Page 82 of Depraved Desires

Fucking Monroe stepped into the living room, his eyes widening when his gaze landed on me and the girl at my side. His hair was wet, letting us know he’d just emerged from the bathroom. Without missing a beat, he stalked forward and grabbed me by the front of my shirt, clutching it tightly in his fist. He sneered, pure fury radiating off of him.

“Monroe,” Aspen said impatiently, tapping her bare foot against the floor.

“Do you know how fucking worried I’ve been?” he growled at her, keeping my shirt clutched in his hand. I stood there limply, unsure of what to do. “I was about to kick all their doors down.”

“I know. My phone is still at the club, and I haven’t had any way to reach you.” She reached forward, prying his fingers from around my shirt.

I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’d been here this entire time. While we all thought she was dead, she’s been living right under our noses. With Monroe of all people. Jealousy skittered through me as my thoughts went wild. She’s fucked him before. What if they’d been fucking this entire time?

“I just stopped by to get some clothes,” Aspen continued, looking between the two of us cautiously. Like she was afraid he’d attack me at any moment.

Monroe’s eyes narrowed into slits, settling them on the purple-haired girl at my side. “And where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, acting like he was her parental figure. A grimace captured my face at that unsettling thought.

She sighed in response. Seeing their dynamic was interesting. He seemed…protective over her. It was a side to him I’d never seen before, and why would I? He was nothing but our history teacher up until this point.

“With Collin,” she answered after a few moments.

Monroe’s gaze darted over to me, anger radiating off him in waves. “The hell you are,” he snapped. “They fucking drugged you and kidnapped you from work. I’m not letting you walk right back into that.”

How he even knew that was beyond me. He had a point, though. We had a history when it came to hurting Aspen, and us drugging her and forcing her to leave with us probably didn’t earn us any brownie points.

Aspen ran a hand down her face in frustration. She was silent for a few moments while she worked to compose herself, and then she leveled him with a hard look. “I appreciate everything you and Rocky have done for me, but you knew I couldn’t stay hidden forever. I know what I’m doing.” Her eyes darkened as she attempted to communicate with him silently, which drove me crazier.

Rocky. As in Rocky Barlow.

It suddenly made a shit ton more sense now as to why he was sneaking around the teacher’s complex lately. He’s been coming to see her. My fingers twitched at my sides. No wonder he beat my ass so brutally in that ring. Heknew. If I’d fought back, I wouldn’t have been in such poor condition in the end, but at the time…I needed it. It made mefeelagain. At the time, anything was better than the constant guilt and sadness I’d been enduring.

“Why are you doing this?” Monroe questioned, a crease forming between his brows as he dropped his tone to a lower octave.

Blowing out another breath, she shifted nervously from foot to foot. Almost like she couldn’t come up with an answer to his question on her own. This was one thing I hadn’t thought through. It was me against Monroe—someone who was well-versed in combat, much better than I was. If she wanted to stay here with him, then there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Aspen’s gaze cut to me, her lower lip sinking between her teeth as she mulled over his words. There was a look on her face that I couldn’t quite comprehend. It wasn’t one of anger, or sadness. Confusion, maybe? Finally, she returned her attention to our history teacher, another level of determination spilling from her.

“This ismychoice. Yes, they took me against my will. But they’ve been…different. They haven’t harmed me. I’m safe.” I knew she didn’t actually believe that. Her hands trembled at her sides as she said those very words, indicating just that. She was still weary of us, and I couldn’t blame her for it one bit.

“You honestly believe that?” he countered, narrowing his eyes like he could see right through the lie.

“I do.”

I had to give it to her. She was one hell of an actress. Maybe she knew she had to leave with me, or I’d tell the guys of her whereabouts, putting a damper on her safe haven. Myles and Foster would storm the place, making sure she was right back in our possession, regardless of what Monroe had to say about it. Hell, Myles would probably even kill him if he got in the way.

Monroe studied her for a moment before clenching his jaw tightly and nodding. Aspen visibly relaxed, her shoulders sagging with relief.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

The object of my obsession glanced over at me again, inclining her head for me to follow. She started down a narrow hallway, leaving me to trail behind her. I watched as she pushed through a door on the left.

The room was plain for the most part. There was a Tv mounted to the wall across from a Queen-size bed. The walls were all bare, except for the furthest one which had a dresser pressed against it. Reluctantly, I closed the door behind us, securing us in the average sized room. There was no telling if the two were still sleeping together, but if they weren’t, he definitely didn’t need to watch her get dressed.

Aspen drifted over to her closet and grabbed a long sleeve shirt and some gray leggings. She stripped out of my clothes, revealing her milky, white skin that had my heart thumping wildly in my chest. It didn’t matter how many times I’d seen her body; it always affected me like it was the very first time. She walked over to the dresser and tugged out a black bra and lacey, seamless panties that matched. She got dressed quickly and then ran a brush through her long hair, looking brand new.

As sexy as she was without clothes, I enjoyed seeing her all put together like this. She was nothing like the usual girls I tended to chase after. She was strong, fierce, sassy, difficult, and edgy. Maybe I liked that she didn’t give in easily—that she hadstandards and didn’t fall to our feet like the other girls at the academy did.

She slipped on her combat boots that she always liked to wear and paired the outfit with a new, leather jacket. This one was similar to the last one I’d seen her in but contained a designer label right along the breast pocket.

“Better?” I asked.

A genuine smile graced her lips, one that didn’t cross her features often. “Much. Now, let’s go before Monroe slaps an ankle monitor on me.” She laughed.

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