A month had passed since Nathaniel and I made our deal. We met usually after eleven PM. In the mornings when I went for a jog, Nathaniel would meet me, early before the sun rose. I raced him, trying to outdo him, but he only chuckled breathlessly at me and stretched out his toned legs farther. The new place he had found us was a cottage being renovated on the estate, a private house for couples or families that wanted more privacy and wanted a hefty price for it. A white brick cottage like the others, ivy growing up its structure and dangling at the dark wood roof. It was off the path, hidden by willow trees and raspberry bushes, allowing Nathaniel and I the privacy we required.
Barely any furniture existed in the house besides the iron frame bed and a few pillows he’d brought here from his own suite. It was a blank canvas.
In here, I could cry out without fear of being heard and Nathaniel came undone, grunting as he found pleasure between my thighs.
Sometimes, we spent hours debating, wrapped in sheets.
Tonight, in the dark cottage, I lay beside him, glaring at the bastard.
“You think the Romanovs deserved to die?” I cocked a brow at him.
He huffed, his dark head resting on his arm behind him. “In the case of Tsar, yes. He was weak. He had no form of leadership and was destroying the Russian’s economy.”
“You do recall there was a war occurring then, huh?”
He glared at me. “It was proof how outdated the monarch was.”
“It doesn’t mean his entire family deserved to die,” I snapped back.
His hand covered mine and I froze. I hadn’t realized I had been stroking his chest, rubbing absentmindedly a trail across his muscular torso.
“We should stop debating,” he whispered, leaning his nose against my cheek. “You’re getting me hard again.”
I glared as he took me in his arms, feeling his hardening length against my bare thigh. “Stop dodging.”
He groaned into my hair and I swallowed hard. “I used to jerk off after each of our debates.”
He sat up, hovering over me as his hand traced my cheekbone.
I stared back at him, hoping the shadows hid my red cheeks.
“Did you ever think about me?” His eyes danced across my body, hidden beneath the sheet, but he had seen me naked, he knew what was underneath.
I clenched my teeth. “I hated you.”
He chuckled, still touching my cheek. “What did I ever do to you?”
I glared, sitting up. “Never mind.”
I picked up my blouse and pulled it on.
“Never mind?” He still sat on the mattress, but with one knee lifted, exposing his erection between his legs. “I wasn’t that much of an ass to you, Juliette.”
“You humiliated me in front of everyone,” I snapped.
His forehead wrinkled. “Tell me what I did.”
I sighed. “When I was talking about the Roman empire, you questioned me in front of everyone.” I thought back to that humiliating moment, still making my stomach twist. He had questioned me before I had even finished my statement. Saying my facts had been outdated. In my first debate. That superior tone, that smirk, that brow arch as if I was below him? He didn’t stop. He tore at every single phrase I had used in my speech, every single word he dissected and threw back in my face with a shit-eating grin of arrogance. He was on a completely different level than me. Higher educated. Powerful. A heat had burned every inch of my skin and my fingers dug into the wooden podium, begging to become invisible. The debate team’s laughter followed, echoing in the cathedral ceilings of the room. And when the professor asked me to rebut his statement, I froze. In fear, in shock. Again, he asked me, his voice firm, and I shook my head. When he declared Nathaniel the winner of our debate, anger surged through me. I made my way back to my seat and watched members pat Nathaniel’s back as he took his seat across the aisle.
The golden boy.
It cemented it in my bones that I would never allow myself to lose against him. That I would be better than that golden boy of Yale. Other students had laughed, some had even confronted me about it and Nathaniel hadn’t even realized what he had done. He was simply careless and oblivious to others.
He would always be superior. He was like a deity, destroying things for fun, without thinking of the consequences of anyone else around him.
“I don’t recall,” he said, shaking his head lightly.
I shook my head. “Of course you wouldn’t.”
I went to turn, but he jumped from the bed, uncharacteristically rushed.
“Now c’mon. That was what? Three years ago?”
I glared back at him. “It doesn’t matter how long ago it was. It happened.”
“Juliette,” he called, but I kept walking.
“I need to get back before someone notices I’m not in my room,” I said and tried to shut the door, but he caught it.
“Juliette,” he said, softer than before.
I glanced back at him, hidden in the shadows of the willow trees, as they danced across his handsome features.
“Goodnight, Nathaniel.” I turned on my heel and he didn’t follow.
It had been two days. I hadn’t gone back to the cottage and every time I saw Nathaniel at the club, I looked the other way. I knew he watched me and I felt him wanting to approach me, but I never gave him the chance.
I could hear the laughter and the chatter of a party happening outside around the pool as I lay on my bed. Everyone else had gone out or was working at the party tonight. I had the night off. Sitting alone, reading over my study notes for the upcoming year, my chest felt hollow.
I didn’t like the feeling, but I was too stubborn or had too much pride to leave my room. I was sure he would be at the party tonight, or he would be out with his friends.
A knock at my door didn’t startle me. It was most likely Mandy asking if I had any makeup she could borrow.
“Come in,” I deadpanned.
The door opened and when all I heard was silence, I raised my eyes from my sheets of paper to see Nathaniel.
I straightened my back and then pulled the sweater over my chest. I was only wearing a t-shirt, braless, and pajama shorts as I figured I’d only see Mandy and the girls around. My hair was piled unattractively on top of my head and I had no makeup on.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He moved forward, glancing at the small room I stayed in. A double bed and a dresser were the only things in the room besides my suitcase.
“I thought I’d see you at the party,” he said, his eyes returning to me. “When you weren’t there, I thought it was safe to check here.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “That’s risky, Nathaniel.”
He smirked. “I calculated the risks.”
I frowned at him, but he sat down, making the bed seem much smaller.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, looking down at me.
“Yes, I have,” I admitted, clenching my hands in my lap.
He cleared his throat. “Whatever I did in the past, I apologize.”
I bowed my head, emotions surging through me too fast. I had never expected him to apologize.
“I wanted to treat you as an equal,” he said, softly and my heart seized. “I knew you would despise me if I went gentle on you. I didn’t want to pretend you were a weak opponent. But perhaps, I got carried away.”
My throat felt tight and hot and for once, I couldn’t talk back to him. He was right. I would have despised him even more if he had treated me like a damsel.
“You rejected me,” he said, breaking the tense silence.
My head snapped up. “What?”
“I asked you on a date and you flat out rejected me,” he said.
I shook my head, confused.
“It was our first day. We were being toured around and you kept asking a thousand questions,” he said, his eyes flashing back and forth as if he was reliving the moment. “I asked you on a date and you scoffed at me and walked away.”
I blanched, gripping my throat. “I thought you were making fun of me!”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I was quite serious.”
Dread washed over me as I watched him stare at his leather loafers, his hands between his spread legs.
“Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” I asked, staring at him from underneath my lashes as I fidgeted with the sheets.
His gaze swept over me. “No.”
“I’m not in the mood for sex,” I said quickly and regretted it.
He laughed. “I wasn’t looking for sex.”
Slowly, he leaned forward and I was too scared to move. His lips brushed across mine and I gave in. He kissed me, gently, taking his time and soon we laid back on the bed.
I fell asleep in a god’s arms.