A small smile creeps on my face. “So, this is a date?” I know I shouldn’t ask; he has made it clear that he only wants sex, and even though I’m fine with that, I can’t stop myself from the wishful thinking that’s taken over me.
Elian stops what he’s doing to look up at me. His eyes lock on mine, and I almost expect him to scream and shout, but he shocks me by grinning.
“It could be,” he says. “Who knows just how much I’ll do to have you on top of me?” he continues, which earns himself an eye roll from me. Just when I thought he was being nice. “I told you, I don’t date, but let’s not rule anything out. Okay?”
“Okay.” I nod before taking the box, shouldering my backpack, and heading for the door. I stop on the threshold and glance at him, expecting him to be looking at his work, but instead, his stare is on me. “See you later.” I keep my voice low since there are people outside the classroom.
I don’t wait for a response. On the quad, Marleigh comes racing for me, and I know she’s going to ask about him keeping me after class. Her eyes are shimmering with questions, her expression glinting with knowing.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe you and teach,” she hisses in my ear when we’re far enough away from everyone else.
“Shh.” I don’t know why I’m shushing her because nobody heard, but just the thought of someone finding out scares the living crap out of me. I’m still nervous as my thoughts take me to tonight. I don’t know just what he expects of me. I’m not even sure what’s in the box, and the unknown is scarier than watching something unfold right before you.
“Are you seriously dating Donati?” Her voice is barely a whisper, but the question has me looking around, even though we’ve moved to the opposite side of the quad where nobody ever comes.
The problem with thinking you’re safe is that usually you’re not. I look at Marleigh who’s practically salivating at the thought of Elian and me being a couple. But what do I tell her? No, we’re just fucking. Even to my ears it sounds as if he’s using me when I believe it’s the other way around.
“We’re not exactly dating,” I finally admit. My chest clenches, my heart rate spiking when I see him walking down the steps toward the parking lot. He looks so good, and that’s where the problem lies. Even though I know I’m a beautiful girl, deep down I still wonder why he chose me.
“Come on, you have to give me something?” Marleigh pleads just as Elian glances at us. He tips his head to the side, a small grin on his face, but it’s not amusement. He’s waiting for me to say something. He can’t hear us, he’s too far away, but I have a feeling he’s going to read my lips.
“Nothing. There’s honestly nothing going on,” I tell her as I tear my gaze away from him. A lie. They’re always lies. Everything in my life has been one lie after another.
“Well,” she responds, completely oblivious to the fact that he’s watching us. “If anything happens, I need to know. For research purposes,” Marleigh tacks on playfully, causing me to laugh.
Elian walks off, slides into the driver’s seat of a sleek, black Maserati I recognize. Only at a place like this do teachers drive million-dollar cars. I lock my gaze on my friend again and smile.
“You’ll be the first to know.”
It’s a promise I can’t keep, but I make it anyway. I’m getting myself into shit. Deep fucking shit, but the need that courses through me each time I’m near him is alarming. And I can’t fight the desire I feel for him. Not anymore.
I want him, and I’ve learned that I can always get what I want.
Even if it hurts me in the end.
26
Arabella
“You came,” Elian says as if he wasn’t expecting me. I’m not sure what I walked into, but tension hangs heavily in the air. I’m wearing the underwear he purchased for me, and the heightened anticipation that shimmies through me as I move makes me squirm.
I decided on a sleek black dress, which hangs to my feet and covers the beautiful lingerie set Elian wanted me to wear. The exquisite lace hugs my body. Panties that should be made illegal cup my pussy and cut along the cheeks of my ass. The bra is perfectly fitted against my breasts, and along the nipples are smooth pearls sewn delicately into the fabric that rub against my hardened buds with every move I make.
I smile. “You invited me,” I remind him. My nerves have gotten the better of me, and as I tangle my fingers in front of me, I notice how those blue orbs spark as they take me in from head to toe. I haven’t really looked at the living room, but under the scrutiny of Elian Donati, I cast my gaze over the room.
The furniture is all black suede, and a large fireplace sits against one wall opposite the couches. Silver illuminates the room as moonlight shimmers through the window, lighting the gray carpet, which is thick and looks so soft.
He doesn’t say anything about my dress. Instead, he asks, “Would you like a drink?”
“I don’t like the hard stuff. Anything light?” I reply with a grin on my face. I don’t want to remind him that I’m barely nineteen, and I most definitely don’t want him thinking about it when he takes this dress off. Because all that’s racing through my mind is what his reaction will be when he sees the gift he bought for me.
“I have white wine, or you can have a vodka with juice?” he offers, a smirk forming on his lips, and I squirm at how he makes me feel. How his movements affect the butterflies
