10. VERENA GRAVENHURST
TEN
VERENA GRAVENHURST
Students stagger through the door, one by one, setting up their tables for today’s lecture.
When I’m not lost in a daydream, my eyes roam towards the entrance as soon as someone new appears, hoping to see that handsome face that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the rest of the weekend.
The professor arrives and closes the door behind him.
I sink down in my seat, feeling a little disappointed. He’s not coming.
I’m lost in a spiral of my own thoughts when the door swings open and my heart stutters.
Reed Sullivan, fashionably late, casually strides through the rows of students.
He greets a few of his friends as he walks by, but his attention keeps flickering towards me at the back of the room.
He plops down beside me, dropping his books haphazardly on the table.
His hand drapes around the back of my chair as he leans in to whisper against my ear, “Hello, beautiful. Miss me?” I can feel his lips lingering in the crook of my neck, and his warm breath sends shivers down my spine.
I peer into his dark eyes, and my lips slightly part.
The urge I have to lean forward and pull his lips to mine right here in the middle of this class has me clenching my thighs a little tighter.
Swallowing a hard lump that has formed in my throat, I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and shrug, trying to hide the effect he so clearly has over me.
“I tried calling you yesterday. I wanted to see you again. Was our date that bad that you won’t take my calls?
” He chuckles. My brows pinch together. Weird, Archie never said anything about Reed calling, and he’s usually on point with relaying messages.
My thoughts wander to my encounter with Loxen, his devilish grin as he hung up the phone without telling me who it was. No one important.
Shaking my head, I stifle a smile. “Not even a little bit. It seems I never got your message.” I reply with a little too much annoyance in my tone.
“Well, that’s a relief.” He places a swift kiss on my cheek, and we open our books to follow along with the professor.
We listen to the lecture on Hollowcrest Historical Tragedies.
A subject that would normally have my undivided attention, but it’s next to impossible to keep up with what the professor is saying when I can feel Reed’s eyes glued to the side of my face.
The intensity of his stare makes me squirm.
I try to be subtle when I peek at him from beneath my lashes, but he still has his eyes fixed on me, sending a blush straight to my cheeks.
A coy smile spreads across his lips as he leans back in his seat, the tension between us growing each time our eyes connect.
He pulls his chair in, dangerously close to my own, and the sides of our legs brush together.
I suck in a breath, suddenly feeling nervous with how close his body is to mine.
I try to focus on the lecture, try to steady my breathing and think about anything else other than the gorgeous creature that’s currently reaching for my hand under the table.
He laces our fingers together, and the warmth from his touch sends an electric current through every neuron in my body.
“I can’t stop thinking about you—about our date.
” His voice is delicate. Low enough so only I can hear.
I stare at his mouth and pull my bottom lip between my teeth, remembering the feel of them gliding against mine.
The way his body felt beneath me as I straddled him.
He catches me staring, and a cocky grin grows incredibly wide across his face.
He knows exactly what he’s doing to me, and he’s enjoying it.
His thumb caresses the top of my hand, a sweet gesture that oddly brings me comfort. I’ve never been keen on public displays of affection, or affection at all in actuality. But Reed makes it easy. I want him to do so much more than simply hold my hand.
“Are you busy tonight?” He pulls me away from my inappropriate thoughts.
I shake my head, giving him a shy smile. “That depends, what do you have in mind?”
“I want to bring you somewhere after class. I’d like to spend more time with you, if you’re interested, of course.”
I pretend to think about my answer, pursing my lips and tapping a finger against my chin. “I guess I could find room for you on my busy schedule,” I tease.
He bites back a smile, poking his tongue into the inside of his cheek, then leans forward, placing a gentle kiss on my lips, so brief, yet it has me immediately yearning for another taste. “Do you have an opening for today, after class, perhaps?”
I nod, biting my lip, and that dimple I’ve come to love shows itself. “Meet me in the basement tunnels after hours, and if you’d like, we can pick this up right where we left off. You still have your campus map, right?”
I nod, tapping on my shoulder bag. “I do.”
“Great.” He smiles and turns back to his notes.
I would meet him anywhere.
Standing before the old cobblestone staircase leading to the basement tunnels, my pulse races faster than the speed of light as I ruminate about being alone with Reed again.
He’s down there, waiting for me, and that thought alone both terrifies and excites me all at once.
All of the students and staff members have retired for the evening, leaving the academy empty and unusually quiet.
I look in the direction I’m about to head and take a moment to regain my composure.
From what I know about Reed, he’s charming and dashingly handsome.
He’s well-loved by his peers and is an exemplary student.
He’s everything I could have dreamed of for myself in this lifetime or the next, but Loxen’s voice is a nuisance in the back of my mind, like venom slowly poisoning my every thought.
I freeze at the top step of the basement, my feet refusing to carry me further.
Shaking my head, I rid myself of unwanted thoughts, not letting myself be swayed by an obnoxious nagging voice that apparently has zero interest in anything that has to do with me.
I let loose a breath, exhaling the negative energy that momentarily took hold of me and begin my descent down the winding staircase.
My hands trail along the cool stones, skimming the rough edges.
My feet touch down on tunnel grounds, the echo of empty sound travelling through the corridors, sending goosebumps down my spine.
My shallow breaths sound way too loud for the stillness around me.
I listen for a shuffle of footsteps indicating Reed is somewhere nearby waiting for me, but I don’t hear a thing.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I shiver, unsure if it is from the cold of the damp underground of the academy, the eeriness of the vicinity, or my excitement to lay eyes on him again.
“Reed!” I call out in a whisper, hoping if he’s near, he will show himself and ease my discomfort. I listen again, thinking I may have heard a slight movement.
“Boo,” a deep voice says from behind me.
I nearly go into cardiac arrest as large hands grip me by the waist, hauling me back into the shadows and startling the ever-loving shit out of me.
My back presses against their hard body, and as I twirl around, Reed is hunching over in hysterics, finding amusement in his little prank. I steady myself and swat at his arm.
“You almost gave me a heart attack, Sullivan!”
“Oh, come on. That was funny!” He continues to chuckle. I can’t help the smirk that creeps onto my lips.
“Fine. It was a little funny,” I admit, with a giggle.
My eyes drink in the enormous space. “We shouldn’t be down here, we’re going to get caught!
” I can feel the worry lines etched on my forehead.
Reed brings his hand back to my waist, pressing his warm body into mine.
His tall figure looms over me as he backs me against the wall, and I peer up at him.
He presses a finger to my lips, and they part slightly at his touch.
“Shh,” he orders. “Come with me.”
Taking my hand, he guides me through a large corridor and unlocks a door that leads down a long hallway.
I grip his hand tightly so I don’t lose him.
This place feels like a maze to me, though Reed’s steps are confident, as if he could find his way in his sleep.
The hall gives way to a large, open room with a dais in the center of it.
The space is dingy and frigid, and I swear I had just seen a rat skitter past our feet.
“What is this place?” I ask keenly, drinking in the peculiar room as Reed shuts the door behind us.
“It used to be an old meeting spot for the founding families of Hollowcrest,” he informs me, snaking his arms around my waist. His low, sultry voice sends a shiver through me.
I lean back into him, savouring the warmth of his solid body at my back.
Despite having just met him and Mauve’s brief warnings, he has been nothing but a gentleman towards me, which has proven to be a rare occurrence amongst men these days.
“Founding families?”
“Mhm,” he mutters, gently swiping my hair from my neck.
“The Ashbournes,” he whispers, placing a soft kiss on my exposed shoulder.
“The Whitmores.” Another kiss into the crook of my neck.
“The Lockwoods.” Another kiss. I close my eyes, tilting my head to give him better access.
“The Sullivans,” he whispers, sliding his hand down the front of my thigh.
Heat rushes through me, straight to my core and my breath stalls.
“And the Gravenhursts,” he finally says, placing a kiss against the soft flesh below my ear.
“Reed,” I whimper breathlessly. He spins me around, pressing me against the stone wall.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” he admits.
My heart begins to flutter in my chest. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you, too.
” Our eyes connect in the darkness, and the ambiance from the flickering flames illuminates the space around us.
It no longer feels like I’ve entered a creepy, hidden tunnel beneath the academy.
Now, it feels romantic. A hideaway where we can be together without prying eyes and judgmental looks of the students who can’t seem to accept my existence.
I peer up at Reed, with pleading doe eyes, expressing that I long for him.
For his touch, for his kiss, for his tongue to roam over the spaces of my skin I have yet to let him explore.
He leans down, brushing his lips against mine, a tease of a taste, leaving my neck straining as I lean forward into him, begging for more.
He kisses me again with eagerness, and I wrap my arms around his neck, threading my fingers through his neatly combed hair.
A hum escapes me as Reed’s fingers trail from my waist to my thighs, slipping past the hem of my skirt.
The sensation of his fingers on my bare thigh overwhelms my senses entirely.
We break our kiss, gripping onto each other like a lifeline, gasping for air.
“Reed,” I moan in a plea, as his mouth finds its way back to my neck, peppering kisses down to my collarbone, to the delicate flesh of the tops of my breasts. They become hurried, as if his restraint is slipping.
“I’m dying to taste you.” His voice is hoarse against the shell of my ear, and when he pulls away to look at me, there’s nothing but bewildered desire in his eyes.
His index finger teases the edge of my panties, waiting for my nod of approval before he goes any further.
His chest heaves, and I press my lips against his, feeling bold and empowered by his touch.
He once said power demands to be claimed, and I intend to abide by that logic.
“Then devour me, Sullivan.”
His smile is devilish, as if I’ve just granted him permission to do whatever his heart desires.
Dropping to his knees, he hikes my leg over his shoulder, wasting no time at all as his head finds its way beneath my skirt like he’s been starving for me.
His need to claim me fuels my own, and I suck in a sharp breath as he pulls the fabric of my panties to the side, dragging a skilled finger through the folds of my glistening centre.
“So wet for me already.” His grin is cocky, enjoying the slickness of my arousal around his fingers.
He sinks two fingers into my pussy, and my back arches against the stone, sending a sting of pleasure through me.
He pumps his digits in and out of me, finding his rhythm with the sounds of our laboured breaths, and I whimper, a slow release building in my core.
“More, please, more,” I beg. Reed dips his head between my thighs and laps at my needy clit, sending my sanity hurtling into a different dimension.
“Oh God, Reed,” I whimper, unable to control the cries that escape me.
The sounds leaving my lips give him more confidence in his strokes.
His fingers curl inside of me, hitting that sweet spot, pumping in and out of me with vigour as he laps and nips at my swollen clit.
The orgasm building within me is both delicious and torturous, and I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping onto Reed’s hair a little rougher than intended.
“You taste fucking heavenly on my tongue,” he praises, and that’s all it takes for me to completely lose all sense of control.
With another flick of Reed’s tongue, a collision of stars bursts behind my eyes, and I tremble, crying out his name as an all-consuming orgasm vibrates through me.
My legs shudder as Reed slows his tempo, dragging out my release until the very end, until I’m putty in his hands and far too sensitive to let him continue.
Adjusting my panties back in place, he comes back to my level and cups my chin, tilting my face up to look at him. He runs his tongue over my bottom lip before kissing me, deep and intentional.
“Do you like how you taste, Gravenhurst?”
I smirk, nodding my head. If I’ve learned one thing tonight, it’s that Reed’s mouth is like my own personal brand of heroin, and I’ve just become an addict.