Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1) (20 page)

I
shot out of my chair, nearly tipping it backward. “You can’t do that! Only
Elias can-”

“Mr.
Hex is not the leader of Elysian,” Prescott growled, rising and staring me in
the eyes with equal fire. “You will do as I say, or be exiled. Is that clear?”

A
heavy lump formed in my throat as I realized I didn’t have much of a choice.
Mutely, I nodded. “Is that all?”

Prescott
waved his hand. “Get out. I’m done with you. Stay, Aurelius. There’s something
I need to discuss with you.”

Hector
sat back down, his hands clenching the armrests.

His
eyes met mine briefly and he nodded.

I
lingered a moment longer before at last turning away, my steps significantly
heavier than when I’d entered the room.

NOT
HAVING ANYWHERE ELSE to go, I returned to Hector’s suite and paced the length
of the room. I couldn’t leave - I wasn’t ready to. I could feel my heart
breaking at every step as I realized I wouldn’t get to see Hector nearly as
much. That my seemingly “perfect” relationship was falling apart as quickly as it
had entered my life.

Feeling
restless and needing to talk it out with someone, I called up Angela. She
agreed to meet me after her first lesson. About an hour later, Hector still
hadn’t returned. I had nearly chewed my nails off with worry before Angela
showed up. Hugging her and thanking her for coming, we sat down on Hector’s
couch, making sure others couldn’t hear us. Hector had assured me the room had
been magically soundproofed, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

Quickly,
I briefed Angela over Dean Prescott’s ultimatum, and she winced.

“That
sucks, Sally,” Angela said, giving me a sympathetic smile. “But at least you’re
getting out of here and returning to the real world.”

“That’s
just it,” I said. “I don’t want to return to the real world.”

She
studied me. “Is it because of him?”

I
appreciated her attempt at discretion. “Yes, mostly. And because I hate my job,
I hate my boss, and I feel like my life isn’t going anywhere.”

“Maybe
this is good,” she said, pouring herself another glass of wine. “You could
start over.”

“I’ve
fantasized about it,” I said. “But I’m not sure where to start. My resume isn’t
all that impressive.”

“Surely
you must have something you’re good at, some kind of hobby.”

I
thought about it, then perked up. “I really enjoy fighting. Hector says I’m one
of the best straight-in fighters he’s seen.”

“There
you go! Maybe you could teach self-defense classes for sups?”

That
nugget lodged itself in my brain. Running my own life sounded amazing. I could
be free of Elias, free to make my own way in the world, just like Raoul. I
could drop my gig at Vixens and pick up regular part-time work. I sighed,
feeling overwhelmed but excited at once. “One of my roommates back home is an
entrepreneur. I’ll pick his brain and see what I’m getting myself into first.”

Angela
smiled. “That’s my girl.”

I
stared glumly at my empty wineglass. “It’s going to be hard to let Hector go.”

“Who
says you have to let him go? People do long-distance relationships all the
time.”

“But
they’re hard. That’s why so few of them work out.”

She
shrugged. “It’s not impossible. It’ll take work, yeah, but it depends on how
badly the two of you want it.”

How
badly we wanted it. I’d never felt this way about anyone before. Hector was
funny, kind, and supportive. Being hot as hell also helped, but that wasn’t
what I loved most about him.

I
loved
him
.

I
smiled but didn’t say anything.

Just
then, the door opened and a harried Hector walked in.

Angela
gulped down the rest of her wine and hastily stood. “I, er, forgot I have some
homework to do,” she mumbled, then gave him a wave and scurried off.

I
rose, not sure I could count on my legs to hold me up. “What’s wrong? You look
like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He
chuckled. “They’re actually a pretty boring lot, ghosts.” Then his expression
turned serious. “I’m sorry, Sally.”

I
crossed my arms. “You knew this would happen.”

He
didn’t deny it.

I
tapped my foot, thinking back to what the soldiers in the bunker had said. “Has
this all just been a game to you? Am I just another conquest you can get rid of
with the test to save your job?”

“What?
No! I’ve never thought of you that way!”

“The
dean implied all your students fall in love with you.”

“That
doesn’t mean I’m in love with them. Sally.” He gripped my arms. “You’re a
miracle. I didn’t even know I was capable of loving again until you entered my
life.”

That
tamed my anger. My shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry for biting your head off. This
whole situation sucks. Why is he making me take the test so soon? I don’t have
any time to prepare! It’s like he wants me to fail.”

“That’s
because he does.”

I
blinked. “Excuse me?”

“The
D.P.I. wrote up the school for violating several safety regulations, faulty
spells included. That’ll hit our business score pretty hard and reflect poorly
on Prescott. His head’s already been on the chopping block, and this will give
the board the ammunition they need to fire him.” He pointed to me. “Unless he
can prove you were an inept student to begin with. It’ll look better to expel
you and claim you were a failed exile and mostly responsible for his failures
than for him to look in the mirror and judge himself. He’s desperate.”

“I
- but - he can’t do that! That’s bullshit!”

“That’s
politics,” Hector said gravely.

I
sat down with a plunk, stunned. “What will happen to you if I fail?”

Hector
studied the floor. “That’s actually what he wanted to talk to me in private
about. Prescott’s been trying to get rid of me for years because he doesn’t
like the amount of loyalty I have from the other staff. I’m a threat,
especially after there was talk of making me dean. Lucky for him, they couldn’t
pay me to do that job. I’m fine where I’m at. And besides, the board has always
been on my side when Prescott’s run my name through the mud in attempts to get
me axed, so he hasn’t been very successful.”

“Unless
I royally screw up and provide him with an excuse to get rid of both of us at
once.”

Hector’s
lack of a response confirmed my worst fears.

I
swore. “This isn’t fair! He’s not going to get away with it.”

“Then
don’t let him.”

A
cold shiver went through me, and I swallowed hard. “I can’t do it. I can’t
sleep with someone else, especially not with you watching.”

Hector
sighed and sat down beside me. “We don’t have a choice, Sally.”

I
shot to my feet. “Of course we have a choice! We have a choice not to put up
with this crap!”

He
ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not as simple as simply refusing. In fact, a
refusal to go through with the exam is an automatic failure and always results
in expulsion and exile.”

“I…”
I didn’t know what to say. I felt like my life was slowly closing in on me,
trapping me and leaving me with nowhere else to run. “I can’t do it. I can’t…”

Hector
rose and hugged me fiercely. “It’ll be all right. I promise. I’ll be there with
you every step of the way.”

I
clung to him as if he’d vanish if I let go. “I’m not strong enough to do this.”

He
lifted my chin. “You’re one of the strongest people I know. Not many could have
endured what you’ve endured and still face every day with as much determination
and spunk as you have. You can do this.”

The
unspoken, “You have to,” lingered between us, creating a wall I felt growing
thicker with every second. “I need some air.”

Hector
kissed my forehead and reluctantly let me go.

I
couldn’t bring myself to look back as I walked away, unwilling to face the fact
that tomorrow night I’d be forced to sleep with a total stranger, all while my
beloved looked on, unable to do a damn thing about it.

Chapter 15

TURNED
OUT, HECTOR CHANGED his mind about the whole thing by the next day. He tried
convincing me no less than fifty times to not go through with this, to run away
with him. He said he didn’t care about his job – he couldn’t watch me make love
to another man. Though I reminded him it was just sex, even talking about it
make me sick to my stomach. How could I be expected to cheat on the man I
loved?

Obviously,
Prescott was suspecting I’d try to back out of it, because he sent guards to
trail us at every turn to make sure we got to the club. Apparently if I didn’t
fail in public, it wouldn’t be as convincing to the board.

Bastard
.

Which
was how I found myself in a car with Hector, driving into the city for the
exam.

“Are
you ready?”

Hector
had asked me that at least six times on our drive over to the sex club. And I’d
answered with the same response. “Hell, no.”

He
reached over and squeezed my hand in a death-grip as he walked me up to the
bouncer, and they let us through. “You’ll be fantastic. Just pretend like I’m
not there,” he said without much enthusiasm.

“Yeah.
Like that’s going to happen.”

No
less than ten guards had escorted us to our destination. Just because Damien
had been curiously absent didn’t mean he would never show up again. They
positioned themselves around the room, looking bored to be here.

I
might have enjoyed this place under different circumstances. Loud dance music
blasted us as we walked through the doors. It was a Gothic fantasy – with
strobe lights and lasers. Black and white gauze hung from the metal rafters
above our heads, and the floor was polished black tile. The walls had been
painted black as well, and a layer of green fog hovered over the floor in
patches. It would have been laughable had I been here just to have fun.

Hector
guided me over to the bar. He ordered two shots of tequila, which I snatched
from the bartender’s hand and knocked back in one move.

His
brows raised. “One of those days?”

I
coughed and asked for another. “It’s about to be.”

Hector
let me take down three more before cutting me off. “You don’t want to be too
buzzed,” he murmured stiffly. “Alcohol interferes with our dexterity, the same
it does with humans’.”

The
whole bottle wouldn’t have been enough to still the raging adrenaline in my
veins, but I just said, “Whatever,” and looked around.

The
place was snazzy, kind of like a rave. Except at a normal club, people wouldn’t
have been openly having sex out in plain sight. I honestly hadn’t seen anything
like it, save for the orgy Hector had dragged me to for my field observation.

My
throat tightened. I wasn’t ready for this. Not only had I not gotten a minute
of sleep last night for worrying, I’d spent the day tying myself into nervous
knots thinking about tonight. Hector had prepared me as best he could, but even
his instructions lacked the passion I’d come to know from him. It was like he
was feeling as dead inside as I was.

As
if none of this, our feelings for each other, had never happened. We never
voiced those concerns aloud, but I knew it was how he felt, because it was how
I felt, and his expression mirrored mine the whole day. If the earth had swallowed
us up, we couldn’t have looked any glummer.

Angela
had come over and helped with my outfit. After I’d squeezed myself into a
short, skin-tight silvery one-shoulder dress, she’d found the sluttiest heels
in my closet and done-up my makeup glam-style. My hair was done up in loose
curls, and despite the slutty nature of my ensemble, she still managed to make
me look pretty, in an exotic, fairy-tale sort of way.

My
newly-painted nails had drummed so many times across the counter, I thought
they may start chipping holes in it. About to say, “Screw Hector’s non-drinking
orders,” I had started to turn around to get the bartender’s attention when a
smooth voice said, “Want to dance?”

I
turned around, surprised.

The
vampire was cute. Obviously, he thought I was too, judging from the
appreciative glance he gave my entire body. Not that he gave Hector any
competition, because in my book, only one man was
numero uno
in the
looks department.

Hector
stiffened beside me, flames starting to ignite his fingertips.

Not
wanting the poor guy to get incinerated, I gave him an apologetic smile. “Oh,
I’m sorry, but I’m actually not a very good-”

“Sally
would love to dance with you,” said a familiar voice as a hand slapped down on
my shoulder and squeezed hard, making me wince.

My
gaze whipped to Dean Prescott. I never would have recognized him with his black
leather get-up and geled hair. “What are you doing here?”