Dark Notes(88)

On a positive note, Prescott Rivard appears to be cooperating. I assigned his activity to my PI, his phone calls and movements all monitored discreetly and reported back to me. There’s been no indication of retaliation.

On Friday, everything changes.

The afternoon arrives in a rapid succession of phone calls and messages. The explosion of disruptions makes it impossible to lecture so I give the students some busy work and bury my head in my phone. Ivory watches me curiously from her desk, her brow lifting in a What the hell are you up to? arch of suspicion.

I give her a hard glare, but on the inside, I’m barely holding myself together. By the time the final bell rings, I’m unable to keep my rabid f*cking emotions at bay.

When the last student exits the classroom, I slam the door shut, yank Ivory from her desk, and crash her against the nearest wall.

She yelps, stretching her toes to reach the floor. “What are you—?”

I attack her mouth and devour her lips, starving and possessed, my hands flying over every inch of her I can reach, stroking, grabbing, holding. My cock hardens, and my pulse detonates. No more waiting. I f*cking need her.

“Someone…will…see,” she pants between kisses, both pushing and pulling against my chest, her attention straining toward the window in the door.

I bite her lips, thrilling in the soft feel of her body along the length of mine. “No lessons tonight. Go home. I’ll meet you there.”

With a stupendous amount of will power, I release her and storm toward my desk.

“What happened?” She stares at me, eyes wide and frozen where I left her. “Is this about—?”

“I gave you an order,” I say quietly, harshly.

Turning my back on her, I stuff my belongings in the satchel, my blood roaring with heavy, urgent need. If she doesn’t leave right this second, I’m going to f*ck her against the whiteboard.

The instant her footfalls fade down the hall, I straighten my swelling cock, making it less visible with the tip pinned beneath my belt. Then I trail behind her at an unassuming distance. Outside, I watch from the main entrance as she crosses the parking lot and safely climbs inside the Porsche. Same thing I do every night. Except tonight is different.

Tonight, the wait is over.

The three-minute drive feels like three hours. I race through the house and find her in the kitchen with Schubert burrowed against her neck.

She nibbles her bottom lip, her huge brown eyes round and watchful. “You got the test results?”

The paternity test? Her blood work? Whichever one she means, I’m too worked up to draw this out.

Separated by the length of the kitchen, I take a step toward her. “The baby isn’t mine.”

She buries her expression against Schubert’s furry head.

“Don’t do that.” I inch closer, ten feet away, and take in her quickening breaths. “Never hide from me.”

Setting the cat on the floor, she gives him a pat on the rump. Then she straightens and faces me head-on. Her lips thin, but the smile in her eyes is blinding. “Are you…happy about it? Or did you want…” Her gaze dims, her voice barely a whisper. “That baby?”

Two months ago, I would’ve been devastated by the proof that Joanne so callously cheated and pissed away our life together. But now? I’m floating on a cloud of liberated emotions, and the chief of those is gratitude. I want to thank her for being a traitorous cunt. If she hadn’t betrayed me, I would still be with her, completely oblivious that the deepest, strongest love shines from brown eyes and a selfless, seventeen-year-old heart.

Another couple of steps, and I stop. Six feet away. I need to tell Ivory the rest before she’s within arm’s reach. Before I lose the grip on my control. “I want a child. Several, in fact. Someday. In the very distant future. With you.”

She touches her parted lips as a ragged inhale shakes her chest.

I take another step toward her and tap anxious fingers on the island. “Lorenzo has been detained.”

She gasps and places her hands on the back counter, breathing deeply.

With a rap sheet a mile long, he’s wanted on suspicion of robbery, drug possession, and assault with a deadly weapon. My PI identified his routine and hangouts, turned the information over to NOPD, and leaned hard on the police sergeant until priorities were adjusted and the arrest was made.

Tears well up in Ivory’s eyes, her hands shaking against the granite surface. “How long?”

“He’s looking at years for multiple offenses. The bail is set at two-hundred-thousand.”

She nods as a trembling smile unfolds across her lips. “Thank you.”

When she moves to come closer, I stop her with a strained expression. I want her. Too much.

She tilts her head and licks her lips. “You believed me when my own family called me a whore and a liar. I’ve been running from him for four years, and in one week, you removed him from my life.” She stares at me in awe. “Emeric, you’ve done something no one has done for me in a really long time.”

She doesn’t clarify what that is, but I can fill in the blanks. I’ve made her feel safe.

“I wish it was more.” I flex my hand on the island, holding her gaze. “I want him punished for rape, Ivory. If you change your mind about pressing charges, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”