I walk to the door, locking it and turning out the lights.  My hands fit themselves into the slim curve of her waist, and she melts into me, letting her book bag drop to the floor, and pressing soft kisses along the column of my throat.

“Did anyone see you come in?” I ask, my voice a deep, husky rumble.

“Mmm, nope.  Hallway was clear,” she replies between kisses.

“Mmm, indeed.”

Our lips meld together in a scorching kiss.  I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her sweet taste or the soft whimpers that crawl up her throat.  Her hands fist in my hair as I deepen the kiss and she rubs her soft body against mine.

I pull away from her mouth and rest my forehead against hers.  If I don’t stop now, I’m going to devour her.

“I’ve missed you.”

Tatum giggles softly.  “It’s only been a few hours,” she says.

I bury my face in the curve of her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of apricots.  “True.  But it’s been too long.”

“I know,” she sighs.  Her eyes are closed, and she rests her head against the wall behind her.  “Only a few more weeks before we don’t have to do this anymore.”

“Then you’re off to college.”  I smile at her before taking her hand and leading her to my desk.  I sit in the black rolling chair and pull her into my lap.  My hand caresses the bare, silky skin of her thigh.

“Then I’m off to college,” she agrees.

“Have you thought about what you want to do next?  I know you want to get away from this place.”

Tatum stares across the room thoughtfully.  She grabs my hand, the one drawing circles, and halts my movements.  “I think I’m going to stay long enough to get my generals done.  I need to save up more money before…I leave.”  Her beautiful face is etched with lines of distress, and I want to take it away.

“Tatum,” I call, tilting her face back to mine with a finger beneath her chin.  “If everything works between us, if you’ll still have me, I’d follow you anywhere.”  Her eyes widen infinitesimally before she looks away again.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that.  You already uprooted your life once.  I wouldn’t want you to resent me.”

“Sweetheart, look at me.”  She does, and her eyes are heartbreaking.  The hazel depths swirl with desire and longing.  Christ, she’s undoing me.  “I uprooted myself because I didn’t have a life left.  Now I do.”  I watch, transfixed, as the meaning seeps in, and her eyes blaze with desire.

“Do you mean that?” she whispers against my lips.

“More than anything.”

I take her mouth again.  Her lips and teeth and tongue fight with mine, but in the end, I win and her body surrenders to me.  She rearranges herself on my lap so she’s straddling my hips, and I can’t help thinking about how easy it’d be to unzip my fly, sink inside of her, and let her ride me.

A shrill bell rings.

“Fuck.  You have to go,” I grit out as she scrambles from my lap.  I have to adjust myself in my slacks.  We rush to the door, and I rearrange a few wild strands of her hair.

“You’re a bit flushed.”

“So are you,” I whisper against her lips, giving her one last kiss.  “It’s a good look.”

I flick on the lights, praying nobody outside noticed the darkness from beneath the door.  Unlocking the handle, I let Tatum step out into the hallway first and breathe a sigh of relief when I realize it was just the warning bell.  Only a few students are out here, and they don’t spare more than a glance in our direction.

“So, review that worksheet I gave you and that should help you on your next test,” I say, trying to remove any possible suspicion.  Tatum looks at me quizzically before the light dawns in her eyes, and she smiles.

“Sure, thanks for your help, Mr. Ryan.”

“Well, well, well.  Did you think I wouldn’t figure out who you were?”  A cold sensation slithers along my spine when I recognize that voice.  Wyatt.  Fuck.

“What are you doing here, Wyatt?” Tatum asks in a low voice, taking a step towards him.  I have to quell the urge to push her behind me.  I don’t want her anywhere near this fucker.

“You’ve been avoiding me, baby.  I thought you needed a little reminder of where you belong.”

“And where is that?  Because it sure as hell isn’t with you!” she spits.  My blood fucking boils.  I need to get him out of here before he ruins everything we’ve worked so hard to keep a secret.

“You need to leave.  You’re trespassing.”  My voice comes out calm and steady but inside, I’m enraged.  I can see Tatum trembling out of the corner of my eye, and I wish I could do something more to protect what’s mine.  My arms ache with the need to take her and comfort her from this prick.

“Funny you say that.  I’m actually here to meet with the principal.  I’ll be on my way.  Don’t want to keep him waiting.  You two have a nice day.”  The fucker has the audacity to wink before he starts to turn away.

“Wait!” Tatum calls out.  Fuck!

“Yeah, baby?”

“Please, please leave, Wyatt.  Don’t do this,” she pleads.

“Tatum—“.  I start, but that fucker cuts me off.

“God, I love it when you beg,” he groans.

“Don’t you fucking talk to her,” I snarl under my breath.  The hall is starting to fill up, and if we aren’t careful, we’ll have an extremely judgmental audience.

“Wyatt,” Tatum starts again.  “Please.  You know nothing good will come out of this, for either of us.  If you walk down to his office, that’s it.  I’ll report your assault to the police.”

And ugly look crosses Wyatt’s face, and I brace.  If I have to take him down, I will.  My control is only so strong.

“Nobody will believe you.  We’ve fucked plenty of times.  I can say it was all your idea,” he sneers.

“Don’t forget we had a witness.”  She gestures to me with a nod of her head.  “Sure, we might get into some trouble, but you can’t deny what you did.  I had bruises for days.  My friends saw them, too.  You’ll never get away with this.  You’ll go to jail.”

Wyatt seems to contemplate her words before he looks at us with his own mask of anger.  “Fuck.  Fine,” he spits.  “But this shit isn’t done.  You belong to me.”

I’ve had enough.  This ends.  Now.  “It is done.  Finished.  You don’t leave her alone, you say one word to anyone, and we’re going down to the police station and making a report.  I’m not fucking around.”

“You can have her.  Who knows where that cunt as been.  I’m out of here.”  Wyatt pushes past a group of students near the mouth of the hall, but from the looks of it, we didn’t gather anyone’s attention.

“You okay?” I ask, because Tatum is unnaturally silent beside me.  I can only imagine what’s running through her head right now.  God, I want to pull her into my arms and hold her tight enough to make her worries fade.

She looks up at me and smiles, but it seems uncertain.  “Yeah.  I just really hope this is the end of him.”

“It is,” I vow.  “He’s not going to hurt you again.  I wish I could do something right now to ease your worries, but you have to get to class, Sweetheart.  I’ll see you in calculus.”

“It’s okay.  I’ll see you later.”

I watch as Tatum walks away, and I greet the students entering my class.  There’s a cloud of unease swirling in my gut that won’t go away.  Wyatt better leave us alone after this, because I meant what I said.  I will make him pay.

As I turn to go into class, my cell vibrates from my pocket.  I forgot it was in there and not in my brief case where I usually leave it.  When I answer the call, my whole world tilts.  A new change is coming, and it effectively cuts me off at the knees.  My mind turns into a single track.  I’m out of time.

I need to get out of here.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX  

Tatum

The second the bell rings, I’m out of my seat and tearing down the hall to the parking lot.  I pass masses of students coming out of their sixth period classes, but I’m ahead of the herd.  I don’t have time for obstacles.  I have to get home…to Jacoby’s home.  He’s there waiting for me.  He has to be.  There’s a valid explanation why he wasn’t here for calculus.