Chapter 6
The moment Devlin’s hand finally closes around me, even through the denim of my jeans, a blaze of raw electricity ignites in my gut and rips through my entire body.
It feel like an explosion. My hips act on an instinct I didn’t even know I possessed, thrusting upward against his palm, desperate for the friction. I’ve never felt anything this all-consuming, this absolute.
“Devlin,” I gasp, my voice sounding foreign even to my own ears.
I want this to go on forever. At the same time, I’m starving for the feel of his bare skin.
Devlin’s hands grow frantic, tugging at my clothes, his movements borderline rough as he tries to strip away the barriers between us.
For a second, a flicker of sanity returns—a cold splash of panic.
If I let him keep going, if I let him take total control, I’ll lose the ability to stop. I’ll be his entirely.
So, I turn the tables.
I reach down, my fingers trembling but determined, and thrust my hand forward to find the heavy, rock-hard length of him.
Devlin lets out a stunned, rasping breath that hitches in his throat.
I feel a dizzying surge of delight—the fact that my touch, my clumsy, inexperienced touch, can have such an effect on the guy like him is intoxicating.
I squeeze him harder through his pants, my heart hammering against my ribs. In a fit of reckless passion, I press my lips against the rough stubble on his chin, kissing my way along his jawline, breathing in the scent of his sweat.
Devlin swears incessantly under his breath, leaning his head back against the wall. The sound of his dirty words makes my blood boil.
I’m hungry for him in a way that feels bottomless. My fingers fumbled with the button of his jeans, determined to get inside.
“Do you even realize what you’re doing?” Devlin asks, the words sounding like a physical struggle for him to eject.
“I just want… I need to get my hand on you,” I whisper.
My face is burning. I’ve never been this bold, this shameless. But the need to feel him—really feel him—is a fever.
I crave the sensation of his skin against mine like I’m dying of thirst and he’s the only well for miles.
“There’ll be no turning back after this, Val,” Devlin whispers. His tone is strangely drawn-out, heavy with a warning I’m too far gone to heed.
He forces me to meet his eyes, and the intensity in his dark gaze is enough to melt my bones.
Before I can blink, his mouth devours mine again. He presses me firmly against the wall, one hand keeping me pinned while the other shoves his jeans down just enough.
He pulls himself out and immediately guides my hand to the source of the heat.
My breath hitches as my fingers close around his bare, throbbing cock.
He’s huge, the skin velvety and hot, the weight of him staggering. Euphoria surges through me, bright and blinding.
I stroke him—clumsy, awkward, and far too fast—but I don’t care. I want to explore every inch, to learn the texture of him.
But I don’t get the chance. Within seconds, Devlin’s body goes rigid. He lets out a low growl into my mouth, his grip on my shoulder tightening painfully, and he comes in my palm.
“Val,” he gasps, his forehead dropping onto my shoulder as he pants. “Val.”
A rush of amazing joy floods my chest, so intense I feel like I’m the one who just reached a peak.
Even though my own balls are aching, the sheer intimacy of having him come for me is enough to make my head spin. I can’t believe it. The star of the hockey team, the most intimidating student on campus, and he only needed a few touches from me?
“I wanted to feel you,” I murmur, the words spilling out before I can stop them. “To find out what it would be like. I’ve never…”
I trail off, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. My face, already hot, reaches a new level of crimson. Why am I talking? Why do I keep laying myself bare just so he can watch me crumble? Every word is just a new way to humiliate myself in front of him.
“I didn’t expect that reaction,” I try to say, attempting to salvage some dignity.
Devlin suddenly looks up. The haze of pleasure has vanished. For some reason, his eyes look alien now. Cold. Almost glassy.
A surge of bitter panic hits me in the stomach.
Here it comes, a voice in my head whispers. Get ready, dreamer. Here’s the part where he reminds you how pathetic you are.
“As I asked before,” Devlin says, his voice hollow and chilling, though I can hear the rage vibrating just beneath the surface. “Do you really know exactly what you’re doing? Because as you can see, it doesn’t take much to persuade you into things you don’t even understand.”
He straightens up, adjusting his clothes with clinical precision while I stand there with my hand still sticky, trembling like a leaf.
“All it takes is one shitty dark hallway and you can’t control the situation,” he sneers. “I’ll say it again: until I’ve sorted this out and punished the bastards sending those notes, you’ll do exactly as I say. You stay where I can see you.”
I feel the air leave my lungs, but it’s like it’s happening to someone else.
The cruelty of his shift—from the man who moaned my name to the barbarian who just called me stupid—snaps something inside me.
I raise my hand and give him a violent, two-handed shove.
“Go to fucking hell,” I say, my voice trembling with a mixture of hurt and fury.
I expect him to shove me back, to tower over me and bark another order.
But he just stands there, his face turned slightly away, taking the blow in silence. My hands are shaking uncontrollably now. I try to shoulder past him, desperate to run before I start collapsing.
But Devlin’s hand shoots out, grabbing the strap of my backpack and jerking me back toward him.
“Give me my bag,” I snap.
“No. Don’t… please don’t shake like that,” Devlin replies, his voice suddenly quiet. “I deserved that. I had it coming. It’s okay.”
I refuse to look at him. “I’m leaving. Now.”
“Then I’ll call Sasha,” he says, his tone returning to that cold, even steel.
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “God, you really do despise me. And what are you going to tell him, Devlin? Huh. That I jerked you off in a hallway?”
“If I have to, I will,” Devlin says, his gaze narrowing. “I’ll even let him beat the shit out of me for it. But you won’t be wandering this campus alone after those notes. Not with your luck.”
Something in me finally snaps. Maybe it’s the thousands of new, terrifying emotions of the last hour. Maybe it’s the realization that I’ve been thinking about him since the day we met.
I move in close—so close our lips are almost touching again, mirroring the way he caged me earlier. Taken by surprise, his fingers slacken, and I rip my backpack from his grip.
“And you should tell him,” I whisper directly into his mouth, my voice dripping with all the venom I’ve suppressed for years, “that his little brother was looking at you as if he wanted to get down on his knees right here and choke on your fat cock. Because I really did want to.”
Devlin’s breath hitches.
“My first experience, Devlin. My first time touching a man, and it was Sasha’s best friend.
Hell, it was the first time I’ve ever even seen another guy’s cock that close.
Thanks for the education.” I pull back, seeing the stunned look on his face.
“So tell him whatever you like. I don’t give a shit anymore.
Actually, tell him I sent the notes myself.
Tell him I orchestrated the whole thing just so a ‘god’ like you would deign to let someone like me touch him.
Then you can stop pretending you’re some hero protecting me.
And if something happens to me, tell Sasha exactly what you believe— that I brought it on myself. ”
I turn and walk away as fast as my legs will carry me. I don’t look back.
Through the roar of the blood in my ears, the only thing I can hear is the sound of Devlin—still silent, still standing in the dark—breathing heavily and rapidly behind me.