“Why am I not even slightly surprised by that response?” Gregor huffs. By the second, he’s getting angrier. Not really a good thing. “Someone from that little school you think you’re running killed him a few nights ago.”
“How do you know that?” I ask. “Where did you find his body?”
Gregor leans back, angrily averting his eyes.
I, in turn, lean forward in my chair. “You didn’t even find the body!?”
“We didn’t have to!” he exclaims. “Your Academy badge, his bike, a whole bunch of fucking blood. There’s not really anything more we need to know that you are the ones responsible.”
It takes everything in me to steel my expression. I take note of his words, of his accusation, uncertain how much truth there is in what he says. Still, I rove right over what he said. There’s no point in reacting when I’ve pretty much just walked into this blind.
“I didn’t have to come here. I didn’t have to show good faith and meet you on your block to discuss this, so reel in your tone and bite back your bark.” I weave my fingers together and steady my hands in my lap. I do know this guy. Don’t know how or where from, might have seen him around. But I do know him. What I also know is that none of my students killed him. “If you’re so certain that it had to be us based on whatever evidence you have, then it’s simple. We were framed.”
Gregor narrows his eyes. “Framed?” He chokes out a laugh as dry as the look in his eyes.
“We recruit. We scout. We find talent in places like yours. And if your guy seemed like he had something that we wanted, we would have offered him a spot at the Academy and we sure as shit wouldn’t have killed him if he said no.”
“Bullshit,” Gregor grunts out. “You seem to not know that your name precedes you.”
“We all have a past, Gregor. And the past is not something we can change. What we can do is make sure that the future is a heck of a lot brighter because that’s the part of all this that’s in our hands. Now, that’s not to say that we’ll roll over and smile while anyone presses a dagger to our chests. If we’re threatened, we gear up and we fight.” I suck in a deep breath and try to tame my tone. It’s hard to sit here and look at him without stabbing my fingers through his chest. After what he did, he deserves. But I know better. There’s a chance he’ll call us even. There’s a chance he’ll drop this bag of bullshit and consider our ‘beef’ settled if I do the same. Biting back only means that I’m putting our students in danger. “My guess is that whoever did this is trying to get at you by having you come after us and have us stamp you to the ground. Do you know anyone who would do that, Gregor?”
I can basically see the thoughts coursing through his head as the anger slowly drains from his face. Slowly, he meets my eyes, shaking his head. “We’re new and we’re making our mark. There’re a lot of targets on our back. I can’t think of any specific person, no.”
“Well,” I shrug, coming to a stand. “It’s only my theory. Do what you will with that piece of information, but in case you still haven’t gotten it into your shiny, bald head, the Rogue Academy had nothing to do with his death.” I plant my hands on the desk, letting my voice drop a few degrees. “This time, we’ll allow the wind to sweep your guilt away, but if you ever have the balls to try that stunt with us again, my next visit will look a lot different.”
Gregor straighten. “One of yours for one of ours. We’re settled.” He says it easily, like we’re not talking about lives. I nod, clenching my hand at my sides and turn, heading to the door.
Katie, Joe and Reece are by the door when I open it —so is Velma. She sneers at me, and for a second, I wonder if she’s thinking about making a leap for my neck, but she doesn’t even move. She only watches me as I give her a small smile and head back down the way I came. As soon as I step aside, she rushes into the room.
Everyone continues to watch us as we leave. I have no clue if they overheard the conversation — Gregor should really invest in soundproof walls — but if they did, they don’t say anything about it. Neither do the guards at the front who are intently trying to glare holes into the lot of us. Katie snaps at one of them and laughs when he flinches.
I turn to Reece, who has the car keys held out in my direction. “I’ll meet you back at the lair,” he says. “I have something to take care of.”
I frown a little. “And what exactly is this ‘something’?”
“Just some business,” he says vaguely, unflinchingly meeting my eyes. “You go on ahead.”
He walks away before I can say another word. Despite all the questions sitting heavy on my tongue, I watch him go, stomping down the urge to follow him; to find out what the hell it is he’s hiding.
Chapter Twelve
I hate the fact that I’m listening. Sitting upright in my bed, ears peeled, waiting to hear Reece return. Haven’t showered, haven’t changed my clothes. Haven’t done a single thing but obsess about what he might be doing.
What the fuck is he doing?
Reece is always upfront with me. No matter what he’s doing, he always tells me about it beforehand, though I’ve never made it a requirement. Now, I can’t help the nagging feeling that my suspicions about him are true. He is hiding something from me.
The moment I hear him, I’m on alert. I don’t move, not even a single inch. I just listen to him, silent. My chest tightens a little more when I realize that he’s heading toward me. Straight to my bedroom.
I will myself not to move when he finally arrives and just calmly stare at the door, watching the knob turn, the door open, and his beautiful face peeking through. A face that, in no way, shape or form, looks like the face of a traitor. But why the hell do I have that nagging feeling in my stomach that Reece can’t be trusted right now? And where the hell did he disappear to?
“You’re still dressed,” he says by way of greeting. “Dawn is approaching.”
For some reason, I expect him to look a lot different. Expect the deception to morph his features into something I can hate. But he’s still the same Reece. Still looking at me the same way. Still talking to me with a voice filled with calmness.
He comes into the room, closes the door with a click. Now, with the same soundproof walls surrounding my room, we’re cut off from the rest of the Academy, from the rest of the world.
I watch him as he comes toward me and sits on the edge of the bed. For the first time in … well, forever, I don’t know what to say to him. So I settle for the truth. “I was waiting for you to come back.” The words sound more like an accusation than anything else, but he seems to miss that in my tone.
Pleasure leaps into his eyes and the side of his mouth twitches into something of a smile. “That might just be the nicest thing I’ve ever heard,” he jokes.
I don’t smile. I watch his hand as he takes my feet and settles them into his lap, rubbing gently. Touching me with hands that do not feel like the hands of a traitor.
“I think I’ve said nicer things,” I say lowly.
Reece continues to rub my feet, smiling. “You really think you have, Mariella? We both know you aren’t the type to say nice things. But it’s fine. You have other ways of showing you care.”
I only stare at him, my mouth dry. But no matter how I try to read his face, I can’t tell whether or not his words were meant as an insult or not.
Reece’s eyes pay attention to my feet, a smile on his face as if he’s content with just doing what he’s doing for the rest of his life. The sight throws me. It isn’t the first time seeing him like this. All those other times, I wondered what it was he saw when he looked at me. The answers I gave myself were always favorable ones, despite how much I feared the kind of attachment I felt when it came to Reece. Right now, I wonder whether this is all a trick. Whether he’s looking at my feet because it’s tough for him to look me in the eyes.
I’ve known him for so long. I’ve relied on him, whether I like to admit it or not, for so just as long. He’s taught me everything I know. Without him, the Academ
y wouldn’t have grown this big. And he’s never asked for anything in return. Those are all good things. Admirable things. Just the kind of things that would never allow you to question someone’s intentions. And I’d never done so before. I trusted him blindly. Followed his lead without question. And I did all of that because I was too naïve to ask the very simple question -Why?
Reece looks up to catch me staring. His eyebrows furrow a little, though his smile doesn’t fall. “What’s on your mind?”
“You,” I say, deciding to go for honesty. There’ no point in me dragging this on. Pretending as though everything is okay when I’m stirring like a madwoman on the inside. I should be able to trust Reece. And if something bothers me, I should feel comfortable enough to let him know just what it is that’s on my mind. “Where did you go today, Reece?”
Reece looks away. My heart sinks. “I told you. I had to take care of some business.” It’s the vaguest of answers. An answer that answers nothing at all, really. And I hate it. I hate it because it’s solidifying every doubt I have about him; doubts I shouldn’t have.
“What kind of business could you possibly have that I can’t know about?”
“Believe it or not, Mariella, but I do have a life outside of you and the Academy.”
“No, you don’t,” I say without malice or anger or bias. “Since I’ve known you, we’re all you’ve cared about. Which is why it’s weird that you suddenly have business to take care of that you don’t want to tell me about.”
“Enough with the questions, Mariella,” he snaps softly. “I’m entitled to my privacy.”
“Not when it’s so suspicious. You’re hiding something from me, Reece.”
His hand stills. When his gaze fixes on mine, I realize I can’t read him anymore. “I’m not hiding anything from you, Mariella.”
“You’re hiding something from me, Reece.” I yank my foot away. “I’m not stupid and neither am I blind.”
“I never said you were any of those things.”
“You sure as shit are acting like it. You know how to cover your tracks better than anybody. I know that because you were the one to teach me how to cover mine. So the problem here, Reece, is that the fact that I suspect something means that whatever you’re keeping from me is too damn big to keep under wraps.”
You want to know where I went today? I went to Sarah’s old house.” I don’t believe it. Not a single bit. He pulls an envelope out of his pocket and holds it up to me. I recognize Sarah’s handwriting immediately.
“Did you tell them what happened to her?”
“I’m not fucking stupid, Mariella. Of course not. I wanted to see where she grew up; see if the last days of her life, the life we offered her, was better than the one she left behind”
“And?”
“We did good by her,” he says. “Her mother and father are barely hanging on to the threads of their own lives. I didn’t need to see more than the needles in the front yard to know that.”
“How did you get the letter?”
“Stole it from their mailbox.”
“Did you read it?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “It’s more than just shitty what happened to her, Mariella.” There’s so much honesty in his tone that I almost feel guilty for ever having doubted him.
“I shouldn’t have accused you,” I say, feeling the weight of Sarah’s death suddenly fall heavy on my shoulders. I decide to drop the fight with Reece for now, but that doesn’t mean my suspicions have been put to rest.
“Yeah, you shouldn’t have,” he says. “But, it’s fine. I can’t stay mad at you for long.” With that, he resumes rubbing my feet before venturing higher up. I know just where his mind is, but I can’t — nor do I want to — stop it.
Reece has always been the only distraction I need. Somehow, even though it’s him that I need to be distracted from, he’s also the one I allow to distract me.
“How do you think tonight went?” I whisper, closing my eyes when his fingers brush against my thighs.
“I think you handled yourself well,” he says without missing a beat. “You always do. I also think they’re blinded by rage and that you’re wrong if you think this is the end.”
At that, my eyes spring open.
“They’re not going to try anything else.”
“Gregor doesn’t really believe that we’re being framed. I think they still want revenge. We should strike before they have the chance to.”
If I wasn’t already on my back, his words would have knocked me flat.
“You want me to go to war with the Tigerhearts.”
“I do,” he says with a nod. “Wipe them out before they have the chance to hit us again. If there’s anyone worth saving, save them. But you were there today. Those vampires have nothing more or less than murder in their eyes.”
I hear the words. I just have a hard time believing they’re coming from Reece.
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh?”
“You either be harsh or be dead. Which do you prefer?” He has the audacity to smirk as he throws my own words back at me.
I stop the conversation there, trying hard to feel and not think. To enjoy the sensation of his hands and not dwell on the vengeance in his tone or the distrust that I feel toward him.
Reece’s hand moves higher up my thigh, the tips of his fingers brushing against me. I shudder uncontrollably.
His grin widens. He shifts, so that his body is now crowding mine, his fingers still dancing across my skin. Over me, his hand still tenderly brushes my thigh. His eyes light up when he sees just how much I cave to his touch.
He runs his lips against the side of my neck, up to my ear. I clench the sheets at his touch. Suddenly, it feels like our first time all over again and, forgetting everything, I’m desperate for his experienced hands to unravel me.
His hand finally cups me and instinctively I grind myself against him. He smiles.
“How bad do you want me, Mariella?” Those words are said breathlessly, passionately, differently. And then, not pausing for an answer, his lips capture mine. His other hand immediately snakes behind my neck and he kisses me with more passion than he’s ever kissed me. Something tugs inside me, something that has me pouring every bit of myself into the kiss as well, because if this is goodbye to what we have now, then he can take all of this part of me with him. I hardly notice that he’s pulled my zipper down, that my shirt is half way off my body already.
Desperate now, I break the kiss and sit up. In the blink of an eye, my clothes are gone and I have him on his back. The breath whooshes out of him and his eyes darken when he takes in my very naked state. Reece settles his hands on my hips while I go in for another kiss.
I could do this forever. The thought courses through my head with a mass of feelings that I don’t ever want to put together or pick apart. When we’re like this, locked away from all the troubles of the world and our sins resting far in the back of our minds, it feels like I could do this forever. With him, forever.
Except Reece doesn’t have forever to give.
I pull him up, meeting his eyes. Slowly, not breaking away from his gaze, I settle down on top of him, holding my breath as he fills me.
I go slowly. I take my time. I build speed until I know we’re both nearly at our breaking point. He’s growing weak, his body begging for release, but he always, always holds out until I reach mine.
And when I do, it’s explosive.
We cry out together, holding each other tightly.
When he falls asleep on a few hours later, I turn to face him, staring at the face I know so well. “I’m sorry I don’t feel like I can trust you anymore,” I whisper, closing my eyes as I press my forehead against his.
Chapter Thirteen
Morning comes and I don’t take a second to breathe before I’m off to find Joe. The feat is an easy one. I log into my computer and check his schedule, happy to find out that he isn’t scheduled for a class this morning. Since he’s not
in his room, there are only a few other options – the first and most likely, being the feeding room. And that’s exactly where I find him.
As engrossed as he is with the task, he doesn’t notice me at first. He has a strong hold on the naked woman in his lap, legs looped around Joe’s waist, her neck tilted back. Her lips part and a moan slips past as Joe sucks just that much harder, his hands cupping her full breasts.
I clear my throat. Joe is up in a flash, almost throwing the woman to the other side of his room. Luckily, she lands squarely in the center of the bed with a squeal.
I regard them both with a smile. This isn’t the first one of the students got too carried away with their donors. This also wouldn’t be the first time more than just a feeding relationship has developed between a donor and student either. We don’t exactly promote this behavior, but we don’t scorn it either.
“I see you’re getting better at that,” I say to Joe.
Confusion shadows his eyes. “Getting better at what, ma’am?”
“Controlling how you feed. It isn’t a very easy thing to master but she seems to be enjoying it.”
The girl smiles and nods, her hand gently rubbing at the spot Joe sunk his teeth into. Somehow, she’s managed to tug half her clothes back on in the little time I’d taken my eyes away from her.
“Do you mind if we have a minute?” I ask and she obliges, leaving the room within in instant.
As soon as the door closes behind her, my focus is back on Joe. “Did you find out anything?”
Joe stands at attention, an admirable feat since before he looked to be standing as tall as a person possibly could.
“Someone called Liana Nugent answered the door,” Joe says. By the look on his face, I can tell that the little impression he was able to get of her is almost enough to match my distaste for the woman who made my life a nightmare.
I think I do a good job of masking my emotions because Joe doesn’t seem to notice the change. “Did you manage to get anything out of her?”
Rogue Academy: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Academy Romance (Rogue Vampire Academy Book 1) Page 8
