Page 25 of Loving the Tormentor

His pitch-black hair is a little messy, and I catch him running his hand through it. The gray in his eyes is a little brighter from the alcohol and the fire reflecting in them, and every now and then, his red lips slightly curve into a secretive smile. I could look at his mannerisms all day long, wondering what he truly thinks of the people around him.

"You're right," I answer Alex, my focus coming back to them. "Let's change the topic. What do you all study?"

"Peach is about to start her master’s in environmental engineering," Ella says excitedly. "Alex and I don't actually study here anymore." She laughs a little. "We just snuck in for this party, but you won't see us around much."

"Just me and you, baby," Peach adds with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Chris passed the bar this summer." Ella continues. "He's not around anymore either. Wren’s starting his bioengineering postgrad. And Achilles"—my heart skips a beat, and I have to force my eyes to stay on Ella—"is starting med school."

That I knew, but I keep it to myself because there are some things Idon'tknow, so I get to pretend I'm a normal person who hasn't been stalking that man online for years.

"What does he want to specialize in?"

Peach makes a face, something between fear and laughter. "Psychiatry."

My head rears back before I look at him again. A girl made it to his lap, and she's wrapping her arms around his neck as she whispers something in his ear. His beautiful eyes are on me, but there's still a challenge lingering in them rather than interest. I'd go as far as saying that there's contempt, too.

"I know, right?" Ella laughs. "We're all fucked if a psycho like Achilles becomes a psychiatrist."

"His clients are as good as dead." Peach snorts.

Even the sweet girl of their group has something to add.

"They'll all end up in a psychiatric ward," Alex concludes, rolling her lips.

"Wow, okay." I try to digest everything that was just thrown at me, and to help, I sip more of my drink. "He's that bad, huh? It's still not stopping all those girls from being all over him."

I would be too if I had the courage. He might be insufferable, but shit, it's Achilles Duval.

"He has a lot of groupies—" Alex cuts herself off when she realizes she's probably talking to one of said groupies. "You're a musician. You know how famous he is."

"Exactly how big of a fan are you?" Peach asks as her eyes narrow slightly.

"Uh…" I chuckle awkwardly, suddenly feeling the need to hide behind my solo cup. "As you said, I'm a musician, and he's truly a musical genius. Us violinists have all been waiting for his next work like the Messiah. No violinists perform their own concerto at seventeen."

That should do. Keep it related to his art. It makes sense. It doesn't make me creepy.

"Oh yeah, I remember that," Alex says. "That was before he moved to France. God, it was so boring." She gives me half a smile. "Sorry. We had to be there out of obligation because it was a big deal, but I'm not really into classical music."

She doesn't even realize what she witnessed. I would have killed to be there.

"Forget about the other musicians." Peach keeps going, curiosity bringing the subject right back to me. "How big of a fan areyou? We need to assess how much danger you're in."

I gulp. "I don't…really know him, I guess."

Her eyes are slitted now, observing me so closely I feel like I should run away.

"Listen, there are three things you should never forget about Achilles," she insists sternly.

"First of all." Ella puts a finger up. "Never sleep with him. He's a powerful, famous fuckboy who gets whoever he wants. The pool is endless to him, and hewillfuck you and ignore you the next day. We've known him since way before he started having sex. So trust me, we've seen it happen countless times."

"Secondly," Alex jumps in. "He lives to rile people up. Don't fall for it. It's not him showing interest, and it's not cute teasing. He's a psycho who only gets excited when he's finally pushed people to their limits."

"This is starting to sound scary." My awkward laugh doesn't stop them.

"And finally." Peach leans closer to me. "Never,evertell him any of your fears. Do you understand?"

That has my stomach twisting. "My fears? Why would I?—"