17
By the time we got back to campus, I was exhausted. The blackmail situation had left me reeling. I couldn’t imagine someone going to such lengths, someone wanting me to leave the school so badly, they were willing to turn the whole student body against me to make sure of it.
I wondered if my blackmailer would bring any of this to the dean’s attention. VIP Lit, free of the trial, should have no longer been on his radar, yet here I was again, fearing potential expulsion on top of public humiliation. I wondered how long it would take before that came to pass. I found myself regretting not dropping out of my classes when I had the chance.
It was embarrassing, to some degree, that Luka, Jaeson, and Riot were all looking out for me simultaneously. Still, I was grateful for their help. But if they couldn’t track the blackmailer down, and if they continued to play with my life, all their efforts would have been for nothing. I wished they didn’t know what the students were saying about me, but I feared their names would eventually end up being dragged in the mud as well.
Of course, with double standards in the mix, I wondered if their reputations would even be affected. It was possible that they might get a boost in their reputations, scoring with the naughty scholarship freshman who wrote sexy stories.
I was still worried, though. Jaeson and Luka seemed to know what they were doing and were on board to protect me at all costs, but I feared for Riot. I didn't want him getting hurt. I needed to shut these rumors down. I needed to end this somehow. I wouldn’t be able to wait much longer, and I feared that all of the investigations wouldn’t work fast enough.
I had to find the blackmailer. I had to make them stop.
There had been a small, troubling thought in the back of my mind since this whole thing had started. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt like I was missing something important. Something must have happened without triggering any warnings at the time, but now that I'd had time to reflect, I couldn't help but think over a few conversations I'd had. What was it that had caught my attention? It felt like the solution to all my problems was just out of reach.
I thought back to my friends, since all of this started, back to the beginning.
“Ignore all those jerks, okay?” Sunny had told me one day at lunch. “They’ll find something else to gossip about soon enough.”
“Why don’t you ask Jaeson to help? He’s an influential presence in the school, and he’s got to know how to handle publicity. Maybe he could think of something,” Jessica had said.
“Or our Prince.” Tiffany had suggested. “He’s well respected and everyone looks up to him. If he told the troublemakers to knock it off, they’d probably listen to him.”
I’d eventually followed the girls’ advice, even if it took going through hell by myself before I brought the Golden Trio together to show them the nasty series of texts that I had received. Even though the girls didn't know about the blackmail or the situation between me and the boys, they were often right in their advice when it came to my wellbeing. They were good friends. I didn’t want to lose them.
I sat on the sofa in my dorm room where Luka and Jaeson had settled me after I’d showered and dried off. They had disappeared for the moment, gone to get my things back from where I’d left them scattered across the desk at the planning meeting.
I’d pulled out my laptop and balanced it on my knees, trying to distract myself with the blank page. The blinking cursor tormented me.
"How are you feeling?”
Luka appeared beside me and I jumped, jarred out of my reverie.
"Sorry for startling you," he apologized. He sat down to one side of me and leaned over, looking at my laptop. The glow of the laptop turned his face stark, all shadows and angles.
"Trying to write?" he asked.
“Trying and failing,” I said. I wasn’t in any mood to write, but I didn’t want to sleep yet. The glow of the laptop was enough to keep me from nodding off while I thought. “I’m too wound up.”
“I thought you had to be wound up to write your steamy scenes?” he teased.
The playful tone put me at ease. Slowly, the tension in my back relaxed, my shoulders no longer hunched up to my ears.
“I just finished writing one sexy chapter,” I said. “I need to recharge my creativity before starting another.”
Luka leaned down and placed his lips near my ear. ”Maybe I can help with that?”
I met his eyes. They were warm and caring, yet held a hint of that simmering heat I’d seen before.
There was something about Luka that called to me. Something that made me want to lower all my barriers and let him in. Maybe it was the knowledge that he was so different when we were alone. A refined gentlemen turned seducer.
I closed the laptop and tossed it to the other side of the sofa.
“Kiss me?” I asked.
Luka put his hand on the back of my head. He brought his lips down to meet mine. The light brush of his tongue ignited a fire inside me.
He shifted to fit his hips neatly between my legs, forcing the hem of my sundress up my thighs, just barely exposing my panties. I could feel his thick line of heat pressed up against the zipper of his pants. He was already aroused. I flushed in pleasure, delighted that I had as much effect on him as he had on me. I could already feel the beginnings of wetness at the core of me. It wasn't just the kissing, though. It was imagining what he was going to do next. I let out a quiet moan.
