I don’t know the answer to that question. Would I be jealous? Maybe a little, but I can’t tell her that.
Her eyes start to drift closed, and I can’t tear mine away until I begin to drift too.
“I have to run errands tomorrow. Do I have to get permission from you if I need to buy food?”
“Yes. I have practice tomorrow. I want you to take me there. Do your errands while I’m practicing and then come pick me up at the end.”
She lets out a sigh. “Fine.”
A smile creeps across my face without permission. I had absolutely no plan to own her like this, but I’m glad I did. Not just for the convenience of having a ride and not having to take the bus, but this control I have over her is fucking hot. Shit like this shouldn’t turn me on, but it does. That’s probably why I’m thinking about her so much, wanting to fuck her in rough and dirty positions. It’s not that I’m attracted to her, but the sense of power is coursing straight to my dick.
“All right go to sleep,” I say in a commanding tone.
She’s already drifting off, but it’s like she was waiting for me to tell her to let go. She nods before shutting her eyes.
“Don’t hang up. Just lay the phone down.”
She does, and I’m looking at a dark ceiling on the phone, but I can still hear her breathing. And before I know it, I drift off too.
7
Everly
When I wake up in the morning, my phone is still lying on the pillow next to me. Jumping up, I grab it to make sure Cullen isn’t still on the screen, but it’s dead. A feeling of dread and guilt courses through me as I realize it probably died sometime during the night and he could be trying to reach me.
Wait a minute. That’s insane.
All of this is insane. He’s my student, practically a kid, and I’m letting him treat me like he’s the actual boss of me. No. I can’t keep this up. If he wants to leak those photos, then oh well. He can leak them. I’ll lose my job at the university, but who cares? I don’t love teaching that much anyway. I can always get a job somewhere else. Maybe I’ll start fresh in a new city.
God, what the hell am I thinking?
For good measure, I plug my phone in anyway and head out into the living room when I get a whiff of brewing coffee. Thomas is standing in my kitchen in last night’s clothes.
“I wasn’t the only one drinking last night,” he mutters, glancing at the empty wine bottle on the table. I give him an innocent shrug and omit the part about my student stopping by and drinking half of it.
He fills his cup and then mine, half with cream before passing it to me. “So tell me all about your first week on the job.”
Letting out a groan, I sit at the island and slump against the granite.
“That bad, huh?”
I decide at that moment there’s nothing wrong with telling Thomas about Cullen being in my class. I’m so used to telling him literally everything, but I can’t possibly include the part about Cullen harassing me, stalking me, and basically ruling every aspect of my life. Deep down, I know he’s not going to actually hurt me, and part of me thinks even he’s surprised by how things have gone down this weekend. He’s just an angry kid—although, after that kiss, I really need to stop calling him that.
“What’s on your mind?” Thomas says, pulling me from my daydream.
I let out a deep sigh. “Do you remember Ayers’s kid from that case?”
He flinches, his eyebrow pinching together as if he wasn’t expecting me to bring that up. Which makes sense. It is sort of out of nowhere.
“Um…yeah. I remember him having a kid.”
“Well, that kid isn’t a kid anymore. He’s in college.”
“Okay…” he says, clearly waiting to see where this is going.
“And he’s in my class.”
His jaw practically hits the countertop. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
“Do you think he remembers you?”
Rolling my eyes, I try very hard to feel bad for lying to my best friend, but I’m afraid if I teeter too close to the truth, I’ll cross the line and spill everything. So I lie right through my teeth. “No. I don’t think he does. He was only ten at the time.”
“I know but…that was big news back then. Your name was in the paper as much as the Ayers family was.”
“Well, ten-year-olds don’t read the newspaper, Thomas. And if he does remember me, then maybe he’s moved on.”
“You’re lucky if he did. That case ripped that family to shreds, and it all started with your article.”
Letting out a scoff, I glare at him. “Wow, thanks for reminding me. I already feel terrible enough about it.”
I didn’t exactly need the reminder. Cullen has been very clear about this since Wednesday.
We’re quiet for a moment, both sipping on our coffees while he scrolls through his phone. Then for some reason I think about the files I opened last night. All the missing person cases are still unsolved. “Did you know how many people ended up displaced after his hotel chain closed?”
“Uhh…yeah. I mean, I figured it was going to be a cluster fuck after that.”
“Do you remember me trying to get the chief to approve my idea for the expose on the women who never made it home?”
He grimaces. “Sadly, yes.”
“What?” I snap, glaring up at him. “You don’t think that was important? Hundreds of people were left homeless and displaced. We left it up to private non-profits to help them while the FBI did nothing.”
“I’m not saying it wasn’t a good cause, Ev. I’m saying…it’s not our job. You wrote your article. You did your part. The rest is not on your shoulders.”
Then why do I feel like it is?
After coffee, Thomas gives me a firm hug and heads out to the Uber waiting for him on my driveway. Waving to him from the porch, I suddenly realize I left my phone in the bedroom. When I get to it, there are two text messages from Cullen.
Cullen: My practice is at ten. Don’t be late.
Cullen: Aww…you feel terrible?
The second one doesn’t make sense. And it takes a moment before realization dawns and my blood runs cold. I just told Thomas I felt terrible about what happened to the Ayers family. How did Cullen hear that? Instinctively, I glance around the room, feeling like someone is watching me. Like I’m not alone, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
Punching the green button on the phone, it starts dialing his number, and I hold it up to my face with my hand shaking.
As soon as it answers, I lose it.
“What the fuck Cullen?” I scream. “Where are you?”
He laughs, his deep chuckle vibrating through my ear. “Relax. I dropped into your smart speaker. Only for a moment. I wanted to make sure you were up. I heard you talking to your little bestie before I got off.”
“Not okay!”
“I know, I know. Geez. But neither is making out with your student, but you did that, so I guess we’re even.”
“I’m unplugging that thing,” I snap.
“Fine,” he mutters. “Hey, it’s nine. Don’t be late. I need to be there in an hour, and it takes you at least fifteen minutes to get here.”