trap I’ve locked her in. She stumbled into my depraved kingdom, and I’m throwing away the key to strand her here.
I crowd her against the tall worktable, muscles in my arms flexing. She puts on a frightened little expression that I don’t buy. I haven’t really scared her yet, not with the way she’s fought back, a mouse facing off with a lion.
Thea is fascinating as hell going off on tangents in the face of danger, but I saw it yesterday when she stuck her nose where it didn’t fucking belong. Apples and fucking trees, man. I can’t forget it again. Can’t let the cute little way her nose scrunches distract me from the truth. She keeps knocking me off balance, but if she thinks I’m letting her go or allowing her to call the shots, she’s sorely mistaken.
She comes off genuine and earnest, but it’s all a lie. Pretty wrapping to fool me into trusting her.
My little sunshine daisy has hidden thorns and roots to choke her king. Beautiful, but destructive.
Why do I keep letting her manipulate me when I’m supposed to be holding a guillotine over her head? This girl…
She’s shredding my rep.
I have to stop rolling over when she pulls the pretty puppy eyes on me, or throws such sound logic when she should be cowering in terror that I find myself giving in rather than putting her in her place. Like the end date demand—there wasn’t supposed to be one. Mom made a point about legacy and commitment, making it sound more long-term, but I had no way to tell her that without looking weak, not the formidable blackmail king she should fear. I can’t keep her forever, and I let her steamroll me. I guess I’ll figure something else out after graduation.
“Got it?”
Thea nods. “Got it.”
“Great. Enough questions.”
I shove down the annoying instinct that keeps catching me off guard, the one where I want to protect her. Like when I made her cry and immediately felt like shit for it. This is what lying bitches do, they get in your damn head and twist you up.
Other than Devlin, Thea is the first person to ever talk back to me and not fear me on sight from the image I’ve cultivated. In the face of domination and demand, she talks back with logic and a bravery I didn’t know a shy chick like her could possess.
But after dumping everything in her lap yesterday, now I know how far I can push her before she breaks. It’s information for later.
I put a hand on her waist. Damn, I really want to kiss her, need to claim that mouth. All this verbal sparring with her is getting me horny.
But she said no.
“We could be having so much fun with this, sunshine.” I groan under my breath and bump my nose against hers. “You sure you don’t want to keep playing our game? Advance to the next boss level? There are killer perks and achievements. I want to show you what it feels like to come on my tongue for real.”
She makes a delicious sound, like she took me at face value for agreeing to let her make the first move, but can’t handle the filthy words I’m whispering.
The inexperience was a shock after the things we’ve done when sexting, but it’s intoxicating to know she’s a blank canvas. I want to paint a masterpiece on it, show her what it’s like to fuck the way we fantasized about. It’s like I met two different girls, one confident and as devious as I am, and the one in front of me, trembling from a few words and my hand massaging her waist.
“I…” She shakes her head. “Connor. This is a bad idea.”
My lips trail over her cheek in the lightest brush. “My favorite kind.”
She laughs, breathy and soft. It makes my dick harder.
“They’ll be your favorite, too. Let me show you how to live, sunshine.”
Fuck yes, I think as she puts her hands on my shoulders, pulling me in.
The door bangs open, startling both of us. A shadow fills the door, back-lit by the bright hallway lights.
“Thea? Aren’t you supposed to be in your world history class?”
Coleman.
He looms in the door, keeping to the shadows as Thea stiffens beside me.
“Mr. Coleman,” she says.
Is that relief in her voice? I swing my glower to her, getting more pissed off by the second at the way she’s focused on him.
What the fuck.
It takes a second for my brain to kick into