As I back toward the door, my face burns with embarrassment and rage. The office that once provided a shield of safety now feels like it’s suffocating me. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were? Why did you pretend to be my friend and fool me?”
My stomach flips as nausea pinches my cheeks.
“Alexandra, I am your friend. You must believe me,” she assures. “You have no idea how loyal I’ve been to you and Felipe.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel grateful?”
Her face goes stoic as she says, “Yes, it should. I could have walked away after his death, but I stayed to teach you. You better start putting more effort into winning, girl. You can’t afford what’ll happen if you lose.”
I stare at her for a long time, trying to process what she’s told me. I shake my head when my back meets the door.
“I expect your attitude to be better the next time you see me,” she warns while returning to her chair. She turns to her computer and waves, dismissing me. “Good evening, Alexandra.”
Shocked, I race out of her office, bitter feelings biting my tongue. I hold my breath while darting out of the gym and toward the parking lot, where Lev’s car idles on the curb. Once I drop into the passenger seat, he races off, picking up speed after he turns right out of the student parking lot.
“Heard Soren dropped by.”
I scoff while fuming with irritation. “Are you serious?”
“I’m just saying what I heard.”
“Do you always discuss me with your friends when I’m not around?”
The noncommittal shrug he gives makes me angrier, causing me to huff as I turn away from him. “You treat me like something you own. Do you have to keep tabs on me all the time?”
“Well, your life is kind of in danger if you couldn’t tell.”
“Don’t tell me what I already know.”
He groans. “You’re the one who fucking asked, Alex.”
“What do you even want from me? To get married? To fuck? What?” His silence pisses me off, putting me into a spiral that makes me furiously turn toward him. “If you marry me, you’ll have to become what you despise—a crime boss. Is that what you want?”
“Is that what you want, sweetheart? To be married to a crime boss?”
The way he flips the question at me deepens my fury. I huff with frustration, fold my arms over my chest, and turn to the window, focusing on the bare branches dancing like darkened veins toward the sky. They cut through the impressive blue in jagged lines that remind me of the way glass cracks—and it feels significant. It feels like that’s my life right now.
All cracked.
Like glass.
Irreparably damaged.
When Lev remains quiet, I cock my ear toward him, knowing exactly how to get a rise out of him. “At least I know my role in life.”
The car jerks to the right, cuts down a dirt path, and skids to a halt behind a wall of trees that block my view of the road. Before I can figure out what’s going on, Lev locks me in a heated kiss, his tongue warring past my lips to dominate my mouth. It’s such a surprising gesture from him that it takes me a moment to realize it’s even happening, my eyelids fluttering closed when I feel his hands skirt beneath my sweater.
And then I feel warm. His fingertips graze my skin, fluttering over my stomach toward my chest. His thumb skates under the strap of my bra and teases its removal, every second spent in monumental bliss a moment closer to eruption. He shimmies over the center console and nestles between my thighs while massaging my breast, touching me so confidently and softly that it makes me ache.
I want to ask him if he took my virginity. I want to hear him say it. But I’m too afraid. Every inch of me screams with the sobering realization,
No, he didn’t. I can tell by the way he’s touching me.
I bite his lower lip, prompting him to growl hungrily. Our kisses and groping slow to a halt, leaving us both breathless with the windows of the car misted. When he drifts back to the driver’s seat, his absence stings me to the core, causing me to reach for his hand. I lace my fingers with his and give him a small smile, noticing the way the corners of his mouth turn up.
Lev doesn’t smile like other guys. He doesn’t show his teeth, choosing instead to let the amusement he feels reverberate from his eyes. His affection burns me and I feel a sense of solidarity with him, a feeling of intimacy I didn’t think was entirely possible.
“Let’s get you home,” he says.