by KC Kean
Two small words that I can’t push to the back of my mind like the rest of my memories. As I reach for the envelope, a sob breaks free and I jump back from the bag like it's on fire. What is this place doing to me? Being here isn’t a good idea. Do I mean this room or the Academy overall? Overall, definitely overall.
I’ve never been on such an emotional rollercoaster before and this place is just bringing it all out and leaving me disorientated.
No more.
No fucking more.
I am strong and I am more than this. I steel my back, roughly swipe my face and grab the bag heading straight out of the vault and to the elevator, not even waiting for the guard.
As soon as I step out of the building with my two holdalls, I‘m power stomping back to my room, everything passing in a blur. Unsure of how much time has passed since my emotions are causing havoc in my head.
I need to head for the gym, channel my emotions in the only way I know how.
Getting to my room, I hide the holdalls in the dresser area as quickly as I can, to get away from them as quickly as possible, they’re emotionally offending me and I can’t take anymore. I check the time, nearly lunch. I’ve got two hours until I’m due to meet Red. I quickly change into a sports bra and tight training shorts, grab my gym bag and my phone and head downstairs.
As I walk down the stairs I browse through the notifications on my phone, more calls and texts from Rafe, Jake and West. Out of the three, right now I’d probably speak to West the most, but we aren’t close enough for me to unload on him about all this.
Where do I even begin to explain the last 72 hours?
I can’t call Jake, he would take it the wrong way. I don’t need the emotional drain of him being overbearing or thinking he means more to me than he does. That just leaves Rafe and he can fuck all the way off, he’s on my shit list for the foreseeable.
Red? I guess but I can’t trust her yet, as much as my gut tells me she’s wholesome and different I just don’t know her enough.
Feeling a little more deflated I throw my phone in my bag, like it’s the phone's fault I’m dealing with all these issues at the moment. As I go to push the door open, it's opened from the other side.
My hand is raised inches from a solid chest, very nicely on display. Olive skin and ripped abs have me drawn to the sexiest ‘V’ I have ever laid my eyes on. I slowly lift my gaze, unable to stop myself from committing each groove of him to memory. Short brown hair, stunning blue eyes and a square jaw have me speechless. There’s a small beauty spot just below his left eye and I need to lick it.
Before I start to drool all over him, I shut my mouth and meet his gaze only to find fury looking back at me.
“Oh good, Princess finally shows her fucking face. Get in here, you’ve got questions to answer,” he says.
Who the hell is this guy?
Before I can even ask, “Did I fucking stutter? Move. Now.”
Oh honey, not today, really not today.
“Fuck you, asshole,” I bark, angry as hell.
Ready for him to start yelling, I throw my bag down and meet his stare. Damn, a face that good should not look so sinister when grinning, wait ...
Why the fuck is he grinning?
(Roman)
This girl definitely doesn’t know who I am or what I’m capable of. If she did, I wouldn't be listening to her smart mouth right now. She’d fall in line just like all the others and either bow at my feet or avoid me all together. I can’t help but grin with the thought of making her regret standing up to me. It rarely happens these days, seeing as no one has the balls.
Well, except my tight group of friends, they know the real me, not the me I have to be to the rest of the criminal world. This world is all about games and the roles we are expected to play on a daily basis, then comes the violence and the terror.
I spoke to Kai earlier this morning and he promised me this girls file by this evening, so we won’t walk into classes unprepared. When I first saw her walking in here, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her face, her green eyes captivating.
But I had to stay focused. I thought I would be able to grill her for answers and she’d give them to me out of fear. Seems I was wrong based on the scowl on her face. Although there is a touch of confusion there too, probably because of the wicked grin I can’t wipe from my face.
Good.
I’m glad I’ve caught her off guard a little.
“Well Princess, I’ve already fucked this morning but if you wanna jump on too I’m sure we can figure it out.”
The disgust on her face is instant, but better than that, she doesn’t know how to respond. I know she didn’t mean literal fucking, but I can’t seem to help myself.
I’m definitely making the situation worse. She closes her eyes for the briefest moment and just like that all the emotion is wiped from her face.
Like all of it.
She’s not mad, upset, angry, embarrassed or even irritated. How did she do that so quickly? Her green eyes are suddenly reflective pits of nothingness, like she just made it all go away. Fuck. We all mask our true feelings around here. It's an important part of our world, but I have never seen it shutter so quickly like that, never, and I’m familiar with many people.
If you found Ice Queen in the dictionary right now, this is what she would look like. I don’t know where to lead my questions now. I expected to rile her up a bit, not this, but before I can figure anything out she’s talking.
“You’re the guy from yesterday morning, right? The one I didn’t see in the crowd but who chimed in on the girl’s tirade?”
Her tone of voice is flat, no life to it. Where had the feisty girl from just moments ago gone? I want her back. I don’t know why, but it feels like it matters right now.
“Where have you gone?” I cautiously say, maintaining eye contact, but not even a blink from her.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it seems you have an issue with me being here like others apparently. Right now, I truly need you to fuck off so I can work out my stress, okay? I’m asking politely, and by all means feel free to collar me later today or preferably never, but right now isn’t a good time for me, thanks.” I take a deep breath and release a sigh.
Nodding her head, she picks her bag back up and continues further into the gym, breezing right past me.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
I’m still standing here like a fucking idiot trying to play catch up to what just happened. Obviously I only let her past because of her shift in emotions, it just caught me off guard a little. Internally I’m slapping my face and pulling myself out of whatever funk this is.
When I finally remember what I dragged her in here for, I see her at the punching bag beside the sparring ring in the center. In the time it’s taken me to gather myself she’s already taped up and hitting the shit out of the thing.
That’s where all the emotion went, pent up inside and now she’s throwing it all into the bag. This is my usual M.O. To be honest I was down here doing the exact same thing before she arrived, and she’s to blame.
Me and the guys constantly come here to destress, seeing as the only other person in Ace was Wren, who wouldn’t be seen dead in here unless it was a requirement, so we always had the place to ourselves.
I refuse to give her the space she wants right now though, its principle. She needs to understand how it works around here and I do not have enough information on her to be comfortable.
I make my way over, slowly, letting her know I’m the predator and she’s the fucking prey.
She’s working herself up something crazy right now and the fire in her eyes is hot as sin. She’s got me like a moth to a flame and all I want is to feel her burn. The sweat dripping down her chest encourages me to take my time looking over every inch of her body.
In just a sports bra and tight shorts, I can see her usual clothes are hiding a perfect body. Man, all curves of a woman but trim and in shape at the same time. She’s not all big
tits and ass with a skinny waist like all the girls are trying to achieve. Princess is completely in proportion from head to toe.
Noticing a tattoo on her arm, my mind wanders to what else she might be hiding. Making my way back up to her face, I fucking stall.
Please dear god, those are not nipple piercings.
Holy shit, they are. This girl is a wet dream.
I’m trying to not pay too much attention, but I can definitely see that one is a ring and the other is a barbell. I’ve completely lost track of what I stormed over here for, and my dick is rising to the girl in front of me.
I need to get control back. I take a few deep breaths to try and calm myself down. What the fuck is happening, she’s playing with my head.
Fuck this, I’m more than what my dick wants. Although I feel like I’ve never had to work this hard to get it under control before. I storm the rest of the way to the punching bag and hold it still, halting her flow. The storm in her eyes when she looks at me is lethal, but I don’t back down.
“Where the hell have you come from?” I demand.
“What the fuck do you want now?” she growls.
She doesn’t back down from the aggressive tone I’m using, if anything it makes her stand taller.
She’s panting from her workout, but my dick is not taking it that way.
“Why are you suddenly showing up, out of the blue, at Featherstone Academy?” I push the harshness into my voice.
“What has that got to do with you?” she growls.
“Everything, it has everything to do with me, and the fact that you have to ask that, shows how little you know about what you’ve walked into here.”
“It’s none of your fucking business unless I want it to be your fucking business. No ego or hierarchy is gonna tell me otherwise, now back off.”
With that she makes to walk past me, but I grab her arm and spin her to face me.
“Listen here little girl, I’ll find out what I want to know but you need to fall in line if you expect to live past your first day here,” I growl.
I refuse to tell her I know she’s a fucking con artist, because there is no way this is the actual Luna Steele. Not after what happened all those years ago.
The look in her eyes tells me she knows I want her anger and fire but refuses to rise to my challenge.
She places her hand gently on my pec, over my heritage ink, and the electricity I feel has me barely holding in a hiss. She leans in close, her lips near to mine.
“No man will ever tell me what I can or cannot do. Proceed to come at me, I don’t give a shit, but you don’t know me like I don’t know you, and a threat against my life will not end in your favor,” she whispers, but it's not a secret it’s a goddamn fact.
With that she pushes against my chest, grabs her bag and saunters out of here like she doesn’t have a care in the world. I don’t know what’s just happened, but I do know I didn’t win.
The real loser here is my dick, it’s hard as steel after that little performance.
CHAPTER NINE
(Luna)
What an asshole.
I don’t know who that guy thought he was, but I sure as shit won’t be falling in line. Why are the hot ones always jerks? I wasn’t sticking around, the argument wouldn’t have led anywhere. We’d have just been going round in circles.
I quickly changed, and now I’m waiting outside of Ace for Red. There are a few people sitting around, but no one is really paying any attention to me.
I’m suddenly wrapped in someone’s arms, completely caught off guard. Before I can get into defensive mode, Red jumps back with a guilty look on her face.
“I’m sorry. Too far, I’ll step back now. I was just excited for today is all,” she rambles.
She’s lucky I didn’t hurt her. I check myself over, making sure she didn’t do that to place anything on me. I come up clean which has me releasing a sigh of relief.
“Personal space Red, okay? I could have hit you.”
I try to keep my voice firm, but the guilt in her eyes makes my voice a lot softer than I wanted. My god, is this what it's like to have a female friend? I don’t know if I’m ready for this.
Glancing over I hope it’s coincidental that we are both wearing denim cut-off shorts and a vest top. At least mine top is white and hers is pink. Well and the fact that she’s all freshly curled hair and girly sandals. While my hair is in a standard ponytail and I’m wearing my favorite combat boots. Similar outfits but complete opposite ends of the bar.
“Let’s go, before you change your mind because you’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”
With that she loops her arm through mine and begins to drag me along.
How does she always get me to let my guard down like this? It blows my mind. It’s the whole sunshine vibe she’s got going on, and I’d rather be basking in her sun than dealing with that asshole from earlier.
Seems I’d be wise to choose my battles carefully, but he was just a prick. Sadly a body as hot as that obviously belongs to a jackass. He had my nipples screaming to be touched and my core throbbing for attention. If he’d not been so fucking overbearing and in my face I’d have definitely followed my body’s idea. Completely unfazed by the fact he may have been with someone else this morning, but here I am, left unsatisfied.
“So, what’s on our to do list then?” Red asks, breaking my train of thought.
“Well, I need a new laptop and a few books for certain classes. That’s it really, and coffee, lots of coffee and cake,” I smile.
I can’t help it, her smile is infectious.
“That’s all doable, do you wanna grab coffee first, then when we’ve finished getting your things we could get some food?”
I don’t miss the hope in her voice and find myself nodding in agreement. She squeals, literally squeals, and I don’t know how she manages it with her arm linked through mine, but she’s clapping too while doing a little skip.
She drags me along to the center of campus where everything is, and I’m surprised by the layout. There is a full row of shops, maybe twenty in total, ranging from designer brand clothing stores to top of the range electronic outlets. All the buildings are quite small, almost quaint, and the cobbled pathway makes me feel as though I’ve left the country.
Her hands are going in all directions, as she points things out to me on our way to the coffee shop.
There is a small square of restaurants and cafes with the same vibe, with a small intricate fountain in the center. From Italian restaurants to a Starbucks.
A large building sticks out, which Red said is the main campus cafeteria. It’s all glass walls and steel panels looking completely out of place, too modern amongst the rest.
Red doesn’t let go of my arm. I can see her brain working overtime, and I know when we do eventually sit down she’s going to bombard me with her own questions, before I have chance to ask her any of mine.
She’s happy to get coffees to go, although her face scrunchies when I just have a straight black coffee, compared to her Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino.
Cold coffee, who even does that?
Me, apparently. Seeing as I’ve promised to try one after classes finish tomorrow.
Heading into the electronic store, I pick up a new laptop easy enough, there were limited options but all top of the line. I have my own laptop back in my room, but it’s not the kind of thing I can be casually strolling around campus with.
Not when I have access to the black market and the dark web on there. Featherstone knows, but if someone managed to get their hands on it I’d be screwed. I don’t know who actually stands behind the Featherstone name either, so I don’t fully know who’s aware of my extracurricular activities.
The bookstore is the next stop, and after grabbing far too many books for my liking, we are finished. Thank god.
We stroll through the cobbled street making our way to get food when I see the look on Red’s face and it's blatant that she’s desperate to say
something.
“Go on, spit it out.”
She’s got the ‘dear in the headlights’ look.
“Well, erm, I was just wondering if you read the manual fully? I mean you are beautiful, so beautiful as you are. It’s just, they can be strict with the rules, and as your best friend it is my duty to help. I don’t want you to have issues tomorrow on your first official day, not when I can make sure we avoid any unnecessary confrontations. It’s not like you need it. Not at all, but I don’t make the rules and ...”
“Red, just get to the freaking point,” I interrupt, waving my hand at her.
“Oh, sorry, it’s just that make-up is mandatory,” she rushes, and it takes me a second to process.
Oh, thank god, she had me stressing with all her rambling then.
“Don’t worry I saw, and my mother took the liberty of filling my room with half a make-up store too so no need to stress. I wear it when I need or want to, it just isn’t all that often, mainly because I spend so much time training and it just sweats off.”
I never mention how much I train. There I go again, just tell her your life story now, get it out of the way, I scold myself.
“Oh good, I just wanted to make sure in case you needed to buy anything here. Although, make sure you carry some make-up supplies around with you, because they expect it reapplied after physical activity,” she advises.
Great, just what I wanted. At least she’s given me a heads up, because I definitely wouldn’t have carted it around with me otherwise.
“It’s fine Red, don’t worry over it. Are you ready to eat?” I ask.
“How does Italian sound?” It’s the most confident she’s been all day.
In just a simple question. I can see she’s not trying to please me or tip toe around me and it makes me smile.
“It sounds like the way to my heart Red, lead the way,” I respond.
Fuck she’s trouble, pity I’m not into women cos she’s got me wrapped round her finger. If anyone saw me from back home they wouldn’t believe their eyes.
