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I place my hand on his chest, over his heart, his wonderful, kind, perfect heart. “I need you alive, Con.” My voice breaks again, a tear sliding down my cheek. “I need Alice alive.” My mind eagerly provides the image of Alice lying in a pool of her own blood, making me wince. “Seeing Alice like that today.” I choke down a sob. “I need you both alive.”

Connor cups the back of my head and presses my face against his neck. “I’m here, babe. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

I whimper and pull back, looking up at him. His eyes are still bright with worry. I lean against him, letting him take my weight, and kiss him deeply. Connor groans, and even in thatsound of pleasure, I can hear the pain in his voice. His care and concern are in his every touch, in how he clings to me, holding me to his body.

I wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss, tears flowing freely as I tangle my fingers in his hair. “I’m not going anywhere,” Connor whispers, pressing my back to the shower wall and bracing a hand above my head. He drags his lips along my jaw and down my neck. “We’re forever,” he murmurs against my pulse. He slides his hand down my side and over my hip, looping his forearm under my ass. His biceps bulge, but he picks me up easily. I whimper and tilt my head for him, wrapping my legs around his waist.

Connor is so close we are sharing breath, his gaze locked with mine. “You’re going to be Summer Morningstar,” he says as he shifts his hips and slowly pushes inside me. I tighten my fingers in his hair. “My wife. My love. My everything,” he moans as he starts to move. “I love you, Summer.”

I gasp as Connor fills me, claiming me. Tears still trail down my cheeks, but I can’t look away from Connor. “I love you,” I whisper breathlessly.

Connor’s steady thrusts turn erratic, and I can feel his panic. I pull his head back to mine, our lips colliding in desperation. Steam roils and swirls around us, the hot water slicking our bodies.

Connor digs his fingers into my ass and pulls my hips toward him as he slams hard into me, and we both moan at the feeling. My core coils, my orgasm within reach. Connor’s groan is deep and guttural, his thrusts turning nearly savage. His teeth clash with mine as he claims my mouth. All signs of my careful, sweet lover are gone. I scream into the kiss and explode around him. My pussy clenches almost painfully around his cock, squeezing his release from him. Connor’s shout is only slightly muffled,and I feel the deep, aching throb before the heat of his release fills me.

His hips slow, our ragged breaths interspersed with moans as aftershocks ripple through us. I pull back and look at Connor, and he tenderly cups my cheek. I cover his hand with my own and close my eyes.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Connor says, kissing me again. This one is so tender it brings tears to my eyes. Wrapped in his love, I start to feel more at ease.

“Summer! The headmaster is here!” Alice calls from downstairs. Connor groans, his cock still buried inside me.

“I need to get dressed, big guy,” I say, kissing his shoulder. He grunts again but rolls off me. I climb out of bed and pull my uniform from his closet. Not enjoying the walk of shame when I started sleeping over unexpectedly, I had started leaving some spares here.

Connor sighs and lounges on his bed, watching me as I slip on my underwear. “It’s weird not to get dressed with you.”

My lips twitch, and I wiggle my skirt over my hips, fastening it at the waistband. “I know, but you get to stay in bed a while longer.”

Connor moves one of his hands behind his head, looking like the picture of male satisfaction. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had as much sex as we did last night, but I had a lot of trauma to work through. Given that I only initiated it a couple of times and the rest was Con, he did, too. We’d barely slept, and I admit I wasthankful for that. I know I’m just delaying the inevitable. The nightmares won’t be denied, but at least I didn’t have to deal with them last night when it was all so fresh.

I pull my shirt on and tuck it in. “You going to miss me today?”

Connor nods. “So much.”

I pull on my blazer and then look at my heels. “I might just wear my flats today. Don’t need my heels to kiss you.”

Connor sits up. His expression is careful, but I can see possessiveness edging into his eyes. “You need to act normal, babe.”

I purse my lips, thinking. “Yeah, but I also need to act like my best friend has just been brutally murdered.” I glance at him. “Should I even be going in today?”

Connor tilts his head. “You know I want to answer no to that, but the headmaster is right. We’re on the clock. Alice can’t pretend to be dead for long.”

“You are both right. Okay, big guy. I’ll see you later,” I say, pushing my feet into my heels and giving him a quick kiss.

“Be safe, babe.”

I wink at him and leave his room. The headmaster is standing in the living room, and Alice is talking incessantly at him about her ruined shirt. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone look so miserable. He locks eyes with me and lifts his chin as I descend the stairs. “Are you prepared?” he asks, cutting Alice off.

I nod, holding his gaze.

“You need to sell Alice being dead,” he says.

“I have done my makeup to look like I was crying all night,” I say, stating the obvious since he didn’t seem to notice.

Alice sighs and walks toward the stairs, stopping to squeeze me tight before heading to Zach’s room.

“Is this what a grieving person wears?” the headmaster asks, assessing my outfit.

“This is the uniform, sir,” I say dryly.