Tarnished Vow: A Student Teacher Forbidden Dark Romance (Boys of St. Augustine Book 2)

by R Holmes

Get a bunch of horny ass teenagers stuck at boarding school, bored out of their minds, and it's a recipe for disaster.

  The ride back to her cottage is quiet, the edge from earlier now gone, and an air of calm has settled between us. I keep glancing at Presley to make sure she's okay, and I see her eyes slowly beginning to close. How does she expect to be able to do anything herself? She can't put any pressure on her foot or she's going to end up back at the ER with a bigger problem than she went in with.

  I mull over the options, knowing she's going to put up a fight if I insist on staying to help, but she'll get over it. I'm not leaving her in the middle of the damn woods with no way to do anything. I pull the car into the long, eerily quiet path through the trees that takes us back to her cottage, if you can even call it that. When it comes into view in the beam of the headlights, I can't help but shake my head.

  It blows my fucking mind that with all of the cash that St. Augustine has, they still are offering her this shit hole to live in. I know they're rolling in it because my father is one of the top sponsors. He's got an entire wing dedicated to him at the school, which is why everyone knows exactly who I am, regardless of whether I want the attention or not.

  I park her car in the concrete spot in front of the cottage, taking note of all of the things she needs to have repaired. The roof, the fascia, the fucking door looks like it might fall off the hinges at any moment. The shutters need repairing and repainting. Actually, just throw them out and start over.

  Clean slate. Not sure if it's even salvageable at this point. Prisoners live better than this shit. Anger rises in my chest, unexpectedly, at her living conditions. I open the car door and get out, rounding the back of the car to her side, and quietly opening the door. She's asleep, her head resting against the side of the car. I’m not even going to bother waking her and dealing with her stubborn, hardheaded ass. I just bend down and gently pick her up and out of the car. I expected her to wake but instead she sighs in her sleep then rests her head against my shoulders and curls into my hold.

  Fuck.

  I shut the car door behind me and carry her up the stairs, easily. She weighs probably a hundred pounds soaking wet, but I realize I don't have her keys. I think she tucked them into her purse. Her car being a push to start, I didn’t need them to drive.

  "Presley." I whisper, trying to wake her. "Wake up, I need you to get the keys."

  Her eyes crack open groggily, disoriented, and widen when she realizes I'm holding.

  "Oh god, I'm so sorry I must have dozed off." Forgetting her foot is fucked, she tries to hop out of my arms.

  "Woah, chill," I groan when she accidentally brushes my cock through my shorts in her fight to get out of my hold. Her pert ass ever so slightly rubs against me as I lower her so I can open the door.

  Jesus Christ. Get it together. This is not the time to get a fucking boner, Pierce.

  "I'm carrying you in, so stop fidgeting. Just get the keys out and let us in before a fucking bear eats us or some shit." I look around us just to make sure there's no wildlife sneaking up on us.

  "You're ridiculous, this place is perfectly safe. I have my own furry animal to keep the mice away."

  Uh huh. Mice would be the least of my concerns. Spiders, roaches, bed bugs… all things of high priority on my list of shit I'd be worried this place was infested with.

  She pulls the set of keys from her purse and hands it to me, and I unlock the door quickly then step inside, kicking it shut behind me. It's dark so I can't see much, but there's a glow from the kitchen from a small night light.

  "I'm gonna set you down and turn the lights on." I tell her, and make my way over to the queen bed in the corner of the room. When my knees hit the side of the bed, I gingerly set her down on top of the covers and turn toward the kitchen in search of light switches.

  "Over there, by the fridge."

  I find the switch and get the lights turned on and turn back to face her.

  "Sebastian, you need to go. If anyone were to find you here, I would be fired or worse," she whispers, disoriented and avoiding my gaze, just like she did earlier.

  Ignoring her I ask, "Do you want me to get you some clothes and stuff before I go?"

  She hesitates, and shakes her head. "I'm fine. I'll just put some ice on my ankle with a pillow and try and get some sleep, I'm sure it'll feel better by tomorrow.” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth in a way that makes my dick short circuit. A light blush spreads on her pale cheeks and I almost groan. Goddamnit.

  "Right, and when you fall and sprain something else in the process, that'll be super helpful."

  I roll my eyes. Women can be so damn stubborn and infuriating. If someone is trying to help, accept it.

  "Fine. Can you grab me a T-shirt from the second drawer? Second." She emphasizes after I found her panties earlier.

  Now that it's burned into my memory I'll see that sexy ass scrap of lace every time I close my eyes and picture them on her. Walking over to her dresser, I open the second drawer, as requested, and pull out one of the first T-shirts I see.

  An old burgundy shirt with Stanford across the front. The letters are cracked and worn, obviously from years of use.

  "You went to Stanford?" I ask, carrying the shirt over to her.

  I don't miss the look of panic that flashes in her eyes at the question. Quickly, she takes the shirt from my hands and looks at it for a moment before speaking.

  "No, uh someone I knew went there. Sentimental thing." Her voice is quiet and suddenly shaky.

  An old t-shirt suddenly made her clam up and shut down. I think back to what I overheard earlier tonight at the nurses station. The fake name, the weird exchange with a T-shirt. Her hesitancy, and all the skittish moments. I don't know much about Presley except the fact she teaches English and lives alone, no family nearby, that much I had gathered with the trip to the hospital, but what I do know... is that she's hiding something. Something big, something she doesn't want anyone to know about.

  Something has her here at St. Augustine under false pretenses.

  And I want to know what it is.

  She tries to swing her feet off the side of the bed by using the nightstand next to her to stand before I can stop her then cries out when she puts the smallest amount of pressure on her hurt foot, and falls back onto the bed.

  “Damnit, Presley,” I curse, rushing over to her.

  "Sorry,” she mutters. “Uh, could you possibly help me with this boot, just so I can take the leggings off. I feel so dizzy when I sit up," she whispers quietly. I can feel how much she hates asking for help.

  "Sure." I lean down, gingerly grabbing her foot and undo the ridiculous amount of Velcro straps on the boot, helping her out of it.

  "Thank you for helping me. I mean it, thank you."

  I nod, saying nothing. I can't let go what I heard, the wheels in my mind are turning, unwilling to relent.

  "Could you maybe help me with my necklace, it keeps getting caught in my hair."

  "Sure.” She turns slightly, offering me her back and moving her hair to the side displaying her delicate neck. A simple, thin gold chain sits around her neck, hidden by her shirt. My fingers brush against her skin and I feel her body as a shiver runs down her spine.

  All it took was a slight touch of my skin against hers to pull a physical reaction from her.

  I needed to leave, walk the fuck away from this woman, before we cross a line there wouldn’t be any coming back from. It was the smart thing to do and I was a Pierce, we always think with our heads not our dicks. Not to mention she’s failing me without second thought. My entire future is in the palm of her hand. I quickly make work of the necklace and she pulls it off, tucking it into her fist.

  "Thank you."

  "I need to get going, I have to go back to campus, you know through bear and mountain lion territory. Might not make it back in one piece." I give her a teasing grin.

  "I appreciate everything. Thank you."

  She's quiet, withdrawn. A
complete one eighty since I handed her the shirt. Whoever it belonged to meant something to her, I just couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.

  "Take care, Teach."

  I walk over to the door and walk through it before I can convince myself to stay.

  6

  Sebastian

  "What makes the story of Romeo and Juliet so romantic? Is it the notion that Juliet was willing to sacrifice her life so easily because of her undying love for Romeo? Or was it the notion of love itself would not survive the unbearable heartbreak that his death would result in?" Presley leans against the front of her desk, her eyes scanning the room of students.

  "It really is the most romantic story of all time… the way Romeo loved her." A blonde from the front row sighs. Pretty sure she's the same one Alec fucked last summer. Also pretty sure it was a threesome, and I can guarantee there wasn't shit romantic about it.

  Love doesn't exist. I don't know much when it comes to relationships since I'd never been in one, but I know love is bullshit. I grew up in a home where it didn't exist, and never in my eighteen years on the planet had I seen an example of a healthy, happy relationship. The only thing close to love I’ve ever seen is the bond between my brothers and I have. If I had to guess it was the closest to love I’d ever been. Guess that's why I am the way I am, and prefer to let females warm the bed for the night and boot them before the sun comes up.

  For me? No strings. No bullshit. No fake love shit.

  Simple. I'll get mine, and you'll get yours… multiple times. So, having to subject myself to all of this romanticism bullshit was wearing the small string of patience I had left, thin.

  "Right, but what about it, made it so timeless? Made it so memorable that we're still swooning over it all of these years later?" She tilts her head to the side; eyebrows raised and waits for the threesome girl to answer. Her curiosity is piqued with her answer.

  "I mean he would've died for her and she was willing to die for him. Isn't that the most romantic notion like, ever?" The girl giggles, looking over at her dopey friend who obviously isn't following at all.

  I roll my eyes and stifle a groan. Fuck, I want out of this room. I'm sure she fucking planned to wear the shortest pencil skirt she owned today and the fact that she’s traded in the heels for flats and a boot for her ankle, doesn’t help any. As much as I try to keep my eyes off of her, I fail, miserably. She's spent the entire class looking anywhere but where I've been sitting and that is fine with me since I was pretending not to notice.

  My dick's obsession with her has everything to do with the fact she is forbidden.

  "How about you, Mr. Pierce? You seem really interested in today's discussion." Everyone turns in their desk to look as she calls me out in the middle of class.

  Oh? Now she wants to act like I’m here.

  "Maybe he just liked getting his dick sucked," I shrug.

  The classroom erupts in laughter and snickers. The shade of red she's turning is brighter than her hair and I decide right then and there that whatever punishment she hands out is well worth it. Especially when the look on her face turns from a stark shade of bright red embarrassment to a look that's downright murderous. Fuck, if she doesn't look even hotter when she's pissed.

  Last night, Alec texted me and sent over everything he could find on Presley. It helps when your best friend can hack into anything short of the Pentagon, and even then… I don’t underestimate him.

  Turns out my gut was right.

  Presley was a liar, plain and simple. How she's gotten away with it this long, who fucking knows. I read her like an open book and yet everyone else she had fooled. Apparently a lot of the stuff is sealed so Davis is working to find out more, but what I had learned was enough.

  Whatever moment happened or didn't happen between us is gone. Even if my dick hadn't gotten the memo. I can’t stand a fucking liar, and now I’m going to take this information and use it to my advantage. Even if that means bringing Presley to her knees in the process. Not that she's done anything to even acknowledge the shit that passed between us, and not that I gave a fuck. Hence my attitude towards her.

  "I'm glad you're so amused by my class, Mr. Pierce. What isn't amusing is the fact that you're flunking it. See you in the library for detention after class," she seethes, and turns back toward the chalkboard. Her shaky, pale hand grabs the lone piece of chalk on the lip of the board and begins to write. She tried hitting me where it hurt, but last night’s revelation leaves me reckless. I don’t give a fuck and I’m prepared to show her just how much I don’t.

  "Since everyone has so little respect for the classics and for me, I think a three thousand word essay on Romanticism through the ages to be due on Monday should fix the problem? Typed, double spaced. References will be checked. Let's say… Twenty percent of your final grade?"

  There's a collective sigh of groans and now I just became the most hated person in the room. Well, if I wasn't Sebastian Pierce, they'd really hate me. Right now I'm just the reason their weekends have gone to shit. I'll make it up with a party at the Abbey.

  "I understand many of you may not take me seriously. I'm young, barely over graduation age myself. I get it. I do. School sucks, you're ready to get out, live your life, break free of all the things that confine you. But I do think I am more than fair with my assignments and if you want respect, then I deserve it as well."

  She crosses her arm over her chest which pushes her tits up against the cut of her white button down. It's tucked into the waistband of her high waisted skirt. Everything about Presley screams sensible, but it's what blossoms when it's dark that makes her so bewitching. It's what you can't see from just a single glance. And now, I've had the delicate, pale milky skin of her thighs beneath my hands. She’s illicit, and yet I’ve always been the one to revel in sin.

  My phone begins vibrating in my pocket and even though it's the middle of class, I pull it out and glance down at my mom's name on the screen. Without a thought, I stand and walk out of the classroom into the vacant hallway to take the call.

  "Mom?" My voice comes out more panicked than I intended.. I’m still on edge from what went down.

  "Honey, hi!" Her over enthusiastic voice floats through the phone.

  "I'm in the middle of class, Mom, you okay?"

  "Oh, baby, yes, I'm sorry, I just… your father wanted me to give you a call. He says he needs to speak with you down at his office and well, it can't wait." Of course. My father couldn't even pick up the fucking phone to summon me, he had to send my mother to do his dirty work for him.

  I take a deep breath, and exhale heavily to calm the anger before speaking because ultimately it's my father's fuck up, not hers, "Sure, Mom. I'll go by after school."

  "Yes, that would be perfect. I miss you sweetie. Thanks!" She doesn't wait for me to respond before she hangs up, the call ending in my ear with a beep.

  Perfect. Detention and a fight with my father, just what I need.

  I slip back into class with only a sharp look from Presley but she says nothing to my surprise until the bell rings, then I’m out of the classroom before it can even finish ringing. I walk to my locker, open the door and am shoving my books into the nearly empty locker when I see Rhys walking up with Alec. Rhys looks especially chipper today. His eyes dart across the row of lockers and I follow his gaze directly to Valentina Carmichael.

  You have fun with a girl once, try and teach her a lesson and suddenly the dude's obsessed with her. He'd die before ever admitting that shit, but his boys, we see right through it. He'll admit it sooner or later. Right now they're playing this weird game of serial killer chases the victim and pretty sure there's some weird sex involved.

  I shiver at the thought.

  "What up?" Alec leans against the locker next to mine and gives me a fist bump. His broad shoulder is wrapped in a sling after our last practice where he took a gnarly fall to the ice. People have no clue how hard that ice is when you're skating as fast as you are and you eat shit unless you've actu
ally done it. Which I have, multiple times. Perks of being the goalie.

  "Detention then off to Pierce manor for a lovely dinner with my family. Probably get a workout in after. How's the shoulder?" I nod at the injury as I grab my calculus book and slam the door shut.

  "Fuck man, shit is sore. Coach is gonna send me to the doc if it doesn't heal soon. I don't wanna be benched for games."

  I nod. Alec doesn’t know what the future looks like for him so being benched all season during senior year while scouts are here is the worst shit that could happen.

  "Just take it easy, don't overexert yourself. Stop fucking coeds for five minutes so you can just chill and recover. Rhys, you're extra quiet today. What's up Edward Scissorhands?"

  He goes to punch me but I swerve to the left right before his fist connects with my arm.

  "Prick."

  "Trouble in paradise?' I grin, glancing over at Carmichael. She's completely fucking oblivious. Either that or she's an extremely good actor because she doesn't even realize he exists. I mean, I get it. She's hot and all in a nerdy, mouse way… but she's also the reason that Ezra is sitting in a jail cell. She snitched. I don't care if she's got the biggest rack I've ever seen or an ass like a Kardashian, I'm not forgiving that shit. My stomach plummets at the thought of Ezra. We haven't heard from him, and we all know his dad isn’t going to do shit to get him out.

  "We've got to get Ezra out. I can't stand the thought of our fucking friend in goddamn prison," I say, pounding my fist against the metal of the locker. A piece of us was missing. Walking around every day feeling like a vital part of you was gone isn't a fun fucking feeling. I don't give a shit if it made me a pussy, they were the only family I'd ever had. The only real family I'd ever had.

  "I've called, texted, and emailed. I even left messages with the secretary. His time is running out," Rhys says slowly . Menacingly.

  That's the thing about the Kings of St. Augustine. Us boys? When we promised, we delivered. We run this school and the second that we show weakness, the throne we've spent years building crumbles at our feet. Which is why I'm headed to detention with Presley. That’s why if one fell, we all fell. One bled, we all bled. Our brotherhood went beyond the surface, it was vein deep.