Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Dean Anderson
“F - forced,” she whispers as she blinks up at me. As if she had no hand in any of this.
“I will not repeat myself. This act of yours is getting quite old. Besides, you’re a smart girl. I’m sure you can figure out what happens when you fuck around and finally find out. “
A slight hint of red washes over her cheeks as she ducks her head. “You beat me with a flogger and then come on me?”
The others around me are no help at all. Deep chuckles and soft laughs surround us, causing my head to pound as anger, frustration, annoyance, and arousal all compete for dominance. Unfortunately, as enticing as she looks right now in just her underwear and robe, annoyance wins out for the moment.
How in the name of all that’s holy did this happen? Even now, as I stare down at the slip of the girl glancing about at everyone’s face, it feels surreal. It feels like a dream, or more aptly put, a nightmare. Her lower lip trembles ever so slightly, and it’s the only thing revealing the last bit of fear it seems.
The small collapsing bit feels so far away as she takes in everything and missing nothing. What the fuck am I going to do about this? For a moment, her hands twitch as she lightly pats herself, no doubt looking for that fucking notebook again, completely forgetting it’s in my hands.
In that case, perhaps I can play a game of my own. “Looking for your notebook?” I whisper into her ear as I slide my hand around her waist to yank her against me.
For a moment, her breath catches, expanding her chest. God, but she’s a thing of beauty. As she trembles in my arms, all I can think about is dragging her to the floor and defiling her, making her mine completely.
“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Enough of this,” I snarl, turning her in my arms. “I’m not stupid. I saw the fucking notebook. I have it here in my hand.” Blood drains from her face as I hold up the little bit of paper and pen. “Want to continue to play dumb? My time is limited right now, but soon you will have my undivided attention. All of it.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, pulling back just a touch.
I refuse to allow it. Now that I have my hands on her, I can’t think of letting her go. Unfortunately, the others at the initiation grow restless and demand my attention.
“Oh, you will be sorry. But later. Chelsea, please take her away.” Ashleigh’s eyes narrow for a moment as she turns around to face the girl in question. By now, I’m unfortunately beginning to recognize that look as her curiosity taking note of fucking everything.
For a moment, I worry Grigori will refuse, leaving her with Melody, but soon enough, their watch dog steps up behind the girl. “Bitch behave?”
To my surprise, she has the audacity to roll her eyes at the man. “Do I ever?”
Seems as if Grigori was not exaggerating. I’m sure this means there will be two asses on fire tonight. Knowing Grigori, however, he’ll give her a real punishment later.
“Chelsea,” he warns with a softer, but no less lethal, tone. “I haven’t fucked you yet, and that asshole is tempting.”
And there it is.
“Sorry, Sir,” she mumbles, looking anything but repentant. “I’ll behave. For now.”
A heavy sigh slips from his lips, and I understand the sentiment all too well. Only, with Chelsea, he knew going into this that she was a brat of the highest order. I’m still running blind, trying to figure Ashleigh out.
Hopefully, the bit of sass and spark won’t turn into something worse. We already have one major brat in this close-knit circle of friends. We definitely don’t need another. In many ways, Grigori has it easy. He’s not the leader of this secret society, and thus he can be indulgent.
I have no such agency.
“Chelsea,” I groan as I note the glint of mischief in her eyes. “This calls for discretion. I need her out of the way, out of sight, and out of my hair until we’re done. And please, for the love of god, don’t rub off on her.”
“Don’t rub her off, Sir?” she grins, tossing a playful glance toward Ashleigh.
Fuck. The girl looks even more curious, if that’s even possible.
Grigori’s features deepen into a dark, fearsome scowl as he grabs the nape of her neck and pulls her back against his chest. “ Ty ispytyvayesh? moyo terpeniye, Lastachka. ” Thankfully, they seem to make sense to Chelsea, because the rest of us haven’t taken the time to master Russian.
Ashleigh, in particular, peers up at them and mouths the words, as if it will somehow make sense if she says it back to herself. Silly girl. And yet, it somehow endears me to her all the more.
Sergei tilts his head as he watches her, then chuckles. “Boss say she tries patience and loses.”
“That’s not what I said,” Grigori snaps. “Not exactly, but close enough, I suppose. Now then, Chelsea, you will do my house proud. Da ?”
“ Da , Sir.”
Letting her go, he nods over to me even as his lips thin into an unhappy grimace. “Your submissive will be fine.”
If things weren’t so dire right now, I’d probably burst out laughing. But that’s probably just my mind threatening to snap. I’m sure if I chuckled now, they’d call Andrew back to shrink me.
“Honestly, at this point, I’m somehow a bit more worried about Chelsea getting interrogated by my snoop. But I guess it is what it is.”
“Let the girl snoop. My Chelsea knows nothing of importance.” At her insolent scowl, he chuckles and amends. “At least nothing that can get her or me into trouble. She knows a lot of important things.”
As touching as all this is, I don’t have time for him to placate the brat. “As long as they’re both safe and sound, when I get done, I don’t care.”
“I will repeat my offer,” Professor Richards says as he pulls Melody to the forefront. “Think of her as a possible mediator.”
Sergei snorts and shakes his head. “You ask for head to sit in lion’s mouth and hope for the best?”
“They’ve come to a truce,” he grumbles. “Unless you think Chelsea isn’t capable of putting the past in the past and moving forward.”
“Enough of this!” I hiss as loudly as I dare. “The rest of them grow restless. I don’t give a fuck who’s in there with her. I just can’t have her alone. Understand?”
“Go on, Melody. If anything happens, find me instantly.”
“Yes, Sir.”
My heart constricts as I watch the three shuffle toward the back so the others don’t notice. This is bad. This is very, very bad. There’s a reason I don’t allow myself to form relationships with any of the submissives here. Unfortunately, with Ashleigh, I can’t seem to stay away.
At this point, I have no idea how much time has passed. Luckily, some of the others are still fucking other submissives while a few men finally come on Lia. No one seems to notice my absence. And that’s how I want it.
“Now that Lia is inducted into our society as an official submissive, is there anyone here who wishes to claim her?” Her eyes widen as she looks around, reminding me far too much of another set of startling blue that’s waiting for me.
For a moment, silence weighs down upon me as I give a customary moment, but no one comes forth. It’s not surprising. And honestly, the fact that these few were claimed so instantly is certainly not the norm. With a firm nod of my head, I direct the assistants to take her off the bed and lead her to the bathroom.
I need them out. I need every person out of this sanctuary of debauchery so I can deal with this problem in peace. Thankfully, I have a ready-made excuse... deus ex machina, as it may seem.
“As much as I would like for you to avail yourself to the various dungeons to keep this celebration going, I regret to inform you that this week’s cleaners are scheduled to come tonight. The rooms will, of course, be available to you all starting again tomorrow. Do not feel as if you have to rush, but I would appreciate your respectful exit. I will leave Lia in capable hands.”
The small crowd begins to gather their things, no doubt taking their extracurriculars either back to the sorority house or to other areas unknown. Thankfully, it’s a small night tonight. It would have been far worse if everyone was here. On my way back to my friends, I grab a submissive and instruct her to get Lia back to the house as soon as she’s cleaned up.
Next, I grab Todd and pull him off to the side. “I hate to bother you so late in the evening, but I’ll need to register a submissive later tonight.”
His brows pull down into a frown. “I already have Lia in the system. She’s taken care of.”
“It’s not her. It’s... It’s an issue I need solving. Will you be up tonight?”
“You’re in luck. I’m working out some bugs in a program for the Pentagon. Pretty sure it will keep me busy until the morning.”
“Good. I’ll text you when I’m heading to the office.”
Off to the side, Thatcher pushes himself off the wall and saunters closer. His gaze bores into mine, but no words are exchanged, no questions or inquiries leave his lips. Though he studies me as if he knows something, he eventually moves on.
With all that settled, the band around my heart finally eases loose. From all around me, others scurry past as they make their way to their cars, leaving the place empty save my friends and the new initiate. No doubt she’ll still be in the bathroom for a bit, giving me time to let them in on what’s happening.
“Now then. I’m sure you are all curious as to what’s going on.”
“I’ll say,” Grigori murmurs. “Until tonight, I thought you were unflappable. Something must have gone seriously wrong for you to be so shaken.”
I want to correct him, to refute what he’s saying, but I can’t. Normally, I’m the strong one. I’m the one others come to when they have problems. Now, it’s my turn, and I feel at a loss.
“It can’t be that bad, John,” Richards pops in as he crosses his arms. “Obviously it has to do with that girl. I just don’t understand what’s so wrong.”
A few moments pass as I gather my thoughts and make sure we’re still alone. “You wouldn’t know because she had the foresight of keeping her mask on. Thankfully, she blended in with the other submissives. No one was the wiser. But she doesn’t belong here. She’s not initiated into our society.”
Grigori’s brows raise as his body tightens. Next to him, Sergei bristles as a fierce scowl mars his face. It’s as if he’s preparing to go to war, even if his opponent is a young woman.
“We left her with Chelsea,” Grigori whistles under his breath. “If any harm-“
“Harm?” Richards barks out. “You’re joking. Right? If anyone is at risk, it’s my Melody. We all know how your Chelsea can be.”
“You may have fucked her,” he spits out, “but you’ve never once tried to know her or her mind. She’s far more vulnerable than you think. Check the tracker,” he shoots over at Sergei. “Make sure she’s still in the building.”
“Da. Bitch is still here. Still safe. I’ve been watching.”
Richards snorts and crosses his arms. “Just because she’s still in the room doesn’t mean she’s still alive.”
“Are you threatening my submissive right now?” The normally even-keel Russian rises to his full height. Even behind the mask, his eyes blaze with murderous intent.
Fuck. I need to fix this now. “Gentleman, please.” As much as I know to never get in between an angry Russian and his victim, they need to fully understand what’s going on. “This isn’t quite the crisis you think it is, but it could easily be.”
After a few tense moments, they break apart and stand away from each other, giving me room to speak. “With her mask on, you probably had no idea who she was. It’s Ashleigh.”
Unfortunately, I cannot say anything more as the bathroom door opens, and the initiate hobbles out with the other submissive. We all stand for what feels like an eternity with our dicks in our hands until they leave, allowing us to be alone once more.
“Who?” Grigori demands. “Do I know her?”
“The one with me at the benefit.”
“Fuck,” he spits out, his Russian getting a bit stronger. “The Hartwell girl?”
Glancing over at Richards, I give him a little more information. “She’s also the creator of the school newspaper.”
“Wait. That fucking Ashleigh? “ Richards exclaims. “Isn’t her father some sort of mogul?”
“Yes. He owns several newspapers in addition to other major corporations.”
“Well fuck,” he repeats under his breath.
“My sentiments exactly.”
Grigori strokes his chin as he takes in my words. “But that’s not the worst part. Is it?” Richards lifts his head as he looks over at me, his eyes burning with unspoken questions.
“No,” I finally admit.
“How the fuck can it get any worse?” Richards blurts out. “She’s with the press. Her father owns the press. She somehow managed to sneak in here. I fail to see what can be worse than that.”
This time, Grigori smiles a genuine grin that crinkles the skin around his eyes. “He wants her. I can see it in his eyes. Our fearless leader has fallen for this girl.”
Richards throws his hands in the air as he begins to pace. “What the hell are you going to do? Is there some way to blackmail her into joining us? How are her grades? I mean, besides in my class. Unfortunately, she’s exemplary.”
“It’s not just your class,” I finally sigh as I run my fingers through my hair. “She’s practically perfect in every way.”
Sergei snorts as his massive frame shakes with laughter. “A Mary Poppins who takes it up the ass. I pay good money to watch movie. Then again... pretty sure I beat meat to that movie before...”
As much as I want to be frustrated with him, he certainly helps relieve the rising tension. “Not helpful. But thank you for the laugh.”
From behind me, another voice slices through, forcing me onto the defensive. “She wants you. That should be enough.”
“Andrew,” I snarl as I urge my body and mind to calm down. “I thought you were with Chastity.”
“She’s home safe and eating with Rita and Chef. I figured you might need me here. This is, after all, a very vulnerable, tentative time.” A soft smile teases the edge of his lips as he rocks back and forth on his heels.
For a moment, all I can do is stare at the man. Since when is he jovial? Since when does he find humor or amusement in anything? And that’s when everything starts to click back into place.
“I’d hate to think you had anything to do with this.”
“I merely spoke to the girl as you demanded. Without pay, by the way. What she did after that is no longer my concern.”
“Something had to have happened. There was nothing from her, then this.”
“Well...” He looks down and examines his nails. “She did come to see me as I was on my way here. All I did was tell her to stop looking into Chi Sigma Delta. Now, imagine my surprise when she shows up here, of all places. Not very obedient. Is she? But then again, what would one expect when there’s a discipline kink involved?”
“Matchmaker is not a good look on you,” I snarl, striding over to him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with her now?”
“You’re the dean. Leader of this association.” he grins in that cold, calculated way of his. “You can do whatever the fuck you want.”
“Oh, but that’s dangerous.” What I want to do to her, what I’ve dreamt of doing since the first time she leaned over my desk for her paddling, is to chase her down and make her mine. “Gentlemen. I propose a hunt.”