Page 28 of Burn With Me

The little ace that I created to take advantage of Isaac sits dormant, partially useless, on my computer in the bag at my feet. The second half of the video, the part when he came down my fucking throat right before calling out my name, needs to be deleted. Or maybe I can corrupt the sound. I haven’t really thought that far ahead. Him finding out who I was hadn’t been in my plan, and now adjustments need to be made. Whether he realized I was recording or if he truly thinks I seduced him to get back at my mother, he sure knows how to ruin a good fucking plan.

Or maybe it'd been a bad one. Hell, I don't know anymore. All I know is that Isaac Icari needs to back off before I really lose my fucking mind.

Class ends, and I grab the first thing in front of me—my notebook—quickly shoving it into my bag before ripping the strap up and over my shoulder. I’m halfway down the front of the aisle when an unfamiliar girl steps in front of me, blocking my path.

I pause and take in a deep breath, praying that I can maintain my cool. If only Selene hadn’t skipped class today, I wouldn’t have to worry about beating the ever-living shit out of somebody.

“Is it true?” The girl in front of me is either too stupid to realize that I’m not in the mood to deal with her, or she’s got just enough bitchy confidence to believe no one can ever actually touch her. Whatever the case, she cocks out her hip and tilts her head at me expectantly.

“Iswhattrue?” I reply through gritted teeth.

“That you fucked Isaac Icari,” she snaps.

Shock rockets through me and I whip my head around to stare down the man responsible for this fucking mess. Isaac stares back at me with an arched brow and a smirk. This chick has some serious balls asking me that with him in the room. I pivot to face her once more with a scowl.

“Why the fuck aren’t you asking him?” I demand.

She rolls her eyes. “I’m askingyou,” is all she says. Then after a brief moment where I do nothing but grind my teeth together, ruining several thousands of dollars of dental work from years past, she huffs out a breath. “Well?” she says. “Did you or didn’t you?”

“Why do you want to know?” I ask. An idea pops into my head and before I know it, a smile stretches across my lips. “Actually, you know what, the reason doesn’t matter. You asked me if I fucked Isaac Icari?”

I can feel every eye and ear in the room on me. Even knowing it’ll make them late for their next classes, some of the students have stopped packing their things and are leaning in to listen to what I’ll say next.

Oh you stupid, fucking arrogant asshole,I think with pleasure. Rumors are so easy to manipulate, and so easy to lose control of.

“That’s what I asked, isn’t it?” The girl doesn’t seem to realize that she’s just given me the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Yeah, I did,” I say a little louder than her original voice and her jaw drops in shock, as if she’s surprised that I admitted it. I turn to the side, pushing her out of my way before stopping and looking back. “If you’re thinking of fucking him, I wouldn’t recommend it. He has a tiny dick and I didn’t even come. I’ll never be able to get those five minutes of my life back again. Huge waste of time if you ask me.”

With that final statement, I lift my gaze, meet Isaac’s furious glare with a smirk of my own, and head for the exit.

He wants to play with rumors and my reputation? Well, fine. Two can play that game. Rumors, after all, once spoken, can’t be stopped. You know what they can be, though? Rumors can be taken and turned on their heads.

He wants to tell people we fucked? Fine. I won’t deny it. Instead, I’ll fuck him harder than he ever thought he could fuck me.

I stomp down the hallway and head out into the last of the summer air. I make it three steps down the sidewalk before I’m abruptly jerked to a halt by a hand on my arm. Dark, wicked blue eyes glare down at me through the longest lashes I’ve ever seen on a man, and it takes everything in me not to punch him in his stupid face.

“What the fuck was that?” Isaac demands.

I blink innocently. “What was what?” I ask, lightening my voice to a sickly sweet, almost childish tone.

He growls. “That,” he snaps, pointing back the way we both came. I note he’s without his bag. He must’ve rushed after me the second I left the room.

“That,” I state, “was me proving to you that I am not to be fucked with, Isaac.”

He stares down at me, nostrils flaring. This time, the roles are reversed. Instead of leaving me stuck and unable to say anything, I’m the one with the power. He never even considered that putting him in those rumors about me could bite back. I pull my arm free from his grip.

“When you’re ready to call it quits, just let me know,” I say. “I’ll deliver the divorce papers to my mother personally.”

Once again, I make it no more than a few steps away before he stops me—this time, with nothing more than his words. “He won’t divorce her,” Isaac says.

I consider his expression for a moment. His eyes are unwavering, and though both his jaw and fists are clenched in anger, he doesn’t move a single step from where he stands. And he doesn’t look away from me.

“They won’t last, regardless,” I tell him. “They never do.”

“I hope you’re right,” he says.

I should be surprised, but I’m not. All along I got the sense that the two of us have the same goal.

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