Page 7 of Vengeful Princess

He’d not really explained his interest in the Prime Minister’s Chief Security Strategist. but I guessed it had something to do with the government’s crackdown on organized crime.

My father ran all kinds of things into and out of this country, which meant Operation Willow was giving him a massive headache. Only last week, National Crime Agency officers seized a huge shipment of cocaine off the south coast.

Dad was fuming about that. It had cost him a ton of money.

But from what I’d gleaned in the news, Lucian Forsyth was on a roll. He wanted to make his name, and the best way to do that was to grab headlines for all the right reasons; i.e. not because his beloved son, Cassian, got photographed caught snorting coke off a hooker’s tits.

I chuckled to myself. It had been bad luck for poor Cassian. Cambridge revoked his place because of the publicity, which no doubt caused the family a lot of grief. He was lucky his father hadn’t shipped him off to a shady military academy overseas. There had been speculation in the press it might happen.

I tapped out a curt reply to Dad’s message.

Me: OK.

It amused me to make my father wait for replies to his messages. There were very few things I could control in my life, but this was one of them, and I knew how much it irritated him. He’d have been fuming when I didn’t respond the minute he sent his message at 5 fucking AM.

The door to Miss Markham’s office swung open. I jolted in my chair, expecting to see some old crone in a twinset and pearls, but to my surprise, Landon Rothmore stormed out, his shirt disheveled and a furious look on his handsome face. An attractive brunette who I assumed was Miss Markham rushed after him, looking like she desperately wanted to say something. When she saw me waiting on the hard plastic chair, she stopped.

“Oh, Miss Ricci, you’re early.” I stared at her as she collected herself and turned back to Landon, who was busy straightening his shirt.

It was a strange vibe. Definitely not a student-teacher one. Landon didn’t look at all happy. My gut told me that whatever had happened in her office had pissed him off.

“Landon, I’d like to see you again soon,” Miss Markham purred, but Landon was having none of it.

“There will be no more sessions, Veronica,” he snapped. From the heavy emphasis on the word ‘sessions’, something told me a lot more than talking went on in her office.Eww. That was so gross. She was what, like 40 or something? Way too old for a young dude like Landon. Not to mention Miss Markham was in a position of authority.

So many red flags.

The woman was undeniably attractive with her jet-black hair and curvy figure. The tight pencil skirt she wore hugged her hips and ass, and her cream blouse was so tight the lace pattern on her bra was visible.

When I looked a little closer, I saw her red lipstick was ever-so-slightly smeared and there were a few strands of hair out of place. The whole scene gave me the ick factor, making me want to take a very hot, cleansing shower.

Landon’s gaze passed over me for a moment with a hint of embarrassment, but I kept my expression blank.

“Please step into my office, Miss Ricci,” Miss Markham snapped when Landon strode off like his ass was on fire. I watched him leave, then crossed the threshold into the Black Widow’s lair.

By the time I left, I felt as if I’d been well and truly violated. The woman was relentless. Determined to poke around in my head. I had no idea what she was hoping to find, but eventually, after nothing but monosyllabic answers from me, she gave up, handed me some leaflets on student counseling services, and reminded me to call her if I had any problems.

Yeah. Like hell I would. It was obvious from the brief interaction she’d had with Landon that her professional boundaries needed a lot of work. If she thought I was going to off-load any of my twisted shit onto her, she was in for a long wait.

Still, I was curious about what I’d witnessed. Landon didn’t seem like the kind of guy who turned down free pussy. So why had he given the cougar bitch the brush-off?

5

Landon

Ineeded to soak in a tub of bleach for at least an hour. My skin still itched where that pedo bitch, Veronica Fucking Markham, had touched me. The whole situation made me want to flay my skin off one strip at a time. And it was all my father’s fault for pimping me out like a whore.

Milo looked up from his laptop when I stormed into our apartment, slamming the door behind me so hard the window rattled.

“Everything OK?” he asked. Cassian would have recognized immediately what was wrong, but Milo didn’t read facial cues very well.

“No.” I dropped on to the sofa and sat seething for a moment. Maybe Cass would have some ideas when he got here. There had to be something I could do. There was no way I could do that bitch again.

I’d gone to her, stupidly thinking she might help, but she’d exploited my feelings of shame and guilt. Encouraged my flirtatious behavior. Yes, I’d found her attractive. At least in thebeginning. What red-blooded male wouldn’t want to fuck a hot cougar like her?

But instead of setting boundaries, like an ethical counselor would have, she’d actively encouraged me. Egged me on.

She’d known I was vulnerable, but she’d happily instigated sex when I came to her one evening after hours. Drunk and upset.

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