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But something has heated between us. He moves closer, blocking my retreat with his body.
I hate him with all my heart, I tell myself, yet my body isn’t listening. She’s too busy betraying me by getting all hot under the collar for this asshole.
Who the hell does he think he is, being possessive?
“Mackenzie?” my mom calls. “Let’s get you changed so we don’t get any marks on the dress.”
I’m so relieved to be called away. I don’t even look at Dom and, as soon as I’m changed, I make my escape back to my room.
Once there, I lie on my bed for a while and try not to think about Paxton. My chest tightens, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of him lying on top of me. It had been so good between us at the start, I can hardly believe it ended up this way. The hot sex. The toxic power plays. The increasingly threatening behavior he exhibited before I tried to break up with him.
Dom would be like him. He’s already toxic, and we’ve not even touched. Why do I get a lady boner for fucked-up dudes? Then again, I spent my first year of freedom tied down to an increasingly controlling man, and not having the fun my friends did, so maybe my hormones are just doing what twenty-something hormones always do. Making me want sex. Lots of sex.
Sex I missed out on for a controlling freak. I thought it was love, and by the time I realized it wasn’t remotely that, it took me forever to pluck up the courage to get free. You could say I spent my first year in a cage of sorts. It might have been one of my own making, but it was still a cage, and now here I am, freer in some ways, more trapped in others, and isn’t that ironic.
I try to chill out and read, but I’m a horrible mix of stressed, anxious, and confused.
I need to do something. Move. Burn off this horrible energy.
Throwing myself off the bed, I change into leggings, a tight, strappy running top with built in bra, and running shoes, and take myself outside. We aren’t supposed to leave the boundaries of the college without letting someone know, which is weird as fuck, but Mom said it’s because this is an isolated area.
Within the fenced-off grounds, though, there are running trails, and I hit one now. I choose the one that winds through the woods, wanting nature to soothe my restless soul.
I pound through the trees, loving the cushioned feel of the ground below me from the leaves and pine needles. It gives more bounce than the most padded treadmill belt.
After I’ve run for what feels like forever but is only twenty minutes when I check my sports watch, I see an incline and push myself harder to get to the top. By the time I crest the hill, I’m panting with the exertion. Below me is a beautiful glen, and I stand, hands on my hips, as I get my breath back. I take in the view and smile as the sun shines right onto a green patch of grass. Late season flowers bloom down there, and I jog down the hill to look closer at them. There’s a purple flower, which I don’t recognize, and lots of pretty goldenrod. I wonder if they grew here wild or if someone planted them. They look planted, and the college is old, so maybe someone did this years ago? Perhaps a student. I imagine a young woman coming here and making a pretty spot for herself, away from the politics and backstabbing within the four walls of the building.
I test the ground with my hand, and, finding it dry, I sit and take my small bottle of water from my fanny pack. The cool liquid is a balm on my dry throat.
The sun still has some strength to it, despite the time of the year, and, when I’m finished drinking, I lie back and let the rays warm me.
I don’t know how long I lie there, basking in the heat on my closed eyelids, but a dark shadow passes over me.
With a gasp, I try to jerk upright, but strong hands make contact with my shoulders, pushing me back to the ground.
Panic hits me, my heart knocking against the inside of my ribs, but then a familiar blond head swims into my line of vision.
Kirill is straddling me.
I try not to let my fear show. This man is the one out of the three who scares me the most. Other times, though, he can be fun and the friendliest. He’s an enigma.
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t get off me or let up with the pressure on my shoulders.
“Get the fuck off me.”
The panic builds. Is he going to do something violent? The scene with the professor plays through my mind, and I can’t breathe from terror he’ll hurt me…or I’ll hurt him.
He laughs. “Relax, Duchess. I just didn’t want you running off anywhere.”
I grit my teeth. “God, what is it with you Devils?”
He surprises me by rolling off and lying next to me. Only our arms touch, but I jerk away. He reaches out and grabs my arm.
“Don’t leave.”
“Why the hell shouldn’t I?”
“Because you found my secret spot,” he says.
