for her. The innocence that moves around her is alluring, yet when she talks, she’s such a strong and optimistic personality. Not to mention the way she bites her lip just draws me in every time. She demands my full attention. Without permission, my legs move again, as if my body is drawn to her as much as my mind. I guess I'm doing this.

  I'm a few feet from the door when Zella spots me. The smile that crosses her face when she sees me makes me want to puff out my chest and stake claim no matter who I’m up against. But I keep my cool. After all, I have a reputation to maintain.

  "Ryker! You made it." She moves her books around, making room for mine on the table in front of her.

  "Do you not own a watch?" Cameron mutters beside her.

  "Yeah, something you should know about Ryker is that he’s always late. He's too cool to be on time," Wells adds.

  I eye him, though, because his tone isn't laced with annoyance. I focus back on her and drop my bag to the table. "Hey there, Blondie."

  Cameron lifts his arms in a confused gesture. "What about us? No, ‘hello there, Wellsy’ or ‘hi, Cam?’"

  They all snicker, but I play along. "She was the only one happy to see me. Plus, I'm only here for her anyway. You tools, I can do without."

  Zella surprises me and doesn't blush. Normally, it's all she does around me. Wells chuckles, and Cameron acts perturbed at my response. I really hope he isn't into Zella as well. I like the guy; I think we could be friends.

  "Okay, so what did I miss? Have you figured out how to ace this test next week?" The last thing I want to do is study. I’d rather spend the next hour getting to know Zella, alone, but I'll have to make do.

  I’ll ask her out on a date, preferably without twiddle dee and twiddle dumb around.

  "Ah, not exactly. These two like to gossip." She points with her thumb at the guys. "It's always best if we get that out of the way first."

  They both nod and grumble their agreement.

  “Time to start though,” Zella tells us.

  We all pull out our study guide, notebooks, and textbooks. I'm not a notebook kind of guy, so I slide my laptop out of my bag, open up a new doc, and get ready to do this thing.

  Working our way through the guide, I realize how fucking lost I am in this class. I missed three classes and fell asleep through one of the two I've attended. So yeah, I'm fucked when it comes to this text next week.
<
br />   Wells elbows me, and I snap my head toward him. He's giving me a dirty look. That's when I realize that they've been talking to me.

  "Ryker, you alright?" Zella asks in her sugary soft voice.

  "Yeah, yeah. Sorry." I clear my throat. "Did you ask me a question?" I look at her and grin; I'm not sure I love the concern etched on her face.

  "Dude, you are not ready at all for this test, are you?" Wells narrows his eyes at me.

  Not getting into this. "Nah, I'm fine. Just preoccupied," I tell him. I glance at Zella, and she still looks concerned.

  I'm probably going to fail this test. Being here for this study group should help, but I can't focus, and I feel like an idiot next to these two guys. They make me look like a lazy asshole who doesn't go to class. I mean, I don't go to class, but I'm not a lazy asshole. I do other shit when I skip class.

  "Let's keep going." I motion to the table and look down at the guide.

  "Actually, I've gotta head out. I've got a date." Wells closes his book, stacks his papers on top of it, then shoves them into his backpack.

  Interesting. "Oh yeah, with Louisa?" I ask him while looking at Zella, out of the corner of my eye, for her reaction. She's smiling. Hmm. Based on that, I'd say she's not interested in Wells.

  He stands. "Yeah, we've been talking again."

  "I'd love to meet her sometime." Zella beams up at him.

  Yeah, definitely not interested.

  "Yeah, sure. Maybe we can get together this weekend or something?" Then he says his goodbyes and exits.

  I kind of hope Cameron scrams too, but he leans back in his seat, looking all comfy.

  "So, Ryker. I've got to ask. What kind of hacking do you do?" He crosses his arms over his chest and looks genuinely interested. If it weren't for his posture, I would have said he was trying to be a dick, but I don't think that's the case.

  "Nothing major. Just a little of this, a little of that. Nothing that would get me into a lot of trouble if I were caught, which won't happen." I wave my hand in dismissal. I don't bother keeping the arrogance under wraps.