Sweet Little Nothing

“I’d hate for it to get back to the dean that you came to your professor’s office and propositioned him.” I click my tongue and slowly shake my head back and forth. “I imagine having such a blight on your record would be troublesome. Especially given your past.”

“You’re a monster.” Her voice breaks and the brimming tears spill over.

I step away from her, a smug look on my face. “You know what they say... takes one to know one.”

Her entire body is practically vibrating in anger. I fucking love it.

“You wouldn’t!”

“Wouldn’t I?”

“It’s... you’d be lying!”

“That’s your area of expertise, is it not?” A sharp bark of laughter punctuates my words. “Poor little Princess Price. So eager to ruin the lives of others but whimpers and whines when she’s paid back in kind.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispers vehemently.

She’s good. Convincing. But I know better. She’s a foolish girl prone to poor choices. A selfish girl. A liar. And it ends here. I won’t let her ruin someone else’s life. No, I’ll ruin hers instead.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

She tries to shove past me, but I’m not quite ready to let her go.

“Not so fast.”

Emmy tries again to push past me, and now I’m pissed.

“I said not so fast.” I grab her wrists and mercilessly shove them into the wall over her head. She struggles against my hold, but her fight only excites me. I squeeze her delicate wrists even tighter as I press against her with my hips.

She stills instantly at our intimate position. But sex is not what I’m here for, even if the thought of fucking her until she’s sobbing my name is tempting enough to have me rocking a semi.

“What?” she hisses the word, anger and frustration and fear, all dripping from the single syllable.

“You will stay in this class. You will take whatever I dish out. And you’ll do it with a goddamn smile.”

“Why are you doing this?”

She sounds so small, so broken. All the easier to break her more. “You know why, and I won’t hesitate to rain down hell on you if you don’t play my game, Emmalyn. You deserve all of this and more.”

Resigned, she shakes her head. “Am I free to go?”

I release her wrists and step away. “As free as a bird with clipped wings.”

She doesn’t waste a second and flees toward the door. I expect her to haul ass out of here without sparing me a second glance, but instead, she surprises me and pauses. “You’re wrong. I know you don’t believe me, but you are. You’re so very wrong.”

And with those parting words, she slips out of the door, leaving me to wonder when she became such a skilled liar.

Chapter Ten

Emmy

I run out of the office like the hounds of hell are nipping at my heels, because they are.

I run like my life depends on it.

Despite my entire body shaking like a leaf, I run all the way back to my dorm building, not caring even an iota about the shouting and glaring students I leave in my wake.

My entire world is imploding, collapsing in on me, and I have no clue how to stop it.

“Damnit, just open!” I wave my badge in front of the sensor for the third time. Finally, it flashes green, and I dash through the door, bypassing the elevator for the stairs.

The thought of waiting even a second for the car to come is enough to send me over the edge into full-blown hysteria.

I’m panting and covered in a fine sheen of sweat by the time I burst out of the stairwell.

My hands shake as I try and slide my key into the lock.

The sound of the elevator doors parting, followed by footsteps, sends a fresh bout of terror zipping through me.

At this point, I may as well be trying to thread a needle rather than insert a key into a lock.

The footsteps grow closer, sending my entire being, mind and body into overdrive.

“Just do it, damnit!” I mutter, finally shoving the key into the hole.

I disengage the lock and throw the door open right as someone calls my name. “Emmy!” The voice is familiar, but I’m taking no chances.

Without responding, I race into my suite and slam the door behind me, promptly locking it again.

“It’s okay. You’re safe.” I press my back against the door and slide to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest. “Just breathe.”

Overhead, the doorknob rattles, and I scramble up from the floor and into my room, slamming and locking that door as well. I dive beneath my covers, burying myself in them.

If the monster can’t see me, it can’t get me.

“Emmy!” A sharp knock on my bedroom door follows. “Emmy, you’re freaking me the hell out. Open the door.”

“It’s only Stella,” I whisper to myself. But still, I don’t move. I can’t move. My body is locked in place, my muscles seemingly paralyzed with fear.