I woke up to the sll of cinnamon and honey, with ra’s red skin pressed against mine from shoulder to ankle. Her tail was wrapped around my leg like it had been all night, warm and possessive.
My eyes adjusted to the morning light streaming through the blinds I’d forgotten to close. ra’s back was a ss of scratches - so shallow, so deep enough that tiny beads of blood had dried along the lines. Her neck was covered in dark red marks that stood out against her already crimson skin. Her ass had visible handprints.
Jesus Christ. What had I done to this girl?
No, that wasn’t right. What had we done to each other?
I looked down at my own chest. Four parallel lines ran from my collarbone to my abs where her nails had raked . My shoulders had crescent-shaped indentations from her teeth. My thighs ached from holding her up against the wall for twenty minutes while she ca twice.
ra stirred, mumbling sothing incoherent before rolling over to face . Her eyes remained closed, but a smile spread across her face.
"Morning," she said, voice raw from screaming.
"Morning." I pushed her hair back from her face. "You okay?"
She laughed. "I feel like I got hit by a truck. A sexy truck that knows exactly what it’s doing." She stretched, wincing slightly. "Everything hurts. Worth it."
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Marco, letting know he was downstairs. I texted back to give us twenty minutes.
"We need to get moving. School."
ra groaned. "Skip it. Stay in bed." Her hand slid down my stomach, wrapping around . "I can think of better ways to spend the morning."
Christ, this girl. One night of marathon sex and she was ready for round... what were we on now? Five? Six?
"As much as I’d love to keep destroying each other," I said, catching her wrist, "we need to maintain appearances. I have an ultimatum to deal with, rember?"
She pouted but released . "Fine. But I’m using your shower first." She climbed out of bed, giving a perfect view of her ass as she walked to the bathroom. "Unless you want to join ?"
I’d created a monster. A beautiful, insatiable monster with red skin and a tail that knew exactly how to wrap around my—
"Coming?"
I was out of bed before she finished the word.
The shower took longer than planned.
By the ti Marco dropped us at the main entrance, first period had already started. ra walked beside through the courtyard, her uniform pristine but her neck still sporting faint marks my mouth had left. She’d made no attempt to cover them. If anything, she seed proud.
"You know people are going to talk," I said.
She shrugged. "Let them. I’m not ashad."
"Neither am I."
"Good." She took my hand in hers, interlacing our fingers. "Because I don’t think your face has been this interesting since you stood up to Nolan in Reeves’ class."
I followed her gaze. Students crossing the quad were staring openly, phones raised. So pretended to text while obviously taking photos. Others didn’t even bother with the pretense, pointing directly at us.
"Looks like we’re trending," I said.
ra laughed. "Welco to Coastline Academy, where everyone knows everything about everyone within twenty minutes."
We reached Building C just as the first period bell rang. Students poured into the hallway, creating a sea of movent that parted around us like we were carrying so contagious disease. The whispers were imdiate:
"Is that D’Angelo with—"
"—Marilyn Cross, yeah—"
"—didn’t think she was his type—"
"—bet he’s just using her for—"
"—said they left her dorm together yesterday—"
One girl held up her phone, showing her friend a social dia post. I caught a glimpse of the screen—a photo of leaving Building F early yesterday morning, looking thoroughly disheveled. The caption read: "Angelo heir’s walk of sha from Cross’s dorm #CoastlineDrama #RichBoyGotSo"
"You’re famous," ra whispered, squeezing my hand.
"We’re famous," I corrected.
As we turned the corner toward our classroom, I spotted her imdiately. Cheon Hae-Won, class representative, standing outside Room 2-A with perfect posture and a face like she’d swallowed glass.
Her eyes locked on our joined hands. Then moved to the marks on ra’s neck. Then to my face.
The color drained from her cheeks so fast I thought she might pass out.
"Morning, Class Rep," I said cheerfully.
ra’s grip on my hand tightened. She’d noticed Cheon’s reaction. Of course she had. ra didn’t miss anything.
"You’re late," Cheon said, voice clipped and formal. "Both of you."
"Traffic," I lied.
"For the second day in a row?"
"What can I say? Century City is busy in the mornings."
Cheon’s eyes narrowed. "The academy handbook states that students are expected to plan their commutes to account for—"
"Oh relax, Panda," ra interrupted. "We’re like two minutes late."
Cheon’s face went from pale to red in an instant. "That is not my na."
"Sure thing, Panda." ra tugged my hand. "Co on, Ro. Solana’s gonna start without us."
We walked past Cheon into the classroom. Just before the door closed, I heard her whisper, "You were with her last night?"
I glanced back, caught her eye, and winked.
The door shut.
Inside, the classroom was a hive of barely contained chaos. Students huddled in small groups, phones out, voices hushed but excited. When we walked in, holding hands, the volu dropped to silence.
Solana stood at the front, orange hair glowing at the tips, red glasses perched on her nose. Her eyes moved from our faces to our joined hands to the marks on ra’s neck, and a slow, knowing smile spread across her face.
"Well, look who decided to join us," she said. "D’Angelo and Cross, how nice of you to grace us with your presence."
"Sorry we’re late," I said.
"Traffic was a bitch," ra added.
Soone snickered. Aurora, the main heroine, sitting next to Nolan, covered her mouth to hide a smile. Nolan just looked confused, the poor bastard.
"Take your seats," Solana said, gesturing to the back row. "And try not to distract the class more than you already have."
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