Was he…what the heck was he talking about? And why did I swallow a huge gulp of anticipation, as if I actually enjoyed hearing his smug words?
“Ian!” Another masculine voice rose through the air, breaking me out of my trance.
The man who stood near the door wore an accusatory look under his glasses, hair black as night and eyes that matched. He wore similarly-styled clothes, though his were less wrinkly and more put-together. Each and every button on his shirt was done, up unto his neck. A thick coat of stubble lined his angular jaw, his black hair impeccably combed to the side, almost a tad too long, like he’d forgotten to get his hair cut when he should’ve.
I snapped out of it and pushed the man closest to me, who must’ve been Ian, away. His hand left my side, an ache where he’d been touching. Ian, meanwhile, only looked bored as he turned his head to see just who had dared to interrupt us. He didn’t care enough to be genuinely upset.
“What?” Ian asked, sauntering towards the man near the office door. The way he walked…it wasn’t exactly a swagger; it was the kind of walk someone had when they were tired, weary and exhausted. He might exude overconfidence in spades when he was talking to girls like me, but at the same time, he seemed almost broken. “I was only asking her if she wanted to go somewhere private. True decadence can only be held behind closed doors anyway—”
Decadence? What in the world was Ian talking about?
“We all know your views on decadence and depravity,” the newcomer told him, glaring at him as Ian walked up to him.
“Yes, well, fortunately, there’s no one else here that can keep up with me when it comes to it,” Ian spoke smoothly. He tossed a look over his shoulder, giving me a half smile. “I’ll be counting down the minutes until I see your pretty face again.” He said nothing else as he squeezed past the newcomer, leaving the office.
My heart beat wildly in my chest, and for a moment I stood there, replaying what happened over and over in my head, as if replaying it would help me understand just how that Ian had gotten to me. I’d never been the sort of girl to swoon over guys, never was one to let my crushes get in the way of things like schoolwork and my other responsibilities. The way my body had reacted to him, to his words…I hardly recognized myself.
The newcomer watched Ian leave, slowly turning to study me once he was gone and we were alone. “I am sorry about him. He’s not known for his meekness or his humility. If there’s someone with a lot of confidence to share, it’s Ian.”
I couldn’t say what it was, but I felt comfortable around this man. He was not as tall as the others, maybe only an inch or two taller than me, and he was not as wide or as strong as Lucien or even Ian. Looking at him, I’d instinctively call him a geek, but here…well, I wasn’t sure if anyone could be a geek under this roof.
This place, and so far it’s people, didn’t seem normal by any means. I had a nagging feeling in my gut it would only get worse as the time wore on.
“Though I suppose I should, uh, warn you that…” The new man trailed off, looking perplexed. He tilted his head to the side, as if he was listening for something. Personally, I heard not a thing, besides my frantic heart in my chest. The man continued to say nothing, lost to whatever he thought he was listening for.
Oh, dear. Was he…was this one less mentally stable than the others?
Didn’t know why my mind went there, but it did. Maybe because I’d read about this place when Grimmstead wasn’t an academy, when it was a mental institution. Maybe my mind was primed to believe the worst about each and every one of these men.
Were there no other women here? Surely there had to be. Surely there were female students here—or lost souls, using Lucien’s words.
I cautiously took a step towards the newcomer, my brows furrowing as I looked him up and down. The man seemed anxious about something, slight quirks on his face telling me he was worried. “Warn me about what?” I asked, bringing him out of his own mind.
The man jerked at the sound of my voice, blinking at me behind those thin-rimmed glasses, as if he’d completely forgotten whatever it was he was going to say. “What?”
“You were about to warn me about something,” I told him, taking on a light tone. Though I was pretty sure I liked this one more than that Ian fellow—my body’s reaction to him notwithstanding—I couldn’t be cautious enough. Maybe it was cliched, but I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone here.
“I was?” the man asked, cocking his head. His black eyes fell to my feet, and he examined me yet again. Unlike Ian’s lustful, hungry gaze, this man just seemed curious about me. “Who are you, exactly?”
“Felice,” I told him. “I’m going to work here.”
He blinked. “You’re here to stay then?” Suddenly it must’ve clicked in his mind, for he started to nod, “Right, right. Of course. It was only a matter of time until it brought in someone else—and you, you’re going to stir the pot like no one else before, I think.”
I had no idea what the heck the man meant by that. Was that supposed to be some kind of sexual innuendo? Judging by his face, I’d say no, but you never knew when it came to a man. Being a mind-reader would help in situations like this.
“It?” I echoed, confused.
“Sorry, sorry,” he went on, almost rambling. “I do get carried away sometimes. If you last, you’ll end up realizing that we all do. We all have our vices in Grimmstead.” He let out a nervous chuckle. “Just be careful, will you? This place is not known for its niceties. The walls are painted red for a reason.”
The walls? I threw a quick glance at the walls. So far, none of them had been painted red. None that I’d seen. What in the world was this one talking about?
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling more and more uneasy the longer this man spoke. I wouldn’t put him too much older than me; mid-twenties, maybe. It was hard to tell. He looked like he had bags under his eyes, like he hadn’t gotten any sleep lately.
He looked at me like I’d just spoken a question in a foreign language. After a long, long while, he said, “Nothing, nothing. I don’t mean anything. You’ll find that I have a tendency to ramble, and sometimes I don’t make sense. When I don’t make sense, just ignore me. That’s what everyone else does.”
The man obviously didn’t say the last part to gather any sympathy from me, just stating it as a matter of fact, but that didn’t change the way my heart felt when it began to slow its rapidly-beating pace.
I felt bad for him.
“Ah, well, yes, yes. That’s it.” The man’s dark eyes darted away as he muttered, “Goodbye and good day.” And then, mumbling to himself about being stupid, he walked away.
I stood in Lucien’s office for a while after that, gathering myself and my wits. I had no idea who that man was, but I knew I couldn’t let myself fall for his act. He might be playing a game; he might be the one who took my clothes. He might be certifiably insane, and I’d have to spend one-on-one time with him, going over whatever it was Lucien wanted me to go over with him.
Heck, I would have to do the same with all of them. I was kind of like a live-in aide, a nanny. Like a mother of lost sheep in Grimmstead Academy.
Oh, dear. I was going to have my hands full here, wasn’t I?
Chapter Four – Felice
I managed to make it back to my room, finding that both suitcases were now gone. No clothes, no suitcases. Huh. Even the clothes I’d worn here and gotten soaked in were not in sight anymore. At least my purse was untouched, my phone still there. I checked it again, just for kicks; still no signal. This was the twenty-first century; there should be signal anywhere you went. It wasn’t like I was in a valley or on some high mountain. It wasn’t like I was in the middle of nowhere—by all accounts, my phone should have every single bar it could.
And what was worse? This place had no WIFI. I scanned the area, but there was nothing. No waves through the air to catch, no home WIFI service to latch onto.
Of course. I didn’t know why I expected anything
more. Having WIFI would make it too easy, too simple. I could’ve gone off the WIFI to call my father or send him a text. If I told him everything that happened to me so far, he’d probably command me to pack up my things and leave.
Couldn’t do that, though. Not only because my stuff was gone, but also because I didn’t want to go back home. My father just didn’t understand how I felt.
I moved into the bathroom, finding a comb and other necessities in the drawers of the vanity. My hair had dried from its stint in the rain, but it could definitely use a little brushing. I combed its lengths out, softly setting the brush down before I met my reflection.
I could do this. I could do this. If I kept repeating that mantra in my head, surely I’d start to believe it.
It wasn’t long before I heard a knock on the door, and I shook myself out of my funk, leaving the bathroom as I hurried through the room, rounding the bed to reach the door. There was no peephole, so I couldn’t peek to see who it was. When I opened it, I found it was Lucien.
He looked…a bit cheerier than he did earlier. Still just as ruggedly handsome as I remembered him being.
If there was one person I shouldn’t have the hots for, it was Lucien.
No, wait. Probably everyone under this roof was forbidden. Untouchable. So off-limits I couldn’t even see where the line was to cross it.
“Everyone has assembled in the hall for dinner,” Lucien told me, his hazel eyes running down my body. Not ogling in the way Ian had, but checking me out in his own way. “That dress—”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, running a hand down my side. “I found them in the closet. I figured they were my uniform.” And then, suddenly and out of the blue, I remembered just why the heck I wore this dress to begin with. I tilted my head as I stared up at him—God, he was tall—and asked, “You wouldn’t know anything about my clothes, would you?”
Lucien’s brown eyebrows came together as my accusing question sunk in. “Your clothes? No, I don’t—did something happen?” He sounded genuinely shocked, but I knew people could be liars and still be believable.
“I suppose you could say that,” I said. “When you left, I went through my suitcases to find something to change into—” I did not want to go on about how my shirt had been so wet it’d been completely see-through, as I was certain he remembered. “—but I ran into some problems, because they were both empty.”
He still looked puzzled. “Empty?”
Did the man not know the meaning of the word? “Yes, empty. All of my clothes were gone.” I shook my head, trying to contain myself. It wasn’t often my temper got the better of me, but when it did…it was like a wildfire, consuming and all-powerful. “How did you even know my size?”
“A lucky guess.”
Hmm. Didn’t know whether I believed that, but there was nothing else to do at this point.
“Come,” he said. “The others are waiting.”
I decided not to tell him that I’d left my room and encountered two of Grimmstead’s residents. I walked beside Lucien in the hall, my hands feeling weird at my sides. Why was it that when you were aware of certain body parts, they just felt awkward? Most of the time your hands just hung there anyway. And don’t even get me started on the fact that you always saw your nose but usually overlooked it.
Things like that, when you tried to think about them too hard, just ended up giving me a headache. The human body and mind were strange things.
Of course, I didn’t know much about them, since I’d only been a year and a semester into my college education, but still. What I found out in my classes was interesting.
I broke the silence of the hall to say, “There’s no signal here.”
“There’s no what?” Lucien spoke, sounding confused. You’d really think I’d whipped up another language with how confused these guys became at my words.
“I told my father I’d call him once I arrived. If I don’t, he’s going to think something is wrong.” I didn’t want to seem like daddy’s little girl, like someone who still depended on her parents, but I couldn’t write my father off completely. He’d raised me, done his best with me. I was his only child, and he’d need me in the future.
“Oh,” Lucien was quick to say, “if it’s a phone you’re after, you could use the one in the front lobby.”
I thought back. Was there a phone there? I was having the hardest time remembering if there was. You’d think that would’ve been something I would’ve immediately noticed. Hmm. Maybe the atmosphere of this place was getting to me after all.
“You can contact him after dinner,” Lucien went on. “I would like for you to meet them first.”
I nodded, figuring I had to agree with him.
The dining hall was on the ground level, in a long room with tons of windows. The storm outside had finally stopped, although the sky was still grey. Lucien was the first to walk in, stopping as he stood at the head of the table. An empty chair sat beside him, and I noticed the food arranged on plates and in bowls already.
Chicken, it looked like. Mashed potatoes, bread rolls, the works. It all smelled very good. There had to be a cook here. Maybe the cook was another woman.
Standing around the table…there was not another woman in sight.
They were all men. All of them, and their eyes were turned on me the moment I walked in behind Lucien, as if I was a lighthouse and they were ships, instantly turning to my direction. I gulped, feeling uneasy and oh so small beside Lucien.
The worst part? None of them were unattractive.
I spotted the blonde smooth-talker, Ian. He’d already started drinking, though when I walked in, he set down his cup and grinned a smile that made my stomach do a few somersaults. Beside him was the man in glasses who’d saved me from Ian’s…whatever that was. His gaze was on me, but before that, he’d been staring off into space, completely zoning out.
On the other side of the table, I spotted a rather pale man, a man whose features were sharp and almost cruel. His lips were drawn into a thin line, and his eyes, a color so unique I nearly had to do a double-take, surveyed me. A stormy grey hue, practically matching his hair—which was so blonde it was near white. When I caught his stare, he licked his lips, and I quickly looked away.
Beside the pale man sat someone who had to be close to my age, or maybe even a year younger. His black hair was short on the sides and spiked on top, with green eyes so pure even emeralds were jealous. He would be sitting on my other side, once Lucien and I got in our seats.
Not a single one of them stood up as we entered, not that I expected them to fall over themselves for me. I doubted these men had any sorts of manners. That was probably something I’d be helping them with. None of them appeared quite normal. If they were thrown into the real world, they’d flounder and drown.
“I would like for you to meet Felice Fairday,” Lucien started, his voice taking on that rough, commanding tone anyone would break their backs trying to bend to listen to. I felt it in my bones. Or maybe that was just because I was surrounded by so many good-looking men. “She is here to help you, to help us. You will each have scheduled time with her, and while she’s taking care of her other duties, you are not to bother her—”
Ian ran a finger around the rim of his glass, giving me a sleazy smile. “I think dinners should be clothing-optional now. Who else agrees?” If crickets could’ve hopped in and made their noise, that would’ve been his answer. Instead, he got silence and a few risen eyebrows. “Oh, come on. You all are no fun whatsoever. What is the point of life if we can’t have a little fun?”
Lucien let out a harsh sigh. “That’s enough, Ian.”
“I don’t mind if there’s meat aplenty, as long as there is somewhere for it to go—” The scowl Lucien gave him stopped Ian from saying anything else.
An orgy. Ian was suggesting an orgy during my first meal here. I could only imagine where we would be in a month.
Actually having orgies?
Whoa. Did not know where that thought came fro
m, but I quickly tucked it away, back into the recesses of my mind. If there was one thing I shouldn’t think about, it was orgies with men I’d just met, men I’d be working closely with. All those dicks…
No, just no. Bad Felice.
“You will respect Felice as you would me, do you understand?” Lucien spoke this question slowly, over-enunciating every word as if he was talking to a crowd of kindergarteners. “If I hear that you were not respectful of her, I will see to your punishment myself.”
Punishments. I bet Lucien could dole them out nicely. I bet he liked it—
Holy heck. Where were these thoughts coming from? I had no idea, but I really needed to stop, because my cheeks started to flare up in embarrassment, as if I’d said it aloud. Something was seriously wrong with me.
It was this place. It had to be this place. It was giving me the jitters and making my mind think crazy things.
Lucien and I sat down, and as I scooted the chair into the table, I looked all around. “Is this everybody?” I asked Lucien, watching as he immediately went for the food, adding heapings onto his plate.
“Everybody that’s around right now, yes.”
It was not Lucien who answered me, but instead the one sitting on my other side, the one who was closest to my age. Cute, in the boy-next-door type of way. And those eyes really were such a vivid, bright green.
I turned my head to look at the man beside me. He was no boy. None of these guys were. I was surrounded by five men who made my mind go bananas. “What does that mean?” I asked, watching as he took a bread roll and started to butter it.
“Sometimes there are others,” he said, “but they don’t stick around for long. I think it’s because—”
“That’s enough,” Lucien growled, causing the man beside me to zip his lips. To me, Lucien said, “Ignore Koda, especially when he says things like that.”
Grimmstead Academy: A Villainous Introduction Page 4
