My gaze flicked back to the figure in the bed, messy hair spilling across his face, green eyes wide. For a second, my chest squeezed with recognition.
“He’s mine,” I said before I could stop myself.
The brunette’s expression hardened. “The hell he is. He’s my mine.”
And then I saw it, the piercings, the darker shade of blond, the subtle differences that made my gut sink.
Not Ryan.
Before I could say anything, a voice cut through the tension from behind me.
“Mr. Thorne. What are you doing here?”
I turned.
Ryan stood in the doorway, wearing pajama pants, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
The brunette looked between us. “Who the hell is this?”
“Relax. He’s just my teacher,” Ryan said, like that explained anything.
“Teacher? Really, Ry?” the blonde, Sam, deadpanned.
Ryan waved him off, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me down the hall. Heat burned in my face as I followed.
He shoved me into a guest room and closed the door behind us. His posture was loose, but his eyes burned with irritation.
“Oh no,” he said. “If you’re gonna stalk me to my brother’s boyfriend’s house, you better have a damn good reason. Especially after you basically kicked me out.”
“I didn’t kick you out,” I snapped. “I just said we can’t have sex.”
He laughed, cold, humorless. “Same thing.”
“Ryan—”
“No.” He stepped in, jabbing a finger into my chest. “It’s not the no sex. I wouldn’t care if you weren’t in the mood. It’s the fact I know you want to fuck me but you don’t. You push me away, keep me dangling, then show up here like you own me. I’m not yours.”
“That’s not what—”
“You think I’m gonna sit around waiting for you to change your mind? You think I don’t have options?” His voice cracked with heat. “If you won’t fuck me, I’ll find someone who will.”
The words landed harder than I wanted to admit. My throat tightened.
Ryan yanked the door open and stormed out. I stood there, rooted in place, listening to his footsteps fade. The thought tore through me before I could stop it, I didn’t want him with anyone else.
When I finally stepped into the hall, he was there, blocking the doorway, arms crossed, eyes cold.
“You made that very clear,” he said flatly. “Leave.”
I scoffed. “I thought I was yours.”
Ryan’s lips twitched, not in humor. “I’m not desperate. I don’t want to keep forcing you. I tried,” he gave a lazy shrug “and I failed. Claire can have you.”
“You don’t mean that,” I muttered, moving closer. “Ryan.”
“Don’t Ryan me, Nathan.” His voice was sharp enough to cut. “You’re my teacher. What you did tonight? Really inappropriate. Leave.”
I clenched my jaw, holding his stare. “You think I wanted to do this? Follow you? You made me this way.”
