“Thank you, but I’m really okay,” I lied, already backing away from her concerned gaze. “I should go. I have... I need to get to my next class.”
I didn’t wait for her response, just grabbed my bag and practically fled from the practice area. My hands were still shaking as I walked across campus, the afternoon sun feeling too bright and too hot against my burning cheeks. Students passed by in small groups, laughing and chatting about normal thingslike assignments and weekend plans, completely oblivious to the fact that my world felt like it was crumbling around me.
By the time I reached the history building, my panic had crystallized into something sharper and more dangerous.
Anger.
I was angry at my father for showing up unannounced and humiliating me in front of my class, at myself for losing control so spectacularly, and at the entire fucking situation that had me walking on eggshells and jumping at shadows. But mostly, I was angry at the way my father’s words kept echoing in my head.Straighten up and get your act together. This is your final warning.
He was right about one thing. I had been distracted. I’d been so consumed with thoughts of Valen, with our upcoming private lessons, with the memory of how he’d felt inside me, that everything else had taken a backseat. My magic, my studies, even my basic ability to function like a normal person.
And now my father was threatening to take away the one thing that I actually enjoyed at this fucking school. The fencing team.
I climbed the stairs to the second floor, my footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. Valen’s office was at the end of the corridor, and I could see light spilling out from under his door. Our first private lesson wasn’t scheduled for another hour. But I couldn’t wait any longer.
Today, one way or another, I was going to complete my rebellion against my father. Even if he never found out, I’d be able to look him in the eye and smile from now on knowing that I’d done the one thing he despised more than anything in the world.
I’d given myself to a vampire, to a monster. And there was no way, magical or otherwise, that my father could ever undo that.
I knocked on the door, perhaps more forcefully than necessary, my resolve renewed.
“Come in,” came Valen’s voice from inside.
I pushed the door open and stepped into his office, slamming it behind me. Valen looked up from the papers he’d been grading, his amber eyes widening slightly when he saw me.
“Archer,” he said, and I caught the way his voice softened just slightly on my name before he seemed to remember himself. “Mr. Quinn. You… are very early.”
Chapter 13
Archer
“Iknow I’m early,” I said, dropping my bag to the floor. I lifted my right hand, giving my fingers a flick, and the door locked behind me magically. “But I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Valen’s eyes widened further at my tone. There was no way he’d missed my meaning.
He swallowed hard. “Excited for your… history lessons?” he asked, his voice getting a little higher with each word.
I took a step toward his desk, feeling the familiar thrill of power that came from watching him squirm. “Actually, no. I’m done pretending this is about history, Valen.”
The papers in Valen’s hands crinkled as his grip tightened. “Mr. Quinn, I think you should?—”
“Stop calling me that.” I moved closer, close enough to see the way his pupils dilated despite his obvious efforts to maintain composure. “You’ve had your tongue in my mouth, Valen. I think we’re past formalities.”
He shot to his feet so quickly his chair rolled backward and hit the wall. “You need to leave. Right now.”
“No.” I planted my hands flat on his desk and leaned forward, invading his space the way he’d invaded my thoughts for days.“I’m tired of this game we’re playing. I’m tired of pretending that Saturday night didn’t happen.”
“It can’t happen again,” he said, but his voice lacked conviction. His amber eyes kept flickering down to my mouth before snapping back up, and I could practically feel the tension radiating off him.
“Why not?” I straightened up and started walking around his desk, noting how he backed away with each step I took. “We’re both consenting adults. We both want it. And after the day I’ve had, I really need you to fuck me until I can’t think straight.”
His back hit the bookshelf behind his desk, trapped between leather-bound volumes and my advancing form. “Archer, you don’t understand the consequences?—”
“I understand perfectly.” I stopped just inches away from him, close enough to smell that intoxicating cologne that had haunted my dreams. “I have no motivation to tell anyone what you and I do privately. My family can’t know. And I don’t think you want to be up in front of the school board.”
He stared at me for a long moment, and I watched something shift behind his amber eyes. The careful control he’d been clinging to was cracking, and I could see that familiar hunger underneath that matched my own.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” he said, his voice dropping to that low, dangerous tone that made my knees weak.
