BriarEdge Academy: December

by Kit Kyndall

  “I hope to be done with it today. I’m supposed to see Oslo before returning to class, so that’s where I’m heading next.”

  “I could come with you,” said Lex.

  Dalton looked like he was going to make the same offer, but she shook her head before he could. “No, that’s okay. I don’t want you guys in trouble for missing first period. I’ll see you at lunch though.” They protested a bit, but she was determined they wouldn’t get demerits for her, and they finally gave in grudgingly.

  After parting from them, she left the building and went across the quad to the clinic. Like the last time she visited, there was no one waiting, and Oslo took her straight back to an exam room. After looking her over for a few minutes, he gave her another dose of ibuprofen and had her leave without the sling. She still had an ACE bandage, but he thought she could probably take that off within the next couple of days. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to wear it to the dance Saturday night.

  She left the clinic, walking down the hallway and past the science labs. She glanced left and right occasionally, seeing full classrooms. As she neared the exit, she let out a startled cry when someone fastened a hand around her sore wrist. He used his hold to tug her into a room, slamming the door behind her.

  She recognized the stench of his cologne even before she saw Manion when she turned to face him. He had his palm braced against the door to keep her from opening it, and his expression was full of sympathy, though his other hand tightened infinitesimally around her sore wrist. “Poor little mademoiselle. I heard about your accident and worried greatly.” He licked his lips as he looked down at hers. “A kiss will make you feel better.”

  She grimaced in disgust. “No, thanks.”

  His hand tightened a little more, making her wince. “So many rumors swirl about you, Candace.”

  She glared up at him. “Rumors have a way of flying whether or not they’re true.”

  “So it isn’t true that you fucked your boyfriend in the locker room?”

  She gasped at the words. Not because she was freaked out about hearing the F-word, but because it came from a teacher’s mouth, spoken so casually. That he felt free to speak that way to her indicated he was confident his harassment would go unreported and unpunished. Finally regaining her wits, she said, “That’s none of your business, but no, it’s not true. Don’t you think Hastings would’ve expelled me by now for that if it were?”

  He gave her a wolfish grin. “If he had proof, undoubtedly. Then there is the other rumor…” He trailed off as he stroked his thumb up the inside of her forearm, still gripping the bandaged wrist.

  Her eyes narrowed, and she wanted to pretend like she didn’t care, but she wasn’t able to do so. “What rumor?” she asked warily.

  His eyes lit up with anticipation. “They say you’re also screwing your stepbrother.”

  She recoiled, and then she forced herself to make a disgusted expression as she tried to pull her hand free. He tightened enough that she cried out from the pain. “Let go of me, and stop being disgusting.”

  “I’m just repeating the rumor. I didn’t start it.”

  She shook her head. “I haven’t heard that rumor yet.” The only person likely to spread it was Malone, but it hadn’t reached her ears so far if Malone was talking. It was strange that Manion knew, but he clearly had no verifiable proof. “Thanks for making me aware of it, but I’m not concerned. Lies blow over.”

  He laughed. “If only it was a lie. I find it interesting that Lex and Dalton beat each other, almost like they were competing for someone.” With his other hand, he stroked her cheek with his knuckle. He mistook her shiver of repulsion for pleasure, or so she guessed, because he did it again before putting his hand lightly around her neck. His body pressed closer to hers, and he brought his mouth to her ear. “I can help those rumors disappear if you’re willing to pay the price for help, sweet Candy.”

  With a sound of disgust, she lurched away from him. It hurt her wrist to jerk free, but she gritted her teeth through the pain. “Get out of my way now before I report you to the headmaster for this.”

  Manion just laughed, but he opened the door for her in a mockery of a gentlemanly manner, even bending at the waist. “As you wish, cherie. Don’t say I didn’t offer.”

  She eyed him warily as she slipped past him and out the door. She half-expected him to jerk her back and close it again, but he let her go. Her stomach churned with anxiety as she made her way to first period, while trying to mentally banish the feel of his hands on her.

  Her wrist throbbed for the first fifteen minutes or so after she sat at her desk, and she rubbed it discreetly. Finally, the ibuprofen Oslo gave her must’ve kicked in, because it stopped hurting except for a low-grade ache, and she was able to focus on her class.

  At least as much as her mind would let her, since it was still turning over what could’ve happened with Manion if he hadn’t opened the door and let her go voluntarily. Considering what he’d tried to do to Isis, she guessed she’d had a lucky break, but she didn’t feel lucky. She just felt shaken and overwhelmed.

  By the time it was lunch, she was more upset, not less. She was restless, and her skin felt like it didn’t quite fit. She kept looking over her shoulder, expecting the perverted French teacher to be following her. He hadn’t shown his face again, but she was dreading class with him tomorrow.

  Lex and Dalton waited for her near the dining hall, and they both looked concerned as she approached.

  “What happened?” asked Dalton.

  At the same time, Lex asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

  She blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re pale and seem kind of…drawn up or something,” said Lex.

  “You’re clearly shaking. Are you cold?” asked Dalton.

  She shook her head. “In fact, I need to get outside for a bit.” Decision made, she turned from the dining hall and exited the building. She took a seat on a nearby bench after brushing off a light dusting of snow, and it was cold, but the good kind of cold. It helped strip away the phantom feel of Manion’s hands on her, and it cleared her head.

  She wasn’t surprised when Lex and Dalton sat beside her a moment later, and Dalton made a sound of disgust when his pants touched a damp spot. Snow was all around them, and none of them were dressed for the cold, but she needed just a few minutes outside.

  “What’s going on?” asked Dalton as he put his hand on her thigh. It was a soothing touch, rather than one that seemed like he was trying to initiate more.

  Lex mirrored the action, putting his hand on her other thigh in roughly the same spot. “You’re clearly upset.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t tell you guys.”

  Dalton and Lex both let out almost identical harrumphs.

  “You can tell us anything,” said Lex.

  “Is there another guy?” asked Dalton with a hint of hesitation, and he seemed to be bracing himself to accept it.

  She might’ve been offended as his words, but she was still mentally wrapped up in what had happened that morning, and she had sort of sprung Kip on him when she’d finally felt like she could trust him during one of their basement meetings last week. “Look, if I tell you guys what happened, I’m afraid you’ll run off halfcocked and do something stupid, so I can’t. Do me a favor and just distract me.”

  She ignored their pleas for her to tell them what was happening until they finally seemed to accept she wasn’t going to be able to explain. She was afraid the two of them would confront Manion, and they might get expelled when he was the one who deserved to go. Without proof, what could she do? She couldn’t risk Lex and Dalton getting in trouble when they couldn’t do anything anyway.

  Dalton was the first to take her at her word by reaching behind him. She thought his arm was going over her shoulders, so she was shocked when snow suddenly went down the back of her shirt. She gasped and jumped up. “What the heck?” She jumped around, trying to free the hem of her blouse from the wai
stband of her skirt so she could shake out the snow.

  Dalton laughed. “You wanted to be distracted.”

  “That’s not really fair,” said Lex as he reached for a handful of snow behind him. He was looking at Dalton. “She didn’t even see what you were doing.

  She expected Lex to nail Dalton with the snowball, so it was another shock when it came flying her direction instead, bouncing off her shoulder. “You jerk.” She giggled as she said it though, reaching behind her for snow. She got a crude snowball, but she barely had a chance to chuck it in Dalton’s direction before Lex got her again.

  She lost track of who she was throwing snowballs at while she tried to gather them as quickly as possible and toss at her targets, but they were both ganging up on her. “This isn’t fair,” she said with a laugh as they approached, boxing her in between them with hands full of snow. She took a step back into the pile of snow on the grass, shivering as it went past her ankle. “What are you going to do?” Both had predatory, menacing expressions on their faces, though she didn’t feel truly threatened.

  “Maybe this?” asked Lex as he suddenly lunged forward and knocked her into the snow. Dalton was on her other side, and he went down with her, pressing a handful of snow against her knee.

  “Stop! That’s cold.” She was giggling and trying to wriggle away, but Lex prevented that. He further stymied her efforts by tickling her. “This is supposed to be a snowball fight, not a tickle fight.” She wasn’t sure either understood what she said amid her squeals and giggles.

  “What a great idea,” said Dalton as he put a hand on her abdomen, easily bared since her shirt was out of her skirt now. He started tickling, but there was definitely a sensuousness to his touch. It was more a series of strokes than tickles. Her skin tingled in response.

  She’d been consumed with coldness, but now warmth started radiating from her belly, and both their tickles turned to sexy caresses. She trembled, but not from cold. She was still frosty, but this consuming heat was blotting out everything but an awareness of the two men on either side of her.

  When Lex flicked his thumb against her nipple, she shivered in reaction. They were in the open and exposed to anyone who might wander by, so they couldn’t do anything more than that, but how she wanted him to cup her breast while Dalton’s hand went south instead of north, finding her pulsing clit.

  Unfortunately, giggles from other people interrupted the moment, and she looked up to see a small group deciding to join in on the snowball fight. That was probably for the best, since it distracted her from the sexual turn her thoughts had taken, but she still sighed with regret when Dalton and Lex stood up before both took hold of her arms. Dalton grasped her arm with the sore wrist, so he positioned his hand on her forearm as he gently eased her to her feet with Lex’s help.

  She waited until she was standing up before revealing what she held in her palms. She smashed a snowball into Lex’s face and then Dalton’s just a second later. They both gasped and spluttered as she broke away from them and ran a few steps, laughing. “I got you back.”

  “You’re still in range,” said Lex as he bent down for more snow. With a shriek of fear, mixed with amusement, she started running. The boys were chasing her, and she barely averted disaster by running into Malone, since she was distracted. She was able to skid to a stop at the last moment, but Lex and Dalton slammed into her back, rocking her forward into Malone. Malone shoved her backward, and the guys kept her from falling.

  She glared at all of them. “You’re so disgusting. And you, Dalton, how can you do this?” She shook her head and brushed off the snow they’d gotten on her. “You’re being reckless and foolish. You’re worried about Dad cutting me off, but what do you think he’ll do when he finds out you’re lusting after your sister?”

  “She’s not my sister,” said Dalton with obvious disgust. “Don’t make it sound like that.”

  “I’m not anymore either if you keep this up. You’re better than this and better than her.” With a flip of her black hair, Malone turned and walked back the direction she’d been walking away from before the mild collision.

  Candace took a moment to roll her eyes and exchange glances with the guys before rushing back to her dorm room so she could dry off and change clothes before fifth period. She couldn’t be late, since Suzanne would happily give her a demerit. At least the impromptu snowball fight had lifted her spirits and helped her stop thinking about what Manion had done that morning.

  Chapter Eight

  Candace

  By Saturday night, she was rid of the bandage, and she was even able to wear the white orchid corsage Lex brought her on her left wrist when she met him in the third-floor rec room. It went nicely with the red and silver formal dress she’d selected at Kathy’s Boutique when she and Octavia had gone shopping last weekend.

  Lex wore a white suit with a red velvet tie, and he looked festive as well. He was her official date for the evening, though she expected she’d get a chance to dance with Dalton a few times. She was sad knowing Jonas wouldn’t be there, since there was no way to hide his appearance behind a mask this time.

  Kip was probably going to be a chaperone again, but she hoped Suzanne had opted out this time. With any luck, the harpy had left the previous afternoon to get an early start on her vacation. A lot of the school had left yesterday after class, but she’d wanted to stay around for the Christmas dance.

  The room looked amazing when they stepped inside, and she credited Malone with that. Her stepsister clearly had a gift for this sort of thing, even if it just manifested in bossing people around.

  “It looks pretty good,” said Lex. “What did you help with?”

  She lifted her right hand, still babying the left wrist, and pointed to the red and gold paper lanterns surrounding the lights. “I did some of those before my accident.” She laughed suddenly. “I should ask that freshman kid who knocked me off if Malone paid him to do it.”

  Lex grunted. “You’re not her favorite person, but she’s probably not trying to get rid of you that way. Probably.”

  Despite her previous amusement, a chill ran down her spine at the thought. “I certainly hope not.” When she thought about it, she couldn’t completely rule out the idea of Malone trying to knock her off, which was disturbing.

  She cleared her thoughts of that and threw herself into a good time with Lex. They started dancing, and it was a fast song. Two more passed before Dalton suddenly appeared as Lex was whirling her around. She found herself in his arms instead for another song, and she kept dancing with him. Lex moved off to the side, looking a little disgruntled, but he didn’t protest.

  As soon as the song ended though, he was back to claim her again. That set the pattern for most of the evening. She’d dance with Lex for a few songs, and then Dalton cut in. It was fun, but she could also see people staring and whispering. Maybe that rumor Manion had alluded to was starting to grow. She was concerned about that, but not enough to tell Dalton she couldn’t dance with him anymore.

  A couple of other guys asked her to dance in between, and though she didn’t really know them very well, she agreed just to make it seem like she was dancing with a lot of people other than just the two men who interested her. Both boys were polite and good dancers, but she couldn’t remember their names even five minutes after she’d danced with them.

  Toward the end of the evening, when she noticed some of the faculty dancing with the students, she dared approach Kip to ask him to dance. Suzanne wasn’t a chaperone tonight, to her relief, so she felt like it was safer. She probably wouldn’t have been so brave if Suzanne had stood beside him.

  Kip must’ve decided it was worth the risk as well, since Suzanne wasn’t there, because he accepted. He kept a decent distance between them, not talking about much, but toward the end of the dance, when she spun in his arms, he managed to whisper, “I can’t wait to see you in Boston.”

  She stood facing him again and met his gaze, nodding enthusiastically as the song came
to an end. She held his hand for a moment, squeezing, before stepping back. “Thanks, Professor Stuart. You dance well.”

  He blushed. “Thank you, Miss Munroe. My grandmother made me take lessons.”

  With that friendly, mostly impersonal exchange, they nodded at each other and separated. She found herself in Dalton’s arms again for a slow song, and she wished she could risk one more dance with Kip, but that would be pushing things too far. None of the faculty was having a repeat dance with any student, and certainly none were slow dancing with them.

  Focusing on her dance partner instead, she rested lightly against Dalton, keeping distance between them. She could feel how hard he was against her stomach, and she moaned softly.

  “Keep that up, and there won’t be any space between us,” said Dalton in a throaty whisper. “We could just leave now and find somewhere to be alone. Seth left yesterday, so I have my room to myself.”

  She was tempted, but Lex was also waiting, and she knew the rumor mill would probably survive Christmas vacation if she left early with Dalton alone. They’d still be talking about it in January instead of forgetting about the whole thing by then. Instead, she took a step back as the song ended. “That would be a really bad idea, especially since we’ll have some time alone when we go home for vacation.

  He shrugged. “Yeah, alone with the rest of the family. How romantic.”

  She shuddered and then giggled. “That doesn’t sound right when you say it like that.”

  Dalton grimaced a moment later. “Yeah, totally not what I meant. Your family and my family, not our family.”

  She grinned. “I know what you meant.” Before she could say anything else, Lex had whisked her into his arms for another fast dance, and then the band closed out the dance with a final slow song. She melted against him, wishing she could be even closer, but knowing the chaperones would separate them if they tried too much canoodling. “I’m looking forward to you coming for the concert,” she said against his ear as she lifted her head.