Secrets and Seduction: A Dark Boarding School Romance (Preston Academy Book 1)
Secrets and Seduction: Chapter 24

We were running late. The Halloween party had already started two hours ago, and we had just finished dressing up.

Well, you couldn’t call the bit of fabric a costume, but it looked hot, and Alexander would surely like it too.

I was wearing a much too short silk dress that looked more like a provocative nightgown, the back completely bare. The straps were lined with little stones, sparkling like little stars on a cloudless night. I had decided to wear some high heels with straps that matched the ones on the dress.

Leilah was wearing almost the same outfit as me, except that her dress and shoes were a silvery white.

“Before we forget.” She handed me my mask that covered my eyes. Pointed horns were attached to it, making me look like the devil’s slutty sister. Or at least like a distant cousin.

Giggling, we made our way to the hall where services were usually held. It was somehow poetic that the night of the dead was celebrated in a sacred place. Exactly my humor.

The loud bass could already be heard from the hallway, and my heart skipped a beat in anticipation. I had never been to a real Halloween party with friends.

At the bar, where only non-alcoholic drinks were served, we spotted the guys, both dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. Their costume was definitely much fancier than ours, we had to give them that.

Caleb gave Leilah a kiss on the cheek, which was more intimacy in public than I had ever seen from them before. Noah gestured for me to spin and let out a low whistle as he looked at my work of art.

We slipped into deep conversations about the worst conspiracy theories in human history and laughed until our bellies hurt. Even Caleb did, which was as rare as a flood in the Sahara.

“Come on guys, let’s dance. We’re not here for standing like prostitutes on the sidewalk,” Leilah urged, dragging us onto the dance floor.

“But we’re surely dressed like them”, I mumbled as I followed her.

One of my favorite songs played, and I lost myself in the music, soaking up the intense smell of myrrh and dusty bibles. I closed my eyes, thinking about everything and nothing. I was at an academy for juvenile criminals, dancing at a party with my friends. Friends. It was overwhelming.

Leilah took hundreds of photos, capturing every moment. I posed with the boys, both trying to show off their muscles. I, on the other hand, just had my arms wrapped around them and squeezed tight.

Then we took turns and Caleb had to take photos of me and Leilah, which of course took much longer.

“I think that’s enough,” I said, and she put her tablet back into her purse.

“It’s never enough,” she replied with an eye roll.

I was about to turn around when a touch, so feathery, tickled my bare spine. Irritated, I looked around, but couldn’t spot anyone familiar. Most of them had masks on anyway, covering part of their faces.

I let it go and turned my attention back to my friends when that strange feeling on my back reappeared. What the hell?

My eyes caught on a tall man, half of his face covered by a creepy black and red mask. His hair was neatly combed back, and the outfit made him almost invisible in the crowd. I knew that proud posture, could recognize him just from his stance—Mr. Preston.

He made a head movement towards the exit, and I excused myself briefly to my friends.

Sweaty bodies were pressed tightly together, and I had to fight for my freedom. On my way, several elbows had made acquaintance with my ribs, and I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the throbbing.

The first breath of fresh air was like jumping into a pool on a hot summer day. I hadn’t known how much my body had needed this cool down.

The soft feeling on my skin appeared again, and I stumbled back a step, scared by the sudden touch.

I looked to my left, where the man dressed all in black was slowly making his way towards the woods.

A tingling sensation spread through my lower belly, for I knew what would be waiting for me under the cover of the trees.

I pressed my coat, which I had fetched from the rack shortly before I stepped out, closer to me, but the icy air still found ways to make me shiver.

I almost fell a few times, since high heels and uneven ground were not a good combination.

Finally, my fingers touched the first tree trunk, but I couldn’t see my professor anywhere. Had he lured me here just for fun or was he just trying to scare me?

“I swear to you, if you jump off a tree or something, I’ll castrate you,” I shouted, but nothing came back, not a single sound.

The once deafening music had faded into the distance while the silent woods watched my every step.

With an annoyed groan, I turned around and was about to make my exit when someone yanked me back hard and pressed me against a tree. A scream of terror escaped my far too dry throat.

I had no time to think, already feeling soft lips on mine. Only when I inhaled deeper, noticing the seductive smell that haunted me even in my dreams, did my body relax.

Alexander’s greedy fingers wandered over my chest to my throat.

“You scared me,” I murmured between our heated kisses, and I felt his smile.

“Did it turn you on?” His mouth moved to my jaw, then to my collarbone.

“See for yourself,” was my only response. Without warning, his fingers slipped under my thong, and I let out a whimper. So fucking cold.

“There’s room for more.” Alexander freed one of my breasts, biting on my nipple and making me moan. God, they were literally screaming for his tongue, his teeth.

While his fingers made cruelly slow circles around the most sensitive spot between my legs, his kisses left little flames of desire on my breasts. If it hadn’t been so cold, I would have ripped his clothes off long ago.

Alexander’s body deprived me of its warmth as he went down on his knees and placed one of my thighs on his shoulder so that I was sprawled out in front of him, unable to move.

“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this, Avie.”

He moved the piece of lace aside and then I felt the sudden heat of his tongue as it greedily explored every inch.

My eyes fell back, and I let out a low moan, unable to contain myself as he did his magic between my legs.

Alexander spread them wider, and I shuddered as I felt his tongue deep inside me. It felt so much different from his length, yet equally hot. Fuck, he smiled at me like a starved man.

“You’re so beautiful, you’re my salvation,” he murmured, barely audible. And I think I’m falling in love with you.

Alexander

She tasted of sin and the sweetest seduction, my eternity. I increased the pressure of my tongue, my movements faster as she clung to my hair, pulling on it.

I slid a finger inside her, and she pressed herself harder against my mouth.

Avery made a deep, throaty sound that pierced my marrow, her unique scent clouding my senses.

How I would have loved to bury my fangs in her skin, to taste her just once. It would be enough for a lifetime. No, that was a lie. I would never get enough of her blood.

Avery’s thigh was pressed against my cheek. All I had to do was turn my head and mark her as mine. But what if I couldn’t stop? What if her blood was that intoxicating?

You can stop, I assured myself. Just one taste. The diabolical voice in my head that knew no mercy, no remorse, gained the upper hand, and I turned my head, fixing her thigh with my hand and biting her as my other fingers moved firmly in and out of her.

A gasp of surprise escaped her lips, but she had no time to panic as one small drop of my venom sent her into complete ecstasy. It was a feeling of pure high, giving you the best orgasm of your life.

Her blood touched my tongue, and I almost came on the spot. It tasted more intense than anything I had ever drank in my life. Her elixir of life, made just for me, my personal drug.

I sucked hard and her blood ran down my throat, burning itself into my memory like the moment I had seen her for the first time and then for the second, third and a few weeks ago for the fourth time. In each of her lives I had found her, or she had found me, doomed to fall in love again and yet not be together.

A cry escaped her lips as her muscles tightened around my fingers and her wetness trickled down my wrist.

Enough, screamed the other, more rational voice in my head. Enough…

I withdrew my fangs and saw the two puncture marks on her pale skin. They would heal in a few minutes, just as the wound on her palm had healed.

I startled when another scream left her throat, this time not out of pleasure, but out of terror.

Avery

I pushed him back, the corners of his mouth and chin stained dark red. Had he fucking bitten me? No…

I backed away from him, as the macabre realization set in. My shoes got stuck in the mud and I stepped out of them to put more distance between us.

My dreams, the black eyes, Leilah’s fear of blood. If the cold hadn’t stiffened my limbs, I might have fainted.

He slowly rose to his feet, making no sudden movements as if I were pointing a gun at him. My heart was pounding wildly, set to burst from my chest, and my fingers twitched uncontrollably.

‘Don’t be afraid of me,’ he begged as he extended his hand, but I backed away. His eyes, once as bright as the sky, had turned dark blue.

Sometimes the monsters are closer to you than you think. He had once told me that.

I couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it, and yet my heart had always known, as if he had confessed it to me long ago.

With an aching heart, I turned around and sprinted off. Stones and small branches bored into my bare feet, but I hardly felt the pain. The adrenaline numbed my senses.

I moved farther and farther away from the academy, the woods denser and darker. I wanted to take a turn to get onto the main road when there was a rustling not far away from me. He had caught up with me. Or no, he hadn’t.

A white shirt flashed in the corner of my eye, but I had no time to think about it, wanted to bring a hemisphere between us.

Alexander had lied to me, had bitten me. Maybe he would have done worse…

My lungs threatened to give up, my movements slowed. Only my wildly pounding heart forced me to keep running, away from the vampire.

Alexander

I ran after her, but left enough distance between us, not wanting to scare her even more. At some point, she would tire out.

My girl was completely terrified, and it broke my heart. I cursed myself for the pain I had caused her and wouldn’t be able to live, knowing she hated me.

The smell of blood on her feet grew stronger, and I had to summon all my strength to suppress the black veins around my eyes. That would finish her completely.

From the distance I heard the cracking of branches, saw someone running towards us. Flavian. I increased my pace, wanting to shield her from him. The sadistic asshole loved to terrorize the mortal students.

“Sharing is caring,” he said from far away, knowing I could hear him.

He stepped up a notch so Avery could see him. Another scream escaped her lips and before Flavian could grab her, I shoved him away with my supernatural strength. He crashed into a tree that broke in two from the impact. Penelope’s brother just laughed like a moron, as if this was all a joke to him.

“Not nice,” he quipped before picking up his chase.

Avery’s blood, her fear, and the fact that she was running away from him made her the ultimate prey that fueled his instincts.

I didn’t have time to catch myself, and he kept speeding up as Avery ran away from us in a zigzag. Flavian turned his wrist in my direction and sent a gust of wind right into my center, letting me fly back as if I weighed nothing.

Damn, I had underestimated the little bastard, especially his elemental magic, which a few strong vampires had.

A lasso of fire came out of my fingers, wanting to burn his arms, but he dodged at the last second, close on Avery’s heels.

I saw her struggling for every step and feared she could take it no more. With a single thought, I sent wind to her back, so that she gained speed, but I knew it was in vain.

My feet barely touched the ground, as I grabbed the boy by the shirt before vines wrapped around my legs and pulled me to the ground. I burned the vines and got to my feet when I heard Avery scream. My blood froze.

Flavian stood behind her, had his hand wrapped around her throat, fingers digging into her fragile skin. Her eyes were red, while his were black as night.

“One more step and I’ll kill her, professor.”