“Are you sure this is the way to the medical building?” I ask when I realize we’ve been walking down this corridor for a while.
Quinton doesn’t answer, but he picks up his pace, making it hard for my shorter legs to keep up. An uneasy feeling builds in my gut, and I force my legs to stop walking, digging my heels once again into the ground.
I lean back into Q’s hold, turn my head, and look up at him. The lights are dimmed in the halls, making it hard for me to make out his features, but what I do see will haunt my dreams for the next week. The way he’s looking at me right now—like I’m his prey, instead of a human with feelings and needs—makes me shiver. The darkness in his gaze mounts and his lips curl up at the sides, his features turning villainous.
“You’re not taking me to medical, are you?” I try to hide how afraid I am of the answer, but the low shudder in my words gives my fear away.
“Smart and funny. You’d be the total package if it weren’t for your fucking mouth. Maybe if I find a better use for it, you won’t be so unbearable to be around.”
I don’t know why, but I feel the need to apologize. Perhaps it’ll make him change his mind about wherever it is he’s leading me. “Look, I’m sorry. About what I said this morning.”
He tightens his hold on me, his fingers digging into my flesh with bruising force, and he forces me to take a step forward, basically dragging me alongside him.
“I don’t give a fuck about what you said this morning. I don’t want your apology. That won’t save you from me.” He releases me and shoves me back against the wall, and pain radiates down my spine upon impact. His huge frame cages me in, leaving me no escape. I can feel the heat from his body rolling off him and into me.
I shiver at the coldness in his gaze, and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end at his next sentence. “What I want are your screams, your tears. I want you weak and immobile. I want you begging me to stop while I take and take until there’s nothing left to take.”
I was certain I had felt real, true fear before now, like back in the gym when he choked me, but nothing compares to this moment.
“Please, Quinton, just let me go. I’ll leave you alone. I’ll stay out of your way. I won’t come back to PE. It’ll be like I was never here. Like I never existed at all.” I’m full-on rambling now, grasping at straws for anything that might get me out of this situation.
Quinton tips his head back and laughs like I just told him a joke. The sound bounces off the walls and echoes back into my ears. It’s as menacing as it is mocking.
I choose then to make a run for it. I might not be strong enough to fight him, but if I get a head start, I can outrun him. Adrenaline spikes in my veins, and I dart under his arm, putting every last bit of energy I have into escaping him.
“I don’t think so, Aspen.” His voice caresses my ear a moment before his hand circles my wrist. A scream catches in my throat as he whirls me around, shoving me against the wall and wrapping his hand firmly around the slender column of my neck.
“Don’t. You don’t want to do this,” I croak, barely getting the words out as his grip tightens. He leans into me—the hard ridges of his body fit mine so perfectly. I let out a wheezed gasp when his hard cock presses against my stomach.
“That’s the problem. I do want to do this. I want to do this more than anything.” The air in my chest rattles, and I’m afraid of what will happen next.
I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing to sink deep into my mind, when suddenly, Quinton’s grip on my throat disappears.
“What do you think you’re doing?” A young, feminine voice meets my ears. I blink my eyes open, turning in the direction of the voice.
About twenty feet away stands a woman with bright blue hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a scowl on her face that could rival Quinton’s. She appears young but not young enough to be a student. She adjusts her cardigan and continues staring at us.
“Well…” She taps her foot on the floor impatiently, awaiting an answer. My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, so even if I wanted to say something, I couldn’t.
“We were just talking, weren’t we…?” Quinton’s jaw clenches at the effort it takes for him to expel the words.
“I’m sure that’s what you were doing. Why don’t you get out of here, and I’ll pretend I didn’t see or hear the entire conversation?”
Leaning into my ear, he whispers, “You got lucky this time. Next time, you’re mine.”
My throat constricts, and I don’t dare look at Quinton. I’m afraid of what I’ll see if I do. His searing body heat fades as he takes a step back and then another, putting enough space between us to where I can finally breathe. The heady scent of man and woodsy cologne drift away, and I continue staring at the woman, my heart thumping against my ribs, threatening to break free.
Quinton’s footsteps disappear into the distance, and I let out a heaving breath, nearly collapsing against the wall. I wasn’t even aware of how tightly strung every inch of my body was until now. I guess fear will do that to you.
“Come, let’s go into the library. I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa, and you can calm down a little,” the young woman offers.
“Who are you?” I ask, my voice cracking.
“I’m Brittney, the librarian.”The library.Just the thought has me calming down slightly. I push off the wall, my limbs shaking as I take a hesitant step toward her. I don’t want to call her my savior, but in a way, she saved me. “You look a little shaken up,” she states the obvious, and I turn to look over my shoulder to see if Quinton actually left or if he’s hiding somewhere behind me.
I want to go into the library and wait it out a bit before trying to head back to my dorm, but not one single teacher or student has been kind to me since I arrived. This woman, even if she is the librarian, could be just as mean and hateful as the others. This could be a trick,or it couldn’t.
I don’t have a lot of options, but I do know whatever this teacher could do to me is small in comparison to what would happen if Q got a hold of me right now. I start walking toward her, and the closer I get, the more I realize she is standing in the archway of two massive double doors. Once I’m close enough, she whirls around on her heels and walks into the library.