Page 38 of Teacher's Pet

Like I was a monster.

Like I was a predator, ready to use her, to take what I wanted and leave her hollow.

Like I washim.

She compared me to Cole. The moment she said his name, her fury ignited like a live wire, electric and untamed. No doubt, he’s the ex who had her strung up by her neck outside the cafeteria. The thought alone sends something dark clawing up my spine.

And yet, the worst part?

The moment I imagine another man touching her, my mind fractures, splintering into something uncontrollable. Rational thought? Gone. Erased.

Both times I’ve caught some asshole’s hands on her, I’ve been seconds away from doing something I might regret.

And Ana, fuck, Ana, she makes it worse just by existing near me.

Fucking her wouldn’t be enough. Not even close.

I want her.

I want her to bemine.

I want her so tangled up in me that she never even thinks about another man.

I’ve never had a woman consume me like this.

But now?

She’s all I can fucking think about.

Shoving the bottle of whiskey deeper into my bag, my fingers fumble with the keys to my apartment.

For a while, I liked the idea of owning a home—of settling into something that feltnormal. Dipping into the fortune my father left me made it easy, a quiet indulgence in a life that was never really mine to begin with.

Running his business after he passed felt like a duty, one forced onto me without my consent. But the more I dug into his legacy, the more I realized how deep his ties ran to a world he had always kept me sheltered from.

A world I wasn’t meant to escape.

Letting Jake take over our family’s empire was the first real breath I’d taken in years. A weight off my shoulders.

I know my father never wanted him in charge. I know the last thing he wanted was forJaketo step into the role I was supposed to fill. But I couldn’t stomach another day pretending I believed in the way we built our wealth.

Or maybe I believed in it too much.

Maybe that’s why I walked away.

Because I could feel it, the pull. The ease with which I could become the very animal my father had transformed into.

Jake plays the part well. Civil. Controlled. But I know the truth. Deep down, he likes the lifestyle even more than our father ever did.

The months before I cut ties were a downward spiral. My father’s death came too fast, left no time to process. I stepped into his place, cleaned up his loose ends, followed his orders even after he was gone.

And fuck, were there screams.

So much control.

All of it in the palm of my hand.

Our family is deeply entwined with the Mexican drug cartel, moving meth like we’re Amazon’s best delivery drivers, putting bullets in the heads of anyone who crosses us. It’s systematic. Brutal. Efficient.

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