Heart and Revenge: Slayer Academy (Book 2)

by Cassidy Summers

  Great, why did he have to leave me till last? “You want to explain yourself?” he asks.

  “Not really,” I say. “It was honestly really stupid, the comments they made are things that usually wouldn’t even get my attention, but for some reason, it did and I lost my shit.”

  “That’s a poor excuse, Bianca.”

  “I’m not making excuses. I know I screwed up,” I say. “I’m just frustrated that I haven’t been able to fight all week and the last time I did I got my ass kicked by you and then Daniel.”

  “I know. But you can’t just punch people because your bored and have too much energy,” he states.

  “I know. I’m sorry,” I say, a little whinier than I had hoped.

  His lips tighten. “Don’t do it again,” he says then indicates to the door with a nod of his head.

  I walk towards the door passing right by him as I go. I stop when I stand beside him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek, before scurrying out of the room to find my friends.

  I find Jacinta and the boys at our usual spot in the cafeteria. I make it at least halfway to the table before Jacinta spots me, launches herself from her chair and sends me a scathing look. “I can’t believe you broke his nose.”

  I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face and I break into a laugh.

  She groans in outrage at my casual attitude on the matter. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you could have gotten into? What if he had said something? You know, one day Rylan isn’t going to be able to dig you out of whatever ridiculous trouble you get yourself in,” she huffs as she falls back into her chair.

  “Geez, relax, Malibu Barbie,” I say as I take the seat beside her and pinch a chip from Trey. “I didn’t get in trouble, and besides, even if Alex said something, it would be so easy to put it down as ‘a combat incident.’”

  “What?” Trey fumes. “Rylan let you off the hook?”

  “Well, kind of, he’s really pissed at me,” I confirm.

  Daniel smirks, “Told you,” he says to Trey, holding an outstretched hand towards him. Trey groans as he digs in his pocket and places a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “Pays to be screwing the instructor. Maybe I should give it a try,” Daniel comments.

  “Are you guys betting on what goes on between me and Rylan?” I screech as quietly as possible.

  “Yup,” Daniel says proudly, slapping Trey on the shoulder as he grins at me. “You’d be surprised how much money your relationship has won me over the last few months.”

  “In that case, I deserve a cut,” I demand, reaching for the twenty that sits on the table.

  “No way,” Daniel says, quickly grabbing the money and shoving it deep into his pockets. He finishes off his food and gets up from the table. “I’d hate to love you and leave you, but I’ve spent the last two hours sitting on my ass, not working off any energy. I’m hitting the gym,” he declares.

  “If you’re wanting to work off energy, wouldn’t it be best you go visit Nora instead?” Trey smirks.

  Daniel gives us a sleazy grin and raises his eyebrows at Trey's suggestion. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “Nah.” I laugh, “You’d probably only last a few seconds, you’re best to hit the gym.”

  “Gross,” Jacinta says, scrunching her face up.

  Daniel winks at Jacinta before turning to Trey. “You coming?”

  Trey gives a slight nod and gets up from the table. “See you later, babe,” he says, bending down and giving Jacinta the hottest kiss, which is definitely inappropriate for the crowded cafeteria, even I have to look away.

  They grin at each other and Daniel finally intervenes, grabbing Trey by the arm and hoisting him towards the exit. Jacinta's cheeks flame the brightest shade of pink as Trey dramatically confesses his love for her while being shoved through the door.

  Twenty minutes later, we finish up in the cafeteria and head out the door as we figure out how to spend the rest of our afternoon. “How about we head down to the field and do a little suntanning? I could use a bit of vitamin D,” Jacinta suggests.

  “Uh…yes and no. I say we head down to the field where I can practice some of my sequences and new moves on you. It’s a win/win. You can work on your tan and I can use up some of my energy,” I smile.

  “Ugh,” she groans. “The last time I helped you practice, I ended up covered in bruises, and besides, aren’t you supposed to be taking the week off training?”

  “No,” I huff. “Dr. Mandoza said I was fine for basic skills, just nothing intense. It’s Rylan who isn’t letting me train.” She scrunches her face at me. “Please? I promise no punching.”

  “Fine,” she groans. “But you have to help me with my FEDS flashcards.”

  I hold out my hand and give her a grin. “You’ve got yourself a deal, nerd.”

  An hour later, my impromptu practice session has turned into more of a ‘teach Jacinta a few cool things so she can impress her boyfriend’ session. My arm loosely circles her neck, mimicking a chokehold and I grab her arm and attempt to pin it against her back and just as I had explained, she brings her elbow down hard into my stomach, taking advantage of my movement and spinning out of my grasp. She then finishes me off with a ‘pretend’ kick to the groin.

  “I did it,” she screeches and raises her hand high above for a high five. Our hands meet with an award-winning slap and we break into uncontrollable laughter.

  An unimpressed throat clears behind us and I jerk around. My eyes widen in surprise and my face instantly scrunches up knowing I’ve just been sprung as no matter what excuse I give him; he knows exactly what my intentions were.

  Rylan stands with his arms crossed firmly over his broad chest. “You’re training,” he observes flatly.

  “Well, this is awkward,” Jacinta murmurs next to me, so low, I can hardly hear it.

  “Ah, well, technically I was just showing Jacinta a few things so she can show off to Trey,” I smile as Jacinta eagerly nods in agreement beside me and I’m thankful that I didn’t actually have to lie.

  “Really?” he asks. “You decide to come down here to do that, rather than use the fully equipped gym or combat facility?”

  “Yep,” I confirm confidentially. “Trey and Daniel are in the gym so we couldn’t go there and Jacinta wanted to work on her tan at the same time, so…here we are.”

  His eyes narrow and he immediately calls me out. “That’s bullshit,” he says.

  An innocent grin graces my lips. “Well…I’m kind of telling the truth,” I say, trying to help my case.

  “I know,” he groans as a small smile plays on his lips. He shakes his head at us and I know I’m in the clear. A resigned expression comes over him. “Fine, we can train tomorrow morning,” he says, not looking happy about it.

  I beam at him and his eyes sparkle at my expression. “Thank God,” Jacinta says, relieved. “I don’t think I can handle any more of this. I’m pretty sure I’ve chipped a nail as well,” she adds, inspecting her hands.

  “Come on,” I say, throwing my arm over her shoulder. “We can go now that I actually get to kick some ass tomorrow,” I start dragging her along beside me as Rylan falls in step.

  He scoffs at my comment “Please, you’ll be lucky if you even get to throw a punch,” he says.

  I turn to him and narrow my eyes, doing my best to control my features as he wickedly grins back at me. He runs his thumb down the inside of my arm all the way down to my wrist, turning my brain to mush and I instantly forget any come back that was brewing in my mind.

  He gives me one of those sexy boy, half-smiles and winks down at me before breaking away from us and heading for the staff housing. Damn it. If distracting me from training is the way he wants to play then that’s exactly what he’s going to get.

  ----------

  I wake up bright and early for my first training session in what feels like forever. I chose my shortest shorts and a matching crop before throwing a loose tank over the top. I lace up my shoes, tie my hair up,
and head down to meet Rylan in the gym.

  I push through the door to find him finishing off a set of curls, his biceps bulging and making my mouth water. Wow, I adore this man. He puts his weights down and makes his way over to me. Raising his shirt to wipe away sweat while flashing me his perfect abs and ‘V’. I quickly look away, knowing his little game has already begun. Nobody gets one up on Bianca Moore.

  I sit down on the floor space and begin to stretch. I open my legs wide and ever so slowly run my fingers down my toned leg and reach for my toe, then repeat again on the other side. I glance up at him to see his attention firmly on my legs. This is going to be a piece of cake.

  “You put Britney and Beyoncé on my iPod,” he comments with a warning in his low voice.

  I smile up at him innocently. “I thought you’d like it,” I say, my innocent smile quickly turning into a wicked grin. He shakes his head at me with mischief behind his eyes and I know I’m in for a treat today.

  I stand up and cross one leg over the other and bend down to plant my hands firmly on the floor, knowing my ass is reflected in the mirror behind me. “So, what are we doing today?” I ask, crossing my other leg over.

  “Evasive techniques,” he smirks, talking about the game, not the training.

  “Okay, sure,” I say, without skipping a beat, not letting on that I’ve worked out his plan. “Where do you want me?”

  “Front and center,” he replies.

  I step into the center of the space and face him, waiting for his attack. I watch him approach and wait patiently, but with the way he looks right now, I might just let him have me.

  No Bianca. Get your mind out of the gutter.

  Finally, he makes his move. He lunges at me and grabs me around the waist. I bring my elbow up and nail him in the chest, earning myself a nice little grunt, but he doesn’t falter, his grip remains. He spins me around against his body so my back is to his chest. He clenches both my fists in one of his hands. “Looks like you’re trapped,” he observes smugly.

  “Tell me,” I say, twisting my head to look back at him. “What are the rules today?”

  “There are none. I’m an attacker and you need to get free any way you can,” he says.

  Hmm, that sounds like approval enough.

  “Okay,” I say innocently, reaching up on my tiptoes and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. He smiles down at me and his body relaxes for the briefest moment. Perfect. I throw my bound hands down in front of me and instantly bend at the waist, nailing my bum back into his groin, though with my lack of size, I’m pretty certain I avoid all the important parts. His body bends over the top of mine and I slightly angle my body and step a leg out causing him to trip over it. He begins to fall and throws his arm out to save himself. I duck into a tiny ball and roll out of the way before his weight crushes me.

  “Shit,” he curses as he lands sideways on the ground with a thud. I quickly get to my feet and flip him the rest of the way onto his stomach and put all my body weight on his back to keep him pinned. “Looks like you’re trapped,” I respond, using his own words against him.

  “Playing dirty, Bianca? That was good,” he agrees. “But not good enough.”

  Rylan flips himself onto his back, my weight not even an obstacle for him as he grabs my ankle and pulls me down on top of him so I straddle his waist. Damn. He grins up at me smugly as I attempt to get out of his hold, but it is no use, the man is an absolute machine.

  I relax against him and he instantly loosens his grip on my wrists. I place my hands on his stomach as I catch my breath, my fingers tracing the ridges of his abs through his shirt. He reaches up and tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

  I bend down on top of him and slowly bring my lips closer to his. I graze my lips against his, ever so slightly, teasing him with the promise they hold. He raises his head and captures my lips in his, holding me there with his will alone.

  His body relaxes beneath me and I grab one of his hands and lace our fingers together. As I deepen the kiss, my other hand goes to his waist and runs up his broad chest, making sure to feel every tight ridge along the way. He raises his free hand to my lower back and slides his hand up the bare skin of my back. I moan against his lips at the feel of his skin on mine and I truly begin to hate myself for what I’m about to do.

  I quickly bite down on his lip, releasing it as I press into his chest and use the momentum to launch my body off of his, which takes all of two seconds. I grin down at his turned-on body as he looks up at me in shock. “How’s that for evasive techniques?” I ask as smug as ever.

  He rises to his feet and begins stalking me. I slowly back up as he grows nearer, eventually running out of room as my body presses up against the mirrored wall. He raises his arms on either side of me, effectively caging me in. “Seeing as though I’ve got you blocked up against the wall, it looks like your evasive techniques might need a little work.”

  “I know what you’re doing,” I tell him.

  “Oh, yeah?” he asks. “And what would that be?”

  “Keeping me distracted with your muscles and good looks so I don’t do any real training. But you know what?” I say rather breathy. “You’re playing my favorite game.”

  His eyes blaze and I press myself further into the wall and drop down to get under his arm.

  This time ready for me he grabs me around the waist and throws me back onto the wall, pressing his whole body against mine to keep me pinned. I smirk at him and get my own sexy smirk in return. “You’re not getting away from me this time,” he says as his hands glide down my body to my ass. He grabs it firmly with both hands and lifts me up, my legs instantly hooking around his waist.

  “You win,” I say in resignation as his lips come down on mine once again.

  Chapter 12

  It’s a beautiful Saturday morning and I decide what better time to visit Morgan and see how she’s doing. I met Morgan only a few short months ago when her father was brutally murdered by the same vicious vampire that had killed mine. Being that she’s nine and I was nine at the time of my father’s death, we have made quite a special bond.

  I make my way out of my dorm and cross the senior and junior campuses before finally finding my way to the Elementary Campus. I head past the classrooms and past their own combat facility and turn a corner. “Oomph,” I say as I’m slammed into another body.

  My eyes raise to the person before me and I find none other than Tessa. The woman who broke my mother’s heart by falling in love with my father and having some ridiculous affair.

  Tessa had been my other instructor early in the year, that is until I found out about the affair and sort of had a little meltdown causing her to take an ‘extended holiday’ and transfer to the Elementary Campus. “Sorry,” I mutter with distaste as I step around her. Well, that was awkward.

  “Bianca, wait,” she says before I get the chance to run off.

  I cringe at her request, but knowing I need to get this over with at some point makes me turn on my heel and fix her with a scathing glare.

  “Yes?” I ask as I cross my arms over my chest.

  She hesitates for a moment, clearly unsure how to approach this topic as according to Rylan, I’m a bit of a loose cannon. “Look, I just wanted to apologize for how everything went down earlier in the year. I never intended you to have found out like that.”

  “You mean, you never intended on me finding out at all?” I correct.

  She cringes once again. “I truly am sorry, Bianca. It was a very long time ago and I really never wanted to hurt you guys. You were like family to me.”

  “Having an affair with my father is not something, someone who considers themselves family does. Together, you and my father tore my mother’s heart apart, and that’s not something I will ever forgive you for. Did you even think about her when you decided to get in bed with him?” I seethe.

  She cringes at my choice of words. “Of course, I did. I would never have made that decision lightly. You must understand that
I was madly in love with him, I still am. I would never have done what I did if it was not love.”

  “How come you never said anything? We used to visit you all the time, there would have been millions of chances for you to come clean.”

  “Believe me, I wanted to. I really did, but there never seemed to be a good time and the longer I left it, the harder it became. Then I was worried had you girls found out, would it have changed the way you saw your father? He loved you so much and I couldn’t risk the way his memory lives in you.”

  “What about mom? You could have told her.”

  “Yes. I could have, but I saw the look in her eye every time she looked at me. She knew. I could see the hurt and betrayal in her and I hated myself for it. She slowly stopped visiting and eventually, I stopped too. I had done enough damage.”

  “You certainly have.”

  “I know, Bianca,” she says, then looks me firmly in the eyes. “Just so you know, he loved you girls so much. You were both the apples of his eyes and he would have been so proud of you, Bianca. The way you performed at your midterms were amazing and commendable.”

  I nod and look away, afraid the talk of my father is going to bring on a strong flow of tears. “Thank you,” I whisper.

  “I do hope that one day you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me,” she says, sadly.

  “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that,” I confide.

  “I understand,” she says.

  I turn back on my heel and hastily make my escape, slipping between two buildings, tucked right away from sight and let the tears flow freely, hoping that was the last time I would ever have to deal with Tessa, though seeing as though we both live at The Guard Academy, that’s probably a long shot.

  She was right. My father loved me and he would have been so proud. He would have been front and center at each of my examinations, cheering me on. Hell, he probably would have tried to get in the ring with me. God, I miss him. I wipe away the last of my tears and take a deep breath before pulling myself together. This morning was not supposed to be about me, but about Morgan.