Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sky
I ’m still cringing over the word psychopath when Ms. Lane finally hobbles her way back to the front of the class after Caleb skulked out, feeling as if I was the one called a mental patient. I’ve been called a whore and a liar, among other things that I can’t bring myself to think, but none of those things were true. The utterances out of Caleb’s mouth touch on the very real things that Cade has endured, and they were thrown in his face like an insult. And words can maim more than any stick or stone, even more than a punch.
I search Cade’s face for the pain when he turns and stalks towards me, trying to find the wounds of such sharp words. I half expect the slurs to have left lacerations that need mending, but my empathy evaporates when he smirks with satisfaction.
Blood is thick and burgundy between his teeth, cutting a stark contrast between his fair skin and black hair. It’s as unsettling as it is titillating—the wicked grin, the way he looks at me under his brow. Chills ripple along my skin as heat expands under my skirt, and I sway under the sudden warring of hot and cold. He’s never looked more like a demon than he does now, and while I know it must be his own blood bleeding between his incisors, it might as well be the remnants of someone’s throat between his teeth.
Cold realization of what he’s done dawns on me. Ms. Lane may have missed it, Caleb might have been oblivious to it, but I just witnessed the intelligent strategist in him.
I blink as he takes my bag from my shoulder and wraps an arm around my waist, guiding me toward the empty seat. I’m lost in my thoughts, weaving through the desks on autopilot. He’s more than an impulsive, knife wielding tragedy to feel sorry for. He’s a dangerous, calculated, and patient wolf. One that just used his teeth to steal me a chair, of all things.
I halt, indignation coursing through me despite the twisted pleasure his actions elicit in me. He could have taken extra chairs from a neighboring classroom. We could have sat on the floor. I could have just stood. But instead, he whipped out a metaphorical sword and wielded it in my honor superfluously.
“I’m not sitting there,” I say, shifting out of his hold.
I don’t need people thinking I was the puppet master here, that I sicced my beast on someone for something like a seat. There are already rumors circling after Cade’s stunt with Rykes. And while the gossip probably only mills amongst my fellow students, teachers are observant. They file away their findings in little folders that get brought up to parents. My father will have me by the hair for sullying his last name with speculation of entitlement. I’m to be humble, submissive, and modest. All the things he’s not.
Cade’s brows pinch with confusion. He drops my bag on the desk and slips his arm back around my waist, dragging me forward. I dig my feet into the ground and glance over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” he asks. “Sit down.”
“No,” I whisper, looking back at him and the drop of blood on the corner of his lip.
His jaw tightens as he examines my face. It takes him a second, but I know he sees it, sees the connotations that come with me taking that spot, and yet, he doesn’t soften, and instead leans down to nestle his cheek against mine.
“Sit, or that was for nothing,” he hisses into my ear.
I narrow my eyes at both his disregard for images and the infuriating way his warm breath causes me to shiver between my thighs. I won’t be told what to do though, no matter how badly his voice makes me want to grant his every wish.
“ You sit,” I snap under my breath.
Pulling back, he eyes me once more until his clenched jaw slowly slips into a wry grin.
“Fine.”
Suspicion nips at me as he casually lowers himself into the chair, stretching his legs out to cross them at the ankle, but I feel too awkward being the only one standing to be cautious about it. I grab my bag and make to step past him, towards the back wall where I can lean humbly.
Just as I think I’ve got my way, Cade’s hand strikes out and grabs my wrist. In a dizzying twirl, I’m yanked onto his lap, and a squeak escapes me from the force. He locks an arm around my waist, securing me tightly against him.
For a stunned and pleasurable second, I accept it. His form folded around mine is like a hot bath, a safe haven I’ve never known. I want so badly to be the girl that basks in PDA without qualms, but everyone in the room is gawking, and I muster the outrage to struggle against his hold.
My feet can’t reach the floor and I flail, straining against Cade’s arm with everything I have. But it’s like trying to move the safety bar on an amusement park ride, and I can’t break free.
“That’s right, wiggle just like that,” he purrs into my ear.
The second he says it, I feel it. I freeze, my cheeks burning with the press of his dick against my ass.
“Don’t stop now,” he says.
My bottom lip falls as I scan the room, noting just how many people are watching.
“Are you crazy ?” I hiss under my breath, angling my chin towards him.
“Didn’t you hear?” He chuckles darkly. “I’m a psychopath.”
His eyes catch mine, flaring with haunting truth, and I gulp.
“Now sit still before I do something actually crazy like fuck you beneath your skirt and watch you struggle to stay quiet in front of your peers.”