“Too many,” I say, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
He lifts me suddenly, forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist. “Good,” he breathes against my collarbone, lips and teeth nipping at my skin. “Because I own you, and I’m the only man you can ever think about.”
I raise a brow. “Ever?”
“Ever,” he growls, his hand dipping into the pocket of my jacket as he pulls out my cell phone. “Now I need to check if you were a good girl while we were away.” He drops me to my feet and starts flicking through my phone. He won’t find anything. As despite how much I liked Darian, I kept his number blocked and didn’t contact him.
He turns the phone over to me, eyes meeting mine. “Good girl,” he says.
I hate the way my stomach flutters at his praise. It’s pathetic.
“Now, run along.” He nods down the corridor. That cold, domineering man reappearing before my eyes. “And try not to think about me too much.”
I swallow hard and turn away from him, hating how easy it is to follow his orders. Regret hits me hard as I pace away from him, realizing that by kissing him, I just gave him more power than he’s ever had over me.
He knows that I want him and that I can’t stop thinking about him.
Why the fuck did I give my tormentor that leverage?
23
ELIAS
The next week passes by in a blur, as I tease and torment Natalya, but don’t give her what she wants. And it’s fucking excruciating, as denying her what she wants is also denying myself. Every day I’m having to make matters into my own hands just to ensure I remain sane.
I fear if I keep going down the twisted path I took at the start of this year, then I’ll be in too deep to find a way out. The problem is my dick doesn’t want to listen.
Today we’re going on a trip out of the academy up to the woods for some target practice, and Natalya is sitting all the way at the front of the bus with her friends.
I can’t deny that I want her to be sitting on my lap right now, making sure everyone knows exactly who she belongs to.
Coach Daniels is leading this excursion.
I’d say the academy is fucking insane, allowing a bunch of high-strung mafia heirs into the woods with loaded weapons, but then what do I know?
The bus stops in a small clearing in the woods and Coach Daniels clears his throat, standing where we can all see him.
“The rules are simple. I’m going to pair each of you off and you will walk the woods together.” His eyes narrow. “Under no circumstances do any of you split up.” He glances at us all. “You will return here in three hours with whatever kills you make. And under no circumstances do you shoot your classmates.”
“No fun,” Nik calls.
The coach glares at him, shaking his head. “If you’ve got a problem with the rules, Krushev, I’ll just send you back on your own.”
He shuts up then.
“Here are the pairs,” Daniels says. “Camilla and Rizzo, Eva and Nik, Dimitry and Anita.”
I realize the pattern. For some reason, he’s pairing guys with girls. My heart pounds against my rib cage as I wonder who will be paired with Nat. If it’s not me, I may end up murdering the guy who is supposed to disappear with her in these woods for three hours.
“Natalya and Elias.”
I smirk, finding it funny that fate seemed to work in my favor today.
Natalya groans and glances in my direction. And yet, when our eyes meet, I can see that flash of excitement in them.
Coach reads out the rest of the names and then we all get off the bus, getting into our respective pairs.
I move close to Natalya and whisper in her ear, “Don’t pretend you aren’t thrilled to spend three hours alone with me, nena.”