“Never,” he breathes, and then his lips descend on mine right there in the hallway, where everyone can see.
I hear hushed chatter behind us and a few laughs as he possessively thrusts his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss. After agonizing seconds tick by, he finally releases me and then breathes, “You’re mine and I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.”
With that, he turns away and strides down the corridor. I sag against the lockers, feeling humiliated. I always knew Elias was cruel to the core, but what he just made me do was on another level entirely.
“What the hell was that?” Camilla asks, staring at me like I’ve gone insane.
I straighten up, adjusting the front of my blouse. “Fuck knows,” I say, looking down the corridor where Elias disappeared. “He corned me and wouldn’t let me go,” I lie, too ashamed to tell her what he really did. My cheeks blister with heat as Adrianna eyes me, as if she doesn’t believe that.
“Are you like a thing now?” She asks.
“God no,” I say, but I know that’s going to be increasingly difficult to convince them of that the more Elias lays his claim on me.
Camilla breathes an overly exaggerated sigh of relief. “Thank fuck for that, because I thought you were actually losing your mind for a second there.”
Adrianna can see right through my bullshit. She knows when something’s up and convincing her otherwise is going to be tough. “We’ve got physical education next with Daniels.” She makes a fake puking motion. “Let’s get going before he makes us dress in front of him, the pervert.”
Camilla laughs, which eases some of the tension coiling through me. “At least he’s a hot pervert, though.”
Adrianna rolls her eyes as she leads the way down the corridor. “Doesn’t make him any less of a creep. I heard Jeanie got fucked by him last year. After all, she’s a year older than us and I think he liked the idea of getting with a junior.”
This time it’s my turn to wretch. “Gross, that man has fucked far too many students. He’s the biggest man whore ever.”
Camilla nods. “And unfortunately, our entire year is fair game to him, so we better keep our wits about us. He always picks one or two seniors to get into bed with each semester.”
Adrianna shakes her head. “Well, I can guarantee it won’t be me.”
“Me neither,” I say, scrunching up my nose. “There’s no way I want Jeanie’s sloppy seconds.”
We all laugh at that. And I feel the tension ease as I try not to think about the sick way Elias just forced me to my knees and assaulted me. My problems with Elias will not go away, but for now, I can try to forget them. The guy is insane if he thinks he can boss me around like that, but something tells me if I want our family secret to remain buried, I have no choice but to obey him.
That’s not what worries me the most, though. It’s that he is determined to make it clear to every single student here that I belong to him, after all the shitty things he’s done to me over the years.
His words keep repeating in my mind.
You’remine, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.
I can handle him taking what he wants from me in private, but I fear he’s going to make sure that everything he does is as public as possible. He’ll use this opportunity to humiliate me and I have no power to stop it. All I can do is suffer in silence and wait out the rest of the school year, hoping he doesn’t break me completely.
5
ELIAS
Nik clears his throat as we leave our last class of the day.
“What is it?” I ask, glaring at him. It’s so obvious when he wants to say something but doesn’t have the balls to bring it up.
“Is it true?”
I know exactly what he’s talking about. The rumor already spreading faster than wildfire that I’m dating Natalya Gurin. “Is what true?”
“You and Gurin,” he clarifies.
I smirk at him. “We’re not dating, she’s just my little pet,” I reply, shaking my head. “Do you really think I’d date her?”
He shrugs noncommittally as we walk toward our lockers. “I never know what you’re going to do, Elias.”
I laugh at that as I find my locker and open it, shoving my books inside.