when she walked into class and ordered us to turn to chapter eleven.
Not so fortunately, I was on my own as the open stares and the whispers followed me around for the rest of the day.
“THE ELMER HOLMES BOBST LIBRARY opened its doors in 1973 and serves as the primary research facility for NYU.” I tuned out our guide as I openly watched Four gazing absently at the swaying purple banners. Unlike the rest of our group, she didn’t hang on the Ambassador’s every word and instead spent much of the hour-long tour daydreaming. Probably of her crossing a finish line at two hundred miles per hour instead of a stage after four grueling years. It wasn’t as if attending university was out of her reach. A diploma from Brynwood Academy and a check from my father would open almost any door. All she had to do was want it.
Except I witnessed her sheer determination to race and knew she would never consider anything less. Including a degree from an ivy league. I couldn’t help but respect her for being grounded in who she was. Four only changed on her terms and offered no apologies. It was part of what made her so goddamn irresistible. That and her heart shaped ass. One minute, I was pushing her away and swearing her off for good, and the next, I was ready to buy her flowers and serenade her ass.
Fucking hell.
As if sensing my attention, she peeked over her shoulder, and instantly, we locked gazes. The connection was short-lived, but judging by the stiff set of her shoulders, I knew I wasn’t as easy to ignore as she wanted me to believe. It would serve her right if I dragged her stubborn ass inside one of these empty study rooms and reminded her why I held her strings. I couldn’t get Four out of my head while she went out of her way to avoid me.
It’s been eleven days.
Eleven. Goddamn. Days.
I knew the rumors circulating our school were why she’d turned cold. They all wanted to know if I was sneaking in her bed at night. My moment of weakness ended with Four taking all of the heat. It was why I gave her the space she wanted and hoped she’d come to me on her own—before my patience ran out. Clearly, she was more pigheaded than I gave her credit.
Unable to withstand the emotional and physical distance anymore, I maneuvered through the small portion of our senior class until I stood next to her. Discreetly grabbing her elbow, I pulled her to the rear away from prying eyes.
Glancing up at me, she sighed but didn’t pull away as we fell further and further behind. “I don’t recall hearing your name when the group chaperone did roll call,” she grumbled.
“I ditched my group.”
“Because you do what you want without consequence?”
We both knew she wasn’t talking about me being here.
Placing a hand on her spine, I shoved her into an empty dark corner underneath the stairs just as the last of our group passed through a set of double doors. The guide’s droning and the footsteps of our classmates quickly faded. Leaning down until my lips touched her ear, I growled, “Because I couldn’t resist your flame, Archer.”
“Stalker.”
“Brat.”
“Prick.”
I clutched her hips and yanked her lower half until there was no space left between us. “Mine.”
Her body trembled as her forehead rubbed against my own when she shook her head. “Never,” she whispered.
Resisting the urge to kiss her, I took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, “I’m sorry for what happened.”
“No, you’re not.”
No, I wasn’t. Everyone at school now knew she was mine, and I couldn’t find issue with that. I didn’t regret it one goddamn bit.
“You calling me on my shit?” I couldn’t help grinning.
“Someone’s got to.”
“Yeah?” Forgetting that at any moment we could be caught, my hand slipped under her skirt and petted her pussy through her damp panties. “Who gets to call you on yours?”
“Ever…” she moaned.
“Good fucking answer.”
“That’s not what I—”
A throat cleared, interrupting her protest.
I peeked over my shoulder and found who I assumed was a silver-haired NYU professor wearing red-rimmed glasses, pearls, and a disapproving frown.
“If you two would come with me, I’ll escort you back to your group.”
I heard Four’s sharp inhale and knew she feared exposure. No way was this woman not going to report what she saw. It was one thing for our classmates to suspect we were fucking, but a teacher confirming it to