Page 53 of Rockwell Academy: The Twist

“Trouble means you’re living. It keeps life interesting.”

“So, what happens now?”

There is a hint of uncertainty in her voice that I am responsible for, but I can’t help that. It needed to be done, so I stroke her hair and say with regret, “You return home and catch up with the others while I attend to business.”

“River?”

“Of course.”

“What will you do to him?”

“I’ll catch you later, Cassie.”

I field off her question with practiced precision and she huffs. “Fuck you, Frankie. I’m not a fool. I’m also a big girl now and can handle your shit.”

“Can you though?”

I tilt her face to mine and my eyes burn a trail of warning deep into hers. I note the lust deepening in her eyes as I reveal the part of myself that Rockwell does a good job of hiding and my voice is harsh as I whisper, “I have no doubt you could handle the harsh realities of life but I would hate for you to look at me differently because I kind of like the way you are looking at me now.”

Her breath hitches as I growl, “There will be many times our dream is shattered, Cassie. Several times our relationship will be tested and the moment you stare at me with hatred is when our dream ends. I’m not prepared for that yet, so if you don’t mind, I’d rather deal with River alone.”

Shock enters her eyes, and she opens her mouth to speak and then closes it, a confusing battle playing out inside her.

Cassie wants to be my match—she probably already is, but she is innocent in the ways of my world and for her own sanity, I intend on keeping it that way.

“Go back to the house. Carry on as if nothing has happened.”

“But what do I tell the others?”

“Whatever you like.”

I take one last possession of her lips before I switch to bastard and as she kisses me back, I am forgiven for believing that my life is no different to any other person making out with their girl on a riverbank. But we are not even close to a normalcouple and the longer Cassie doesn’t realize that, the better our life will be at Rockwell.

I walkCassie back to the house, my arm slung across her shoulder, stopping intermittently to snatch a dirty kiss along the way. I can never get enough of this woman and luckily she is of the same mind and as the house looms into view, I pull away.

“I’ll head back to the dungeon. I won’t be long.”

“Sure.” She doesn’t fire any more questions at me; she is wise not to ask.

As she heads off toward the house, I wait until she trips up the steps to the veranda and as the door slams behind her, I turn and sharpen my mind to deal with the problem waiting back in the cells.

River Callahan has surprised me, and not in a good way. I always considered him a dumb jock who enjoys dominant behavior a little too much.

But his expression back there told me something different. His eyes blazed with fury when Autumn rejected him and the way he raised his hand to her told me he is a problem I will love dealing with.

Violence against women will not be tolerated in my world. It’s one of the few chivalrous rules we have and even if we exploit certain women for business purposes, it’s not because they don’t want us to. It’s a job to them—a profession if you like and we treat our workers well. They are safe under our control and if they have a change of heart and want a different career, we show them the door with a huge severance package and set them up in a safe place. Autumn will have my protection, and it’s time to make River aware of that fact.

I head backto the dungeon and the last of the challengers are leaving, either storming off or walking hand in hand with their partners. Ali is watching the last of them leave and as I approach, he says from behind his mask, “That was a long night. Thank fuck it’s only once a semester.”

“You got that right.”

I jerk my head in the direction I just left.

“Hand me your mask and cloak. I’ll finish up here.”

He doesn’t even hesitate. “Thanks, man. You better hurry though, I’m so freaking thirsty I’m liable to drink every last beer in the cooler.”

“I’d love to see that.” I chuckle at the thought because Ali is a control freak and rarely ever allows alcohol to dull his conniving mind. I’m guessing two will be all it takes before he thrusts his dick into one of the fools who think he is Prince Charming. More like the Prince of Darkness, but then again—aren’t we all?

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