Night Class (18+)

ten.

Like ripping off a band-aid, I reassured myself. I just have to get this over with as soon as possible.

I advanced towards Kai and stopped a couple of feet in front of him, suddenly afraid to come any closer.

"Why are you so nervous?" he mused. He roughly pulled me in by the waist, closing the distance. "You weren't acting this shy last night."

"Kai, please don't do this," I begged under my breath. "Let's just go."

"Don't do what?" he murmured. Kai knotted his fingers in my hair at the nape of my neck, almost like he was trying to keep me in place. His mouth abruptly curved into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "This?"

Making eye contact with Sive the entire time, he dipped down, skimming his mouth across my jaw and up the side of my face. His damp hair brushed against my cheek, and his hand caressed the small of my back, pushing me tighter against him.

Up close, he smelled like soap. And like Kai_ sharp and sweet, like peppermint and clean laundry and smoke. It was overwhelming, everything about him was overwhelming, and it made me feel lightheaded and slightly delirious.

I blinked, snapping out of it, and immediately used my forearms to push him away.

It was too late.

Sive looked at me like he had been shot.

I turned my face to say something, anything, to him but Kai caught my chin. He didn't say a word, but the pure hostility behind his eyes made the message loud and clear: don't look at him.

"You were supposed to come straight home," he scolded, his hands digging painfully into my side. "Silly girl."

Sive cleared his throat.

"It wasn't my intention to keep Miss Taylor out so late," he said tightly. "We were just discussing an overdue assignment she has to finish by tomorrow."

The misunderstanding in his eyes made it clear there was no going back from this.

"... it won't happen again."

Wait, I can explain this, I wanted to scream, but the words were caught in my throat. I stood there, numb, unable to escape Kai's arms; unable to find the words to explain exactly what "this" was.

"Don't worry, Mr. Woods," Kai assured him dryly. They were about the same height, but he still managed to size him up: a slow, condescending smile spreading across his face.

To my absolute horror, his hands leisurely slid down my body and squeezed, grabbing a handful of my ass.

"... I'll make sure she finishes, even if we have to stay up all night."

Sive's gray eyes widened in shock.

But before he could even open his mouth to speak, Kai kicked the door shut in his face.

***

The moment the outside air hit my skin, I audibly gasped; suddenly conscious of how the cheap material of my Halloween costume did nothing to protect me from the icy autumn wind.

Kai dragged me across the parking lot by the hand without a word, the cold metal of his rings pressing painfully against my palm.

He opened the passenger door of his white sports car and nearly threw me in. After a moment, he stripped out of his sweater, revealing a thin long sleeve shirt underneath, and tossed it on top of me.

"Cover yourself up," he muttered. "You look ridiculous."

"But your hair is wet_" he shut the door before I could finish my sentence. I completed it in my head instead: you're going to catch a cold.