by Mae Doyle
“Let’s go.” His voice cuts through my thoughts and I follow him obediently to his truck. Before I’m even buckled up, he’s thrown it in reverse and backed up to whip out of his driveway. Grabbing the dash, I don’t say anything, but I grit my teeth and hang on.
It’s going to be a long damn day.
***
“Want me to drop you off in the front of the school like I’m your dad?” It’s the first thing that Teague has said to me the entire ride to school, and he has a shit-eating grin on his face. His gorgeous, chiseled, tan, face.
“I’m fine. I’ll just walk with you,” I start, but he ignores me, zipping past the parking lot in front of the school only to come to a screeching stop right in front of the main doors. All of the students and teachers stop and turn. “But this is great, thanks,” I say, gritting my teeth.
I unbuckle and hop out, barely managing to slam the door shut before he tears back out of the loop, whipping his truck around to park. Shouldering my backpack, I smile at a few people, but nobody walks up to me to say anything.
“This is great,” I mutter under my breath, walking past a crowd of cheerleaders to the front door. Before I can reach the door, someone stops me.
“You’re new. I’m Jade.” The girl talking to me has dark red curly hair and throws her hand into my face for me to shake.
“Nora.” I grab it thankfully, like a drowning person will reach for someone trying to save them. “Hi.”
“You Teague’s girlfriend or something?” She follows me in the front door, gently taking me by the elbow and guiding me to the front office. Before I get a chance to answer her question, she continues. “We have to get your schedule, Nora.”
“Oh, thanks. And, no, definitely not his girlfriend. I’m just staying at his house for a bit. Our moms are old friends, I guess.”
She chuckles and lets her eyes slip over my body. “Yeah, you don’t really look like his type. No offense.”
“Seriously, none taken.” I give my name to the secretary and she hands me my schedule, which Jade quickly pulls from my hands. She seems nice and hasn’t been mean to me since the moment I met her, so I risk asking her a question. “Do you know what his deal his?”
“His deal?” She arches a perfectly tweezed eyebrow at me. “What do you mean?”
Before I answer, I take a moment to look around. The school is huge, with high arching windows and incredible paintings on the wall. I’ve never seen a high school before that trusted their students to get close to art and especially not to have some hanging in the hall. It’s unreal, and I feel my heart leap that maybe I will be able to fit in here, given the chance.
I mean, if Kennedy Academy values art education at all, then surely they have a good art program, right? That’s where I’ll be able to fit in and find my friends.
“Welllll,” I say, drawing out the word and scuffing the toe of my sneaker into the floor, “he just seems really cocky. I didn’t know if he just hated me or something, since everyone else seems to like him.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but at that moment the front doors swing open and he swaggers through, surrounded by a group of laughing guys and girls. They’re all vying for his attention, but he’s in front of everyone, his eyes locked on…me.
Oh, God, why does he have to look at me like that? Like he hates me and wants to destroy me but also like he wants me. It gets me all confused and I really don’t like it. I feel a jolt of energy shoot through my body and land right between my legs.
This is definitely not the way that I’m supposed to feel about my new roomie, especially when he’s made it so clear to me that he doesn’t like me or want me at his school.
“Teague’s, well…a special case, I guess,” Jade says, turning to watch him as he passes. “He was best friends with the quarterback last year but after Clay graduated it kinda left Teague on his own. I don’t think he likes the idea of not being the best.”
“The best? In grades?” I can hardly imagine someone with the body and face of a god to have brains, too, but there are bigger mysteries in the world. It’s almost laughable, and I have to stifle a smile as I look after him and his groupies.
“Grades? Gosh, no, Nora. I mean, he’s not stupid, but that’s the scariest part about Teague. He’s smart, but calculating. No, he wants to be the best on the field and in people’s minds. His best friend Clay was the school prince, but Teague is different.”
She pauses and I wait for her to say something else, but when she doesn’t continue, I interrupt.
“Different. Feared, you mean.” I had seen a glimpse of it at the table this morning when he was eating his breakfast. Teague doesn’t want people to like him – he wants people to fear him, and there’s a huge difference.
She doesn’t answer.
There’s a swirl of motion and sound as the rest of the students start filing down the hall to their classes. Teague and his friends have long left my sight, but I still stand up on my tiptoes to try to see him. Nothing but a huge crowd of kids splitting off into their classrooms.
Jade glances down at my schedule, which she’s still holding. “Oh, we have English together. Shall we go?” Looping her arm through mine, she pulls me down the hall. “You definitely never want to be late to class with Mr. Avis. He’s a pain in the ass if you show up a second after the bell rings.”
Teague
I saw Nora looking at me when I walked into the school this morning. She’s already made a friend, which is cute, but I wish it was anyone but that bitch Jade Davis.
Robby and I are sprawled out on the grass during lunch, soaking up a little sun before the rain moves in this afternoon. Late thunderstorms mean no football practice, but they also mean that I should be able to have a little more time getting to know Nora.
The thought makes my cock twitch in my jeans. She’s off by herself, eating whatever crap the cafeteria is serving. Her new little bff must not have the same lunch period. Must suck to be the new art weirdo and have to eat all by yourself.
I’m grinning and staring at her when Robby looks over to see what’s caught my eye.
“Is that your new roomie? She’s pretty hot, Teague.” He props himself up on his elbow and turns to get a better look at Nora. From here you can’t see the paint stains on her shirt and I have to agree – she’s pretty, but she’s also a bitch. From the moment I saw her in my garden, I knew that she thought that she was better than all of the rest of us. There’s just something about her that comes across as cocky and unlikeable.
That’s okay. I know how to handle bitches, and I have something special planned for Nora. Without thinking about what I’m doing, I stand up, stretching to release all of my sore muscles, and then start walking over to Nora.
At first, she doesn’t seem me coming her way. Everyone else does, though, and they all grow quiet when they realize that I have my eyes on her.
“Roomie,” I say, dropping down onto the grass next to her. She scoots away from me, tucking her legs underneath her so that her body isn’t anywhere close to mine. “How’s the first day going?”
If she’s scared, she doesn’t show it. Instead, she takes a long drink of her water and stares at me for a moment. “It’s good. I even made a new friend, dad.”
Ignoring the venom in her voice, I grin at her. “That’s good, but you should know that Jade’s bad news. I think that you could do a better job making friends, and I’m happy to help you.”
“I’m good, but thanks. If your friends are indication of the quality of people you choose, then it’s a hard pass. Jade’s a good choice for me, I think.” Her eyes are locked on mine like she’s daring me to contradict her.
“Cute, Nora.” Reaching over, I take her water from her, and before she can argue, I down the rest of it, crushing the bottle before tossing it back into her lap. She tries to catch it, but it falls onto the ground before she snatches it back up, staring at me angrily.
“I wasn’t done with that.” Her eyes are dark and she throws the bot
tle back at me, hitting me in the face. “Why don’t you leave me alone, Teague? I don’t want you here.”
Nora raises her hand like she’s going to slap me, but before she can, I reach out, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it tight. “You really want to rethink that shit, Nora,” I tell her, forcing her hand down and pulling it to me. She struggles against me, but there’s no way that she can free her hand from my grasp if I don’t want her to.
“Let me go, asshole.” Her teeth are gritted but the words are still clear.
“Not yet, Nora.” Keeping a firm grip on her wrist, I force her hand over to my lap and rest it on my thigh. Nora arches her fingers to keep from having to touch me, but I force her hand down. “What’s wrong, never touched a man before?”
“You’re not a man,” she spits at me, but she doesn’t call for help.
Good. She’s already learning that at Kennedy Academy, I’m in charge. You don’t mess with me.
Slowly I drag her hand higher, my grip on her wrist as tight as before so that she can’t move away. Her breathing hitches as I work my way higher on my thigh and I feel my cock throbbing as we get closer to it.
“Teague, let me go. Please.” She yanks hard on her hand, trying to pull away, but I squeeze tighter, feeling her wrist bones roll against each other. “I don’t like this. Stop.”
“I don’t like this,” I mock back to her, grinning as I slide her hand up my thigh. She may not like this, but I sure as hell do. I love the idea of stupid Nora on her knees in front of me, her hands on my cock as I tell her what to do.
“I said to quit it!” She pulls harder on her wrist, panic lighting up her eyes as I slide her hand closer to my cock.
“Just a little feel, Nora, what do you say? What’s a little handjob between roomies, anyway? I didn’t think that you were such a prude, and I bet if you relaxed, you’d like it.”
“Like what? Feeling your little dick?” Her mouth is tight and she has a red flush in her cheeks. Before I can respond, Robby and Mitch, another guy on the team, stroll up.
“Ooh, is Nora handing out handjobs?” Robby grins and steps between us and a teacher who happens to be walking through the quad. “I definitely want to get in line for one of those.”
“Please don’t,” Nora says, turning to me. Even if I wanted to stop earlier, there’s no way that I’m going to stop now, not when I have an audience.
“Oh, come on, Nora, surely you’re not a virgin, right? I mean, you’ve touched a dick before, right?” I watch her for any sign of acknowledgement, but she dips her head, her cheeks flaming brighter.
For a moment, I pause, a thrill of triumph flowing through me. Nora’s a virgin? This is too delicious.
“A virgin?” Mitch crouches down next to Nora and rests his hand on her knee. “I know what to do with those.”
“Hands off.” The growl that escapes me surprises him, and even Nora looks up with shock on her face. “She’s my virgin, you got that?”
Then, to prove my point, even though Nora is begging me with her eyes to stop, I take her hand and press it firmly down on my cock. God, just the touch of her sweet little hand through the fabric of my jeans is enough to make my dick spring to life.
She gasps, trying to pull away, but I don’t let her at first. “What do you think?” I press her hand down harder, making sure that she can feel every inch of me.
Nora doesn’t look at me. “I asked you a question, Nora. You don’t want to be rude, do you?” Robby and Mitch chuckle, but I ignore them. I only have eyes for Nora right now, and how she answers will play a huge role on how the rest of the year goes for her.
After a moment she looks at me. Both Mitch and Robby have stopped laughing and are staring at her, waiting.
“I don’t feel anything.” She locks eyes with me, daring me to do something to her. I feel my chest tighten and I lean forward.
“What did you say?” I hiss the words, and though they’re loud enough for the guys to hear, they’re for her ears only, and she knows that.
She leans forward too, her cheeks hot red now, breathing so hard that I can see her tits bouncing under her stupid paint-stained shirt. “I said that I can’t feel anything.”
At this, Robby laughs, a sharp chuckle that he immediately cuts off when Mitch elbows him.
“Shut up,” Mitch whispers.
Still I ignore them, though I’m painfully aware that they’re watching this. They’re probably enjoying seeing Nora humiliate me right now, and it simply won’t do.
“Well, maybe we should see if the problem’s on your end or mine.” Releasing her wrist, I grin as she yanks it back, a triumphant look on her face. She may feel triumphant right now, but I guarantee that she won’t for long. Robby and Mitch have the two of us blocked so that none of the teachers or other students can see us.
I lean closer to Nora, resting my hand on her thigh. She sucks in a breath and tries to scoot away, but I squeeze her leg right above her knee, my fingers digging in tight. Nora looks at me, panic in her eyes, but I don’t let her go.
“What do you think, Nora, honey? I can feel you. Can you feel this?” Sliding my hand slowly up her thigh, I keep my eyes on hers. She’s breathing shallower than she was, each little breath a flutter like a trapped bird.
The hunter in me awakens as I see the panic rising in her eyes. She’s trapped and she knows it. I can do whatever I want to sweet little Nora and there’s nothing she can do to stop me.
It’s delicious.
“Talk to me, Nora.” Leaning forward, I catch of whiff of whatever perfume she sprayed on this morning. It’s musky and dark and I want to swim in it. Hell, I want to drown in it. “Can you feel this?”
My hand is at the top of her thigh now. If her damn jeans weren’t so baggy then I’d probably be rubbing right up on her clit, and I guaran-fucking-tee that she would feel that.
But she dresses like a fucking street beggar, and there’s still inches of loose fabric between her sweet little cunt and my hand. Before I can make a move to push the fabric tight against her, though, the spell breaks and she gasps.
“I feel you! I feel you, okay, just let me go!” Nora jumps up, pushing off of the ground so quickly that she pulls away from me before I can stop her. I fall forward a bit and brace myself on the ground where she had been sitting.
“So you’re not totally broken, then.” I have to lean back to look up at her since she’s staring down at me, her hands clenched into tight little fists. Licking my lips, I rip my gaze from her hands and look her in the face. “Glad to know that you can feel some things, ice princess.”
“Go to hell.”
I stand up quickly, closing the gap between us with one step. I’ve wanted to feel her little body pressed up against mine since I saw her, but I don’t want her to make it easy. I want to hunt Nora down and make her mine, even as she fights back.
“I know I’m going to hell, Nora,” I tell her, reaching up and brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. She shivers as my fingers graze her skin, but she doesn’t step back. I love her self-control, but it will be something that I enjoy breaking when I take her for myself.
“But the thing is, my dear, I’m taking you with me.” I lean down, whispering these words directly into the soft pink shell of her ear. Anyone walking by would think that we were sharing secrets, that she wanted to be this close to me, but I know the truth.
I can practically feel her heart fluttering as she stands still, terrified to move.
Too angry to walk away. I know that she wants to hit me, and I wish that she would.
I’d pin her down right here and now and teach her a lesson. Everyone would watch and I guarantee that nobody would interrupt until she learned who was in control.
But she holds herself back. Even though it’s clear in her eyes that she wants to hurt me, she doesn’t move a muscle.
Some animals, when they’re in the sight of the hunter will freeze. Others will run. Most people know about the fight or flight response and have exper
ienced it themselves.
But there’s a third reaction that can occur. It’s not one that most people will talk about, because it’s not as common.
It’s the freeze response. Nora is practically trembling with anger. I can almost feel it seeping out of her pores as she forces herself to stand still and listen to me. Even though she’s making herself stand still, I can tell that there’s something else that she dearly wants to do.
Nora isn’t going to freeze when I hunt her, and she sure as hell isn’t going to run. She’s a fighter, and there’s not going to be anything more delicious than breaking her spirit.
Chapter 3
Nora
Jade caught up with me after my last class. At first, I was surprised that she could easily pick me out of the crush of students leaving the building, but on second thought, I stand out a little.
Okay, a lot.
In fact, I probably look less like any student that Kennedy Academy has seen. While most of the girls around me look polished and put-together with gorgeous jewelry that probably costs more than a car and are wearing skin-tight clothing that don’t leave much to the imagination, I’ve gone for something a bit more understated.
Okay, a lot more understated.
In fact, I’ve been well aware all day that I’ve been sticking out like a sore thumb, but there’s nothing that I can do about it now that I’m here, and even if I had something to change into, I don’t think I would. My clothes make me feel comfortable, and that’s saying something, especially given the fact that nobody here has really gone out of their way to be friendly. Well, nobody but Jade.
“How was the first day?” Jade sounds ridiculously cheerful for someone who’s running around on high heels, and even though she’s the first – and only – friend that I made today, I can’t help but scowl at her.
“It was great,” I tell her, sarcasm dripping from my voice. “I love feeling like a complete social outcast.” Teague and I had World History together after lunch. It wasn’t until I was about ready to leave the class that I realized he’d been blowing spitballs into my hair the entire period. It took ten minutes to pick them all out in the bathroom, and when I was done, I was late to my Biology class.
