by Payton Reed
She put the locket in her pocket as she resumed walking toward her dorm. She wasn’t certain what to think. Dalton’s twinge of conscience was certainly unexpected, but she was relieved to have the heirloom back in her possession.
What had possessed him to return it though? Was he ready to turn over a new leaf and try to leave her alone so they could find peace? Was he playing some other mind game with her? Was he trying to start over for an entirely different reason, one that involved the mutual attraction between them?
No, she didn’t believe that. If he really wanted her, and it wasn’t just some game he was playing, she didn’t doubt for a moment that he hated his attraction to her as much she hated feeling the same for him.
Whatever his motives for returning the locket, she doubted they were actually good. It was probably the next step in the torture they planned to inflict on her. For now, all she could do was watch and wait, but she was sure the Westerly’s weren’t done tormenting her yet.
Part II
October
Chapter Seventeen
Willow
Willow paused to take in a deep breath, noticing the chill in the air that seemed to have crept in over the past few days. Autumn was on the way, and the leaves on the trees were starting to change color. For a girl who’d lived in the outskirts of Portland most of her life, being this close to the Maine countryside was an amazing experience. Of course there were trees, even in Springfield, but not so many, and not so big and healthy.
A glance at her watch revealed she was going to be late if she didn’t hurry. She hadn’t seen Jonas all week, and she was both worried about him and missing him. He’d sent a brief text message to cancel on their Saturday precursor date last Friday night. She’d gone to the gazebo a couple of times throughout the week, hoping to have lunch with him, but he hadn’t been there either.
She hadn’t been sure what to think, but he’d texted again last night to invite her to meet him in the center of the rose maze this Saturday morning. She was upset by the lack of communication, but she wanted to see him again—even if it was just for answers. Part of her feared he’d gotten spooked by their attraction and decided it wasn’t worth risking his job. She could respect that, though it would hurt. Just the thought was enough to make her have trouble breathing through the pain in her chest, so she could only imagine how much the reality would bother her.
It should be a relief if Jonas backed away, because that would be one less man to think about, but she couldn’t stand the thought. She was growing closer to Lex with their nearly nightly study sessions, and she was surer than ever that Kip wanted her as much as she wanted him. Being forced to give up on Jonas would help her sort out her feelings, but she clung to the hope that wasn’t why he’d ghosted her for the past week.
Finally, she navigated through the rose maze and found him waiting in the gazebo. He had several tools spread out on the floor of the gazebo, but he wasn’t actively working. His expression morphed to one of pleasure as she entered his view, which made her heart leap in excitement. He didn’t look at her like someone who was trying to let her down easy.
Feeling inexplicably shy, she paused near the steps to the gazebo and looked at him through the veil of her lashes. “Hi.”
He gave her a big smile. “Hello.” He patted the seat beside him when she continued to sit there. “Come sit with me?”
She climbed the steps and sat down beside him. The awkwardness remained, and she realized it was because she didn’t know where she stood with him. “What happened to our precursor last week?” She struggled to sound casual, though she was certain she didn’t achieve that goal.
His hand brushed hers, but he didn’t take it in his. “I’m sorry about that.”
That wasn’t an answer. “But why?”
Jonas lifted his head to look into her gaze. “It’s stupid…”
“What is?”
He sighed. “I…” He ran a hand through his overly long hair. “The truth is, I got scared.”
Willow nodded. “Of losing your job.”
He let out a little laugh. “No… well, maybe a bit, but mostly of you.”
Her eyes widened. “What? Of me?” She shook her head. “Why?”
“I like you.” His brown eyes had flecks of gold in them today, thought that might have just been from the angle of the sun. “A lot.”
Her stomach fluttered, and she looked away for a second before nodding. “Me too. I like you a lot too.” So how could she like Lex and Kip too? And feel the crazy attraction to Dalton?
“How much I like you on short acquaintance scared me. I needed some time to process it all and figure out if I wanted to risk my heart again.” He looked off into the distance now.
“Again?” She licked her lips, preparing to hear about past girlfriends. The thought turned her stomach, and she wanted to assure him he didn’t have to share his past. She would have done so if her curiosity hadn’t outpaced her reluctance.
“Two years ago, when things were in such an upheaval for me, I was seeing a girl from the academy.”
She flinched. “Is this your dating pool then?” The words came out brittle and a failed attempt at humor, likely because she didn’t find it at all funny.
He shot her a disapproving look. “Of course not, but I’m not much older than the students. It’s not unusual to find each other attractive. I thought Stasia was the one for me. She seemed to feel the same way, but then my dad had his heart attack, and life was chaotic. She claimed when she broke up with me that it was because I didn’t have enough time for her. That might have been true, but she was also engaged to a very wealthy young man within weeks, right before graduation. It hurt at the time, and it’s left me reluctant to take another chance.”
She reached over to take his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s part of life, but I had to figure out if I could risk my heart again.”
His fingers tightened around hers as she asked, “What did you decide?”
His gaze almost drilled into hers. “You’re worth the risk.”
There was a hitch in her chest, and she had a hard time drawing in a deep breath. “Thank you. I won’t ever deliberately hurt you.” She lifted a palm to cup his cheek as her conscience screamed at her to tell him about Lex and Kip now. But not Dalton. That was just some weird aberration that would burn itself out in time. She opened her mouth to confess her feelings, but Jonas leaned over to kiss her before she could.
As she lost herself in the kiss, she knew she was behaving like a coward. He was opening his heart to her, telling her about his past pain, and she wasn’t being completely honest. She would regret it. She knew that with a soul-deep certainty, but she couldn’t bring herself to break the kiss to tell him everything.
Chapter Eighteen
Willow
She was displeased, but not entirely surprised, to find herself called into the headmaster’s office Monday morning. She took a seat across his desk and tried to maintain a neutral expression. “You wanted to see me, Headmaster?”
He nodded, looking annoyed. “A… student has brought it to my attention that you didn’t keep your room according to standards. There was an incident a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know why Edna… Ms. Grimley… didn’t issue a demerit, but I’ll do so.”
Willow rolled her eyes. “Sir, someone broke into my room and vandalized it. I had to contact my mother to send me more bedding and clothes after this student destroyed most of my things. She even stole a necklace from me that means a lot. It’s a miracle I got it back.” She didn’t bother to remove the locket from under her shirt, knowing it wasn’t proof of anything. She’d taken to wearing it everywhere since Dalton returned it though, to protect it from Malone.
She briefly wondered if Dalton would vouch for her if she told Hastings the full details. Then she almost laughed aloud at the preposterous idea. He’d never stick up for her, especially against his sister.
Hastings wasn’t quite meeting her ga
ze, and it was obvious he knew about the report Edna had filed. He was just trying to pressure her into leaving by harassing her. “Do you have any witnesses?”
She shrugged. “Isis, my roommate, came into the room just after me. She and Octavia Hastings helped me clean up the mess.” Oh, how she enjoyed the way he flinched when she spoke Octavia’s name.
He paled. “Octavia was involved?”
“With helping me. She’s a sweet girl.” Willow didn’t have to try to embellish her feelings about Octavia. She’d proven to be a sweet young lady and was fast becoming Willow’s best friend around this place.
After a hesitation, he nodded. “I see. In that case, I’ll make a note of this being a mistaken report.”
She snorted. “Mistaken? We both know Malone’s just trying to cause trouble.” She wanted to call him on his lack of neutrality as well, but she didn’t push her luck.
He glared at her. “That’s enough. Return to class.”
Still seething, she left his office and the admin building. She cut across the quad to return to her class, which had a few minutes remaining. She entered the building and had gone a few steps when arms reached out and grabbed her.
She expected Dalton and turned in his embrace, about to slap him. She arrested her hand when she recognized Lex instead.
His eyes widened. “Sheesh. You look ready to kill me.”
His arms were still around her, and she made an effort to calm down. “Sorry. You just startled me.” She looked up and down the corridor. “What are you doing out of class?”
He pressed his finger to his lips before moving it to a whisper. “Come with me.” Lex stepped back but held out his hand.
She took it and walked with him, curious about their destination, though she knew she should return to class. She didn’t need to give the headmaster another reason to mess with her.
Lex led her into an empty classroom. She noticed black and white photos hanging around the room, so it wasn’t a shock when he took her into a room deeper in the classroom that proved to be a darkroom. The heavy chemical smell irritated her nose, making her sneeze.
“I apologize about the ambience, but I wanted a few minutes alone with you. I saw you leaving your classroom and got a pass to wait for you to come back.” He pulled her into his arms, pressing his forehead to hers. “Everything okay?”
She nodded, grazing her skin against his in the process. “Yeah. Just more Malone causing trouble.”
“She’s a shark.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms.
“Among piranhas.” At his questioning look, she told him about her nickname for Malone’s friends.
He grinned. “That’s about perfect for them.”
She grasped the lapels of his gold blazer, pulling him closer. “Since we only have a few minutes, I really don’t want to spend them talking about Malone or the piranhas.”
“Hmm, I don’t want to talk at all.” As he said that, Lex’s mouth settled over hers. The kiss was hot and hungry, full of pent-up frustration.
She understood it. Their make-out sessions in the library were necessarily brief and over the clothes, since anyone could walk by. This felt like their first few moments of privacy in forever.
Lex’s mouth didn’t leave hers as his hands wandered. Hers were just as busy exploring, and he gasped with surprise when she palmed the front of his pants, rubbing the bulge there. He pulled back a few inches. “You don’t have to.”
Using both hands to undo his slacks, she didn’t look away from him. “I want to.” She freed his cock as she stared into his light-blue eyes, which seemed a darker shade in his passion. He closed his eyes a moment later when she wrapped her palm around his shaft and started stroking. He had enough pre-cum to make it easy to grasp him and slide her hand up and down his length.
Lex’s hands grasped her arms tightly enough to hurt, but she gritted her teeth against the discomfort. He was clearly holding onto her to keep from falling, and she appreciated him showing her his vulnerability. She continued to caress and stroke him as she watched his face. His expression was lively, changing to reflect each intense moment of pleasure. When the cords in his neck tightened, and his lips skimmed back from his teeth, she knew he was on the cusp.
It was instinct that guided her to bend down to her knees. She’d never done this before, but it felt right to take Lex’s twitching erection into her mouth. She looked up as he gasped, pleased by the stunned ecstasy visible on his face. She took him in as far as she could and sucked lightly. Less than a second later, his cock spasmed as his seed shot down her throat. She almost choked, but she swallowed as fast as she could.
There was a sense of satisfaction she couldn’t explain with managing to swallow it all. She stood up slowly, discreetly wiping her mouth, as Lex regained his composure. He startled her by drawing her closer for a deep kiss, not shying away from his release still on her tongue.
She curled against him for a moment as the bell rang. She wanted to keep holding onto him, but they had to get to class.
He kissed her temple. “Thank you.”
She shrugged as she stepped back. “I enjoyed it.” That wasn’t just something she was saying to boost his ego. She really had enjoyed bringing him to his knees, figuratively, with the power of her mouth. It was a bit of an ego boost to know she could do that to him. There was also tenderness from being able to please him.
“We have to find a way to be alone.” He hugged her again before righting himself and then smoothing her hair.
She nodded. The next time she was alone with Lex, she wasn’t sure how far things would progress. Her virginity wasn’t a prize to give away, nor a burden to shed as quickly as possible. She didn’t have to be deeply in love with her first lover, but she wanted to feel something besides lust. She definitely felt far more with Lex.
And Jonas.
And Kip.
And… No, she didn’t feel anything for Dalton besides hate and this inappropriate attraction. He wasn’t anything to her otherwise. He definitely wasn’t a reason she might hold back with Lex.
She had to tell Lex the truth before she could have sex with him. She had to tell Jonas and Kip too. Willow just needed to find the courage to do so. Only knowing it might cost her all of them held her back. She couldn’t envision a scenario where they were okay with sharing her, and she couldn’t bring herself to even think about choosing—which was completely unfair to them when they didn’t even know she cared about all of them.
Chapter Nineteen
Willow
Two weeks later, Willow crunched through the colorful leaves starting to collect on the lawn. Jonas clearly hadn’t gotten to them yet, but he’d been busy with the roses, preparing them for the cooler weather.
Their first precursor date had gone so well that she’d gone back each Saturday over the last two weeks to help him out. Each time she saw him created a ball of heat in her stomach, and each kiss set her on fire. They had kissed several times.
She grimaced as guilt ripped through her again. She’d also kissed Lex several times over the last two weeks, though they hadn’t found a chance to be alone to do more since the darkroom, and she knew she couldn’t keep doing this. She had to talk to both of them, since she couldn’t even imagine choosing. How was she supposed to pick between Jonas and Lex when she adored so much about each of them, but for different reasons?
Not to mention Kip. That was what she called him in her head, but she was careful to keep to his professional form of address when they were in the classroom. Friday afternoons had become a regular thing, and she had moved on from “War and Peace” to “Great Expectations.” Their conversations mostly centered around the books she was reading, but there was an unspoken longing between them with each word—though it was difficult to discuss anything too personal when Suzanne was always lurking around.
The woman had taken to wearing sneakers on Fridays instead of her usual ridiculous high heels she wore in the classroom throughout the week. Willow was certain it w
as so she could sneak around to keep an eye on them. She was reaching a point of frustration, and for herself, she might’ve taken the risk of telling Kip how she was feeling and reaching out to him, but she couldn’t risk costing him his job just because Suzanne was jealous.
Not that Kip had told her that. She hadn’t really had a chance to confirm that was why Suzanne disliked her, but it was obvious to her by the way Suzanne treated her poorly, and in the territorial way she looked at Kip whenever she was around him. She’d staked a claim Kip didn’t want, but Suzanne wasn’t going to let that stop her. Clearly, she viewed Willow as a threat.
Thinking of threats made her thoughts drift to Dalton, and she wrinkled her brow in confusion once more. After the night he’d returned her locket, he’d pretty much stayed out of her way. She was aware of him staring at her sometimes with a brooding expression, and occasionally, he joined Malone in mocking her, but he seemed to have marginally backed off his campaign of intimidation. Maybe he’d reached the same conclusion as her—keeping their distance from each other was the smart choice.
She wished she could say the same for Malone. Her stepsister was an evil troll, and if it hadn’t been for Jonas, Lex, and Kip, she probably would’ve stopped fighting Malone’s efforts to get her kicked out. So far, none had been successful, likely in part due to her friendship with Octavia—not that she was cultivating it to protect herself. She genuinely liked Octavia. At least for now, Malone seemed to be contenting herself with just angry words and the occasional physical assault when she got the opportunity.
Willow rubbed her hip where Malone had shoved her into the corner of a table as she was leaving the dining hall Thursday. She now sported a bruise and was tender at the spot, but it was mostly a reminder that Malone hadn’t given up, even if Dalton had decided to dial down his hostility.
