I feel off balance after my encounter with Azira. It didn't exactly go how I'd pictured. I caved and gave her my cell phone number after we had sex, which means I have to speak to her outside of our sexual encounters. Something I've been trying to avoid.My cell phone buzzes.Azira: What are you up to?I stow it back into my jacket pocket and push open the door to the staff room. An unsettled feeling clawing at my gut, as I knew she'd start texting me. Instantly, I feel rage slam into me when I see Luca Sidorov is sitting in my spot.When he spots me, he gives me a smug smirk that only heightens my rage."Good afternoon, Professor Luigi." He stands. "Or should I say Blaine? I must admit, I never imagined the day I'd be your colleague."I narrow my eyes at him. "Neither did I, considering how much you flaunted the rules while you attended here."His smirk widens. "Yes, but unlike most, I didn't cower in the face of your punishments, and it drove you crazy." He sits back down, crossing
The bell rings, signaling the end of the day and, like clockwork, Azira appears in the doorway of my office. Her eyes blazing with desire. I text her to meet me here after class, as I gave her my number but didn't set out any rules."Have a seat, Miss Sidorov."She swallows hard and then shuts my office door behind her, before taking a seat opposite me. "Am I in trouble, sir?" Her voice is seductive and I know she thinks I've called her here for a repeat of what happened in the classroom this morning."I want to establish some ground rules."Her expression falters at the serious tone of my voice. "Oh, what kind of rules?""Rules concerning you having my cell number."Her lips purse together and I can tell she's getting ready to argue. "No texting during the school day, and only minimal texting at all." I grimace. "I hate texting."She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. "That's ridiculous.""Are you questioning my rules?" I arch a brow. "As I won't hesitate to change my
As the weeks pass by, I feel the clawing sensation at my gut, warning me that Azira is going to graduate soon.It's driving me crazy that I even care. Five weeks until school is out and I never see her again.I run a hand through my hair, knowing that it is for the best.She's been more withdrawn ever since she came back from her sister's second wedding.Two weeks before, she went to Mia's arranged wedding, but Mia was kidnapped by Killian Callaghan, the man she really loves, half an hour before.Somehow, the Sidorov family and the Callaghan family have come to some kind of agreement for Mia to marry Killian. I was shocked, to be honest, as they've been at war for years. The union should bring some stability to the city, at least, that's the hope.The desire to spend every possible moment with Azira is making me feel a little insane. After all, I've never craved a person's company the way I crave hers.After the talk we had in my office when I comforted her over her father's illness,
"Look Bly, I won't stay long, but I'm starving and whatever the hell you are cooking smells delicious." He smiles at Azira, who looks ready to bolt in the opposite direction. "Surely you can spare a little for your closest friend."Oak is my closest friend, but I don't correct him and glance at Azira, wondering what she thinks.She shrugs, as if it's up to me."Fine, but you aren't staying long."Arch smirks. "No, I wouldn't want to get in the way of the sadistic fuck session you have planned."Azira turns beat red at that comment, but enters behind Arch and lingers awkwardly in the entrance."Both of you take a seat at the table."Azira sits in her usual seat and Arch takes the seat next to her, which isn't set out. After all, I was only expecting her for dinner.Trust him to show up on a night like this."So, how long has this been going on?" Arch asks, glancing between me and Azira.Azira looks to me to answer."I guess you could say it started just after winter break.""Yeah, I gu
Time is ticking away so fast it feels like it's goading me.There's only two weeks until graduation, which means two weeks until I say goodbye to Blaine forever.Any pain that he's inflicted on me is nothing compared to the heart-wrenching pain at the mere thought of never seeing him again.It feels like he's my other half, as if he completes me. Even if he's always insisted this is only sex, I find it hard to believe he doesn't feel it too.Or maybe I'm just a naïve virgin who did get too attached to the man who took my innocence away. The emptiness that his absence will leave is too much to think about.I glance up from my work to find him staring right at me, an inferno burning in his eyes.My cheeks heat and I glance back down at my essay when the bell rings.Butterflies flutter to life in my stomach every single time I know I'm going to be alone with him.My sadistic and twisted Blaine.The things he's done to me most people would be disgusted by and yet I want to explore more wi
When I get to my dorm room and turn on the light, I practically jump out of my skin.Luca is perched on the edge of my bed, smirking at me."What the fuck are you doing in here?" I cross my arms over my chest. "You realize the girl's dorm is off limits to guys?"He chuckles. "It's not off limits to faculty staff." He stands and walks over to me, his expression turning serious. "We need to talk."I narrow my eyes. "About what?"He tilts his head. "About the fact that you're fucking a professor."It feels like all the blood drains from my body as I blink a few times, wondering if I heard him right and if perhaps I'm asleep and this is a nightmare. The last thing I need right now is for my family to learn about my relationship with Blaine."I don't know what you are talking about."His expression turns furious, which is rare for Luca. "Don't play games with me, Azira," He warns, the normally carefree brother I've always known nowhere to be found. "I'm putting a stop to it."I draw in a d
Oak is sitting behind my desk when I barge in. He looks up, brow furrowed. "What's wrong, Bly?" He knows me well enough to know when something isn't right."Where is she?"He shakes his head. "Where is who?""Azira."His eyes narrow. "What is it to you?"I bare my teeth, a growl rising from my throat. "Don't play games with me, Oak." I clench my fists, knowing that I'm on the edge of losing it. "Tell me where the fuck she is."Three days now she hasn't replied to my texts or calls. I thought she was playing games since it was the weekend and she was probably busy with her friends, but when she didn't attend class today, I knew something was off.His brow raises. "So the bullshit you gave me about her just being your student was a lie?""At the time, it wasn't.""And now?""And now if you don't tell me where the fuck she is, I'll rip your goddamn head off." I've not felt so angry or out of control in a while. Her cell is disconnected, and she didn't meet me as arranged in my classroom.
"Bly, wait up," Arch calls as I chuck my hold all into the trunk of my car. Anyone who sees me would think I've just packed a few things for a few days away, but actually the bag is full of guns.I'm not leaving Chicago without Azira. Those fuckers think they can steal her away from school early and force us apart, well they're wrong."What is it, Archer?" I slam the trunk shut."Where are you going?"I sigh heavily, as I don't have time for this. "Chicago.""Oh, so you know already?"My brow furrows. "Know what?""About Azira's wedding."It feels like my friend just took a knife and slammed it into my gut as my entire body turns ice cold. "Wedding?""Yeah, Adrianna told me that her brother just called and he's in Chicago because Massimo arranged for her to marry Alejandro De León."It feels like my world tilts on its axis and the need to get to Chicago becomes even more pressing. "When?""Two days from now."I scramble for the driver's side door and open it. "Fuck.""So you didn't kn
Archer holds my hand as we pad barefoot through the sand, the sun just setting beyond the horizon and casting a warm, orange glow over the beach.Natalya's wedding was beautiful. And even though I still can't believe she's married the man that tormented her for years, I'm happy that she is happy."It's beautiful, isn't it?" I ask, stopping to watch as the sun dips slowly lower.Archer smiles at me. "Shall we sit down and watch?"I nod in response. "Sounds good." I sit down in the sand and he sits behind me, placing his legs on either side of my thighs and his arms around my waist. "This is nice," he murmurs into my ear.I lean back into him. "It is.""Did you enjoy the wedding?" He asks."It was beautiful, even though I still can't quite believe that Nat ended up with Elias after he was such a bully."Archer moves my hair to the side and skims his lips over the back of my neck. "Is it any different to you being with me after I blackmailed you?"I stiffen at the reminder. "Not sure it'
Motherfucker.I search the closet for something to pick the bedroom lock with. If Archer is facing my father and his goons, then I need to be by his side.Another shot echoes through the air, making me tense. I work even harder to focus on the lock, knowing I need to get out of this room. Finally, the lock clicks and I'm thankful I took the class on safe breaking two years ago when it was being taught.Quickly, I run out of the room and down the corridor, hardly thinking about what I'm doing.My heart skips a beat when I see my father and Archer standing outside of the window, each pointing a gun at one another. "No." I rush out of the cabin without a second thought. "Stop!""Adrianna," my father growls, pointing the gun at me. "What the fuck are you doing?"I freeze at the other end of his gun, knowing that he would without a doubt shoot me dead. "I'm not coming home to Mexico," I say.He growls. "Like hell you aren't.""I don't want to be married off to some mobster.""No, you want
I pull my jeep off the main road in the middle of nowhere, driving down an unmarked track. It may be secluded, but I know the path to this place like the back of my hand. After all, I spent just under two years living up here in my cabin.I notice Adrianna shudder."Are you cold?" I ask.She shakes her head. "No, this place just gives me the creeps.""The creeps?" I never thought of it as creepy."Yeah, like maybe you are actually a serial killer and this was your elaborate plan all along."I laugh, shaking my head. "You have a wild imagination." The woods open up to a clearing where my cabin is, and it's not just any old cabin. It's modern and sophisticated."Wow, do you own this place?" Adrianna asks.I nod. "I bought it when I needed to remain low while my family was looking for me." It was a difficult time in my life. One fraught with loneliness and a little too much alcohol, but this place saved me. "It's actually how I met Oak. He owns a cabin near to here and we met while we we
I approach Adrianna, who is standing with all her friends. My nerves are fried, mainly because I'm practically kidnapping the princess of the Vasquez Cartel. Thankfully, I saw Damien Vasquez leave ten minutes ago in his armored SUV. I'm pretty sure he hardly even said a word to Adrianna after the ceremony.I clear my throat. "Adrianna, can I have a word?""Stil not giving up?" Natalya teases.It's clear no one knows about us among her friends, except for Azira, and that was my fault.She meets my gaze and nods. I can tell from the look on her face that she's just as nervous as me. "Sure."I nod toward the exit of the hall and she follows me out of it."What's up?" she asks, as I lead her into an empty classroom and shut the door."I just wanted to double check you are all set for the plan?"She nods. "Of course. I'm packed, only essentials and no tech.""Good. And your father has gone. I watched him leave."She purses her lips. "I don't even know why he bothered to come. He didn't say
My father is standing at my door half an hour before the ceremony."Hey, Adrianna." He looks at my outfit. "You look well."I swallow hard. "Thanks for coming." I glance down the corridor. "Where is mom?"He shakes his head. "Your mother couldn't make it."It hurts a bit, I must admit. Out of the two of them, I'd expect my mom to be here over my father. She may not have ever been emotionally supportive, but she's always been a little less cold than him."Oh, is she busy?""No, but I don't enjoy traveling with your mother. You know that."I clench my jaw. "I know that." He doesn't like to travel with her because he likes to pay hookers whenever he stays away from home. The man disgusts me, but my mother isn't much better. Their marriage is a sham, and it has been all my life. Exactly what I want to avoid by escaping, as that was my future. My mom was married by arrangement to my father, hence the toxic relationship between them."Shall we get going then?" I say.He nods. "Lead the way.
Adrenaline has been racing through my veins since I woke this morning.It's sickening, but today is the day. Graduation is this afternoon and then all my friends and I will go out to celebrate. My father agreed to my plan and told me he'd booked into a hotel twenty miles away in the nearest city, as he's above the little inn in town and the motel near here. It actually makes the plan easier, as he won't be nearby when I make a run for it.However, after the celebrations are through, Archer and I will disappear. Our friends will know that we've left for good, but not where we are going. No one knows that, not even I do. I've let Archer figure the entire thing out and where I'm going to go.It's been hard trusting him in this way, as I've always relied on myself alone. He can't disappear with me, though. He has a life here at the academy, and so he's going to set me up with my new life and then leave. That's the part I've been trying to avoid thinking about entirely.I'm not sure how I'
I walk up to the door of Archer's apartment, my heart thumping at a hundred miles an hour.Am I crazy for being here?Perhaps. I knock on the door and wait a few moments and then I hear the thud of footsteps descending the stairs. Archer opens it and smiles at me with a smile that could stop most women's hearts. "You are here."I smile back at him. "I didn't get murdered.""I'm glad," he says, stepping aside to allow me in.I pause for a moment, knowing that now I'm coming to him of my free will rather than because he's blackmailing me. I'm not sure how to feel about that. It changes everything.His brow furrows. "Are you going to stay there or come in?"I purse my lips. "Still trying to decide."He laughs and grabs my hand, yanking me into the apartment and against him. "Don't be an idiot.""I'm normally the one saying that to you."He leads me up into his apartment, where he has a table set with candles alight. "I was prepared since I hadn't heard of any murders on campus." There is
My plan to get my revenge on Archer is backfiring.Why the hell do I feel so excited whenever I see him?And when he touched me earlier by the stream, he was trying to comfort me, but his touch ignited butterflies fluttering in my stomach and made my head spin. He keeps talking about feelings and how he wants us to continue after I graduate, which is insane.I can't work out if he's only saying it because I've never admitted I want him. All the while, I've made sure I keep detached and cold, even when he talks about his feelings.As I walk into the academy, I'm ambushed by my father. "Where have you been?"I cross my arms over my chest. "I went for a walk. Is that a crime?"He sighs heavily. "I'm here to take you back home."My brow furrows. "But what about the academy?" I ask, wondering why he didn't come to get me during spring break, especially as he said he had a meeting set out for me the week before.He yanks my wrist and drags me into an empty classroom, slamming the door behin
I sense Adrianna isn't used to relying on anyone for anything."Seriously, Adrianna. Let me help." I need to help her as I need to know her plan. She's so pigheaded. It wouldn't surprise me if she disappeared forever and I couldn't find her. It's the only way to ensure I keep tabs on her."Fine, you can help."I smile, relief coursing through my veins. "Good, as I have quite a few ideas.""Such as?"I pat my lap for her to come and sit on it.Her eyes narrow, but she sits anyway."Your father is coming to graduation, and that's a complication, but not the be all and end all. I mean, you dictated to your father before, so do it again.""What do you mean?""Tell him that you are going to celebrate with your friends. They're all going to be celebrating, right?"She nods. "Yeah.""Then tell him to book a motel and you'll leave with him the next morning."A crease forms in between her brows. "I'm uncertain it will work, but I can ring him beforehand. It's an option, I guess.""Well, tell m