I’m dizzy from the almost-kiss not happening. “Like holding hands? That’s fine. Um. I don’t know about texting. I didn’t know it was you. Obviously.”
A rumble sounds in his chest.
“Wyatt,” he bites out.
I’m no expert, but he sounds kind of jealous. My brows hike up. That can’t be right.
“Fine. I’ll leave it up to you. Ball’s in your court.” Connor grants me a cocky smirk. “Just like we started, with that hot little pic of your nightie you sent me.”
Flustered, I sail right over the fact that text was never meant for his eyes. “What about when and where? Is this just for school?” I can’t see why his reputation hinges on having a girl by his side—me, specifically. “Or outside of school, too?”
His expression closes off. “It’s whenever I say it is. You’ll do as I say and you’re going to behave. Don’t think you can get away with a long leash.”
“So I’m just supposed to be at your beck and call when you need me to be your doll?” My eyes narrow. “That’s not fair. I’m not some toy to pick up and toss aside when you feel like playing with me. I have a life.”
In a blink he’s in my face, growling as he corners me against the lab table once more. My throat throbs with my fluttering pulse, a spike of fear lashing me.
“And I own it now.”
Twelve
Connor
This is all some kind of trick to outwit me.
I’d bet anything on it.
What my little mouse doesn’t get yet? I’m not letting her escape the trap I’ve locked her in. She stumbled into my depraved kingdom, and I’m throwing away the key to strand her here.
I crowd her against the tall worktable, muscles in my arms flexing. She puts on a frightened little expression that I don’t buy. I haven’t really scared her yet, not with the way she’s fought back, a mouse facing off with a lion.
Thea is fascinating as hell going off on tangents in the face of danger, but I saw it yesterday when she stuck her nose where it didn’t fucking belong. Apples and fucking trees, man. I can’t forget it again. Can’t let the cute little way her nose scrunches distract me from the truth. She keeps knocking me off balance, but if she thinks I’m letting her go or allowing her to call the shots, she’s sorely mistaken.
She comes off genuine and earnest, but it’s all a lie. Pretty wrapping to fool me into trusting her.
My little sunshine daisy has hidden thorns and roots to choke her king. Beautiful, but destructive.
Why do I keep letting her manipulate me when I’m supposed to be holding a guillotine over her head? This girl…
She’s shredding my rep.
I have to stop rolling over when she pulls the pretty puppy eyes on me, or throws such sound logic when she should be cowering in terror that I find myself giving in rather than putting her in her place. Like the end date demand—there wasn’t supposed to be one. Mom made a point about legacy and commitment, making it sound more long-term, but I had no way to tell her that without looking weak, not the formidable blackmail king she should fear. I can’t keep her forever, and I let her steamroll me. I guess I’ll figure something else out after graduation.
“Got it?”
Thea nods. “Got it.”
“Great. Enough questions.”
I shove down the annoying instinct that keeps catching me off guard, the one where I want to protect her. Like when I made her cry and immediately felt like shit for it. This is what lying bitches do, they get in your damn head and twist you up.
Other than Devlin, Thea is the first person to ever talk back to me and not fear me on sight from the image I’ve cultivated. In the face of domination and demand, she talks back with logic and a bravery I didn’t know a shy chick like her could possess.
But after dumping everything in her lap yesterday, now I know how far I can push her before she breaks. It’s information for later.
I put a hand on her waist. Damn, I really want to kiss her, need to claim that mouth. All this verbal sparring with her is getting me horny.
But she said no.
“We could be having so much fun with this, sunshine.” I groan under my breath and bump my nose against hers. “You sure you don’t want to keep playing our game? Advance to the next boss level? There are killer perks and achievements. I want to show you what it feels like to come on my tongue for real.”
She makes a delicious sound, like she took me at face value for agreeing to let her make the first move, but can’t handle the filthy words I’m whispering.
The inexperience was a shock after the things we’ve done when sexting, but it’s intoxicating to know she’s a blank canvas. I want to paint a masterpiece on it, show her what it’s like to fuck the way we fantasized about. It’s like I met two different girls, one confident and as devious as I am, and the one in front of me, trembling from a few words and my hand massaging her waist.
“I…” She shakes her head. “Connor. This is a bad idea.”
My lips trail over her cheek in the lightest brush. “My favorite kind.”
She laughs, breathy and soft. It makes my dick harder.
“They’ll be your favorite, too. Let me show you how to live, sunshine.”
Fuck yes, I think as she puts her hands on my shoulders, pulling me in.
The door bangs open, startling both of us. A shadow fills the door, back-lit by the bright hallway lights.
“Thea? Aren’t you supposed to be in your world history class?”
Coleman.
He looms in the door, keeping to the shadows as Thea stiffens beside me.
“Mr. Coleman,” she says.
Is that relief in her voice? I swing my glower to her, getting more pissed off by the second at the way she’s focused on him.
What the fuck.
It takes a second for my brain to kick into gear, but once it does, Thea has danced out of my arms, drawn to Coleman. He falls back a step, the light in the hallway showing his smarmy face. The satisfied curve of his mouth ignites a rage in me.
What. The. Fuck.
Sure, he’s a teacher, but this guy is always around Thea, especially when I’m alone with her. It’s improbable he would just happen to be walking by her all the time. I followed him yesterday when he tracked Thea to the baking classroom. This is all wrong, blaring a dissonant clang in every bone in my body.
“Get to class, Mr. Bishop,” he says in a clipped command.
I grin without a trace of pleasure. “Sure thing.”
“Come on. I’ll escort you to your class.” He steers Thea down the hall with a hand resting lightly on her back. “You’re really surprising me lately with this behavior. It’s not what I expect from you.”
Coleman walks off with Thea. She doesn’t look back at me once. Nothing about this feels right.
Halfway down the hall, I catch her simpering. “I can explain, sir.”
My stomach ices over. Goddamn it. I got swept up in her again.
Still suspicious and questioning why Coleman is always around Thea, I rub my jaw as I head for my car to smoke a joint. I have practice later, but fuck being here right now.