Page 88 of Troublemaker
“Lucy,” I warned. “Tell me right now.”
“Um…” she trailed off. “Professor Putrovski may have called me a slut a few times?—”
“What?!”
“—And I may have punched her in the nose,” Lucy finished, looking up at me like she expected me to get mad at her. “Whoops?” she finished, offering me a questioning smile.
Her words sank in.
That bitch had called her a slut.
And Lucy had hauled off and punched her in the face.
I threw back my head and laughed, because only my troublemaker would do such a perfectly wild thing.
She watched me, biting her lip. Around us, people began to murmur, wondering why I was laughing so hard, but I couldn’t stop, practically wheezing from how fucking funny it was.
Finally, I calmed.
“Good for you,” I said. “I’m glad you punched her, so I didn’t have to. Is it her blood, or yours?”
She grinned at me. “Hers.”
Still holding her hand, I gazed down at Lucy as I lifted it to my lips, kissing each knuckle one at a time, aware I was getting blood on my lips and not caring.
Leaning down close, I whispered to her. “Your badassedness is only one reason I’m in love with you, little troublemaker.”
Her lips formed an O. An O I wanted my cock to slide deep into, but there’d be time for that later. First, I needed to share how I felt, even if it killed me.
“You’re in?—"
“I’m in love with you,” I confirmed, heart in my throat. “I love you. I love your strength, I love your sass, I love how fucking smart you are, I love your body and your mind, but mostly, I love how big your heart is. How you love animals as well as people, and how you love yourself, with this unwavering bravery that’s honestly inspiring. I love every fucking thing about you, and even if you don’t love me back, I’m not letting you go. Lie, cheat, or steal, even kill. You’re mine, Lucy Samson, and I’m yours,” I said, intentionally giving her my last name. “We belong to each other until the day I fucking die, and after that, too.”
I stood there, having figuratively ripped my heart out of my chest and placing it into her delicate hands, waiting for the worst, hoping for the best. She could drop it on the ground and smash it with her foot, or she could hold it close for me. It was out of my control now, and shockingly, it felt good.
I didn’t have to wait long, because Lucy was flinging her arms around my waist, saying, “I love you, Blake Samson. I’m not letting you go, either. I’ve loved you since I was a little girl. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”
In that moment, I decided I didn’t give a shit about the people around us, or all the explaining I was about to have to do—not only about the fact that I was going to marry a student but marry my legal ward, at that. I didn’t care about the scandal about to befall us, I needed Lucy more. Wrapping a hand around her head, I leaned down and kissed her hard, forcing her to open her mouth under mine and diving in with my tongue, forgetting everything but the taste, the smell, and the feel of her. She loved me. Shelovedme. She was fucking mine, forever, and I wouldn’t have to lock her away to keep her, I could just keep her. For oncein my life, someone belonged to me, and I belonged to someone else. Our two broken souls had somehow found each other, and I thanked whatever fucking entity that had made this possible, because I was never, ever, letting her go.
I would have kept kissing her, until I heard a woman yelling something angrily. Pulling away from Lucy’s perfect mouth, I looked over her shoulder, where Trey’s sister stood, one hand over her bleeding nose, with rage-filled eyes.
Next to her stood the president of the university, Saul Glazer.
And a cop.
Oh, fuck.
“That fucking bitch punched me in the nose!” she squawked.
The music stopped. Gasps echoed in the big ballroom.
“Who the hell are you calling a bitch?” I said as I shoved Lucy behind me, facing the professor with her now messed up face.
“Your little slut,” she sneered.
I stepped forward.
So did Saul.
