Her Depraved Professor

1. Karolina

KAROLINA

Strong arms cage me from behind, and a cold blade nips at my throat. My assailant could open my neck and end my life with one cruel swipe of his hand.

Pure terror thrums through my veins, and my precious lifeblood pounds in my ears. The world goes fuzzy around the edges. All I can see is Rand’s face—pale and drawn tight with his own fear.

My mind spins. I don’t understand what’s happening.

One second, I was running in horror from Bones. Rand. The man who’s been lying to me with every breath for years.

Then the black-clad man grabbed me and threatened me with a knife.

He says something, his breath hot on my vulnerable artery. I think it’s Russian. I have no idea what he’s saying, but the pure menace in his gravelly tone conveys the mortal danger I’m in.

Rand’s entire body coils tight with barely leashed aggression, his dark eyes riveted on the razor-sharp knife.

He’s still naked from our explosive sex only minutes ago.

And so am I.

My attacker’s hands grasp my bare flesh, fingers pressing hard enough to imprint bruises.

The awful scene layers over visceral memories of another night when I was sexually threatened: when Carter tried to violate me in the ruined stables at our foster home.

My breaths saw in and out of my lungs, but despite the burning in my chest, my blood goes cold. I access a purely feral, animal part of my brain.

Survive.

In the years since I fled my foster home, I’ve learned how to defend myself.

My assailant could cut me open in a heartbeat, but I’m oblivious to the risk. I have to act now, or my fate is sealed. He’s already pushed me into the river in an attempt to drown me. He won’t hesitate to kill me.

I kick back and bring my heel down hard on the top of his foot. It doesn’t inflict much damage through his boot, but my simultaneous, vicious elbow to his gut causes him to grunt in pain.

The knife breaks contact with my neck for a moment.

Rand shouts my name. I drop to the floor with all my weight, and my attacker’s grip on me sags.

A primal snarl echoes off the walls, and Rand slams into my captor, driving him away from me. The back of the man’s head cracks against the plaster, stunning him.

Rand doesn’t give him a moment to gather his wits. Two massive hands bracket the man’s skull. He twists. Bones crunch.

The dead man drops to the hardwood floor. He stares at me blankly.

Carter’s lifeless eyes flash over my vision, blurring with my current reality.

Masculine hands reach for me. I shriek and scramble back.

“Karolina…” Bones’ voice is rough with anguish.

No. Not Bones.

Rand.

He’s both men. They’re both him.

“Stay away from me!” I throw up a shaky hand between us, as though that will be enough to ward off the beast of a man who’s been deceiving me all this time.

How did I not see it before? His huge, muscular body had been obvious even when completely concealed by his black clothing as Bones. Rand has the same physique.

In our intimate moments, I even fleetingly compared my stern professor to my domineering masked man in my mind.

“Don’t be afraid,” he begs.

His voice is less gravelly, but he doesn’t have an English accent.

Because it’s fake. I always thought he sounded weirdly American.

My thoughts tangle, muddled in the aftermath of the adrenaline rush. Nothing makes sense.

My gaze is inexorably drawn back to my dead stalker. His eyes are blank. Lifeless.

Just like Carter’s…

Rand’s hulking body blocks the macabre view, and his dark eyes fill my world.

“You’re safe now,” he rumbles. “He can’t touch you ever again.”

“I’m not safe,” I whisper. “I’m alone here with you.”

He reels back as though my words are a sucker punch. “I would never hurt you.”

I shake my head and scoot back farther.

“I killed him to protect you.” Rand’s—Bones’—voice is strained. “I would do anything to keep you safe, Karolina.”

“I have no idea what you’re capable of.”

His beautiful face hardens to a grim mask. “He pushed you into the river. He left you that threatening note. He tried to cut your throat just now. I won’t apologize for ending him.”

“I’m not scared of you because you killed my stalker.” I babble the truth without fully thinking through what I’m saying. “I scared because you lied to me. You’ve been lying to me all this time. I just…fucked you.” I stumble over the words, and he flinches. “I trusted you.”

“Ask me anything,” he pleads roughly. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’m still me. And you’re my Karolina.”

“Don’t say that! I’m not yours! How can I be yours when I don’t even know who you are?”

“You’ve known me for years. Please, give me a chance to explain.”

I shake my head and push to my feet, desperate to get away from the dangerous stranger who just killed to protect me.

My knees shake. Rand’s reassuring hands grasp my shoulders, achingly familiar as he steadies me before I can fall.

He’s not wearing gloves, but they’re the same hands that caressed my body on the night I agreed to meet Bones for the ill-fated, kinky hunt.

I’ve been so stupid. How did I not realize they’re the same man?

My naivete when it comes to men made me vulnerable to his deception. For years, I kept myself apart from any potential relationships, finding satisfaction in my carnal connection with Bones.

But it was clearly so much more than erotic fun to him.

Somehow, he’s followed me to England. He got a job as my professor.

I shake my head before I can ask him how the fuck he managed it.

All that matters now is getting away from him. If I allow him to explain himself, I might be fooled again.

His comforting hands are so tempting, his broad chest only inches from my face. I could so easily throw myself into his arms and cling to him for support…

The arms that are covered in tattoos depicting my face from every angle. My real name is inked over his heart.

My stomach lurches.

I jerk away, and he allows me to break from his hold. His hands clench at his sides, his entire body practically vibrating with the suppressed desire to reach for me.

“Where are my clothes?” I demand.

He tips his head in the direction of the stairs. “In the dryer. It’s just off the kitchen. I can show you—”

I hold up my hand again. “No. I don’t want you anywhere near me. I can take care of myself.”

His face draws into forbidding lines. “It’s not safe for you out there. You need me.”

“I don’t need anything from you. I don’t want anything from you.” I gesture sharply in direction of the dead body, but I keep my eyes carefully averted. “My stalker is dead. I’m not in any danger from him anymore.”

“Don’t go, Karolina. Please. Stay here while I take care of this.”

“Take care of what?”

A shadow flits at his jaw. “I have to get rid of the body. Unless you’re planning to go to the police?”

I purse my lips.

No. I can’t go to the police.

I won’t risk my real identity being discovered. I can’t have my visa revoked.

I won’t allow my new life as Lena Williams to be snatched away from me. I’ve worked too hard to survive. I won’t lose everything now.

I tear my gaze from Rand’s anguished face.

“I’m leaving now. Don’t follow me.”

A low growl slips from him, and I shiver at the primal sound of raw frustration.

“Stay.”

“You don’t get to order me around,” I snap back.

“We will discuss this later,” he says, voice barely human.

He sounds like Bones.

He is Bones.

“We’ll talk when—if—I decide I’m ready to talk.” I still can’t meet his eye.

My mind spins with dozens of questions, but I can’t linger. I can’t allow myself to stay close to Rand’s allure.

And I need to get away from the dead body before memories of the night I committed my own murders drags me back under. I’m so close to a panic attack that I feel my chest drawing tight.

I forcibly draw a deep breath and turn on my heel. I dart down the stairs, making my way to the kitchen to retrieve my clothes. It takes a few minutes stumbling around the huge, unfamiliar house, but eventually I find the dryer.

I get dressed with trembling hands, but even when I’m covered, I feel naked.

I trusted Rand, and he stripped me bare to my soul.

My stalker is dead, but I’ve never felt more vulnerable in my life.