“What do you think it means?” His voice is harsh, rough. “Who the hell handed you that card? Who wrote those fucking words to you?”
I swallow hard, my throat tightening as I tilt my head back to meet his gaze. He’s so much taller than me that I can barely see his face properly, just the terrifyingly sharp line of his jaw and the pulse thudding a frantic rhythm in his neck.
Then, I finally see that something dark and predatory flickers in his stare.
Before I can draw another breath, he slams both palms against the wall on either side of my head. The thud echoes in the narrow corridor, the vibration rattling my very bones.
The move is purely animalistic—he is caging his territory. A violent shiver races down my spine, but it makes my skin feel too tight for my body.
At least he believes me, I think desperately, clinging to the only shred of logic I have left.At least this maniac finally knows I didn’t write that filth to myself.
“Valya.”
The way he says my name—almost guttural, stripped of his usual mocking edge—makes my breath catch.
I’ve never heard Devlin call me that before. Never heard him use the shortened version of my Russian name that almost no one here uses. Not even my parents have called me that in years. Only Sasha sometimes, when we’re alone.
“One of the student Cupids,” I whisper, my voice tripping over itself. “He… he came into my room. He handed it to me just like he was handing out the rest of the campus mail.”
“When? Exactly.” Devlin is so close now I can feel the radiant heat of his chest through his t-shirt. “What did he look like? Give me a name.”
“He looked like a regular guy, Devlin! I don’t know—nothing stood out, I swear. Why does it matter so much? Do you think—”
“I’ve stopped thinking.” His voice drops into a raspy, dangerous register. “I’m on fucking autopilot right now. And I don’t understand how you isn’t screaming. I don’t get how you’re standing here, unable to describe the prick who delivered that note. A card that talked about you… about you bouncing on a cock. About you…”
The words seem to catch in his throat, his jaw working as if the mental image is a physical weight he can’t swallow.
“…deep-throating a cock. You’re acting like it’s nothing.” Now his voice turns furious. " Don’t you think whoever dared to eventhinkthat about you deserves to have their head put through a wall? I’ll bash their skull in so hard their brains leak out of their fucking ears. Is that graphic enough for you? Detailed enough? Just like that fucking card, hmm?”
“What is wrong with you, saying I don’t see anything strange?” My own temper finally spikes, pushing through the terror. “You think I like this? I’m the one who came to you! I’m the one who showed you the card!”
“And yet, you can’t even give me a decent description so I can find the prick,” he snarls.
“Maybe try talking like a sane human being for five seconds instead of a goddamn barbarian!” I shoot back.
Devlin’s jaw sets, a muscle leaping in his cheek. “I stopped being sane the second I read that card. When. Was. It?”
“Yesterday! He was tall, thin, had dark blond hair. He looked annoyed to be working. That’s all I have!” I pause, my breath hitching as the silence stretches. “I came straight to you.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I feel ashamed. They sound so pathetic, like I rushed straight over to Devlin the moment I found an excuse just to meet him.
I feel pathetic, and that makes me strike out.
“Happy? Have I passed your interrogation? Honestly, your reaction is so insane I’d almost think you’re hiding something.”
“What couldIpossibly be hiding?” He’s speaking almost right into my face now, his barely contained anger radiating from him.
“I have no clue! None!” I shout, my voice echoing. “I really… can’t understand how I got dragged into this mess. I didn’t do a thing. Absolutely nothing. First, you ambush me in my room,accusing me of sending you some sick joke. Now I get a card telling me all the things you’re going to do to me. All these dirty words are… about me again, mind you! And, by the way, the card is written inyourname. I mean, it implies that you’re going to do all this… to me.”
The memory of the card’s graphic promises flashes behind my eyes—images of Devlin’s hands and mouth on me, and the sheer, unapologetic filth of it…
My face burns, and I know he can see the flare of color.
“Or maybeyou’rehiding something?” Devlin hisses through clenched teeth.
The air in the hallway has turned thick, humid.
I can feel a bead of sweat tracing the curve of my spine.
