Page 24

T he last few days have been brutal with one of the worst flare-ups I’ve had in a long time. It took almost three days for me to start to feel back to my normal self.

Thankfully, I had great company to keep me entertained. Malik barely left my side the entire time, and I can’t even begin to express how … comforting that was.

I don’t know when everything truly shifted between us. Part of me is still scared he’ll suddenly change his mind. But frankly, I don’t care. I want him for as long as I can have him.

There’s something in the way he stares at me, like he sees through every shield I’ve ever hidden behind. Like he can see me unabashedly and chooses me anyway.

Whether taking a chance with him is the smartest or dumbest decision I’ve ever made, all I know is that I’m falling for him.

There’s no use in fighting it; it’s too late to stop it. I’m simply a snowball racing down a snowy hill, my feelings growing bigger and bigger every day.

But I have to remind myself that this very well could end in absolute turmoil. Especially with secrets lurking in the dark. I know there are things going on that I’m not privy to. I intend to find out. Maybe I’ll ask him tonight, when he gets back to the house after practice.

Blair, Lumi, Phillip, Sunny, and I spent the afternoon around the pool in Blair’s backyard, some of us enjoying it more than others. Now, we’re lying in Blair and Griffin’s living room, watching a movie.

Sunny and Rex, their dog, have really become the best of friends. It’s adorable to watch her bond with him. They’re snuggled up together next to me, Sunny’s big head on his small body, using him like a little pillow.

“Holy shit. Alora.” Phillip’s head pops up behind his phone. “You need to see this.”

He tosses his phone over to me, and I catch it and stare at the screen, my jaw unhinging and crashing to the floor.

My shock is barely audible. “Jesus.”

An article was just published to Evermore Daily News —“HEAU Professor Assaults Student, Facing Multiple Charges.”

My heart drops, and I skim the article, looking for any indication that I was the student. But the more I read, the more my shoulders relax, as no details are mentioned. When I scroll to the bottom of the article, my breath catches in my throat. Rupert Von London’s mug shot is centered on the page. But that’s not what took me by surprise.

It’s the fact that more of his face is black and blue than not. Parts of his face are split open, clearly repaired with stitches and bandages. The article notes that in a provoked attack, multiple fingers were broken, and he had an occipital fracture and a fractured jaw.

Holy crap.

“I wonder what happened,” I mutter, zooming in on the image, seeing every scratch and bump on him.

Blair looks over at me with a knowing gleam in her eye. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Confusion thrums through me. “What do you mean, what do I mean ?”

Her mouth forms into an O as she inhales, her eyes widening. She sets the remote down on the coffee table in front of us. “Umm, maybe I’m not supposed to say anything.”

Sitting up taller, I turn to her completely, Phillip following suit. “Do you know what happened?”

She swallows hard, contemplating whether or not to tell me. “Yeah …” She pauses. “I assumed that you knew. I didn’t know that Malik hadn’t told you.”

I wait for her to continue, the hair on the back of my neck rising with anticipation.

“The guys paid him a visit the day he was arrested. They were the ones who called the cops. And that”—she glances down at the phone, pointing at the mug shot—“was Malik.”

“All of that?” I gasp, shocked that he could cause so much damage.

She shrugs nervously. “He can be an overachiever when it comes to the things he loves.”

Her choice of words sends a jolt through me. I can’t imagine a world where Malik Ravenwell would ever love me.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent most of our time together hearing him tell me how much he hated me. But love? I don’t know.

My phone rings, and I jump from the full volume. Grabbing my phone from beside me, I see my dad calling.

That can’t be a coincidence.

“Excuse me. I have to take this.” I stand.

Phillip looks my way, and I can tell he’s asking if it’s my dad. I nod and stroll out of the room into the quiet foyer.

“Hello?” I answer, chewing on my bottom lip.

My dad’s sigh is the first thing I hear.

Well, this conversation is going to be delightful.

“How many times do I need to tell you to behave before I have no choice but to enforce your consequences?”

My spine straightens, and my shoulders drop, a chill skating across the nape of my neck.

“Dad, I’ve been on my best behavior lately.” I pause, knowing that it doesn’t matter what I say; I know his mind is already made up.

He laughs with no humor. “Is that why I received a photo of Malik Ravenwell carrying you across campus? I mean, what on earth goes through your mind when you call that behaving? I warned you, Alora. Please don’t make me make you follow my rules.”

“Then stop making them, Dad. I’m an adult. Besides, it’s not like you’ve been in my life for a long time anyway,” I snap, wondering if this will soften his anger or fuel it more.

He takes a deep breath. “I know you can’t understand. I don’t blame you. But sending you away to your aunts was for your own protection, Little Rose. It was to keep you safe from the dangers of my job. Which is only getting more dangerous since I’ll be running for senator.”

I always knew he would shoot for the stars in his career. I know he wants to run for president one day. But why does his success have anything to do with the way I act? More specifically...the way he wants me to act.

Tears well in my eyes. He might have meant well at the time, but that doesn’t take away any of the pain he’s caused. He can’t take that back.

“Please, just stay away from the Ravenwell boy,” he pleads.

“Why are you so insistent about it? What is your problem with him?” I beg him.

He sighs and clicks his tongue. “He was involved with a lot of bad people in high school. He’s dangerous. I’m trying to keep you safe.”

Malik was a lot of things back then, but he was far too busy ruining my life to get involved in shady shit.

As much as he watched me, I watched him back. I needed to know where he was, so I didn’t step on a mine and blow myself to smithereens.

And I know my dad’s lying. He clicked his tongue before he started talking—the tell he’s had for as long as I can remember. I just can’t figure out why they’re connected.

“Okay,” I lie right back to him. “Is that the only reason you called? To yell at me?”

I can practically see him rubbing his temples in frustration.

“No. I called because I saw the article that was just published in Evermore Daily News . A piano professor. Did you meet him?”

“Yes.” My voice is quiet.

He exhales heavily. “Christ, Alora. Do you know who was involved? Please tell me it wasn’t you.”

Should I lie to him? I feel like if I say the truth, he’ll just find yet another reason to keep a closer eye on me.

“No, it wasn’t me.” The words feel like poison on my lips.

I hate lying. I hate liars. But this is for the best.

“Thank goodness. That would have been a media disaster.”

My face pales at his utterance.

He clears his throat and quickly says, “And I’m sure it was very traumatic for whoever the victim was.”

Yeah, it sure was.

“Good thing you don’t have to worry about a new scandal or bad press,” I snap, my voice cruel and harsh.

“Listen, I have compassion for the situation, but with the upcoming election, we don’t need a distraction.”

“Dad,” I whisper in shock and disappointment.

“Never mind that. If you hear anything or any reporters approach you, stay quiet and keep your mouth shut. Please, honey, for the both of us.”

“Yeah, Dad, anything you want.” My voice is saddened and strained as I fight back the urge to cry. I’ve cried enough for this man over the years.

For the first time in a long time, his voice sounds kind and sincere as he says his goodbye. “I love you, Little Rose.”

“I love you too,” I mutter, wondering if that’s the truth or just another lie.

Ending the call and shoving my phone in my jeans pocket, I spin around to head back to the living room and slam to a halt, finding Malik standing five feet from me, looking pissed as hell, his jaw locked shut and eyebrows low.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask him, walking up to him and reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck.

But he backs away and closes his eyes the moment I touch him. He breathes through his nose, taking a few breaths before opening his eyes.

“I’m sorry. Did I do something?” I ask, suddenly feeling incredibly lonely after the conversation I just had with my dad and now this.

He bites down on the inside of his cheek. “Sorry, I’m just … I’m just tired. I need to go lie down. Excuse me.”

My heart cracks, the tiniest microscopic fracture. “Just talk to me, Malik. Maybe I can help.”

His voice is cold and cruel, bringing me back to my childhood as he mutters, “You couldn’t possibly understand.”

When he brushes past me, I feel him take part of me with him as he rushes downstairs to his room, and I’m left standing in the foyer with the heaviest weight on my chest.

Feeling incredibly small and invisible, I fight back the tears welling in my eyes.

He’s not good with communication—I know that. But he can’t keep shutting me out and hope that we’ll just continue on as is. We both need more than that. And I need him to let me in, to show me that this means as much to him as it does to me.

If I want this to work, I’m willing to put in the effort, but he needs to meet me halfway. Maybe I’ll just give him a little boost.

My feet are moving, crossing the grand foyer with no sign of stopping. I descend the stairs to the lower east wing toward Malik’s room.

Don’t stop now. Stand tall. Be strong.

Approaching his door, I grab the handle and throw it open, finding Malik sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.

My heart completely breaks at the image of him shattering, wetness gathering in his gaze as he lifts it to mine.

For a split second, I see the broken boy inside, the one so terrified of the world that he stays hidden behind the sharp and thorny shell he’s worked so hard to build.

I take a step toward him.

“Don’t,” Malik warns me with one word. “You can’t be in here.”

I feel like I’m facing a lion in the wild, completely unsure of when or if the beast will strike.

My voice is steady and calm. “But you’re in my room all the time. Why can’t I be in yours?”

He bites his bottom lip in frustration, rising to his feet, his mouth drawn taut. “Because I said so, Alora.”

“Just like that?” I lose my composure, snapping at him. “I mean, why can’t you give me an actual reason?”

I take another step toward him, and the shell surrounding him stiffens even more.

“Tell me a real reason, something genuine, and I’ll leave,” I murmur. “Just open up to me, Malik.”

His eyes blur over, as if a scene is playing out in his mind. “I …”

“Is it about my dad? You know, I saw you two talking the day he was here.”

His gaze clears up, and the fury that ignites inside is unmatched to anything I’ve seen before. “You don’t know what you saw. He—he was just asking for directions.”

I scoff. “Oh, yeah, because when I give someone instructions, I yell at them and clench my fists.”

“Well, he was pissing me off with his holier-than-thou tone. What can I say? I despise authority.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

Running my hands through my hair, I sigh, realizing we’re getting nowhere. “Malik …” His name is a plea on my tongue. “Is it about Rupert? I saw what you did to him. What, do you regret it or something?”

His brows furrow. “What? No. Fuck no , I don’t regret that. If anything, I wish I had done more to him.”

Something inside of me warms just slightly.

Closing my eyes, I sigh. “Then can we please stop playing this guessing game and you just tell me the truth?”

A war plays out behind his eyes as his stare bounces back and forth between mine. His lips part to say something, but he doesn’t.

“I can tell you’re going through something right now. And I’m here for you just as much as you are for me. But you can’t just lock me out of your mind, your heart, your room.” I flex my hands. “I need more of you, all of you.”

Silence consumes him as he listens to every word I say, leaning forward as if he was hanging on to my words for dear life.

Patting my jeans, I exhale. “I’ll give you your space, okay? Good night.”

Spinning on my heel, I walk back toward his door to leave, but before I reach it, he steps past me and shuts it with his hand while his other hand finds my waist, pinning me to the closed door.

“Wait. Please, just wait.”

Looking up at him, I do just that. I’d sit here for an eternity if he needed me to.

His eyes slam closed, and agony flashes across his face. “I’m scared to tell you anything, Alora. Fucking terrified.”

He looks at me, and I see it—the broken version he usually hides from the world.

“Because no one has ever been as close to my heart as you, and you could absolutely destroy it in a second if you wanted to. I’m scared that the more I give, the more you’ll find a reason to leave.”

Reaching up, I grab his jaw with my hand. “You think opening up to me will make me want to leave?”

Slowly, he nods.

Sliding my other hand up, I cup his face. “That will never happen.”

Disbelief flashes in his gaze before he glances away. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Alora. Stuff that will change your view on the world.”

Brushing my thumbs back and forth, I stand onto my toes and gently press my lips on his. “I want it all, Malik. All of you. Always. Because …” My heart launches into my throat. “Because I’m falling in love with you.”

His hand tightens on my waist. “You know you deserve better than what I can offer you.”

“Well, I don’t want anything else. I want you .” I inch closer to him, sliding my hand down his chest and fisting his shirt, tugging him toward me.

“What if it’s not enough?” he whispers.

“Malik, you’re enough.” I kiss him, breathing him in. “You’re everything.”

Something inside of him snaps, and he grabs my face, kissing me ferociously. Words aren’t his forte, so perhaps he wants to show me how he feels instead of telling me.

Parting my lips with his tongue, he slips it into my mouth. His touch overwhelms me—in the best of ways. He devours me, showing me just how much I mean to him.

He pulls away and looks down at me with hooded eyes. “I know you deserve more than a coward who can’t speak. But I’m way too selfish to ever let you go. So, please, just for tonight, let me get lost in you. Please, baby, I need you.”

The pain and anguish in his reddened stare dissolve any reservations I had left. Slowly, I nod, agreeing.

“Thank you,” he whimpers before crashing his lips to mine, his fervor unmatched.

Pushing his body against mine, he parts my legs with his knee, grinding and rolling against me as our mouths dance together.

His hands slide down and around my hips. I gasp as he lifts me up and wraps me around his waist, our lips never parting.

Bringing us over to the edge of his bed, he gently lowers my back to the comforter, stepping between my legs. “I need you, Alora. Fuck, more than anything else in the world.”

Trusting Malik with my heart may be the most dangerous game I’ve ever played. But as I open my eyes and find the look in his, I’ve never been surer of what to do.

He may be broken and flawed. But so am I.

Grabbing his shirt, I pull him back on top of me, our lips colliding and melting together with the fire in our kiss.

His hands make quick work of my top and bra, tossing them to the side. Wandering down my body, his greedy fingers undo the buttons of my jeans, slipping them down my legs effortlessly. His lips follow the path of his hands, trailing down my neck to my breasts.

He sucks my nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue back and forth, making my back arch off of the bed. When he palms my other boob, it spills through his fingers, and he kneads it roughly, sending a hot bolt down my spine.

Dropping to his knees on the floor in front of me, he hooks his fingers into my silky pink panties and shimmies them over my hips. As he tosses them into the pile beside him, he inches forward, sliding his arms beneath my knees and pulling me toward him.

“Fucking hell, Alora,” he groans, pushing my legs further and further apart.

The warmth of his breath caresses my center, and I gasp.

“You have no idea how many hours I’ve spent fantasizing about the filthy things I want to do to you.”

He runs his tongue up my core, and I moan.

“The ways I’ve imagined burying myself so deep inside of you that you forget you ever hated me. You’ve haunted me for years, for far longer than you’ll ever know.”

His words electrify my body, and his name leaves my tongue in a whimper. “ Malik .”

Circling my entrance with his finger, he slides it inside. “Tell me you’ve thought the same, Bug. How you’ve pictured all the dirty things I’m going to do to you.”

As he slowly pumps his finger in and out, his tongue laps at my clit.

“Yes, yes, yes , I have.”

A second finger fills me. “Let me show you just how fucking good I can make you feel. Let me mold your pretty pussy to every vein on my cock.”

Moaning, he picks up his pace, thrusting into me faster and faster as I race closer to my first orgasm.

“Malik, please .”

He flicks his tongue. “Then come on my fingers like my good little slut, and I’ll give you every goddamn inch.”

When he sucks on my clit, waves of pleasure start to pulse through my body.

“Oh fuck,” I cry out as ecstasy fills me.

Relentlessly, he continues his worship of me until my breathing starts to slow.

Easing his fingers out of me, he sucks them clean and stands up. “How are you feeling?”

My heart warms at the simple yet thoughtful question. He knows he’s getting my heart to race, but lying on my back with my legs in the air certainly helps.

“I’m doing good.”

A smile tips his lips up as he slides his joggers down his legs, exposing even more of his tattoos, scattered across his thighs and V-line. His boxers are tight, struggling to contain the pulsing and throbbing erection.

“It’s ridiculous that you can be that hot,” I murmur, greedily eyeing him up.

“Oh, yeah? You think I’m hot?” He winks at me.

“You know you’re hot.” I roll my eyes.

Lightly, he slaps the inside of my thigh, and my pussy pulses from the sensation.

“That’s not what I asked, Bug.”

“Malik, I’m obsessed with you—for reasons far more than your looks. But, yeah …” I trail off, letting my eyes wander up and down him. “You’re a fucking god, carved from marble.”

He huffs proudly. “Damn straight, baby.”

The air thickens between us as he pushes his boxers to the ground and tosses his shirt to the side, not a shred of fabric left on either of us.

Wrapping his hand around his shaft, he pumps himself once, twice as he stares at my center and wets his lips.

“Malik,” I whisper, pulling his gaze to mine. “I, uhh … I haven’t had sex before …”

Something washes over him, and I can’t quite decipher it.

But as he parts his lips, his voice is raw with emotion. “You’ve always been mine, Alora. Since the fucking beginning. This just proves what I’ve known all along.” He leans over me, grabs my throat, and claims my lips with his. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll go slow until you beg me for more.”

Nerves start to pulse through me, but the best kind. The ones that only come from special moments like this. I want it to be him. Maybe I always knew it would be him, and the realization didn’t surface until recently.

His fingers graze my inner thigh as his tongue splits the seam of my lips, grinding against mine.

“Spread those juicy thighs for me,” he orders, and I happily obey, pushing them further apart.

When he slides two fingers back into me, I start to get anxious that it’s going to hurt. I mean, fuck , he’s huge.

As if he can sense my worry, his thumb finds my clit as he murmurs into my mouth, “Your body was made to take mine, Alora.”

Slipping a third finger in with his sensual thrusts, I gasp, feeling him play my body like an instrument. He works me with precision, bringing me to finish two more times before he stands up to his full height, fisting his cock with his big hand. Stepping closer to me, he swipes the tip through my wetness and slaps it against my inner thigh. Once, twice, three times.

Spitting down on himself, he coats his length and lines himself up with my entrance. “Look at me, Alora.”

I find his stare, darkened and intense. I do as he asked and lock my gaze on to his.

Leaning down over me, he plants a soft kiss on each cheek before claiming my lips with his once more in a passionate declaration. Pulling back to look into my eyes, he pushes inside of me, and I gasp at the pressure.

He threads his fingers into the back of my hair and pulls my head back enough to expose my throat. Running his tongue up it, he nips and sucks, easing the pressure in my core with each touch.

“This pussy is mine, Alora.” He looks at me, waiting for my confirmation before continuing, and I nod, wanting him to fill me completely.

Thrusting forward, he plunges further into me, and I sharply inhale.

“Fuck, you’re so tight. I never want to leave. Let me stay buried inside of you forever, baby, please .”

Ever so slightly, his dick slides out of me to the tip. Gently, he eases back into me, igniting a pleasure I never knew could exist.

“Holy shit,” I moan, every cell in my body jolting to life.

He chuckles arrogantly as he does it again, pulling back and thrusting into me, but this time, he sinks deeper. “You’re doing so fucking good.”

The pleasure starts to completely outweigh the pain, and I want more—faster and faster.

Wiggling my hips, I bite down on my lip as his dick twitches inside of me. “Ahh!”

“My greedy little Bug. What, you want more?” A devilish smirk lifts his lips.

“Yes,” I beg. “Please, I want all of you.”

He pulls out to the tip, then thrusts forward, and I cry out as he fills me to the brim.

“Malik!”

“Mmm. I like hearing you scream my name.” He bites my neck and runs his tongue over the stinging sensation.

His restraint is gradually snapping with each thrust into me. This is affecting him just as much as it is me, and there is something so satisfying about that.

Staying quiet, I can’t fight the smirk on my lips as he slowly eases in and out of me, using all of my energy not to make a sound.

His eyebrow cocks up. “Oh, yeah? You want to play that game? Be a little brat? Let me show you just how fast I can have you moaning my name.”

Wrapping his hand around my throat, he squeezes at the sides, and a burst of euphoria erupts in my core. My back arches off of the bed as his other hand wraps around my ankle. Lifting my leg up in the air, he leans it against his chest, hooking it over his shoulder. The position change somehow opens my body up more for him.

Fighting the absolute need to moan, I bite my cheek as he sinks deeper inside of me.

“Oh, baby, you are going to drive me fucking insane .”

His chain hangs in the air between us, like his dark hair, as his pace picks up, pounding into me over and over as my resolve begins to disintegrate.

Those long fingers of his hold my thigh in place, and the image alone has me nearly exploding.

Wait, what is that?

“Malik,” I whimper as he slams into me, clouding every rational thought in my head, “is my name tattooed on your knuckles?”

Growling, he digs his fingers into my thigh, and it nearly sends me over the edge.

“I’m obsessed with you. You consume every thought in my goddamn head.” He thrusts harder. “Isn’t it clear, baby? I’m yours just as much as you’re mine.”

His confession tears through my body, and I cry out, moaning and whimpering through each shuddering breath. “Malik, Malik, oh my Godddd!”

My eyes slam shut.

He squeezes my throat and commands me, “Open them. I need to see the look in your eyes as you come on my cock.”

Somehow, every nerve in my body electrifies, and wave after wave of pleasure pulses through me.

“There you go, my good fucking girl. Come on me. Drench it, baby.” He fucks me passionately, his thrusts long and sensual as I float above the bed.

Standing to his height, he grabs my hips and pulls me toward him as he slams back into me, each thrust from tip to hilt.

In four long and fevered thrusts, he groans and pulls out of me. Pumping himself vigorously, he moans.

“Oh fuuuck,” he growls, coming hard, his cum shooting onto my stomach.

For moments or hours—who the hell knows?—our breathing fills the room like a harmony I want to play over and over again.

Stepping away from me, he walks into the bathroom and grabs a towel.

With the biggest smile on his face, he cleans me up and then himself before tossing the towel in the hamper. Walking back to me, he slides into bed beside me and kisses my forehead.

“How are you feeling? Need water?”

His attentiveness warms me to the core.

“Maybe some clothes?” I laugh, propping myself up onto my elbows.

He taps his chin. “Hmm … no can do. I prefer you like this.”

Rolling my eyes, I shove his chest lightly and lean away from him, but he catches my jaw and pulls me back, aligning his mouth with mine.

“What am I going to do with you?” he murmurs.

“Keep me?” I whisper, pressing my lips into his before pulling back.

He closes the distance between us, his mouth on mine in a heartbeat. “Letting you go has never been an option.”