Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy, #3)(42)

OH GOD.

What r u doing to me??

I can’t believe u rly took a pic.

Killing me. DYING.

My worry began to subside, and the laughter rose up again. Text messages poured in, one after another.

CANNOT STOP STARING.

Just wait little vixen.

F me. Ur so fn hot.

Ur in serious trouble when I see u again.

Serious. Trouble.

Whew, dang, it was hot under the covers. I kicked them off, feeling relieved, giddy, and so tired. When a minute passed with no messages, I texted him back.

Baby steps for your nerdy girl.

I smiled at his quick response: Nerdy my arse. All the cold showers in the world can’t cure what u’ve done to me.

Sorry, I texted, still smiling like an idiot.

U r not. Leave me alone. I’ll b busy 4 a bit.

PS . . . ilu.

I texted back, ilu2.

Letting out a long breath, I deleted the conversation and cuddled my pillow. Poor Kaidan. I hadn’t meant to work him into a frenzy, but I had to admit I was glad I could.


A knock at the door woke me from a hard sleep sometime later. I blinked groggily toward the window. It looked like early evening. Another knock sounded. I turned off the music and went to the door without opening it.

“Yes?” I asked through the wood.

“Anna Whitt? A delivery for you from the front desk.”

I opened the door a crack. A large, gorgeous blond guy stood there with a box—it looked like another box of my stuff.

“I’ll set it down for you,” he said.

“Oh, sure.” I stepped aside. “Thank you.”

Yes, I was married to a total hottie, and no, I wasn’t lusting after this guy, but it was hard not to take him all in. He was tall and broad like a football player, with an all-American smile and wavy hair. He carried himself with total confidence, like Kaidan, exuding a presence that drew people in.

And then the guy turned to me and my heart nearly stopped.

At his sternum was a bright red badge—the biggest badge I’d ever seen on a Neph . . . as large as a Duke’s. My heart banged a painful triple beat.

With one grand step he stood over me, looming, taking in a deep breath through his nose as if smelling something.

All at once, whisperers came in a dark whoosh down the busy hallway, weaving through parents and students. My room was at the end of the hall and nobody was looking my way. There were so many spirits, at least six of them. For one horrible moment I was shocked into inaction. And then the handsome Nephilim’s eyes shone red.

What the . . . ? A Neph’s eyes could not do that.

I made an involuntary sound of fear and ran for the open door, but the kid was faster. He actually chuckled as he caught me by the arm and closed the door, pressing himself against my back and nuzzling his nose into my hair.

“Don’t make a sound,” he warned in a calm voice.

He moved fast, capturing both of my wrists in one of his hands and holding them above my head against the wall while his other hand circled my throat.

Red badge. Lust. American accent. But Kaidan was Pharzuph’s only child. Who was this? Why did he feel so powerful? The room darkened as the spirits piled in, making sounds like hissing and scratching that echoed in my head.

He moved my hair aside with his chin and placed a warm kiss on the side of my neck. I shivered, but not in the good way.

Again, he inhaled deeply.

“So, you’re not the one after all,” he said. “And I’d been so certain. I even hoped. I should teach you a lesson for all the trouble you’ve caused.”

What was he talking about? My mind swirled with confusion.

He ground his strong body against my backside. Every instinct inside me flared with the need to fight my way to freedom and run, but a deeper part of me told me to be still. The whisperers hovered around us, shifting.

“Please let me go,” I said, struggling for any wiggle room and finding none. He squeezed my throat harder and I made a strangling sound.

My resistance only seemed to turn him on, and he chuckled again. His hand blessedly eased off my throat, only to start wandering down my body. I was fighting the urge to bite his arm and stomp his foot when he spoke again.

“You smell so much better than the last time I saw you. If you weren’t a disgusting little Neph, I’d take you right now.”

I froze. No way.

With a grunt he released me. My eyes felt big when I turned to face him.

“D-duke Pharzuph?” I whispered. Had I fallen into a warped universe?

The whisperers bounced with anticipation. Pharzuph waved an impatient hand and growled at them as if they were pesky gnats.

“No show for you right now. She’s not a virgin. Go tell the others.” With that, they shot out of the room from all angles, making my head spin.

“How do you like it?” He grinned, motioning to his grand physique, and I swallowed. “I was going to wait a couple years, but with all the excitement going on, I wanted a change. This poor kid had a logging accident up in Oregon. Parents were already dead. It would’ve been a shame to let this go to waste, wouldn’t you say?”

I just wanted him and his ego to leave. This whole thing was incredibly weird and creepy. He sounded nothing like his old self.

“It’s . . . a good body.”

“Better than good!” he laughed. “I can have any girl on this campus tonight, and I think I will.” He rubbed his hands up and down his chest and abs, obviously high on his born-again youth. “I always forget how much energy and stamina a young man’s body has.”