The contact causes my stomach to flip-flop wildly as he teases me until I’m trembling and needy for more heated kisses. When he pulls away, I almost whimper at the loss, and I’m sure he can tell how I’m feeling because there’s a satisfied smirk on his lips.
“Go home. Be a good girl for me tonight,” he informs me, and I know what he means. No touching.
“Goodnight,” I respond before pushing open the car door. I can feel his eyes on me as I make my way up the drive, but by the time I reach the door, I know I’ve disappeared from his line of sight.
Now that the sun is sneaking up into the sky, the memories have a hold of me, and I’m nervous to see him at school. It’s stupid because even though I know he wants me, there’s still doubt that niggles at my thoughts, reminding me that I’m his student.
As I make my way to the gate, a cold shiver trickles down my spine, which has me spinning around. My gaze darts around the garden, toward the perimeter of the house, and back to the gate, which is slowly sliding open to let me out.
The feeling of someone watching me is visceral. It’s as if they’re right there, waiting for me to step out of the house. But that makes no sense. Black Mountain is a small town; it’s safe. Nothing bad can happen here.
At least, that’s what I tell myself. But instead of walking, I change my mind and go for the BMW aunt Midge said I could use if I wanted to. I would feel safer in a vehicle, and I’m not even sure why.
As I’m parking in the lot, I watch the other students head toward the building. Some are still chatting in groups on the lush green grass, and there are others who are on their own under the trees, lounging before class starts.
The eerie feeling I had moments ago is gone, but I can’t shake the chill that’s settled in my bones. I’ve had a stalker before, someone watching me, but he was caught, given a restraining order, and I know he won’t come near me because he’s more concerned with his name being kept out of the press.
A knock on my window has a scream tumbling from my lips, but when I glance up, I find Ahren grinning at me. “Boo,” he says through the window, earning himself an eyeroll.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask as I push open the door and exit the car.
“Hey, pretty girl,” he greets me before pulling me into a hug. “I wanted to come and say hi,” he tells me. When he steps back, I notice the glint in his dark eyes.
“What’s that look for?”
When he shrugs, there’s a smirk dancing on his lips, and I wonder if Elian said anything to him about what happened last night. If he did, I’m going to kill him.
“You spend more time here than you do at work,” I tease as he grabs my backpack and falls into step beside me.
“I had to come see my brother,” he says, his voice tense, but he doesn’t show it in his expression when I glance his way. “Family shit I need to sort out before I head into work.”
“How is work going?”
“Good. The apprenticeship is fun, something I’ve always wanted to do, and the fact that I’ll possibly have something permanent once it’s done is a bonus.”
“That’s amazing.” We stop at the entrance to the school. Ahren has to head toward history, which is to my left, and I need to go right to English. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“A man like me keeps himself busy, pretty girl,” he informs me with a wink. “Will you be at Elian’s for dinner tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll pick you up. Clearly my brother is lacking in his wooing skills.” He chuckles while shaking his head, his laugh infectious.
There’s something about Ahren that sets me at ease. His personality is calming, and I enjoy being in his company. Not that Elian makes me uneasy, but he’s more serious. “Let me know what time and I’ll be ready,” I tell him.
“It will definitely be nice to spend some more time with you,” he whispers, keeping his voice low as other students pass by us. “And I think you should wear something breathtaking.” His suggestion makes my stomach tumble wildly at the thought that this could be something more than just a friendly dinner.
“I’m sure I can muster up an outfit that will leave you both shocked.” This time, I wink as I take my bag and wave goodbye to Ahren before heading to class. Even as I consider sitting down with Elian and asking him to tell me what’s going on, what we are, after last night, I realize he was right. I do feel him.
“Hey, gorge!” Marleigh comes racing up behind me, slinging her arm around my neck as she joins me on the way to class.
“How are you?”
“Oh, you know …” Her words taper off, but the bright red on her cheeks tells me something has happened, and I’m actually excited to hear all the news about her and Alistor. The man she’s been gushing over is someone I have yet to meet, but with the grin on her face, I’d say he’s not doing all that bad.
“You do realize you cannot just leave it at that?” We’re at the door to class, and as the rest of the students bustle in, I know we’re not going to get to chat until after English.
“I’ll catch you up on all the gossip once we’re released from prison,” Marleigh tells me, her gaze latching
