All my students’ heads are dropped low as they take their final. This is my last class of this semester, and I am more than thrilled to take some time off work to spend it in my home with Lizith, petting her stomach, still so small but full of life. 

I check my black and stainless steel Sea Dweller watch and see I still have ten minutes left before I can call time on the exam and send the students away for winter break. I peer up when I hear someone making a loud entrance, disturbing me and my class. 

I stand abruptly when I see a heavily intoxicated and disheveled Jacqueline. I growl and refrain from rolling my eyes at her, a behavior I seem to want to resort to whenever I am in her presence. I can’t believe I loved her at one point. 

I thought we were done. She has nothing over me anymore. 

“Xander!” she announces on a slur. I button my coat and lift my hand to my class, signaling for them to not pay any mind and get back to their test. 

“Jacqueline. In the hallway. Now,” I demand with a crisp, tight bark. 

“Don’t tell me what to do, you old sick fuck. Any other girls in this classroom you are fu—” 

I cut her off before she can finish that statement. I grasp her by her elbow and thrust her into the hall. One passerby looks at us funny, and I give them a quick nod and smirk, playing it off, as Jacqueline is barely able to contain herself, flailing about and struggling to stand on solid ground. I can smell the cigarettes and whiskey on her breath, and I nearly choke on the pungent scent. She reeks. 

“You’re a damn mess, Jacqueline. What the fuck are you doing here?” I grit out, pacing back and forth in front of her, my palms twitching to release my anger the best way I know how. But my little bird isn’t here to help settle me. 

“You. You are fucking Dennis’s daughter. You sick man, I didn’t know you had it in you.” 

I stop abruptly. A bone-chilling shiver runs up my spine as my eyes find the tiled floor of the hall. I feel like the wind was knocked from me. 

“Excuse me?” How the fuck did she find out about Lizith and her connection to Dennis? 

She laughs, and it reminds me of a scarecrow. A tall, gangly thing possessing the power to put fear in me. 

“You fucked her all those years ago, because you wanted to get back at Dennis and me,” she slurs, standing straight from her leaning position against the wall. Slowly, my eyes draw up and my body pivots. 

“You have no idea what you are talking about, Jacqueline.” Her name drips like poison from my lips as I grasp at straws. 

“I left you for Dennis. And that upset you. So you took the opportunity to seek payback because you still loved me.” She takes the tip of her long white-tipped nails and drags them down the V-shape where my jacket parts over my chest. “So when that little play thing, that slut, Lizith, was on your roster, you put two and two together and made her your little slave.” 

“Don’t you fucking call her that, and don’t you dare say her name, Jacqueline,” I hiss, closing my hand around hers and thrusting it away from me. “You are wrong. You know nothing,” I remark, but inside, I’m a mess, because she’s fucking right. 

When I met Lizith on the first day of class, I had it all planned out in my head. Claim her, break her, and leave her a mess for Dennis to pick up, because he fucked what was mine, and I wanted him to know that I could take from him what I thought he took from me. 

But then I broke Lizith. I broke her so bad that I fucking fell in love with her and wanted only her. Joke was on me; my plan had backfired. But I never wanted Lizith to know. I didn’t want to hurt her in a way that I couldn’t heal her or subdue her into seeing that while it may have been the wrong start, it was the greatest beginning, because we had each other. My fucking soul mate became mine, all because of false and vile beginnings. 

“What do you fucking want, Jacqueline?” I’m at her mercy, and usually, I would laugh in her face and tell her to go to hell, but I will do anything to make sure this secret is only told to my little bird by my lips. 

“You blackmail, and I will blackmail you. You come back to me, leave behind that tramp.”

“Watch your fucking tongue, Jacqueline. You don’t understand what I am capable of when it comes to her,” I threaten. 

“You delete the tapes, come back to me, and I won’t tell her why you took such an interest in her.” 

“She’s my life, Jacqueline, and no matter what, she always will be. I’m not coming back to you. You don’t love me, and I sure as fuck don’t love you.” 

“You’re a man of control and power, Xander. Don’t act so foolish. It’s not about love; it’s about status, and divorce doesn’t make anyone look good,” she sneers, blinking slowly. I’m sure she doesn’t even know if she’s awake or asleep. She is that inebriated. “You see, Xander, when I made you come back to me, you should have left her in the past but you didn’t. So when daddy dearest, Dennis, called me the other day to scold me, I knew I had regained control. She’s fair game. Collateral damage, if you will.” She shrugs carelessly, and I bite the inside of my cheek, my palms gripped in tight fists at my sides. I can feel my jaws burning from the gnawing tension, and I don’t know what to do to gain the upper hand. 

“Stay the fuck away from my woman or you won’t have a chance to look bad in front of anyone. I won’t let you do this to me again, you pathetic bottom feeder.” I get close to her with gritted teeth, when my door opens beside us and one of my students leaves. 

“Sorry, Professor Stine. I left my completed test on your desk.” 

“Thanks, Jonathan. Have a good winter break.” I stand straight and give him a stoic, controlled farewell, and he scurries off. Looking back, I see Jacqueline’s eyes beginning to sober up, but what I don’t see is fear. I threatened her, and she knows I make good on my threats, but that still does not faze her. Jacqueline is out for blood, and knowing I cause her no fear makes her the deadliest of threats in mine and Lizith’s life. 

More students start piling out, and I look to the end of the hall, just to the left, and see class is over by the time on the clock. Under my breath, I try to stay as reserved and collected under her thumb as I can, and I let out a solid warning. 

“You stay away, Jacqueline, because no matter what you do”—I step closer and my breath whispers across her face—“I will do it ten times worse, and I will fucking haunt you.” 

I pull back and enter my room again, leaving her cursing behind me. “Don’t threaten me, Xander! That little plaything will fucking know what you did to her! So help me, God!” Students look at me with curious shock, and I just wave them off and say goodbye, wishing them luck in their endeavors. 

Once Jacqueline makes her hasty retreat and my classroom is empty, I slam the door shut, the frosted glass rattling with it. I come to my desk and take a seat, dropping my head in my hands and thrusting them through my hair. 

I try to think of something—anything—to control the situation, and the only solution is to lock away my bird and give her no way to run from me, because if I give her an out, she may take it. This will be sure to break her fragile, kind, and all-mine heart. It will make her hate me, and I know this. No matter how much she belongs to me or how psychotic she can be with her obsession over me, this may be the one thing that stands to abolish everything we built. 

I open my MacBook Air and hit Google Search, looking up the current weather in Aspen, Colorado. The forecast shows blizzards with guaranteed snow-ins, and that is my out. I start searching for remote cabins, cabins fucking lost in the hills where we will get the most snow, and I start making calls. I finally find a luxury cabin that guarantees us privacy, and after listening to the owner warn me about how we will be cut off from the real world and stuck in the snow for a few days, I take it. 

We leave tonight.

I am still fuming just a mere ten minutes after Jacqueline’s departure, when there is a light rap on my classroom door. 

“What?” I snap, forgetting where I am for a moment. I stand and wait for whoever is bothering me at this moment of panic. But when the door opens slowly and my little bird stands there so patiently and submissive, with her head down and her long brown hair tucked behind one ear and the rest falling behind her, I feel a small semblance of control for the first time in the last thirty minutes. 

“My love, I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to surprise you with lunch on your last day.” Dressed in a beautiful blush-pink sundress, which is peeking out from behind her stylish long black trench coat, her feet are covered in little ballet flats, and she holds a picnic basket with a meal that smells divine even from this distance, and a thermos. 

Lizith doesn’t look up, nor does she take a step forward as she waits for my approval, and I thank her beautiful soul, which told her to come to me when I needed her. I feel heartache and guilt inside my chest, and I fight back the prickling behind my eyes at the sight of my beautiful little bird being so true to me, when I have only fucking deceived her. 

“Step in, my darling. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” 

She finally peers up, and her pink cheeks and pale, striking green eyes pierce me as she collects her things before stepping into the room and shutting the door. She locks it as I stand waiting for her. 

“I saw her. Was she here harassing my keeper? Did she say something to you that has upset you?” Placing the basket on my desk, she comes to stand in the small space between the desk and me. Her scent fills my lungs, lavender and a hint of my cologne. My knees nearly buckle in her presence. 

“Are you wearing my cologne?” I question, finally gifting myself with physical contact as I lay my hand on the lowest point of her back and my other at the nape of her neck, where I squeeze and release repeatedly. 

“Yes, I wanted to smell you on me all day.” She drops her head shyly and blushes. 

“You don’t deserve me,” I whisper. 

“I know, but I try really hard to be worthy of you.” 

My heart cracks as she misunderstands what I mean. “No, my love, you don’t deserve a monster like me. You deserve rivers of decadence, surrounded by mountains of gold, framed by a sea full of waves made of diamonds.” I lean in, my lips a whisper against hers. 

Lizith’s eyes haze over, shutting and opening slowly as she perches on her tip-toes to try and get closer. I need her so fucking bad, and I know I don’t deserve her. I don’t even deserve to breathe the same air she does. 

“No, I need rivers of soft whispers, mountains of love kept between us, and waves of infinite touches from you, my keeper. I don’t want anything else but you. Not even all the riches in the world. Just you.” 

And just like that, I anticipate the heartache this weekend away with her will bring. Lizith may just fucking bend, snap, and fucking crumble to ashes under me after she learns about the truth of how we came to be. 

“Xander, I know she wasn’t right. She looked mad leaving here. Does she know about me?” she asks, reaching her hands under the flaps of my jacket and around to my back, rubbing soft circles on my lower back just above my belt. 

“Don’t worry, little bird. She’s just a deranged woman loose from her padded room,” I say, digging the knife of guilt deeper. But I have to hold off. I have to wait to get her locked away, like the beast in his castle. But the selfish, egomaniacal, lovesick fool in me knows no bounds, and I need to ensure that she understands how we started may have been wrong but not who we are; it isn’t what matters. Even if how we began is sick, I don’t want her to lose sight of where it brought us and how much I truly fucking love her. 

I see it then, the rush of fear coming in like a tidal wave in her eyes. Her body goes rigid under me, and I see her left eye twitch a little. 

“You can’t leave me again. I won’t let you leave again, Xander. Whatever she is threatening you with, I don’t care. I won’t let her take you away again.” 

She begins to tremble under me, the fire in her eyes raging, and I calm her then. “Little bird, enough. Get on your knees and settle.” I let my secret slip away for now, because my girl needs reassurance that I will not break her heart again—by leaving her, at least. I scold myself mentally and release her as she does what she’s told, her body still shaking.  

When she is on her knees and her thighs rest against her calves, I take a seat in my chair and look into her eyes, mine silently guiding her. She nods knowingly, and she crawls between my legs, laying her head on my thigh. I bring my hand to her head and start petting her hair gently. 

“Beautiful bird, my love. So elegant and exquisite. I am not going anywhere, Lizith. Just relax.” My hand travels from her hair and meets her thin neck, where I squeeze once before moving to her shoulder to massage the soft skin. Her eyes never leave mine as we share soft touches. 

“I am taking you away for a long weekend. Four days. To the mountains. Have you ever seen snow, pretty baby?” 

She blinks twice, a giddy smile taking over her face, and I grin at her enthusiasm. 

“No, I haven’t. I have always wanted to.” She nuzzles into my thigh, closing her eyes and thanking me with a gentle touch to the back of my calf. “You don’t have to take me away though. I can stay here with you and be just as happy. And what’s better is I took a few days off of work so I could spend some of your winter break at your feet,” Lizith purrs, and my cock twitches. 

“I’m taking you away, and I am going to spoil you fucking rotten, my little thing.” 

“You already do—everyday.” With that, she slowly climbs to her feet and into my lap, curling into me as best she can. “How about I take the time to spoil you? Maybe against this desk.” She pecks me on the lips once and parts from me before I can prolong it. 

“Bird,” I warn, knowing exactly what’s coming. 

“I know you loved fucking me hard against this cherry wood. I remember you liked it in my ass the most when I was here.” She bends over, lifting her dress as she goes. Those creamy cheeks beckoning me as if I were a sailor lost at sea, looking for something to guide him home. 

“Fuck,” is all I can manage to say. 

“You would leave me wet and leaking with your seed while I tried hard to pay attention to you teach. My scent still in the air.” I think back to the times I fucked her before class when we first got together, and I swear it’s so potent I can almost fucking smell it. “Please, professor, teach me how to take it like a good little bird,” she coos, and I nearly break the chair when I stand abruptly and push it back against the wall. My hand comes thundering down on her globe, which ripples until I stop it with a firm grip. 

“You are so fucking vile today. Are those my lady’s hormones speaking?” 

She giggles. “No, Master, that’s my insatiable desire for you.” 

“Damn it, you bad girl.” I snap her panties to the side and slide my finger from her clit all the way to her puckered hole. As I breach it, she jolts forward and nearly howls my name. “Xander!” 

“Shh! I don’t need the dean hearing about the fuck session I had during lunch. Now, hold still. I’m just starting.” Seeing some grapes in the picnic basket on the desk, I pluck one free. Bringing it between us to her clit, my finger lightly thrusting in her ass, I rub her juices all over the grape, and when I feel it’s good and wet, I bring it to my mouth and fucking savor her taste. 

“So ripe. You taste so damn delicious.” 

“I want a taste,” she begs, her green eyes darkening over her shoulder. 

“I don’t want you to. That’s all mine, and I’m so selfish I don’t want to share it with you.” I bring another grape from the basket, and she shakes her head. 

“No, I want your taste.” 

I understand what she’s asking and I’m more than happy to oblige. “Turn over and lie on my desk. Spread your legs.” She does it willingly and quickly. 

I unbuckle my pants, every move slow and methodical, so she can anticipate my touch. I want her quivering, weak, and a fucking mess before I take her away. That makes me selfish and fucked up, but when it comes to her, I always have been, and I will do anything to keep her, even if it’s in the most fucked-up way. 

“This what you want?” I ask when I release my cock from my pants, and I take the grape to the tip and collect some of my precum. 

Lizith whimpers, “Yes, Master.” 

Smirking deviously, I feed it to her. My insides fucking burn with my need to be with her. She savors the taste, before swallowing and humming her appreciation. 

“Good girl. Now lie back, ‘cause I am going to fuck you hard, fast, and dirty, so we can eat before my final class.” Nodding, she waits, and I take her just like I promised I would. I ruin her for the rest of the day, and by the time our red-eye takes off, she sleeps on my shoulder nearly the entire flight. 

I however can’t sleep, too worried for what is about to transpire between us in the next few days. And I just hope she will see the past as something that started our beautiful journey to forever. 

I look down at her as she smiles softly in her sleep and whisper with my lips on top of her head. “Please, forgive me, little bird. Please understand how much I love you.” 

She stirs a bit then settles again.