“I’m saying no to any masked balls right now.”
He chuckles. “It’s not a masked ball, but it’s a private event at my father’s estate. No paparazzi. No one from Reynard. Just my family and their investors.”
“No,” I say, settling back into him. He’s already hard again. I can feel him poking me in the ass. He has the most insane stamina. But then again, he’s eighteen, nearly nineteen. I can’t expect anything less. But it’s almost 2 a.m., and I’m shattered. Having him over even four nights a week is beginning to take its toll, although he usually pushes for five, sometimes six. I’m falling asleep during quiet lessons when I just have to sit there, and massively I’m behind in my work.
“My father already knows about you,” he says, stroking my bare shoulder. “I want one night where I don’t have to fucking hide.”
“But what if someone says something?”
“They won’t. Trust me. It’s a family affair. Nothing ever gets out of the family estate that can ruin the Montford public image. Some of my cousins will be bringing their dirty little secrets along too.”
“Is that what I am? A dirty little secret?”
“So fucking dirty,” he breathes in my ear, parting my folds to stroke me into submission as he kisses me. It works. I’m lost him when I hear myself agreeing to go.
He pulls back, looking into my eyes. “Good. It’s probably time for you to meet Odette.”
My brow furrows, my brain trying to remember if he’s mentioned that name before. He hasn’t. “Who is Odette?”
He sighs. “Odette is my twin sister.”
“Do you have a minute?”Helen asks the next day about an hour before I’m due to go to the Winter Ball with Romain. The dress he ordered for me is waiting in my room in a sleek black box. I didn’t have time to hang it up when it arrived, and now I barely have time to get back and change.
“Of course.” I force a smile on my lips at her, paying no attention to the fluttery nerves in the pit of my stomach. They have been bothering me all day. Meeting Romain’s family is not a big deal. Not at all.
I walk with Helen into an empty classroom. She closes the door, giving us a semblance of privacy, and then moves to the front of the teaching desk. She leans against it, half-sitting on it, and then looks at me. There’s a deep furrow on her brow.
“What’s this about?” I ask.
“There are rumors about that choker around your neck. Now I’ve managed to nip them in the bud, but I wanted to talk to you about it since it’s a serious allegation.”
My heart shudders to a stop. “What?” I say, feeling my face flood with heat. “What do you mean?”
Her frown deepens, mouth a grim line. “You know about those chokers the girls wear?”
All I can do is nod, unable to form words.
“Okay, good. Then I don’t have to explain why it's a problem that your accessory looks almost identical. But do I remind you about the school’s policy on maintaining professional attire at all times when you’re in class?”
I shake my head quickly. “No, no, you most certainly don’t.”
“And if I ask you if anything is going on with any of the students, you would tell me honestly?”
“Nothing is going on, Helen,” I say. “It’s just a gift from a friend.”
She stares at me, eyes narrowed, gaze seemingly burning holes in my pathetic lies for several seconds. Then she nods slowly. “That’s a relief to hear. Because if you were involved with a certain someone, I would strongly advise you to end it now.” She tilts her head. “Off the record.”
After Helen’s gone,I dash back to my rooms and lock the doors, unable to stop shaking all over.
I’ve had my head in the clouds for so long….
And now it’s time to grow the fuck up.