by Sofia Daniel
“Henry. What are you working on?”
“A composition. My friend, whose brother got into Oxford on a musical scholarship, said that playing something original had made the difference.”
“Can I hear it?”
She glanced at the door. “Won’t you be late?”
“Do I care?”
She placed her fingers over her lips and giggled. “I still can’t believe you came back.”
“Sometimes, neither can I.”
“They don’t like me playing instruments in the dorm, but this is what I have so far.” She pulled out her smartphone and tapped a few buttons. A piano concerto rang out, reminding me of Sergei’s music.
I lowered myself onto the bed, feeling queasy. Why hadn’t I brought Rita down to London on any of the times I had met Sergei? She probably hadn’t asked because her enforced humility wouldn’t allow it, but I knew she was devoted to music, and I still hadn’t offered. Rita’s playing was like escaping into another world where people laughed and danced and didn’t play games with others’ lives. The piece ended abruptly, and my head snapped up.
“That’s all I have for now.” She gave me a tight smile.
“It’s wonderful!” I went to my closet mirror and fastened my long, woolen coat. “Can I show it to Sergei?”
Her face paled. “I-it isn’t ready!”
“Next time I see him, I’ll tell him about my roommate, who’s a genius on the piano.”
Her face scrunched up, but the little smile she gave me belied her true level of confidence. Anyone who got into a place like Mercia Academy on both a musical and an academic scholarship had to know they were good. That was the whole point of Edward’s bullying.
She threw her arms around me and whispered, “When you’ve finished your plan, don’t wait around to watch the damage. Run.”
I nodded. “What happened to me last term will never happen again.”
Rita stepped back and blew out a long breath. “Have a… productive evening.”
“I’ll try!” I stepped out of the door to find the triumvirate outside in the hallway. Henry stood in the middle, wearing a peacoat, hat and scarf, while Blake stood to his right still in his school uniform. Edward stood on Henry’s left, wearing a faint smile.
All the blood drained from my face. How long had they been standing outside, and what had they heard? Rita had whispered the most incriminating part of our conversation, but I was sure there was a part where I’d implied I didn’t care if I’d kept Henry waiting.
Blake stepped forward and whistled. “What are you wearing under the coat?”
“Chanel Number Five.”
His gaze flickered down my body. “Good choice.”
“What are the three of you doing up here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be working on your prep or something?”
Blake smirked. “After that little display in Latin class, we thought you might need a pair of chaperones.”
“Why?” I placed my hands on my hips.
Blake stepped forward, hooked his arms through mine, and wrapped them around my waist. “A girl walking alone in the dark with that beast might find herself set upon in the bushes.”
I glanced up at Henry, who shook his head and smiled. I returned his smile with a smirk. These guys were a lot of fun when they weren’t stabbing a girl in the back. Placing my hand over Blake’s heart, I said, “It’s tempting, but I’ll take my chances with beastie boy.”
With a theatrical sigh, Blake stepped back and grinned at Edward. “It was worth a try, eh, Woodie?”
I clapped my hand over my mouth. “I’ve never heard you use that nickname.”
“And you never will.” Edward wrapped an arm around Blake’s neck and marched him down the hallway. “Do pop in and say goodnight on your way back.”
“Sure.”
Henry crooked an arm and flashed me a grin. “Shall we?”
Ignoring my aching heart, I stepped forward and took his arm. We walked down the stairs, past a livid Charlotte and her two remaining doppelgängers, through the entrance hall with its crackling, pine-scented fire, and out into the cold evening.
The entire campus was blanketed in white from a sudden bout of snow. I inhaled a breath of cold air and blew it out through my mouth, creating a cloud of condensation.
“What made you choose a walk when we could have liqueur coffee at Edward’s study?” asked Henry.
I glanced down at the layer of snow staining my boots. “There’s something about the three of you together. You’re all bad influences on each other. Ten minutes, and you’ll have me losing control.”
“Perhaps you’re the bad influence on us,” he replied.
We walked under the path of magnolia trees, and I gazed up into the darkening sky through their skeletal branches. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. You and Blake put on a really hot show at the party.”
“You should have joined us,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get out of my dress after drinking all that champagne.”
“Next time, then.” He pressed a kiss on my temple.
“Did Edward join you after I left?”
“He mostly likes to watch.”
“Do you and Blake…” I chewed my lips, struggling for the right words. “Do you do that often?”
“It’s not something we’d do these days sober unless there’s a girl involved.”
My eyes widened. Edward had implied they got together often, but he hadn’t specified whether alcohol had been involved. I glanced over my shoulder at Elder House, which stood in the distance with its windowsills covered in snow. “Who have you all been with?”
“Just you, unfortunately. As adventurous as the girls around here might act, they’re strictly monogamous.” He pulled me close. “It’s just one of the reasons we’re all so crazy about you.”
I dipped my head. “Then it’s a pity you framed me for your kidnapping.”
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about that.” Sincerity shone in his green eyes. “You got knocked out, and we didn’t know what to do with you. If you woke and raised the alarm, the police would take an inventory of who wasn’t at the campsite and catch up with us. We had to take you along, and the others decided to rig things so that you’d be blamed if you ever spoke to the police and got anyone caught. I went along with it because I didn’t know you back on the trip.”
“The others?” I rolled over what he had said in my mind. Whoever had driven him to the squat needed to return to the campsite before Henry and Edward raised the alarm. “Who else was involved?”
He pressed another kiss on my temple. “Let’s not dwell on that.”
“It’s hard not to when I spent so many days locked up.” I gazed into his glistening eyes, pressing my gloved palms on his chest. “Henry, I need to know.”
He glanced away and sighed. “Can’t you be satisfied with the way things are right now? Your stepfather got the charges dropped, you’re back at the academy, and we’re all getting along so well. Bringing up this subject only jeopardizes what we have together.”
“I don’t want to lose you again.” The lie felt like sandpaper on my vocal cords. How dare he act like I was the one making things awkward? My name was tarnished, I still had flashbacks from being locked up and beaten, and the threat of military school still hung over my head. I blinked several times to fake the effect of holding back tears. “But can’t you see why these things might be important to me? I need to clear my name.”
He swiped his thumb over my cheekbone. “You have to let it go, Emilia.”
If my fingers could shoot out icicles, I would have plunged one into his chest and told him to let go of that. Easing out a breath of frustration, I said, “But the police have my name on record—”
“Which will be expunged the moment you turn eighteen.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “That’s in less than a year, and this mess will be a distant memory.”
With a deep sigh, I lied, “Maybe you’re right.”<
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He wrapped his arms around me and pecked me on the lips. “Things will be great between us four. You’ll see.”
I hugged back, inhaling his fresh, minty scent. I’d give him one more chance. One more chance to fix things and clear my name, or I would unleash a torrent of shit that would make the selfish prick wish he was back in that dingy room.
Chapter 15
We continued arm in arm past the porter’s lodge, a single-story building that marked the start of the campus. The frost underfoot piled inches deep and crunched with each of our steps. A cool breeze meandered through the trees lining the road that led to the academy gates, bringing with it the scent of juniper.
I stole a glance at Henry, who gazed down at me with eyes that shone with so much warmth, my heart ached. Who was he, really? A calculating bastard subduing me with affection and sweet promises, or a naive fool who thought he could fix the situation he’d created, without owning up to his misdeeds?
I fastened the top button of my coat and stared straight ahead into the grove of oaks on our left. None of that mattered. Henry would either clear my name and prove his apologies were heartfelt, or I would sit back and watch him burn. He’d writhe on the ground, shirtless in that sexy fireman’s costume, shuddering and twitching and moaning… just as he had when Blake had sucked him off on the four-poster bed.
Heat rippled down to my core, and I let out a soft moan. That night at the party, Henry had been magnificent. I had almost wanted to crawl on that bed and join Blake in making him come undone.
“Are you alright?” he placed his cool fingertips on my hot cheek.
My chest heaved, and I glanced around. The porter’s lodge was a quarter of a mile away, with no one wandering around its grounds. I didn’t feel like walking miles to the village for a cup of coffee, not when there was nothing left to discuss. “No… I’m far from it.”
Henry’s brows drew together, and he dipped his head to meet my gaze with concerned, green eyes. “Do you want to—”
“I want you against a tree. Now.”
His brows rose. “You’re serious.”
“Right now.”
It took a few moments for realization to sink in, but his lips curled into a grin, and he glanced over his shoulder into the grove, presumably looking for a tree large enough for me to ravish him. A thick oak stood behind him to his left, and he backed into it, breathing hard, staring down at me with eyes that danced with excitement.
I shoved him as hard as he could against the tree trunk. A pair of robins flew out from the branches above, and thick chunks of unmelted snow fell onto the six-inch pile at our feet. I unbuttoned his pea coat and yanked his scarf to the side.
Henry’s breath hitched. “What are you—”
“Silence.” I pulled down his neck and slammed my lips onto his.
Henry pressed back with equal fervor, his tongue darting out to part my lips. He tasted of mint and warmth and deceptive familiarity. A snarl reverberated in the back of my throat. The wretched boy was trying to take control. I pressed my hip into the juncture of his thighs, reveling in the hardening of his flesh.
“Emilia,” he groaned.
“Shut up.” I clamped my gloved hands on the side of his face, brought our lips together, and pressed him harder against the tree trunk.
Henry moaned low and deep, seeming to get the hint. I was in charge, today. I fisted his hair and held him in place while I delved my tongue into his mouth. For that moment, he was mine. Mine to kiss, mine to arouse, and mine to command.
Above us, the robins released a stream of high pitched tweets, presumably telling us to get out of their territory. Ignoring the noisy birds, I ravished his mouth with my tongue with long, languid strokes, enjoying the heave of his chest, tightness of his arms around my waist, and the strain of his erection against my belly. My core pulsed and throbbed in time with my pounding heart, and warm, wet, slickness gathered between my folds.
His hands skimmed the placket of my coat, fingers reaching for the top button.
“No!” I gave him a sharp slap on the wrist. Betrayers didn’t get to call the shots.
“Emilia,” he said in a gasp.
My hand skimmed down his hot, heaving body, and I reached between his legs and squeezed his balls, delighting in his pained moan rumbling against my chest. “Quiet.” I palmed his thickening erection, which pulsed and twitched at my command. “You’re my plaything, and you don’t get to do anything until I give you an order.”
“Y-yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, Emilia.”
Since I didn’t have a leather bodice, let alone a horsewhip to beat him into submission, I accepted that answer and groped at his firm ass. He bucked into my hand, trying to increase the friction.
“Stop,” I snapped.
He drew back, eyes wide, panting through slackened, reddened lips. “What’s wrong?”
“I know what you’re trying to do, and you don’t get to climax before me.”
“What do you want?”
I pointed at the ground. “Kneel.”
His head jerked back. “You’re joking. There’s half a foot of snow down there.”
“Really?” I raised my brow, giving him a moment to reconsider. When he didn’t kneel on the ground I made a one-shouldered shrug. “We can go back to Edward’s study, and I’ll have Blake—”
Before I could finish that sentence, he fell onto his knees and unfastened the bottom few buttons of my coat.
“That’s enough.” I eased down my woolen tights and panties. The cold air hit my damp folds, making me shudder. Before I could freeze off my extremities, I grabbed Henry by the back of his blond head and shoved his face into my crotch.
He stilled for a second, as though not knowing how he’d gone from walking to the gates to kneeling on the ground with a face full of auburn pubes, but then he huffed out a laugh. At his first lick, the combination of the cold air and his hot tongue made me cry out and twist my fingers into his hair. He grunted and circled my clit with his flattened tongue, generating a current of sparks with each movement. I closed my eyes, loosened my grip on his hair, and relaxed into his hot caresses.
Henry groaned against me, sending pleasurable vibrations up my core. My muscles clenched and unclenched, remembering the feel of those thick fingers inside me. As much as I yearned to be filled, I wanted to prolong the pleasure and have him on his knees, worshipping my slit until I splintered.
“That’s it,” I said between gritted teeth. “Put that lying tongue to use.”
Henry pulled back, letting in a gust of cold air. “What did you say?”
“Did I tell you to stop?” I shoved his head back into my crotch.
He lapped at my nub, flicking that deceiver’s tongue over and over again with relentless endurance. Shockwaves of pleasure darted down my legs, making them tremble so much, I had to hold onto Henry’s shoulders for balance. He must have taken that as a signal to increase his efforts because his licks turned into the most intense, open-mouthed kisses.
Whimpers filled my throat as his tongue had me shuddering and spasming. I dug my fingers into him as the pleasure wound and coiled around my core like a spring. My head fell to my chest, and I panted through parted lips, parsing the intensifying sensations. Sweat gathered in my brow, and warmth built up beneath my woolen clothes. A breeze would chill my skin, but then the heat from beneath my coat would warm it. I swallowed hard and moaned.
Henry’s thumbs pressed into the flesh of my inner thighs, the movement opening me further into his caresses. The pleasure spiked, and something deep within me broke, releasing wave upon wave of the most intense climax of my life.
“Yes!” I cried out.
The noise made the robins up above take flight.
His mouth clamped around me as I came, and his tongue flattened out as though not wanting to miss a drop of my undoing.
I rested the back of my head against the tree trunk, boneless and spent. There was something to be
said about making out with someone when you were too pissed at them to give a shit about their own pleasure or what they thought. It was liberating, and the orgasms were more intense.
Henry pulled up my hose and panties, then adjusted my skirt back over my hips. He tried to rise, but I pushed him down.
“What about me?” He stared up at me with plaintive eyes. “Aren’t you going to—”
“I want to watch you.”
“A-alright.” Excitement made his voice hitch. “No girl has ever made me do this. But how are you going to see everything when it’s so dark?”
I pulled out my smartphone, tapped the flashlight button, and pointed the beam at his crotch.
Henry fumbled over his fly, pulled himself, out and let his gaze flicker from my eyes to my lips. “Are you recording this?”
Ignoring my watering mouth, I said, “Do you want me to?”
He chuckled. “Not really.”
“Then don’t put ideas into my head.” I gave myself a mental slap. How could I not have thought to record it?
It took Henry less than a dozen pumps to bring himself to a moaning climax. The wretched fool didn’t give me any warning and shot his junk over my coat. I kicked him in the thigh, and he promised to buy me a new one. After he tucked himself back into his pants, fastened his coat, and retrieved his scarf from where I’d dropped it, he stood and wrapped his arms around me, laughing like a look. “Oh Emilia, you really are the most amusing girl.”
Annoyance rippled through my relaxed state, and I rolled my eyes. He had said something similar when he had pretended to be abducted, and look where that amusement got me.
“We may as well return to Elder House.” I broke out of his embrace and headed back toward the campus.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “What about the liqueur coffee?”
“You’re such an attentive date.” I gave him a tight smile and grabbed his hand. It was a pity he was so lax about other things, like a girl’s need to clear her name.
As we walked back toward the porter’s lodge, Henry gushed about the way I had taken charge, how hot it had made him, and how he wanted me to do it again but include Edward and Blake. I pictured the triumvirate hard and naked at my feet, and a laugh huffed out of my throat. I would hurl an etiquette book at Edward, pour red ink over Blake and restrain Henry’s hands in duct tape, so he couldn’t climax.