Devon's Discipline (14 page)

“I never thought I’d see you again!” Barbi threw her arms around her as she unlocked the door and walked in.

“I’m so sorry I left the way I did.” Over Barbi’s shoulder, Devon saw Lucy curled up on the couch, and she opened her mouth in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t want to leave Barbi here all by herself. I didn’t think I would ever see you back here.”

“Well, I missed you both.” Devon patted Barbi then moved to the stairs.

“You mean this wasn’t planned? You both just happened to come back on the same day?” Barbi looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Just be happy we did, okay?” Devon grinned and shook her head, then trudged up the stairs. She set her laptop case down at her desk and moved to put her clothes away. It took about twenty minutes, but afterwards everything appeared the way it had before she’d left.

Her cell phone buzzed and she tugged it out of her pants. It was a text message from Donovan.

Where are you
?

“Not at your house,” Devon mumbled as she punched out a reply.

Will see you around
.

She knew it wouldn’t be an answer he’d like, and her phone buzzed almost immediately.

Aren’t you already in enough trouble?

The question sent a shiver down her spine.

Apparently not.

She rolled her eyes and hit send. Her fingers furiously hit more letters.

Have stuff to do. Talk to you later.

Devon changed into a pair of lounge pants and a camisole top. Five minutes had passed since she’d sent her last text and he still hadn’t replied. Then two messages came through at once.

See you in class.

Don’t be late.

Devon felt a flutter in her stomach. He had been upset because of the way she’d acted and she’d made it worse. Now what would he do to her? She shut off the light and got into bed.

“Damn it. I really screwed up this time.”

Chapter Five

Devon had a huge knot in her stomach as she walked into her Supernatural class. She hadn’t spoken to Donovan since his text on Tuesday, and although only two days had passed, it felt like an eternity. She eyed her seat choices, then picked one of the last rows at the very back. It was as far away from his desk as possible.

The small group up at the front discussed the discrimination modern day witches faced. Devon pondered the absurdity of their statements and shook her head. In any other setting the argument would be a heated debate, but their main points lacked substance.

Suddenly the fire alarms sounded and there was a mad rush toward the doors. The college occasionally had fire drills that were scheduled, but there had been no warning this time. It could be anything, Devon realized, including an actual fire. She stood slowly as her classmates shoved each other out of the way, as though they were children instead of young adults.
Did Donovan leave already?

Devon watched the last girl leave and decided to go and sit on the steps. Would he notice if she didn’t go outside with the others? She blinked a few times and swore her head felt off.
What is wrong with me?

After about five minutes of waiting, she had a bad feeling about her decision.
What if there really is an emergency?
She raised her arms over her head to pull up on the railing when suddenly her entire body was yanked up and off the ground.

“Are you crazy?” Donovan held her by the arm and nearly dragged her up the stairs. “There’s a gas leak and you stay inside?” He pushed her out the exit door and led her to one of the outside tables. “Stay here and do not move until it’s clear.”

“I’m sorry.” Devon bit her lip as he stormed off. She had apologized way too often to him in the past few weeks.

The fire trucks and ambulances arrived moments later. At least ten people in blue uniforms dispersed among the group gathered outside, and to her dismay one made a beeline toward the picnic bench. Devon stood to sneak away, but one of the young men reached her before she could go very far.

“Devon Dawson?”

“Yup,” she acknowledged while cursing under her breath. “What?”

“Hi, I’m Matt. I’m one of the EMTs on the ambulance. I heard your head was bothering you. Do you mind if I take some vitals?”

“Actually my head is—”

Donovan shot her a look from across the lawn and she clamped her mouth shut. Apparently incredible hearing could be added to her list of nifty vampire traits.

“Please?” Matt pointed toward a seat.

“Yeah, sure.” Devon shot Donovan a look of her own, then flopped down.

The EMT checked her pulse and blood pressure, then shined a light in each of her eyes. “You check out okay, but if you feel lightheaded or sick, go to the clinic and let them help.”

“I will.” She forced a smile. “Thanks, Matt. I feel so much better.”

“Good. Take care of yourself.” Matt gave her a nod and moved on to another student. If he’d caught the slight sarcasm in her tone, at least he hadn’t call her on it.

Devon glanced over her shoulder, but no one had been allowed access to the building yet. She just wanted to grab her stuff and go back home. She curled her feet up and tried to get comfortable.

* * *

“Hey! Hey, girl!”

Devon opened her eyes. A security guard stood above her. “Huh?”

“Come on, girl. It’s time to go on home. It’s late.” The older man shook his head. “They cleared this area over an hour ago.”

“Oh!” She stood up slowly. “Thank you for waking me up.”

“Not a real good place to take a nap, you know?” He muttered something else and moved toward the main pathway.

“Where is my phone?” Devon shook her head and groaned. “Oh no! All my stuff is back in the classroom.”
I really hope he isn’t there.

Devon made her way down the hall and into the large classroom. A glance confirmed the room empty, though a small table lamp shone bright on top of his classroom desk. The absence could be temporary. She knelt in front of the row of chairs where her belongings were left but found nothing.

“I have your things down here.”

“Crap,” she whispered.
Maybe I’ll pretend not to hear…

“I’m grading reports and will probably be here all night. I’m sure you’ll fall asleep first.”

“Sorry, I had something on my mind. Thank you.” Devon plastered a fake smile on her face, then stood and bounded down the steps. She gave a hop at the bottom and quickly reached for her bag and phone. “Okay thanks, bye.”

“What were you thinking?” Donovan moved the items out of her reach.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She bent forward until her fingertips brushed against her cell.

In a split second he appeared behind her, took both of her hands in his, and pressed against her back until she was flush against the desk.

“Is this the only position you can think in?” he scolded.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t think this way at all,” she groaned as he landed a smack on each of her bottom cheeks.

“Why did you stay in here when the alarm went off?”

“I doubt you’ll believe me.” She yelped as he doubled the smacks.

“Try me.”

“I’d rather not!” Devon snipped. Thoughts ran through her head at top speed, but none of them seemed shareable.

“Five… four… three…”

“Fine! I wanted to know if you would notice if I stayed inside.” She felt heat wash over her face. He had never counted down before, but she assumed the consequence would be even less pleasant than the spanking he was giving her.

“For someone who acts like she does not want to listen, you do a good job.”

“Don’t get used to it.” She closed her eyes.
Why did I say it like that?
“I didn’t… ahh…” His hand ran down the cleft of her butt and rested on the very top of her thighs.

“Let me see if I’ve got this right. You stayed here because you wanted to see if I would come back and get you? Then I did what you wanted, but now you are angry?”

“I guess.” She rubbed the top of her fingers against the bottom of his hand. She knew her actions didn’t make sense, but he had her all topsy-turvy with desire and need.

“A gas line leaked and about a dozen students and faculty were carted off to the hospital. If you had stayed inside a few more minutes, it could have knocked you unconscious. You picked an extremely dangerous time to question my loyalty.”

“You told me to go home and I did, so you really have—ow!” Devon yelled as his hand laid three smacks on the very top of each of her thighs.
I wish I could tell him what’s been on my mind.

“What you did this afternoon still has nothing to do with the other day. Let’s stay focused, okay? What did you want me to prove to you?”

“I feel invisible to everyone.” She flipped around to face him. “After my mother’s funeral, no one paid attention to me. They cluck-clucked over the poor little orphan girl, but as soon as the last rose landed on the casket, I was erased from their minds! No one gives a damn about me!”

“You don’t get to choose others’ actions and reactions. If you throw a glass of water in someone’s face and they retaliate by throwing acid in yours, it’s out of your hands. There is no script and action tags in life, Devon. But your own actions cause consequences, and you’re not always going to like them.”

“The only consequences are when my ass is painted red,” she snapped, too aggravated to care if he took it out on her butt or not.

“You’re still avoiding the question. While you sat here on the steps, what did you want me to prove?”

“I wanted to know if you still cared. I royally messed things up when I lied.” She pulled her legs up and rested her head on her knees. “I feel guilty.”

“I’m glad the fumes didn’t make you sick.”

Suddenly, Donovan shot her a ‘not now’ look and slid her off the desk.

“Professor Matthews!” Barbi flounced in through the door. “Oh.” Her face dissolved into a mask of confusion. “Hey, Devon.” Barbi took the stairs slowly until she reached the two.

“My class happened during the gas thing,” Devon explained.
Why is she coming here so late?

“Are you okay?” Barbi touched her shoulder. “I have to drop something off, but if you want to wait, we can walk back home together.”

“I’ll see you Saturday. Today’s class was re-scheduled for ten in the morning.” Donovan gathered her things and piled them in her arms.

“Thanks.” Devon bit her lip. “Yeah, um… I’ll wait.” She gave a nod to Barbi and left the room.

* * *

Barbi emerged about ten minutes later. “That gas leak thing is scary. I mean, someone could have really gotten hurt.”

“Yeah.” Devon walked ahead of her. “So why were you here so late?”

“I’ve been really busy and my grades started to slip. Professor Matthews let me do a few extra credit projects to bring it back up to pass. What were you doing here?” Barbi shifted the books in her arms.

“My class happened during the gas thing and um… I stayed inside and got disoriented. Professor Matthews came back in to get me and had an EMT look me over. I guess I fell asleep for a little while since we were sitting outside forever.” Devon sighed. “No big thing.”

“So, he like rescued you? That is incredibly hot! Did he carry you?” Barbi giggled.

“No!” Devon felt a wave of heat flush over her and she turned away. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“I’m teasing! I would have pretended to faint.” The younger girl winked. “I mean, you know? Anyway, are you going to the masked ball? I’m so excited about it!”

“It is just a lame event thrown together by the student council to get donations and an excuse to dress up.”

“As the freshman class treasurer, it’s not! It’s a celebration for the end of the semester.” Barbi protested. “I love the idea of wearing a beautiful gown and a feathered mask and just being sparkly.”

“Yeah well, I don’t have anyone to go with, and I can’t afford a gown. Besides, it’s like next week.” Devon unlocked the front door to their house and went inside.

“You can always go to one of those hand-me-down prom dress places. Lucy can sew, so I bet she’d help put something together.”

“It doesn’t matter. No one wants to go with me,” Devon reiterated, then flopped down on the couch.

The front door opened and Lucy stepped inside. She had a small, odd looking package in her hands. “Hey, this is yours. It looks like it was delivered last week. I found it in the bushes.” She thrust it at Devon and joined them.

“I didn’t order anything, so it can’t be mine,” Devon sighed as she peeled off the tape and opened it.

“Oh, wow!” Barbi gasped as she took the item out—a dark purple and silver eye mask done in a masquerade style, complete with feathers.

“Who sent it?” Lucy laughed, but it sounded strained.

Devon peeked back into the box and saw an envelope. Her fingers slid under the flap and she tugged out an invitation. The card was embossed in silver ink and read:

Your presence is requested at the Masquerade Ball. The enclosed gift will help make the night one you will not forget.

Barbi stole the box and poked around in the tissue paper. “There’s something silky—oh wow!” She pulled a tiny pair of black panties out of the box.

“Hey!” Devon grabbed the lingerie and the mask and stomped away. “It’s obviously just a stupid prank.” She rushed up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut, then flounced onto her bed and carefully dumped out the contents of the box. A gift card stared up at her and upon further inspection she saw the amount of $300.00 written in the corner. “What the hell?”