“Fuck, Gemma,” I said, finally pulling back. “That was fucking hot.” My finger slowly left her middle, and a wicked part of me wanted to pop it into my mouth and suck on it. I didn’t, though, because was she ready for that? Was I ready to show her what I was capable of? I was hardly hanging on by a thread. I was fucking crazed on the inside.
“I didn’t know I could feel like this. I…” she whispered, all doe-eyed and dazed. She was beautiful. So beautiful my chest ached. “I didn’t know this was what it was like.”
I shook my head, pushing her hair away from her flushed face. “It isn’t always like this, Gemma.” Her eyes flicked to mine. “There’s something different with you. With us. When we touch…” I glanced away, wading through the thoughts that were clouding my vision and making me want to keep her tucked away in this school forever for my own personal gain. When I glanced back at her, the guilt came crashing back, and I knew that we were fucking doomed. I’d seen her shield slip down a few times and watched as the innocence she held so delicately in her hands was washed away by me. Was it wrong? Was she letting her guard down only for me to destroy her in the end? Only for her to destroy me in the end?
I lowered her leg and straightened her skirt, feeling the truth burn the back of my throat. “I feel like every time I touch you I’m stripping you of your innocence. I’m taking away something that you should have with someone else.” I feel like I'm ruining you.
Her chin tipped upward, and a determined look came over her face. That fiery girl was back, and I’d missed her. Her hands bunched up into my jersey, and she pulled me closer to her, surprising me. “Don’t look so guilty. I want you to take all of my innocence, Isaiah. I want you to have it. And no one else.”
There was a moment right there, as she said those words, that I felt like I was holding the entire world in my hands. And maybe I was. But the moment was fleeting as something bright caught my eye. Our intimate moment was cut in half as I snapped my head over to the left, just past the break in the tiny crook I’d pulled Gemma into. The air turned to ice.
I quickly turned my back to the flash that caught my eye and bent down to kiss the tip of Gemma’s nose. “I’ll take whatever you want to give me. But for now, go to your room so I’m not tempted to lose my spot on the lacrosse team for staying here with you.” Gemma smiled shyly at me, and I winked. “I’ll text you when we’re back later. Just to let you know.”
Just before she started to walk away, I pulled her back by her arm gently. “Stay in your room, and if you go to the dining hall for dinner, take someone with you. Like Sloane. Don’t walk the halls alone, got it?”
Her brows dropped for a moment. “But what if Bain sneaks out while you guys are all gone? Who will follow him to tell your dad what he’s doing?”
My hand tightened a fraction as her blazer bunched in my fingers. She shouldn’t have been worrying about this, and she looked awfully concerned over it. “I have it covered…and don’t even think about it.”
Her lips pursed. “Think about what?”
I raised an eyebrow as my hand dropped. I knew what she was thinking, and she was absolutely crazy if she thought I’d allow her to follow him for me or my father.
Her mouth twitched, and she sighed. “Just trying to help you. If you need me to do anything, just text me.”
What I needed was for her to stay in her room all night long. “I’ll text you when I’m back.” I quickly bent down and kissed her lips again. “Go the long way back to your room, okay?”
I could tell she wanted to ask me why, but instead, she nodded and turned around, heading in that direction.
I waited underneath the stairwell until Gemma had disappeared, and then I whipped around, knowing very well that it had been more than the two minutes that Cade said I had. Lacrosse could wait, and I wouldn’t give two fucks if Coach wanted my balls for being late. I’d gladly lose my spot on the team if it meant catching Bain alone without watchful eyes.
I walked over to the side door that Cade had darted out of minutes ago, pushed it open as if I were leaving, and then slammed it shut. Silence filled the long hallway, and I glanced at the tiny crook that Gemma and I were tucked away in and then to every spot that could have had a visual on us. One small area behind the corner of a classroom snagged my attention, and I slowly strode over on light feet and listened again.
My heart had slowed, and my ears were sharp. My fingers hung loose by my side, and the second I felt a shift in the air, I reached my hand out and connected with bare flesh. “Drop the fucking camera, Bain.”
His crazed eyes turned to slits as his face began turning red. His free hand came up out of instinctual panic, and he clamped onto my wrist, digging his nails into my skin. I turned my head and let out a laugh. Did he really think a little cut to my skin would lessen my grip on his throat? Did he have any idea who I was or what I’d fucking seen? My father used to wrap both his hands around my neck until I saw stars, and he taught me to do the same.
Bain’s face began turning a shade of purple as I pushed him further up against the stone casing. The panic I saw turned to calculation as he figured o
ut how to get out of my grip. His elbow raised above my arm, and just before he could connect, I let go and flicked my own up to knock the camera out of his free hand. Black pieces scattered all around the floor, along with the Polaroid photos of me with my hand up Gemma’s skirt. The photos skittered along the black-and-white tile, standing out like knives in the middle of a goddamn gun fight.
Bain was gasping for air as I bent down and snatched them with my hand, feeling my pulse drum so violently that I could feel it behind my eyes. The side door opened, and I knew it was Cade, coming to get me. He was beside me within seconds and had Bain pinned to the wall. Not that Bain was putting up a fight. A coy grin covered his face as he glanced at the photo in my hands.
“She’s quite the moaner, isn’t she?” Red covered my vision, and the hold on my resolve slipped through my fingers just as fast as the photo fell to the ground.
His blood splattered on the wall as my fist connected with his cheek. One slice of his skin wasn’t nearly enough to calm my anger, but when I met Cade’s eye, he was giving me that look that made me pause.
Think, Isaiah. Fucking think.
Bain’s laughter was sinister, and my head turned away as I reeled in my irrational behavior and tried like hell to think of the bigger plan. I needed to be smarter. I needed to be the man I was meant to be and not the man my father wanted. But fuck, I was tempted lately.
Cade grunted as Bain forcefully bucked his head back and nearly connected with his nose. “I swear to God, I will fuck you up, Bain.”
He laughed, the noise echoing throughout the empty hallway. “Neither one of you will fuck me up. There’s too much on the line.”
Taking a step forward, I leveled him with a glare. “Looks to me like I just stepped over that line.”
“Oooh. There he is. The Huntsman’s flesh and blood that everyone fears. The prodigal son. The one that is supposedly going to end the war of arms trafficking in the west.” Bain threw his head back again and laughed harder as I stood with my arms down by my side and zero expression on my face.