Lessons in SECRET (5 page)

“He loves you.”

“I know. But it’s
not enough.
I’m
not
enough to heal him. I can tell him all day and night that he’s
wonderful, and special. And the bravest man I know. But he’ll never
believe me. He has it in his head that he’s somehow not worthy of
me, or true happiness.”

“You have a year to
make him see it. He said he’d never cheat on you, so you’ll have
him with you every night.”

“I already do. We
haven’t been apart since the day he ‘proposed.’ I can honestly
say that I’ve never been happier, or sadder. It’s almost worse to
know that there’s a time limit. Because I know that when he walks
away from me this time, it will truly be the end.”

“If anyone can change
his mind, you can. I’ll do whatever I can. We all will.”

“Thanks, Isa. Now
back to you. Why did you turn down the blackmail proposition if it’s
not because you’re afraid to have sex with him or his boss?”

“He somehow got my
research paper and turned in the same one as his. He was trying to
say I cheated. I couldn’t allow it.” I drop my head in my hands.
“I know I need to look at the big picture, but I couldn’t.”

“How did Kurt react?”

“He said I’m going
to regret it. And that I’d been warned.”

“So he still wants
you. Probably even more now.”

“Yeah. Mase thinks
it’s going to be bad for me. He said he’ll do whatever he can to
protect me, but I know that’s not much.”

“I’m giving you
some backup, then.” She holds up her hand before I can argue. “This
isn’t about sheltering you, Isa. Everyone has used backup on
missions. You know that.”

I
do
know that. And I need to get over my stubborn pride. “Thanks, Rei.”

“You’re welcome.
Now go home and get some rest. I have a feeling you’re going to
need it.”

Mason

“Leave Isabelle
alone, Kurt,” I tell him with a menacing glare the day after the
cheating scandal.

We’re just inside my
classroom and the door’s open, but so help me God, if the little
prick doesn’t keep his mouth shut, I’ll shut it for him. He
doesn’t need Isa. I know she thinks she needs him, but there has to
be another way. Maybe she can get Max to confide in her. I know she’s
not doing what she’s doing by choice. Which kills me, but I really
can’t do anything about it.

“You want a turn at
her, Wells? Is that it? She’s going to cost a pretty penny when I
finally convince her to join the other girls.”

That he’s being this
cocky—and mouthy—while we’re here at school tells me something.
He’s getting desperate. I’ve observed him with the other girls,
and I’ve never seen him like this with anyone. I know part of it is
because Isa stood up to him, and he wants to break her. I won’t
allow that, though. So I think fast.

“You got me, Kurt. I
want her. I want to initiate her into your little group.”

I don’t have to pay,
of course. But offering may smooth things over, and help her out.
Hell, I don’t want her mouth on another man. She hasn’t done that
with me yet, and I’ll be damned if I have to find out she sucked
off someone else. Especially Kurt.

“The girls initiate
on me. Always.”

“Maybe it’s time
for a change.”

“No.”

Before I can respond,
he lets out a low whistle. I look out the door, and see what’s
gotten him distracted. Or I should say,
who’s
gotten him distracted. A doe eyed girl with long brown hair and short
bangs is sauntering down the hall. There’s no other word for it.
She’s fucking sauntering down the hall, and every male in the
building is tracking her progress.

She’s slim with
slight curves, but the way she carries herself makes you think she’s
packing a lot more than she really is. It’s confidence, along with
the knowledge that she’s sexy. Her skirt’s short, and her top’s
little more than a bustier. If I wasn’t so into Isa, I’d go for
it. But while I can appreciate how hot this girl is, she’s doing
very little for me. Not nothing—I am a red-blooded male after all.
But not much.

The girl comes to a
stop in front of Kurt and me. “Are you Mr. Wells?”

“I am, yes.”

That came out a little
husky, and her eyes narrow. Dammit. “I’m Ellie. Today’s my
first day, and apparently, you’re my first class.”

“Lucky us. I’m
Kurt,” he says, holding out his hand.

“Neither one of you
is getting lucky. At least not with me. So you can put your little
smile, and your little dick, back where they can’t offend anyone.”

Kurt drops his hand and
glares at her. “You’ll learn soon enough that making an enemy of
me is not in your best interest, bitch.”

“Am I supposed to be
scared? Shaking in my heels? Not gonna happen.” She turns back to
me, dismissing Kurt. “Is there assigned seating, or can I sit
wherever I want?”

“There’s no
assigned seating, but the other students have claimed the seats they
like throughout the year. If you wait until everyone gets here, we
can see what’s left.”

“Whatever you say,
Teach,” she says and then walks past us to sit on the edge of my
desk as the other students start to file in.

Wow. This girl is
something else. And she just poked the bear by taking on Kurt. She
puts on a tough act, but I hope she can follow it up. I don’t have
time to worry about her, though. I have Isa to try and protect, and I
also have a job to do. One that I’m jeopardizing by getting
involved with her, real student or not.

When I see Isa later in
the day, I know Kurt’s begun his school day torture. Her mouth is
in a thin line, and her clothes have some food stains on them. She
stills walks into my classroom with her head held high. Which is the
wrong way to play this. I’m trying to think of some way to convey
this to her before the school day is over, when Grace walks in. Isa
sees her and immediately bursts into tears. It’s like she flipped a
switch, and it’s exactly what Kurt’s number one minion needs to
see.

Grace has a smirk on
her face as she approaches Isa’s desk. “Did something happen at
lunch, Isabelle?”

Isa nods between her
tears and answers in a small voice. “Yes.”

“It’s only going to
get worse.”

She walks to her own
seat, making sure to bend over far enough to flash me some cleavage
as she gets settled. I shake my head because I know she won’t give
up. But I won’t give in to her. I wasn’t going to before Isa, and
I definitely won’t now.

I head over to Isa’s
place after I’m done in the tutoring lab. I know that the tears
were fake, but I still want to make sure she’s okay. And yes, I
want to fuck her. I went months without a woman, but even a day
without her makes me crazy. Logically I know that I need to get her
out of my system, but it’s been more than just sex with her from
the start, so that’s not going to happen. God help us both.

She’s in the shower
when I find her. I quickly shed my clothes, grabbing a condom from my
wallet before I join her. “Hi, babe. You doing okay?”

“I am now,” she
says with a sexy smile on her face. “I need to get the ketchup out
of my hair before you make me scream, though.”

“They put ketchup in
your hair?” Motherfuckers.

“Yeah. It’s almost
out,” she tells me as she rubs more shampoo in the long locks.

I move her hands aside
and take over. I wash the last of it out as she reaches behind her to
stroke my cock. I wanted to take care of her, but I don’t have the
strength to stop her from pleasing me. It feels too damn good.

She has one of those
rain showers, but it’s not just a showerhead. The entire ceiling
has little holes that have water coming out of them. So it’s like
really
being in the
rain. I’m trying to decide how I want to do this—do her—when
the lights go off. “What the fu—“

“Just wait,” Isa
says.

Colored lights all of
sudden stream from the top of the shower. The colors are changing and
shifting into patterns on the wall and shower door. And all over our
bodies. It’s hands down one of the most erotic things I’ve ever
seen—lights washing over Isa’s body along with the water. “Holy
shit.”

I drop to my knees,
because I know exactly what I want right now. My mouth on her. The
water pressure drops, and I’m glad one of use still has enough
brain function left at the moment to make sure I don’t drown. I’m
going to make sure she doesn’t remain this coherent for much
longer, though. I love to drive her crazy, and taking care of her
pussy is guaranteed to do just that.

“Are you sure, Mase?”
Isa asks me.

I look up at her, and
see how nervous and shy she looks. She’s biting her bottom lip, and
has her arms crossed over her breasts. Fuck. I thought she’d be
okay with this. Hell, I thought she’d be
more
than okay. I keep forgetting that I was her first. And that I
shouldn’t want to be her last.

“It’s going to feel
good, Isa. Really, really good. I promise.”

Her lips curve up at my
words. “I have no doubt. I just don’t want you to feel like you
have to—“

“I want to. You have
no idea how much I want to, Isa. I can show you, though.”

I reach down and take
my fully erect cock in my hand. It’s heavy, and I wouldn’t be
surprised if I actually come while getting her off. Just the thought
of it makes me twitch. I see her eyes go wide.

“That’s you, Isa.
All you. I want to taste you so bad.”

“Yes, please.”

I don’t even
hesitate. I lean forward and lick her like she’s my favorite
dessert. And after that first taste, I can honestly say nothing else
I’ve ever eaten can compare to her.

I stroke myself as I
devour her, taking us both higher, and closer to release. She’s
pulling my hair, thrusting her hips at my face, and spouting off
random facts that only make sense to her and her sexy brain. It’s
so hot that I can’t believe I haven’t gone up in flames yet. It
only takes a couple of minutes, and some intense suction on her clit
before she’s coming hard. I’m right behind her, spilling myself
all over the shower floor.

Isa sinks to the floor
next me and I take her in my arms. “Wow.”

“That’s the
understatement of the year, babe. You’re delicious. Not that I ever
doubted that you would be.”

It’s true. I’ve
always liked going down on women, but there have only been a handful
of pussies in my life that I’ve truly loved to eat. Isa’s has
joined that exclusive club, which is going to make everything even
harder than it already is. Because I’m going to be thinking about
it every time I see her. Teaching a class of teenagers isn’t going
to be easy when I’m hiding a raging boner. But then again, when is
anything in my life ever easy?

* * *

Isa

It’s been two days
since Kurt waged his war on me. I’ve had food thrown on me, my
locker’s been filled with whipped cream, my clothes were stolen
from my P.E. locker while I was in class, and random guys have been
brushing up against me while saying disgusting things. I want to just
shoot the little asshole in the crotch region, but I know I have to
pretend to crack. So, I’m going to.

I get out of my English
class a couple of minutes early by telling my male teacher that I
have “female things” to take care of. I wait in the main hall of
the school until the bell rings. Then I slide down the wall next to
Kurt’s locker and start to sob. Tegan wanted me to start wailing in
the middle of the floor, but Audrey reminded her that a great
performance is one that looks more realistic, and not some over the
top shit. Her words, but she’s right. I can’t put on a show, I
just have to be one.

I hear people talking
around me, but no one approaches. Not even the teachers. I feel a
shadow over me, but I fight the urge to look. I know from the cologne
that it’s Kurt. He crouches down next to me so he can whisper in my
ear.

“What’s the matter,
Isabelle?” he asks me, reaching out to brush my hair from my face.
“Having a hard time lately, aren’t you?”

“Y-yes.”

“This could all be
over. You could be one of the most popular girls in school. Just say
the word.”

“Wh-what do I have to
do?”

“Just make some men
happy. And maybe a woman or two. It’ll be fun for you.”

“I don’t have much
experience.”

“That’s even
better. I’ll try you out and see how to market you.”

Market me? Is he for
real? My body isn’t a can of Pepsi. And God, the thought of
doing…that…with him. But I have to. I know I do.

“Okay,” I tell him.

He gets a text before
he can say anything else. “Dammit,” he says, gripping the phone
like he wants to throw it. “I’ll be in touch. No one will mess
with you anymore.”

He kisses the top of my
head, and then storms off, looking like he wants to kill someone. I
get up off the ground and start to walk to Mase’s room. Max falls
into step next to me.

“It’s not so bad,
you know. I mean, it is…but you get used to it. Kurt and the boss
protect us. So yeah, we have to have sex with random old guys, but no
one hurts us.”

“Physically, you
mean. What about emotionally? And who’s this ‘boss’?”

“I try to block out
the emotional. I mean, I have no choice. I can’t get expelled—I’m
on scholarship here. This school is my ticket to an Ivy. And at least
I’m making good money. As for the boss—I can’t tell you about
him. You’ll find out when he thinks you’re ready.”

We’re at the
classroom now, so I can’t ask her anything else. She gives me a
small wave as she walks away. I’m shaking my head when I walk
inside. Until I feel the tension in the room. It’s emanating from
Grace, and directed at Mase. It’s a far cry from her blatant
flirting, and alarm bells ring in my head. When I look to him, he’s
not even paying attention to her, though. He’s writing on the
board. I’ll ask him about it later, but for now I’m just glad
that I don’t have to watch her undressing him with her eyes for the
next forty minutes.