Page 74 of Dark Notes

She opens her mouth.

I tap it with a finger then trace the soft curve of her lips. “I’ll protect you from those who don’t respond to no.”

“What about you?” Her leg twitches in the bend of mine, her tone low and suspicious. “Are there other women?”

“You’re the only one.”

I’ve turned down every goddamn woman since I met her. First time in my adult life I’ve gone this long without sex.

Vertical lines form between her brows. “What about your love-hate thing with Joanne?”

“She’s complicated. But I haven’t seen her in six months.”

I haven’t told Ivory everything, but I need to make a decision about that mess before I expose her to it. And there’s a second secret I’ve kept from her, a more urgent one that I need to address now. “I have something to tell you about Prescott Rivard.”

Her gaze shatters into rippling pools of brown. “Will he get you fired? Or press charges?”

“I scared him enough to keep him silent for a while, but that fear will eventually sour and grow resentful. Then…I don’t know.”

“I’ll go to the cops and explain what happened.”

“No, you will not.” I hook an arm around her back, preparing for her to jerk away. “I promised his mother a spot for him at Leopold.”

A frozen moment passes before she tenses against my hold. “How? Why?”

“She gave me a career at Le Moyne in exchange for my connections. To get Prescott into Leopold.”

“Connections? Leopold admits their students on talent alone.”

“My mother holds a seat on the Board of Trustees. She’ll slide him through without a formal audition.”

She studies my expression, curling her hand against her chest between us. “This affects my chances, doesn’t it?”

“If I refer you, their recruiters will come. They’ll attend a school-wide performance and…”

Her breath hiccups in her throat. “They’ll see Prescott play and potentially reject his application.”

“And accept yours instead.” I comb a hand through her hair and rest my lips against her forehead. “You have more talent than anyone at Le Moyne, but if I ask my mother to sneak two applications through—”

“No way.” She yanks her head back. “When I’m accepted into Leopold, it will be on merit and talent alone.”

I cuddle her against me as pain pounds behind my breastbone. I can’t bear the thought of fucking her over. “I’ll make this right.”

“How? You took that deal for a reason, right? Because of Shreveport?”

“Yes, but I can get an out-of-state job.” I tilt her chin up and kiss her, smiling against her lips. “Or I can become a pirate.”

After the shit with Prescott tonight, however, my resignation brings new complications for Ivory.

She caresses my jaw. “The dean will just replace you with another deal. She hired you under wrongful terms and wiped Mrs. McCracken’s recommendations from my file, so clearly, she’s on a devil’s mission. Why does she want her son to go there so badly?”

“It’s the best school with the wealthiest endowments. Prescott’s admittance is her shoe in to elevate Le Moyne’s power and status. Or who knows? Maybe she aspires to sit on the board there someday.”

She nods, her face furrowed in contemplation. “If you quit, Prescott won’t have enough incentive to keep his mouth shut about me. After tonight, he can give his mother all the leverage she needs to get rid of me.”

Exactly where my head is at. Just like that, I know with absolute certainty I won’t leave Le Moyne or Ivory. I’m smarter and meaner than Beverly Rivard, and I have a few months to decide the method and level of cruelty I’ll use to beat her.

“I understand why you did it. Why you took that deal.” Ivory trails her fingers across my chest, watching the movement. “Even after what Joanne did, it’s hard to let go. To move away.”

My breath catches at the accuracy of her statement. She’s right, but she doesn’t know the real problem, the one I’m working to resolve with Joanne. And my feelings for Joanne? Those have dulled enough that they no longer drive my actions.

Ivory’s eyelids flutter heavily, her limbs slackening around me, as she mutters under her breath, “Everything is possible.”

“Such as?”

“I’m going to Leopold.”

Her stubbornness is inconvenient. And painfully admirable. Unfortunately, I have no idea what I’m going to do about it.

I hate to postpone her sleep, but there’s one more thing I need to know. “Where is your brother’s friend?”

Her eyes flash open, and her voice catches in her throat. “What?”

“Did he disappear after he raped you? Or is he still around?”

Her complexion turns bloodless in the dim light, her cheekbones pressing against her tightening skin.

Everything inside me goes still, strangling my throat and thickening my voice. “Tell me.”

She throws back the covers, rolls on top of me, and rests her forehead against mine. “No more punching tonight.”

I grip her firm ass beneath the shirt and try to focus my energy on her body and not what’s been done to her body. “When was the last time he touched you?”