Rosalina's Hope by D.D. Dass (free novel 24 .txt) 📕

 I smiled sourly, but entered the class. Immediately, I felt his gaze, and goose bumps broke over my skin at the heat. I ignored it, handing my slip to Ms. Dev, who looked strangely disapproving. Oh well.

Stumbling into my seat, I couldn’t help but glace at him. And as always he looked striking, hair pulled away from his face, in all black, dark jeans hugging his hard thighs.

Don’t talk to him Rosa, don’t…

“Why don’t you cut your hair?” I blurted. It was impossible to ignore him. He smiled crookedly.

“I have to cut it, I know, but…I just can’t bring myself to do it,” he murmured lowly beneath the teacher’s lecture. No!

“No, don’t cut it!” My cheeks flamed. “I mean you can, if you want to…but…” He leaned closer, his hand covering my completely. My breathing came shallowly. What he does to me –incredible…embarrassing!

“I won’t cut it.” Sheepish, I dropped my eyes, looking at the hand over mine, long fingers tapping at my wrist. First thing I noticed the tattoo. It overtook his entire hand, starting that the wrist and continuing to his fingertips, ectopic and interesting in black ink. It reminded me of tribal, but as I looked closer, it was shaped more of a…dog? No, a wolf.

Hmm.

“What’s it mean?” Hesitant I tugged it closer, tracing the patterns in awe. He wiggled his fingers playfully and I dropped the hands, scoffing –stifling a smile still.

“It’s a secret. Confidential information.” I stiffened at the sudden proximity. His lips at my ear, making me shiver as his hands clasped mine once more.

“I can keep a secret,” I breathed, licking hastily at my lips. He hummed.

“Can you? How do I know I can trust you, Rosalina?” It was the first time I’d heard him say my full name, it was such an exotic sound coming from him. Oh my…God. How does nobody notice his absolute intensity?

“You asked me to trust you yesterday,” I replied breathlessly, leaning into him. “Now, it’s your turn.”

“Point well made,” he murmured. “It’s actually a promise.” What promise? To whom?

My head whirled in his direction. I didn’t expect him to be so close, but oh was he. Our lips connected for a short second and I gasped, energy pounding through my veins. Oh yes.

Cursing, he ripped away. Startled, I watched him, realizing he was staring at Mrs. Dev, who stared at me, her dark eyes wide. Oh no. She stalked toward us, stopping before the desk, hands at his supple hips.

“Outside, the both of you. Now.” Sebastien stood silently, standing straight and so very intimidating. As the two stared, I chewed on my lip, nervous and slightly scared. Suddenly, he brushed stiffly by Mrs. Dev, storming out of the classroom. She glared at me and I stumbled out of the classroom, avoiding the prying eyes of my classmates.

As soon as I stepped foot out, I was tugged away from the door and shuffled to the lockers. Sebastien’s hand on either side of my head as his body came into contact with mine, all hard, lean muscle. My eyes fell shut, the world slipped away as I became aware of the hard length of his erection at my hip. Oh.

“You know,” he hummed into my throat. “It’s very unfair of you to seduce me.” I grinned at that. “Who’s seducing whom here?” As I spoke, he started kissing my neck, running the tip of his tongue lightly down my throat. Oh…

“Definitely you,” he murmured. “Always you.” Lost to sensation, I rose onto my tiptoes, my arms going around his shoulders, pleased when he bent forward.

Our noses touch as I smiled, brushing our lips softly.

“So, you were saying, a promise?” He chuckled, a hoarse, sexy sound.

“It’s a commitment of sorts.” And abruptly, he pivoted, so his back was to the lockers. Asking permission with my eyes, I placed at hand over his sharp cheek, surprised at the temperature. He was blazing –on fire.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked, concerned.

His eyebrows furrowed. “I’m fine.”

“Oh…” I muttered. “Who has hazel eyes?”

He blinked. “Who in your family has hazel eyes I mean.” At that, his eyes darkened, taking on a disturbing, haunted gleam.

“My father,” he answered flatly.

His father upsets him? Why?

I was about to ask when his hand curled around my ponytail, bringing me closer, until his lips claimed mine. I sighed, closing my eyes, instantly losing sense of anything else.

“If only you knew…” he trailed, hand tugging harder so that my face tilted up and his tongue tangled with mine as I clung to him. My heartbeat became erratic as I stroked his bottom lip –like he’d done to me–exhilarated by his answering groan.

And then he was gone, steps away, staring, completely unaffected. As I caught my breath, the door clicked open and Mrs. Dev stepped out, eyes narrowed slits.

As if she knew what had just happened.  At the completely invasive idea, I shivered. In her hands were two textbooks and booklets, she pushed them into Sebastien’s arms, turning her black gaze to me.

“After class, I would like to speak with the both of you,” she shot a rather deflated look at Sebastien before returning to me. “I’ll be checking in, so don’t try anyzzing.” I flushed, but nodded.

In seconds, she faced Sebastien, speeding through words in their native tongue.  As she spoke, he laughed in a soft, cold way before retorting in the same tongue. I’d never heard him use that tone, the silkiness in his voice had vanished, replaced by a hostility that froze my blood. The emotion was at ease; an emotion that blazed in his dark eyes. Oh no.

The teacher’s lips were a thin line, face pale as she stormed away without another reply. Weird.

In silence, Sebastien gripped my limp hand, sliding down to the floor against the locker with the books in his other hand.

“What did she say?” Please, tell me.

He shrugged. “Nothing important...” voice a monotone, promptly ending the conversation. He began to write in his elegant script.

As I opened my book, I wondered how the mood could shift so abruptly.

I wondered how I’d managed to become so infatuated with someone completely erroneous for me. 

~~

Once class was dismissed, Mrs. Dev began to lecture the both of us on the wrongs of Public Display of Affection. As we exited the class, I was blushing from head to toe, but Sebastien was gallingly unreadable. Without a word, I headed for the cafeteria, but he gripped my arm, appearing oddly…unsure of himself.

“What. You’re talking to me again?”

His eyes softened a little as he loosened his grip. “You’re mad…”

I scoffed. “And why would you think that?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “What did I do?” I grimaced. Him ignoring me, shutting me out, was just another aching reminder that we couldn’t work.

“Nothing, Bastien…Absolutely nothing. Just…this…whatever we are, it’s done.” His eyes narrowed as I tried to yank myself from his hold. The tears were blurring my vision. I couldn’t allow him to witness that –me, so helpless. Not again.

Why does this hurt so much?

“Nothing is done,” he disagreed calmly. “Just tell me what I did wrong, Rosa.”

I shut my eyes, fighting the tears with a growing rage. There was no way to fix myself!

“Sebastien, please,” I breathed raggedly. Three seconds passed. Three, short seconds before I was being towed towards the parking lot. Desperately, I struggled…but it didn’t take long for me to realize he wasn’t budging.

He was both tenacious and strong, it was pointless to fight.

Finally, at his stupid extravagant car, he released me, opening the passenger side in the same movement.

“Are you hungry?”

I glowered, shaking my head no.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” He sighed, running his hand through his hair before stalking forward. In response, I backed away until I was flattened on the car. When he closed the space, his lips brushed my forehead and I sighed, aware of his tactics.

“You use this against me,” I muttered, trying to untangle my hands from his hair. How did they even get there?

“Use what?”

“This bizarre attraction! You know I can’t deny you,” I cried, tugging him closer so that our lips meant in a rough kiss. Desire pooled in my belly, sharp and breathtaking as our tongues entwined.

He’s such a…So hot.

“If it’s the only way you’ll behave…” he muttered between kisses. Furiously, I sank my teeth into his bottom lip, shivering as he groaned low in his throat.

He broke away abruptly. “Your abusive tendencies continue to wound me.” Determined to remain unmoved, I shook my head, entered the car and slammed the door shut behind me. Effectively sulking.

He’s the one with abusive tendencies… But I’m no better, am I?

Dang it, he always won!

In the driver’s side, he took a flyaway strand of my hair between two long fingers and I flinched away, despising my reaction. In response, he leaned his head on the headrest, growling.

“Rosa. What did I do to make you angry?” And suddenly I could hold it in anymore.

“You gave me the cold shoulder! I’m sorry, was I meant to be left in the dark here? Because last time I checked, trust worked both ways! Two people. And I asked you to give me something, a simple question…but you completely shut me out. Doesn’t it matter? Don’t I?” because you matter to me…so much its scary.

Silence. Then he laughed, actually cackled, the sound a deep and harsh decibel. It hurt.

I gritted my teeth, blinking wildly against the tears that threatened to spill over.

“Rosalina, really…I wasn’t intentionally ignoring you. Tell me you realize that?” I didn’t trust myself to speak and when I didn’t answer, he sighed. “Baby, I want you in every possible way…every time you even look at me it drives me so close to the edge…Dieu, you mean much more to me than I to you.”

“What did she say then?” From the corner of my eyes, I saw him glance at me, the irritation in those blazing eyes.

“She said that one more disturbance and she would report to the alp–principle.” I chewed on my lips going over the response, certain there was more too it. He wasn’t giving the entire truth.

Sighing in defeat, I murmured, “Where are we going then?”

He snorted. “Like I’d really give it away.”

I sniffed, strictly staring out the window until he turned the radio on. The song –unfamiliar to me –was some sort of…pop.

I couldn’t help but ask, “What is this?” This time, his answer was clear-cut.

“Usher. It’s bad, or something along those lines.” Ah, that explained why I didn’t recognize it. I wasn’t fond of music about love sickness or ruined relationships and heartache. It always had a way of making me feel at an all-time-low.

“This is pure heartache,” I muttered, distaste heavy in my tone. He lifted a brow.

“Alright, let’s hear what you’ve got then,” he challenged. I smiled a little and began to run through the stations until I found the one I was looking for –rock. Once again, the song playing was unknown to me…and the male vocalist was singing about… “You stupid girl, you're gonna be the death of me…” I flushed sheepishly.

“Hmm…” At that, I blushed tomato red, but managed to change the station back to Usher–only to find a different tune.

I looked at him expectantly. “And this song is?”

He shrugged. “Not sure. I’m not used to this music; I’ve only just discovered Usher.”

I grinned, my anger evaporating as the ride went on. I began to go through the stations again until I reached the only other station I could stand. Country was enjoyable. I’d grown up with a lot of the classic rock and country and from thirteen up until sixteen; I’d had a thing for Tim McGraw.

“You can’t be serious.” I looked up at Sebastien who was staring at me in disbelief. “You like this cra –stuff?” I bit my lip shyly, raising the volume. I knew this song by heart –‘I need you’. It made me speculate who I really needed most in my life and