Chapter 18

ANYA

“Are you done?” The gum in my mouth pops as I lazily watch Vanessa.

She is having a staring contest with a nerdy guy sitting two tables ahead of us. He glared at her after she bumped into him on her way over to me in this busy campus cafeteria.

~Big mistake.~

At least he is handsome, in an unconventional sort of way. He has a softly squared face and blue eyes behind square-rimmed black glasses that rest on the bridge of his aquiline nose.

“I won’t back down,” Vanessa says, squinting her eyes at the guy.

I chuckle. “It’s not a competition.”

“You’ve no idea.” She purses her lips.

It was nice having Vanessa visit me during lunch, but I don’t believe her reason for it. She said she missed college, but I know she is hiding something.

“Ah! He blinked!” Vanessa cheers, raising her can of soda, which also contains whiskey, in the air. “I win!”

The guy’s lips move from what I can only assume are silent curses. He shuts his laptop, haughtily getting up and leaving without looking back at us.

“Careful,” I tell Vanessa, a corner of my lips curling up. “You might have bruised his fragile male ego.”

“He deserves it.” Nessa rolls her eyes, shifting on her seat to face me. “Okay, back to you—how are you liking not following my advice? Have you and Dimitri hung out since the incident at the club?”

My mood immediately drops at the mention of Dimitri. I should have known this was why she came to visit. And of course she knew about what happened at Private Affairs; there are few secrets among members of a kink club.

“No,” I reply grumpily, not wishing to elaborate that he has been ignoring me again.

It has been a week, and he hasn’t taken any of my calls, responded to any of my texts, been to the club, or so much as glanced my way in class.

Putting it up to his personality, I try not to let his mood swings bother me. Besides, whatever we are doing is just casual—because it has to be. We play with fire every time we are together, so we need to hide it from the world like a dirty secret.

Maybe distance is a good thing.

“Seriously? Trouble in paradise? Already?” Vanessa teases, shoving me with her elbow.

“Drop it, Nessa. You know how pissed I get sometimes.”

She shakes her head. “You never listen.” She exhales then slaps her palms on the table. “Okay, I have to go.”

I frown. “Where are you off to?” I ask, confused by her cheeky smile.

Standing, she grabs her handbag. “Since we have established we can fuck the professors, I have my share of them too.”

“Vanessa…”

“I hope Mr. Johnson is in his office. I always thought he had a thing for me.” She winks. “See you later!” She leaves, vanishing through the cafeteria doors with haste in her steps.

A shadow then falls over the table, blocking the light from the faraway window. I look up, and Blake is standing there, his drink of choice—iced matcha—in hand.

My heart flutters as I see him for the first time since our breakup. “What the fuck are you doing here, Blake?” The words leave my lips with so much venom that Blake flinches.

Dressed in his football jersey and shorts with his bag slung over one shoulder, he straightens. His lips part, but he hesitates before speaking. “I just wanted to talk to you,” he then says, placing his cup on the table.

Standing, I collect my things and put them inside my tote bag. “We have nothing to talk about. Leave me alone.”

I move to step past him, but he grabs my arm, making me wince when he spins me around. As his body towers over mine, there is a shift in our surroundings as people’s attention turns to us. Our breakup has been a hot topic lately; gossip runs rampant across the campus.

His sudden move stuns me, and for a while, I can only blink at him for manhandling me.

“Anya, listen to me just once,” he starts, but his words and suddenly being so close to him bring back the sting of his betrayal. And with it, my voice.

“Let me go, asshole!” I yank my arm out of his grasp and push him away.

“Anya, it was a mistake, babe. I can explain,” he begins again.

~Here we go, another one of his many excuses. I wonder if it will be a new one this time. ~

“You…you weren’t there, and she seduced me.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I scoff. “Grow a vagina, Blake. At least come up with something believable. The ‘she seduced me’ excuse only works when you’re someone worth seducing.”

However our relationship ended, what I hate now is how I let him manipulate me into thinking I caused our problems. And how I let him walk all over me just because I thought he was otherwise so perfect.

But he wasn’t, and he hasn’t changed. He is still unable to accept responsibility; it is always someone else’s fault.

Because I didn’t go to that frat party with him, he cheated. Because I didn’t stay over that one night so I could video call my parents, he cheated. Because I didn’t come to every single football practice and game and devote every moment of my time to him, he cheated.

“Anya, I’m not lying. You have to believe me.” He tries to reach for me, but I back away.

“Look, Blake.” I am strangely calm as I speak. “Just leave me alone, okay? I want nothing to do with you anymore. Our relationship was a joke to you, and you proved that to me over and over again.”

“But Anya, I love you!” he says.

My breathing halts. In the two years we were together, he never said those words to me. But I know he is saying them now just to get me to forgive him.

Love has no meaning when it comes to Blake Rossi. He is the kind of guy who only takes in a relationship while giving nothing back, and he will never change.

A sudden peace washes over me from those realizations, and the energy to continue fighting him drains from my body. The wound he inflicted on my heart fades, replaced by a feeling of numbness toward him.

I don’t even care that I am fucking his father behind his back; he has become that unimportant to me.

“Cut the crap, Blake. You’ve no idea what love is. Don’t make a joke of it.” I turn toward the exit.

“Anya,” he calls to me, but I start to walk out of the cafeteria. “Anya, please. I need you back. Please, baby.”

The ringing of my phone allows me to ignore Blake as I dig into my blazer pocket and fish out the device. Dimitri’s name flashes as the caller ID. I peek at Blake, and he takes a step forward.

I glare at him while I take his father’s call. “Hello?”

“In my office.” The familiar timbre of his voice, but deeper than I have ever heard it, echoes from the other end. “~Now~.” He cuts the call with that command.

My pussy throbs, the mere sound of his voice making it think that something sweet is going to happen. Forgetting all about Blake, my horniness taking over, I slip the phone back into my pocket and continue to the exit.

“Anya!” Blake calls behind me.

Spinning to face him, I walk backward as I say, “Sorry! That was my new boyfriend. Unlike you, he actually cares about me.”

He shoots me a quizzical look and then narrows his eyes. “Who is it?”

I offer him a mock smile. “You don’t wanna know. Trust me,” I reply before dashing off through the cafeteria doors.

My heart climbs up into my throat as I reach the dark wood of Dimitri’s office door. The conversation with Blake, which would normally leave me spinning out for days, is already beginning to fade from my memory.

After turning the knob, I step inside the room, my stomach in knots. He isn’t here, which makes me blink as I search the small space.

His office is cozy, with all dark wood and black accents. A cactus made of tinted glass hanging on the window is the only color besides the spines of various books on the bookshelf behind his desk.

I drop my bag on a chair opposite his desk, roaming my gaze around. “Mr. Rossi? Where are y—”

The press of a body against my back halts the words, and my breath hitches as his own caresses the nape of my neck.

After I suck in the sweet musky scent of his cologne, my mind becomes a mess when he circles an arm around my waist, resting his palm on my stomach. His rings catch the light from the window, making the gems gleam, which hints that something wicked is about to unfold.

“What were you talking to him about?” he growls into my ear, nipping at my earlobe.

I sway at his touch, my lips parting to let out a traitorous moan as I feel the outline of his hard cock digging into my ass. “You mean your son?” I tease.

His hand on my stomach travels up to wrap around my throat. He squeezes lightly, restricting my airflow a little, and turns me to face him. His large body pushes me against his desk, and his lips graze mine as lust-filled eyes, tinged with anger, burn through my own.

“Did you forgive him?” he asks against my mouth.

I fail to stop the twitch that turns into a smile from his question. “Were you eavesdropping on us?”

His grip around my neck tightens before his thumb presses into my flesh, making me feel my pulse, which is faster than ever. Then his gaze travels down my body as he takes in my outfit.

The deep neckline of my white tank top gives a bold view of my cleavage, while my short skirt, the hem of which stops at my midthighs, shows off my legs. I have paired these with a black blazer and tights, completing the look with black knee-length boots for a gothic effect.

He closes his eyes, inhaling as he brushes the tip of his nose over my forehead. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I needed a coffee,” he whispers.

I can smell it on his breath.

My chest rises and falls with his, the peaks of my nipples hurting from how hard they are. His free hand slithers up my skirt, moving to my ass and squeezing a generous amount of flesh, which has me moaning. His hips dig into mine, and I feel his eager cock through the layers of clothes separating us.

“I’ll never forgive him,” I say.

“You better not.”

“Why? Would it bother you?” I probe in a teasing tone. “You have been ignoring me, in case you forgot.”

His eyes fix themselves firmly on me, his grip around my throat turning viselike and leaving my jaw slackened. “I need my time away from you so that I don’t screw you every chance I get,” he states between clenched teeth.

“And ignoring me helps with that?” I ask, but I get what he is saying. It has been hard for me not to jump his bones as well. But, it is time for another round, so I push him. “You know what? Maybe I’ll forgive Blake, get back with him. What’s stopping me? I’m single and extremely available.”

His jaw muscles pulse viciously. “You gave me access to this body, Anya, and it’s exclusive. You’re ~my~ secret, remember?” He brings his mouth close to mine. “You’ve no idea how much control it takes not to be inside you every time you’re near me.”

Before I can think to respond, he lifts me with one arm and drops me on his desk.

“Now, spread your legs.”