41

Archer
Two weeks ago, I lost control while I was with Adrianna because her defiance makes me insane. And ever since, it’s like she’s obeying me, but there’s always an undercurrent of defiance.
It’s both infuriating and intoxicating, and it drives me crazy. That’s only way I can explain my vicious actions that night when I forced my way into Adrianna’s dorm room and stole her anal virginity. There’s been no mention of it since, but I know she resents me for being so forceful, as Adrianna isn’t naturally submissive. I’ve forced her into submission and while usually that’s Bly’s kind of thing, it’s odd how much I enjoy it.
My favorite trail through the woods helps me blow off steam as I jog up the hill toward the old ruins, getting close to the academy. I’ve hardly even broken a sweat and consider doing another couple of miles when something catches my eye, or should I say someone.
Adrianna is sitting on a large boulder by the stream, her legs hugged against her chest as she rocks slightly back and forth. The position is vulnerable, and it surprises me, but there’s no way I can jog past her without acknowledging her.
Instead, I slow to a walk and approach her.
She appears to be in her own world, as even branches snapping underfoot don’t alert her to my presence.
“Hey, baby girl,” I say softly once I’m a few feet from her.
She stiffens at the sound of my voice. “I’m really not in the mood right now, Archer.”
I smile as it’s taken a lot of persuading, but she’s finally calling me Archer and not Coach. “Okay, mind if I sit with you?”
She glares at me. “I do, as that’s why I’m here. To get away from people.”
“People?” I ask.
“Yeah, I needed some space to clear my head.”
I nod. “I can understand that. Anyone in particular?”
“You,” she says, but then a whisper of a smirk twists onto her lips. “No, I’m pissed at my dad. He’s sent me a summons to go to Mexico a week before Spring Break to meet a potential suitor.”
I clench my fist. “A what?”
She raises a brow. “He intends to marry me off as soon as I finish here at the academy. Isn’t that what happens to practically every female student?”
She’s right. It is. But I never imagined that Adrianna would accept that fate. Even though she said she doesn’t want me to sit, I sit down on the rock next to her, which is terribly uncomfortable.
“Do you never listen?”
“Rarely,” I say, smiling at her. “So, who is this suitor?”
“No idea. You’d have to ask my father.”
I tilt my head. “I don’t think he’d tell me, do you?”
She grinds her teeth, which I notice she does when she’s stressed. “No,” she says simply, turning her attention back to the water.
“Do you come down here often?”
Adrianna shakes her head. “Only when I need to think, and that’s not too often when I’m here at the academy.”
“And when you’re home?” I realize that her home-life must not be the best, and as someone who also betrayed his family in a different way, I get a sense I may understand more about Adrianna than she would expect.
“I don’t see it as home, not really.”
I understand more than she can know, as I felt exactly the same about my home. “You feel like an imposter?”
Her eyes widen. “Yeah, how did you-”
“Let’s say I had a difficult family, too.”
She smiles, and it’s a smile that warms my heart. A worrying sensation, considering normally I feel nothing when I’m having an intimate relationship with a student, but Adrianna is different. Special.
“It’s why I betrayed my family, you know?”
“Why?” I ask.
She looks at me then and it feels like she sees past all the bullshit right to my soul. “Because I want to escape their clutches.”
“I could give you some tips.”
Her eyes narrow. “Are you saying you ran from your family, too?”
I clench my jaw as I rarely talk to anyone about my past. Oak knows the full story, but no one else does. “Yes, some shit went down, and I had to flee.”
“What kind of shit?”
I shake my head. “It’s not important.”
Her brow furrows. “Did you betray your family?”
I guess I betrayed them, but not in the way that Adrianna did. “Kind of.” I run a hand across the back of my neck. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
Adrianna doesn’t question me, turning her attention back to the running water. “I know what I’m doing is bad and it will hurt my family in the long run, but they don’t care about my future. My father wants to marry me to some thug with no regard as to the life I’ll live after marriage.”
It’s unfair what the females of this school go through, like stepping back in time to an era when women didn’t have rights, but that’s the way of the criminal system. There are a handful of female leaders, but they’re a minority.
“It’s a disgrace what the women of mafia organizations are subjected to,” I say.
Adrianna’s eyes widen. “Few men would admit that out loud.”
I shrug. “I’ve always thought it. You’re stronger than most of the boys and yet you have to submit to some chump who you could probably beat up.”
Adrianna shudders. “That’s why it won’t happen.”
“You honestly think you can escape your family? They’re pretty powerful.”
Her expression turns pensive as she gazes over the water again. “Money is the key to everything. If I have enough money, I can hide.”
It is the key to everything, whether it’s in the criminal world or outside of it, but I don’t believe it can hide her forever. Adrianna is recognizable and her father, Damien, would put a reward out for her. If anyone saw her, she’d quickly find herself pursued. “You father has more money, though.”
She tilts her head. “What does that matter?”
“What kind of ransom will he offer for your return?”
Her throat bobs as she swallows. “I don’t want to think about it.”
She knows that any ransom he offers will be so high that she couldn’t contend with the manpower that comes after her.
“It’s important to think of every eventuality if you’re going to succeed.”
“Are you going to coach me on how to evade my family?”
“I could do, or…” I lean forward and kiss her neck softly. “I could teach you something more exciting.”
Adrianna sucks in a deep, shuddering breath. “Archer, not here.”
I tilt my head. “Why not, baby girl?”
“Because this is my safe place. When I have something to think about, this is where I come.” She looks me dead in the eye. “I need it to remain that way. Untainted.”
“Are you saying that having sex with me would taint it?”
Her jaw works. “Yes.”
I realize it’s true. When I was still at home, I had a place I escaped to that was all my own. The old tree house in the woods that a distant relative had built years before I was born. It was my escape, and no one bothered me there. “Fair enough.”
Adrianna’s eyes widen. “I thought you were going to push me.”
I shake my head. “I know what you mean about having a safe place.” I stand and hold my hand out to her. “Shall we take this to my apartment?”
“It’s the middle of the day.”
“What’s your point? It’s a Sunday, which means we’re both free.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “My point is there’s no way I’m walking into your apartment without being seen by many students. I don’t want anyone to know that I gave in to your pursuit of me.”
“No?” I ask, pulling her against me and wrapping my arms around her waist. “We should go to the gym instead.”
Her nostrils flare, but I see the fire of desire ignite. “Fine.”
It’s amusing how over time her defiance has diminished and her willingness to submit to me only increases with every passing day. “I’ll go first and you meet me there in five minutes. Okay?”
She nods in response.
I turn and walk up the incline, following the path toward the academy. It was difficult to walk away from her rather than fucking her against a tree like an animal, but if I want her to forgive me for the blackmail, then destroying her safe place probably isn’t the best way to go about it.