I peek in and see no one in the room, but I can tell someone lives in here from the clothes strewn across the bed and chair in the corner. Boxers, jeans, and a leather jacket. At a guess, I’d say male.
I close the door behind me and move to the next room and open it. There is no one in here either, but it’s tidy. I can’t see anything, so I walk inside. That’s when I notice the closet is ajar and it’s full of clothes neatly arranged. A gaze under the bed shows sneakers and boots lined up too.
Someone is a little anal.
I leave and close the door, making my way across the huge room until I reach the first door on the right.
Locked.
This keeps getting better and better.
I stomp to the last room and push it open. This one is twice the size of the others, and they aren’t exactly small. It’s all light walls and linens, but dark wood furniture with a huge television, rivaling the one in the sitting room, hanging on the wall at the foot of the bed.
I move to the bed and sit. I could check out the closet to see if this room is occupied, or I could play dumb for now and rest for a minute. I didn’t sleep last night, so I could go over everything for today, but now it’s catching up on me. In this place, I need all my wits about me.
Right now, there is nobody here. If there was ever a time to let my guard down, this would be it.
I slip my shoes off and lie down, hoping this will stave off the beginnings of the headache I feel pressing against the base of my skull.
So, what have I learned so far?
Willow Creek Academy is nothing like the high school I spent my last assignment at or the college I attended briefly before Sugar snatched me away.
This place isn’t anything I expected.
Part of me is excited about the prospect. Nothing gets my juices going like a puzzle. The other part of me is feeling slightly more cautious as I think about Aslanov and my reaction to him.
Yeah, I would need to keep my head in a place like this.
I must doze off because I come awake with a jolt when a hand wraps itself around my ankle and yanks me down the bed.
Snapping my eyes open, I see Aslanov glaring down at me.
“What the freaking hell are you doing?”
“I’d like to know the same thing, since you’re the one lying on my bed.”
I feel my eyebrows hit my hairline at that.
“What? No. You were the one who gave me the damn details. If you wrote them down wrong, that’s not my fault.”
He grinds his teeth, his eyes dropping to my bare thighs where my skirt has ridden up in the struggle.
“You might be staying here, but this is not your room. This is mine.”
I frown at that and tug my foot free before sliding my legs over the side of the bed.
“Wait, you share a dorm room with your students? Isn’t that a little fucked up?”
“When I want your opinion, I’ll be sure to ask. For your information, this is my house. There was some damage done to one of the dorms, meaning I had to rehouse some of the students. As we are at full capacity, my options were limited. The room that should have been yours is destroyed. All twin rooms are full, so that leaves sending you away or bringing you here.”
I open my mouth and snap it shut, not sure what to say. Why does shit like this only happen to me?
No matter what he says, there is something fucked-up about this whole thing. If he were any other man and this was any other school, there is no way this shit would fly. Which begs the question, why is he getting away with as much as he is? Most people who have enough rope hang themselves, but Dmitri Aslanov is the epitome of cool, calm, and collected. At least until it comes to me.
I seem to be very good at getting under his skin, and right now, that’s the only in I have. Being this close to him, sharing a house, will be both a blessing and a curse. Close proximity means I can watch him. If he has something to hide, I’ll find it. Of course, the downside is the reverse is true too. He’ll be able to watch me, and I know he will, so I’m going to have to be careful. That means staying in character.
“Whatever. I’m not particularly bothered where I sleep. I just need to know where to put my stuff when it gets here later.”
“We’ll figure it out later. The sofa pulls out into a bed. For now, it will have to do.”
He looks from me to the bed before looking at me again.
“You can continue your nap if you like. I only came back to get changed.”
“Thanks, but if I sleep too much now, I won’t sleep tonight. I have it on good authority that if I’m late to class tomorrow, I’ll be in trouble.”
“And you respond well to authority, do you?” he asks, his voice smooth like melted chocolate. I wanna strip him naked and dip him into—
Grr, focus, Dulce.
“I find, in the right context, I take orders well.”
He hums before popping open the button of his shirt, showing off a sliver of skin at his neck.
I watch as he unbuttons each one unhurriedly, his eyes focused on mine in a taunting fashion.
“What are you doing?”
“I told you I came back to change.”
“And you thought you’d give me a free show?”
“I never asked you to watch.”
“You never asked me to leave either.” I climb to my feet, smooth my hands down my skirt, and ignore the dampness between my legs. It would be easy to stay. Watching him strip would not be a hardship. The only thing that pisses me off is that I can tell he knows I’m affected by him. I’ve always been good at only showing what I wanted to, so why does this man have me in such a twist?
Either way, I can’t stay. This stinks of a power play. Although I’m not sure what point he’s trying to prove, I know he’s doing all this for a reason.
Instead, I shrug and walk away, pausing when I get to the door to throw him a bored look.
“I’ve seen this show before. It’s a little PG-13 for my liking, but I’ll give you an A for effort.”
I turn and leave before he can say anything else and pull the door closed behind me.
Grabbing a set of underwear and my cell phone from my backpack I tossed on the sofa earlier, I dial Sugar’s number and shimmy into the tiny shorts while waiting for her to pick up.
“Hey, I have everything ready for you. I just need the drop-off location.”
I reel off the address before blowing out a breath.
“So, how’s Uncle Jack?”