Again, my silence vibrated with hate.

She chuckled. “Because you’re a nobody. You come from an alcoholic father who has whores in his house. You’re beaten, so you have the motive to be violent. You live in a sex environment, so you’re more likely to fuck around. And you’ve had no boundaries, so you’re an understandable statistic when it comes to thievery, murder...rape.” She shook her head sadly. “All because you don’t know right from wrong.”

I grunted, doing my best to untangle my voice from fury.

But she crept toward me, locking me against the shelving as she pressed her body flush to mine. Every inch of me was repulsed. I shut down. No hint of interest to the warm breasts wedged against me. No shiver at the invitation of blatant sex.

I wanted nothing to do with this.

Nothing.

“Get. The. Fuck. Off. Me.” My voice wasn’t human.

She smiled, pushing away all while her hand shot down my front and squeezed my flaccid cock.

I jerked, bile scalding my throat.

Before I could snatch her hand from my body, she fisted me hard, making me wince and eyes water. “How about we make a deal, Gilbert Clark?”

I choked as she squeezed again, sending confused shockwaves down my legs.

“Are you a virgin?”

Blinking, I did my best to focus on her and not the pain she delivered. My jaw worked as I growled. “Get your fucking hands off me.”

“Not yet. Not until you answer a few questions.” She twisted my cock, dipping down and grabbing my balls in the same hand.

“Holy—” I bent over, trying to shove her away, but it only added more agony as she pulled and didn’t let go.

“Are you a virgin? Yes or no?” She pinched my balls vindictively. Fireballs of pain made my gut roil. Sweat broke out on my forehead.

“Yes or no.” She squeezed again. “I can keep hurting you, or you can answer my question and I’ll let you go.”

Dark spots danced in my eyes as she drove her hand upward, squishing my balls, making me gasp with nausea. “Yes!” I gasped. “Fuck, yes. Okay.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I’m a virgin.”

“So you didn’t sleep with sweet little Olin?” Her lips sneered. “Not once?”

My head shook wildly, my hands grasping her wrist, desperate to free myself from the vise-like torture of her hold. “No. We...never. We’re waiting—”

Her torment vanished.

She let me go.

“Good boy.” Shaking out her hand, she smiled.

My cock and balls were mine again—on fire and throbbing, but mine. Cupping them, I shook back the light-headedness and fought the urge to drop to the floor.

Ms Tallup stepped back, giving me some breathing room while she rubbed one hand over the front of her skirt, right over her pussy. Her grey eyes blackened with lust. The entire storeroom fogged with it. Hurting me had turned her on.

I’m in deeper shit than I thought.

“Here’s how your future is going to go, Gilbert Clark.” She smiled, rocking her body into her hand as if chasing an orgasm just out of reach. Her lips twisted as she sucked in a gasp, forcing her arm to drop and stop touching herself. “You are never to speak to Olin again.”

“What?” That hurt worse than any fist on my cock. “That’s not possible—”

“It is if you want her to continue being one of my best students with a good enough recommendation to get into any university she chooses. I hear dancing is her dream...it would be such a shame to kill her wish.”

I bit my lip, holding back a retort.

She continued, “Second, you are never to speak of this...to anyone.” Her eyes flashed as she pointed a finger in my face. “If you do, let me share how that conversation will go for you. You’ll claim I molested you in the storeroom. You’ll declare sexual abuse, and I’ll be asked for my side of the story.” Her head tilted. “Who do you think they’ll believe? The teacher who’s done charity work at the local reform house for the past six years, who’s dedicated her life to the enrichment of her students, and who lives with her elderly mother? Or the angry, aggressive teen who sleeps with whores and is the offspring of an alcoholic pimp?”

The darkness of the storeroom swallowed me whole.

She was right.

In a war of words, she’d win.

No one would believe me. Not in a million years.

I hung my head, raking a shaky hand through my hair.

She tasted my defeat, laughing with cold-hearted joy. “There is a way out of this, you know.”

I squeezed my eyes. I didn’t want to look at her. I didn’t want to hear anymore.

I already knew the way out. I’d known it for years—I’d just been too goddamn afraid to face it.

With breath trapped in my lungs, I forced myself to stand tall and grunt, “You want to fuck me.”

She trembled on the spot. “Well, aren’t you a naughty boy.”

I glowered. “I didn’t say I wanted to fuck you. I want to kill you. I’d rather have sex with a rabies-infected dog than get anywhere near you.”

She licked her lips, her cheeks a deep red with need. “And that just makes this all the more delicious.”

My nostrils flared. I looked at the empty classroom.

My virginity was Olin’s. We hadn’t discussed if she was a virgin or how we would plan our first time. All I knew was sex could be bought, stolen, and dirty, but sex with Olin promised to give me every freedom I sought.

Sex would give me her body, heart, and soul. She’d belong to me as surely as I belonged to her. It would bind us together. For fucking ever.

And now...I’d lost that.

That special hope of a better future had just been torn out of my reach and pissed all over by the one woman who was supposed to have my back.

Ms Tallup came closer, her perfume sickly and far too sweet. “Meet me at the rear entrance of Motel Gardenia on Sunday at six p.m. I’ll let you in so no one sees you. There, I’m going to take your virginity and make you a man.” Her voice turned husky. “And you’re going to fuck me until I say stop. You are mine to do with as I please. If I want you to fuck me all night, you will. If I want you on your knees begging, you will. You are not allowed to wear a condom—”

“What? No way am I—”

“Don’t interrupt. I’m on birth control and clean. You’re a sweet little virgin, and I want you bare. I want you to always remember the woman who stole your youth. I’ll be your first. I’ll always be a part of your life.” She sighed as if her proposition was romantic and heartfelt and not the most diabolically disgusting thing I’d ever heard. “After a night together, you’re free. I’ll let you graduate if you stay true to your word never to speak to Olin or any other girl in this school again. Your cock is mine and will stay mine until you walk from these grounds. Just one night, little Gilbert. One night of fucking for a lifetime of freedom.” She ran her fingertip along my bottom lip. “Not such a bad deal...is it?”

I fought the insane urge to bite her finger into pieces.

Ripping my face out of her reach, I snarled, “And how do I know you’ll leave me alone? How do I know you won’t go straight to the police after and—”

“Because I could go straight to the police right now.” Her eyes glittered with madness. “If you don’t turn up on Sunday night, I’ll say you assaulted me. I’ll say you held me down and forced me. That you’re a minor with the aggressive nature of a murderer, and I escaped just in time. I’ll make sure you never see the sun outside of a prison again. You’re already screwed, Mr. Clark. I have all the ammunition I need to bury you, so you might as well accept my deal.”

She laughed quietly. “After all, it’s better to be with an older woman who knows how to please a man, rather than with a little girl who doesn’t. You won’t hate what I do to you.” She blew me a kiss. “You’ll love it. You’ll be begging for another night.”

“I will never beg for anything from you.”

“You already did.” She smirked. “You begged for Olin’s future. And I’m giving it to you. If you give yourself to me.”