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“You shouldn’t tell the other students that.” I squint at her. “They’ll prey on it as a weakness.” I don’t know why I warn her about the other students when my sole intention is to torture this girl, but we have some severely messed-up students in attendance. Girls and boys that would chew her up and spit her out.
She clenches her jaw. “Being better than your parents isn’t weakness.” Her eyes are blazing with anger now.
Her words pack a punch to my gut, as I was like her at one time. She’s a hopeless romantic who believes there’s an escape from darkness, but she is wrong and will learn.
“Your parents want you to take over the family business, and I’m here to mold you into a perfect leader for said business.” I cross my arms over my chest. “You’ll do as you’re told while you’re here. What happens afterward is up to you and your family.”
I study her reactions closely, intrigued by the daughter of my enemy. She isn’t what I expected at all. Instead of a smart retort, she holds her tongue and glares at me.
“Come. I’ll show you to your dorm room.” I gesture for her to walk out of my office.
She turns around and walks out, her hips swaying temptingly.
At that moment, I realize I’m staring unashamedly at her curvy figure and, particularly, her firm, round backside. Shaking my head, I walk after her and make sure I stay one step ahead. “Follow me.”
Although far shorter than her mother’s, Eva’s heels clack on the stone floor, punctuating the air violently. The sound is all that falls between us as we make our way toward the girls’ dormitory wing.
It’s hard to believe I have the most precious thing to Angela and Jamie Carmichael after years of scheming. They ripped my world apart and dismantled the empire I established in minutes, as well as killed a woman I was too blind to recognize I loved.
The large insurance payout made it possible for me to purchase the Syndicate Academy from Artem Sidorov, ex-bratva commander who was pleased to retire at seventy-one. The school had a reputation for molding successful leaders, but I took it up a notch, extending attendance to every mafia, not only the Bratva.
I swipe Eva’s keycard to enter the girls’ dormitory wing and lead the way into the luxurious hallway. The dormitories are, of course, much like a hotel, as the families would expect nothing less for their beloved offspring.
There’s an odd contrast stepping from the main school, which is cold and dark, into the west dormitory wing.
Eva’s soft gasp is proof of that. A sound that draws my attention over to her as my pants tighten slightly. My brow furrows as I force my attention back to the corridor ahead, navigating my way through the labyrinth of rooms to hers.
Finally, I find room sixty-nine. “This is your room,” I say, motioning to the door. I hold up the key card. “And this is your key.” I swipe it over the panel, and it clicks open.
Her brow furrows. “Is this a boarding school or hotel?”
“All rooms have key card access for the students’ protection.” I shrug as she stares at me blankly. “It’s impossible to pick an electronic lock,” I add.
In the five years since I purchased this academy, we’ve had some incidents that would shock the most hardened criminals. In total, in five years, we’ve lost seven students to vicious attacks. Incidents shocked me to the core, but I guess it would never be easy bringing criminal families’ heirs under one roof. I push open the door to her bedroom and step inside.
“You have your room, a small sitting room behind the first door and a bathroom behind the second, leading to a walk-in closet,” I explain.
Eva follows me inside. “This isn’t what I expected after seeing the rest of the school.” She puts down her hold-all and walks into the room, where one suitcase is waiting. Considering she’ll live here, she has few possessions.
“Is that all you brought with you?” I ask.
Eva glances up at me, a sadness in her eyes. “Yes.” She shrugs slightly. “They only allowed me to pack one bag.”
I clench my jaw, wondering what the stab in my gut is. Sympathy, perhaps? This girl has been subjected to parents like Angela and Jamie Carmichael. However, I refuse to accept she isn’t like them deep down under her angelic exterior. A woman raised by evil doesn’t grow up untouched by it.
I watch as she moves forward and gently runs her fingers over the cream silk linen on the four-poster bed. There’s no denying that she is stunning, but it’s a mask to what lies beneath–darkness and rotten evil.
“Listen to me, Eva,” I say, my voice stern.
She spins around and meets my gaze, eyes wide. “Sorry, sir.”
The word sir tugs at my insides as I feel myself thicken in my pants. No schoolgirls call me sir here, so perhaps the word appeals to the dominant side of me I buried long ago. My brow furrows as I stare at her, speculating why that word coming from this girl would affect me.
“Listen carefully. You will conform to the rules here, whether or not you like it.” I close the gap between us, forcing her to step back against the wall. “I don’t cower away from corporal punishment for those who don’t obey.”
Eva shudders, her eyes fluttering as a whoosh of air escapes her lungs.
The satisfaction coils through me at the first sign that she does indeed find me intimidating. I grit my teeth as another sensation other than satisfaction coils through me. A burning, forbidden lust that pools in the pit of my gut.
