Chapter 26
Crane
“Ichabod,” the voice whispers through the darkness.
For a moment I can’t tell if my eyes are open or closed.
“Ichabod,” the voice says again. Marie.
I sit up in my bed. The candles I had lit on my desk have gone out. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the black, the moon’s light faint.
The last few nights I’ve heard Marie’s voice, heard the thump of the woman outside in the hall. At this point it’s obvious it’s not a prank. I wish it was. That would be so much easier to deal with.
“You can’t hide from the truth,” Marie whispers, and I feel cold breath at my neck.
I yelp and scramble out of bed, whirling around to see nothing at all.
“What do you want?” I ask, my voice shaking slightly. It’s a stupid question. She never answers. Neither does the woman I am certain is Vivienne Henry.
There’s only silence now. Only darkness.
I sigh and sit down in my chair, putting my head in my hands.
A man could be driven to madness this way.
I have to wonder if any of the other teachers are haunted by ghosts here, whether ones from their pasts or ones from the school.
Is that why Vivienne Henry killed herself? Did they drive her to madness?
But Marie’s ghost has always followed me. The opium kept her at bay for a long time, but now that I’m clearheaded, she’s back. Taunting me. Reminding me of what I did to her. Of what I can never ever escape from.
It’s enough to dig my nails into my bare thighs.
What I wouldn’t give for some opium right now.
Just enough to let me sleep, to help me escape for just one night.
But I know that if I did leave the school to find some, that I probably wouldn’t be allowed back in.
I’m sure the sisters have a way of finding out.
They don’t seem to be paying much attention to me while I’ve been here, but I wouldn’t risk losing my job over it.
Besides, it would only cloud my brain. I need to be thinking as sharply as possible if I want to protect Kat and help Brom regain his memories. I feel like I’m a waste of a human being if I can’t be useful at all times.
I need light, I think. I don’t want to sleep, don’t want to be in the darkness anymore. That’s where my demons live.
I get up and strike a match and light the candles along my desk.
I drop the match.
Outside the window, between me and the lake, is a woman dressed in white. She’s twirling on the shore, her head back to the sky, long dark hair whipping around her, lost in some sort of frenzied worship. She looks young and familiar, but I can’t quite place her.
Then, three people in hooded black cloaks come out toward her.
I assume they are the sisters, but I can’t be sure.
They are moving fast, urgently. They grab the twirling girl, and the minute they put their hands on her she goes still.
Her head dips down as if she’s fallen asleep on her feet, her hair falling over her face.
I watch as they lead her away from the lake and bring her to the left, possibly toward the cathedral, until they disappear from my sight.
I get up, a prickle of unease on my scalp, and bring out my salts and black tourmaline from my drawer. It wouldn’t hurt to ward the room tonight, just in case.
—
When I get to my morning class I’m on edge; I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. The black tourmaline works well for protection, but the properties of the crystal are intense and not always conducive for rest.
But the moment I lay my eyes on Kat, sitting in the front row, the exhaustion leaves me.
How stunning this woman is. How lucky that she’s mine.
Except she is talking to Paul with a rapturous look on her face.
Jealousy spikes through me. I had told her I could share her with Brom—if it came to that.
I feel the selfish urge to claim her as mine.
I know better, of course, being her teacher, but if I had no shame I would march right over to her and kiss her so deeply there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind of what we are to each other.
My sweet witch has consumed my soul.
I manage to hold it together, reminding myself that she’s allowed to talk to the other students and that there’s no reason to lose my sanity over it.
It’s just the depth of my feelings for her is starting to surprise me.
Ever since we had sex in the stables it’s been torture to stay away from her.
We’ve come together in secret a few times this week, but it’s only made me want her more.
She’s become more addicting than any drug and far more dangerous.
She’s reaching the deep and terrible places inside me. The places I hide from.
As if she hears my pining, she meets my eyes and gives me the shyest of smiles, quick and delicate, and I know it’s going to be an especially long class today.
Thankfully it’s over before I go insane. I’ve locked the door, and it’s just the two of us in the classroom. I have her spread out over my desk like a feast.
“Tell me what you want, Kat,” I say to her, her dress bunched around her waist, her hips at the edge of the table where I’m prepared to lick every inch of her.
“You usually tell me what you want,” she says through a breathless laugh.
“I know,” I say, running my fingers up her thighs, teasing her soft, sensitive skin until goose bumps appear.
“As I said, I can be selfish, but I want to give you what you need.” I lower my chin until my mouth is inches from her sweet cunt.
“You’ve been far too generous with me, indulging my desires. ”
“Well, you can start by not teasing me,” she says breathlessly as I blow air on her, making her writhe.
“I won’t,” I say, parting her swollen flesh with my fingers, feeling her wetness roll down so that I have drops of her desire in my palm. “I will give you what you want. You only need to tell me.”
“I want you,” she says, clearly aching for me to touch her. “I want you.”
“I know,” I say, my mouth hovering over her pussy. “But I want to hear the words, sweet witch.” I run my finger through her wetness, and then I lower my mouth to lap at her.
God, she tastes heavenly. I reach down into my trousers and bring out my cock while she lets out a moan as I eat her completely, a ravenous man.
“I want to come,” she says. “I want you to make me come.”
I grin at how bold she’s being. She’s asking and taking and it feels good to give for once on her terms. I take my tongue and drag it across her clit while I start pumping my cock into my fist, the heat and desperation building inside me.
I pull back, sliding my fingers of my free hand inside her tight hole. “Do you want to come on my hand? My tongue? My cock?”
“All of it, anything,” she gasps, her head rolling back and forth on the desk.
“Then I’ll give you all of it,” I rasp.
With a grunt I thrust my fingers into her tight hole, finding each of her pleasure points in turn.
My tongue swirls around her clit as my cock slides in and out of my fist, my hips rocking to the rhythm of her moans.
I feel her body tense as she reaches a crescendo, and then I release her, awash in a sea of pleasure.
She shudders and cries out, her orgasm crashing through her like a wave and I keep my fingers deep inside her, working her hard as I pull back to watch.
The way she clenches around me, dripping with her lust for me, the pink of her skin blooming deeper—it’s my new fixation.
“Oh God,” she whimpers, the orgasm coming to a slow, her hands clenched around the fabric of her skirt.
I straighten up, staring down at her. I want her naked, not always in this half-dressed state of affairs, drawers pushed down, skirt up, dress unbuttoned hastily. I want her soft, sinful body under mine, to feel every single inch of her. I want her closer than ever.
I glance at the clock. We have time.
“Take off your clothes,” I tell her, unbuttoning my shirt. “Do it now.”
She raises her head to look at me. “How quickly the tables have turned,” she says with a wry yet sated smile, her cheeks flushed. “It was all about what I want and now you’re ordering my clothes to come off.”
I toss my shirt to the floor and grab a pair of scissors from my desk drawer, holding them up. “I’m going to fuck you with my cock like you asked. But you didn’t specify how. Now take off your clothes or I’m cutting them off your body.”
“You will not,” she declares, her eyes sparking. She’s beautiful when she’s outraged.
“I’ll buy you new ones, I promise,” I tell her.
She lets out a huff and starts hastily undoing the top of her dress. I put the scissors back down but pick up my ruler instead, then finish removing my pants until I’m completely nude.
She pauses. She hasn’t seen me like this before. My cock gets even harder from just the lustful awe in her eyes.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispers, her gaze skirting over me from head to toe.
“And you’re not naked enough,” I threaten her with a wave of my ruler.
To my surprise, once she undoes the top of her dress and the sleeves fall away, I see she’s not wearing a corset underneath, just a chemise. I go to her and lift the linen over her head until she’s topless, then stare down at her body.
Her breasts are full and pale and gorgeous, her nipples pale pink and pebbled. I cup them in my hands, relishing their heaviness, run my tongue over them while I pinch and squeeze in all the places she likes.
Then I pull down her drawers all the way until she’s completely nude.
“You are made for sinners,” I murmur as I stare, one hand on my cock, running my arousal over the tip and back. “You were made for me.”
Her face flushes at that. I like making her blush. It’s the same color of pink that my hands make when I spank her. Or in this case, the ruler.
“Spread your legs. Hold them wide for me. I want to punish that sweet little cunt of yours,” I tell her.
She swallows hard and then reaches down, her hands on her thighs and pulling them apart.
I bite my lip in anticipation and run the edge of the ruler up and down her thighs, tapping it sporadically until I get to where she’s pink, wet and waiting.
Then I give her a quick hit of the ruler right on her pussy.
She cries out but I grab her face with my other hand and kiss her deeply, my tongue licking inside her mouth, dancing with hers. A moan runs from her and through me and I swat her again, my hand behind her head, holding her in place.
“Is this something you like?” I murmur against her lips as I briefly pull back.
She makes a tight noise of want, and I know I have her approval.
I continue to swat her, and kiss her and she continues to get wetter and wetter.
Then, when I can’t stand it any longer, I push her hips against mine and I shove my cock up inside her, tossing the ruler to the floor.
“Kat,” I rasp, sucking at her neck while one arm hooks around her back so she’s pressed as close to me as possible. “You’re so damn wet I think you might drown me.”
Then I drive into her harder, deeper, desperate to get closer to her. Eventually the desk starts moving, squeaking loudly across the floor, so I pick her up, her legs wrapping around my waist, and I spin her so she’s slammed back against the wall.
Sweat pools between us, her full breasts pressed against my chest, and I fuck her harder, hips driving up to get deeper. It’s good like this, too good. She’s so sweet and easily corrupted and yet I feel like she’s the one in control most of the time, no matter what I do.
I’m starting to think I’ll do anything for her.
But soon I can’t even think.
There’s only the energy and magic that’s building between us, mixed with the deep, animalistic desire to fuck her as hard as I can, get in her so deep she doesn’t know where she ends and I begin.
We are connected. We are one. Our skin slick, our chests heaving, breath panting, hearts racing.
Our moans fill the classroom, too loud, but I don’t care if I even get fired over this because giving myself over to my sweet witch and having her give herself to me is worth everything.
My orgasm comes on fast and strong, and I’m slipping my fingers in a messy swirl around her clit as I spill into her. She comes quickly, her cries joining my own, our bodies moving in unison until we finally come to a stop.
“Crane,” she whispers to me, her forehead pressed against my shoulder.
I’m still holding her against the wall. I don’t want to let her go, I don’t want to slip out of her.
I just want to stay inside her for as long as possible.
I’m worried that I’ll never have her like this, mine and naked and raw, ever again.
“Kat,” I say to her, still catching my breath. I place a kiss on the top of her head. “What happens if you become my new addiction?”
She lifts her head to give me a lazy smile. “I’ll be naked a lot more.”