Caught in the Trap: A Reverse Harem Academy Bully Romance (Mafia Lords of Knightswood Academy Book 1)

by Ivy Clyde

  It took me another moment to realize that perhaps, this was from a private photoshoot she did for Saxon McLaughlin. After all, he was the heir to the De Reers group and could afford to get any model to do a private nude show for him.

  “Ugh,” I muttered, leaning back against the back of my chair.

  Before I could snoop around his laptop, I had to make sure he wasn’t around. If I started opening the folders and files, he would become aware of it. Instead, I spotted the camera icon in the corner of his toolbar and risked turning it on with a click, hoping he wouldn’t notice it.

  I almost screamed at the image that flicked open on my screen before me.

  Saxon’s dick was hard and pointing at me as he slowly pumped it. “Gross,” I muttered, realizing he was probably jerking off to porn or some girl on the internet. Turning away, I walked toward the kitchenette to get myself a can of coke, hoping he would be done soon and get away from the computer so I could access it without having to look at his saggy balls.

  It was another twenty minutes before Saxon finally moved away. He grossed me out completely and even drinking from the can of coke made me want to puke it out. Don’t know how long it will take me to wash my eyes out, I thought, wanting to rid the image of his dick from my mind.

  The camera showed him walking to one of the cabinets on the other side of the room, forcing me to look at his naked ass. Kneeling down, he opened the bottom section, giving me a glimpse of plastic bags full of weed and some other stuff. There was a bag that looked like it was full of salt. Only I knew it to be cocaine, having seen kids at my old neighborhood use it.

  I hit the ‘record’ icon, saving the footage of the drug he stashed in his room.

  Saxon took the white stuff and poured a teaspoonful on a flat glass plate. Straightening up, he went to the corner to sit in his bed. I watched him sniff the powder using a thin, short straw. It was only a few minutes before I saw the drug take its effect on him. Saxon fell back among the pillows, his eyes closing in euphoric bliss.

  I stopped the recording and imported the video into my computer. This was enough proof to get him in trouble but I knew I needed more.

  While Saxon lay on the bed, I used the opportunity to open the folders on his computer, looking for the video he’d taken of Stella. If I could delete it from his hard drive, perhaps, he would finally give up on using it to blackmail her.

  However, I could never have prepared myself for what unfolded next.

  I opened a folder marked as ‘porn’, expecting to find stuff he’d downloaded from internet sites. Instead, the first clip that I played was that of Saxon with another girl who looked too young to be lying underneath him as he pounded into her. From the look on her face, she seemed vaguely aware of her surroundings. Her lips moved silently, drowned by Saxon’s grunts.

  “What the fuck,” I muttered, leaning forward in my chair. Closing the video, I played another. This one featured Saxon too but with a different girl.

  One by one, I looked through the thirty videos in that folder. One thing became very clear. Saxon either got the girls drunk or drugged and while they were passed out or unaware, he took the chance to rape them while filming the whole thing.

  Since it wasn’t a one-time thing, it became evident that he got off watching clips of himself with these young women. I already knew he was a disgusting pig but not to this extent.

  I took a deep breath, clearing my mind of the horror and pain he’d inflicted on many girls. I deleted the video of him and Stella while proceeding to download the rest on my computer.

  I had all the evidence needed to get him in jail or at the very least, get kicked out of the academy for drug abuse and having sex with minors. Leaning against my chair, I watched the glowing bar indicating the progress of the files being downloaded.

  My mind refused to calm down after what I’d just seen. Just how many girls did he do this to? Did they even know what he’d done to them?

  While Saxon still lay in his bed, I removed the code that connected his laptop to mine. I had everything I needed to bring him down. If he ever handed his computer to any technician, they would never be able to trace anything back to me.

  Switching off my computer, I put on a jacket and headed out of the room for some fresh air. I had the first hour next morning free anyway, so even if I slept late it wouldn’t be a problem. I just had to do something from letting my mind keep thinking about Saxon and his vile, disgusting habit.

  Even as I dressed to go for a late breakfast at the cafeteria, my mind refused to forget the snippets of videos I’d seen yesterday. Watching porn on the internet was one thing but taping yourself having sex with unwilling participants was quite another. It also had to be against the law to film these minor girls without their permission.

  I took note of the guys walking the hallways of the dorm. Just how many of them were involved in shady kinks like Saxon’s? On the outside, they all appeared suave, striding confidently in their polished academy uniforms. It was all a mask, a sham to hide their rotten cores.

  I never thought it would be possible but I missed Kensington High. At least, the predators there marked themselves with tattoos, piercings, and other sigils to ward off the weak. They went after people their own size. They protected their own turfs and as long as you stayed away, they let you be.

  At Knightswood Academy, the weak were fodder for the strong. It didn’t matter whether you crossed them or not, they would come after you simply because they could.

  A groan escaped me as I came nearer to the cafeteria building. Saxon McLaughlin stood near the entrance, looking like a European prince in his stiff academy uniform. Sure, he was tall and handsome, but he disgusted me. A shit-eating grin appeared on his face as soon as his gaze fell on me.

  “Hey,” he said, crossing the distance between us in a few long strides.

  Ducking my head, I made to walk past him but his arm came to wrap around my shoulders, pulling me against him.

  “Don’t go,” he whispered in my ear. I hated the spray of saliva that hit my skin. “It’s been so hard to get a hold of you, darling. You’re always running and hiding. Even Stella is learning to hide from me these days. How do you think it makes me feel?” His tongue darted out to lick the shell of my ear.

  “Eww! You’re gross!” I shouted, pushing him away.

  He stumbled sideways but a more determined look descended into his dirt-colored eyes.

  “This playing hard-to-get is getting on my nerves,” he said grimly.

  “I’m not playing,” I hissed back. “You’re the most disgusting person in this school. I’m warning you to stay away from me or you’ll really regret it.”

  His eyes glinted at my warning. He took it as a challenge. Barking out a laugh, he grasped my upper arm and pulled me behind him, dragging me further away from the cafeteria.

  “I want to see what you can do,” he said, dragging me after him. His nails dug into my flesh painfully, making me curse out at him. “You need a lesson in obedience and manners. It might take a bit of time but you will learn or break.”

  “Let go!” I shouted. He’d managed to drag me out of the view of the cafeteria now. Fear shot through me, knowing danger was closing in on me.

  “Hey, Skye!” a cheerful voice called out my name. I turned my head, desperate for someone to come and get me away from Saxon. “Over here, Skye!”

  “Mikhael!” I called out.

  Saxon halted, staring down at me.

  Next moment, Andrei stepped up beside Mikhael. The sight of them made relief wash over me. Saxon seemed to feel me relax because his grip on my arm tightened so hard, he was grinding my bone.

  “It hurts,” I cried, kicking at his legs but he stepped away in time before my foot could strike his ankle.

  Saxon’s other hand came up to grab a chunk of my hair. “You think they’re saving you today?” he asked as I struggled to get out of his hold.

  “Let her go, Saxon.” Andrei’s loud voice was commanding.

&nbs
p; “Or what?”

  “Or…” began Mikhael, stepping over to us slowly and grinning at Saxon. “Or you’re going to miss the surprise I arranged for you.”

  Saxon’s gaze fixed on Mikhael. “You’ve got the stuff I wanted?”

  Mikhael nodded. “And I’m not even going to charge you anything for it. Just let the girl go for now. Boss needs her for something,” he said, tilting his head toward Andrei. Moving forward, he removed Saxon’s hands from me and shifted so that he could wrap an arm around Saxon in a friendly embrace.

  Saxon’s dark eyes fixed on me. “Is she sucking your cock too, Romanoff?” He grinned at the scowl on my face. He leaned forward and pretended to whisper, keeping his voice loud enough for Mikhael and Andrei to hear. “I’ll get you a diamond pendant for being obedient.”

  Andrei pulled me away from Saxon and held me against him. His handsome face was set in stone and the usual warmth in his soft brown eyes was replaced with cold rage.

  “Come on,” said Mikhael, forcing Saxon to turn away from us. “I have something better than pussy for you.” Glancing at both me and Andrei, he gestured with his head and silently told us to go.

  “Let’s go,” said Andrei, taking hold of my wrist. “This corner of the grounds is his playground. It will be harder to get you away if his buddies show up.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. I hurried after him until the cafeteria came in sight again.

  “Have you had breakfast yet?” he asked.

  “No. He caught me just as I was about to enter the dining hall.” I took a few deep breaths, thanking my lucky stars for saving me from Saxon’s clutches one more time. He was very clear about what he wanted from me. I had to find a way to use the evidence I’d already gathered against him before it was too late.

  “You don’t look so good.” Andrei’s voice made me look up at him. “You’ve gone so cold.” Taking my hand in his warm ones, he blew on it and rubbed some warmth in them. He proceeded to rub my shoulders, telling me not to worry, that he would protect me no matter what happened.

  Tears stung my eyes but I held them back. The adrenaline was ebbing away, sapping away the strength from my body until I had to lean against Andrei for support.

  “I’ll get you some coffee. It will make you feel better,” he said, steering me inside the cafeteria.

  Christian walked out of the glass-front doors just as we were entering. He cast a cold glance in my direction before walking away. Pain lanced through me at his rejection. I clung onto Andrei’s shoulders, silently grateful for his presence.

  He took me into a far corner with empty tables. Since it was late, most of the morning crowd had left the cafeteria for classes. Giving me some space, he ordered some food and coffee from the waiter who came to our table.

  Guilt weighed heavy in my chest. Andrei was the best guy I’d met in my life and I was forced to sneak and steal from him. Other than my parents, no one had been this caring of me. In the last couple of years, even my mother’s support had been missing.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” he said in a gentle voice, brushing his thumb over my cheeks as a single tear rolled down. “I will speak to Saxon. He won’t touch you again.” He thought I was crying about Saxon but the truth was my tears were for him. He’d already been hurt and scarred too badly by the people closest to him. It wasn’t fair that he had to be hurt by me too.

  The waiter brought us French toast with bacon. He set our cups of coffee before us before leaving.

  “Have some food. You’ll feel better.”

  I nodded, picking up the coffee cup. My throat felt too choked right now to eat anything. The heat of the cup seeped into the chilled skin of my palm. I took a sip, savoring the hot coffee.

  A few deep breaths later, I was able to distract myself and stopped the flow of tears.

  “I’ll be all right,” I told him, attempting a weak smile. “I’ll take care of Saxon soon enough.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing,” I said with shrug. Making a show of cutting up the French toasts, I tried to eat while my mind churned with possibilities of how to use the dirt I’d found in his room as well as his laptop.

  “How about we go out of the academy?” Andrei suggested after a while.

  “We both have classes to attend,” I replied dryly.

  He fell silent for a while. “I want to make you feel better.”

  “I have an idea but not sure you’re going to like it.”

  “You can tell me.”

  I leaned forward on the table. Andrei leaned in too. Anyone looking at us would think we were sharing a secret.

  “Can I see you dance?” I whispered. “I would absolutely love to see you do ballet. Ballerina by day, bike racer by night.”

  Andrei laughed, his dark blond curls falling into his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. “You see me doing ballet?”

  A giggle escaped me. “Not really, but it’s fun to imagine.”

  He chuckled. “I’m glad you’re feeling good enough to make jokes at my expense.”

  “So? Will you do it for me?”

  He was no longer laughing and I wondered if I’d pushed his boundaries by making the request. Deep inside, I felt like there was no time to waste between us. I wanted to know Andrei better, remember every moment we spent together. Even as I smiled and goofed around with him, the truth was like a thorn in my heart.

  “I don’t know how you do it, Skye,” he said in a grim voice. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt the urge to dance but you’re helping me see things in a different light. I feel like dancing right now to show you how far I’m from ballet.”

  “No ballet, then?” I said with mock disappointment.

  Leaning forward, he booped my nose. “Stop with the ballet!”

  I stared at him as laughter bubbled out of me.

  “I’m free after Math this afternoon,” I said, checking the schedule on my iPad.

  “Same.”

  “So, we meet after class?”

  “It’s a date.”

  Warmth flooded my cheeks. Getting to my feet, I gave a nod. “See you, then.” Excitement swirled inside me as I pulled the strap of my satchel higher on my shoulder. With a wave, I turned around and practically skipped down the cafeteria to rush to the Science building.

  Andrei and I stood in a vast dance studio. The floors were polished wood while an entire wall was made of glass. And this was just one of the rooms in Knightswood Academy’s performing arts department.

  “Will anyone else be coming in?” I asked, listening to my voice echo around the room.

  “I booked it for the next two hours. Just you and me.”

  My heart fluttered at the look in his soft brown eyes. A smile lifted the corners of my lips. He’s like sunshine, I thought, feeling my spirits rise just at the sight of him. My personal sun. Grief pinched my insides, knowing he wouldn’t look at me this way once he found out the truth about me.

  “The stage is all yours,” I said brightly in a bid to suppress the depressing thoughts that always seemed to ruin these moments with Andrei.

  I was about to turn away but before I could take a step away, Andrei’s arms slid around my waist, pulling me against his. A gasp escaped me as my back hit his hard chest. Leaning down, he brought his face to rest against the side of my neck as he held me against him. “It’s a date, remember?” he whispered.

  I slowly turned around to face him. Heart throbbing against my chest, I rose on the tips of my toes to reach his lips. The kiss seared my lips as my arms locked around his neck. Andrei’s arms wrapped around me, keeping me pressed against him.

  All thoughts disappeared from my head as our kiss deepened. I gave myself to the moment until the only things I was aware of was the pounding of my heart and the feel of his warm tongue as it swirled around mine.

  “Wow,” I breathed when Andrei broke the kiss. “How long did we last?”

  “No idea.” He placed another quick kiss on my lips before moving away to the corn
er where he’d left our bags on the floor. Taking a CD from his backpack, he strode toward the music system. A few seconds later, hip-hop music boomed all around the room.

  I watched breathlessly as Andrei began moving to the beats and rhythms of the song, his body popping and locking in seamless movements. “Wow,” I breathed. Andrei winked at me, making my heart race as he shed the academy blazer on the floor and unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt.

  He increased the pace of his movements with the rising tempo of the song. His dark blond curls jumped with the force of his moves, dancing wildly around his handsome face. He didn’t hold back as intense energy suffused his every twist and turn.

  Andrei’s dancing style was modern freestyle hip-hop with pop-and-locks and krumping. My own body moved with the beats of the song. My feet tapped on the floor as I clapped to the beats, feeling my heart throbbing to the bass.

  “Go for it!” I shouted to be heard over the song as Andrei’s movements became faster and more forceful. He was giving himself over to the music, forgetting about his lone spectator. Pain twisted his features as he danced with complete abandon.

  Sweat gathered on his forehead, capturing a few of his curls from jiggling to the rhythm.

  At that moment, I recognized Andrei’s heart. There was immense power within him which he reined in constantly. His emotions raged within him. Pain was apparent in his expression. He couldn’t hide himself when he danced. Perhaps, that was the reason he’d stopped. Dancing forced him to confront his own emotions.

  Suddenly, I realized that Andrei was letting me see him dance because he trusted me enough to show this side of him. Guilt washed over me again but I pushed it aside. This wasn’t the time to think about myself. This moment was all for Andrei.