There was something so indulgent about tormenting the assholes, pushing them to the point of spiraling out of control. Tonight was no exception. After a little while, I softly whistled a slightly ominous tune, which in turn prompted him to stop walking altogether. This time he turned around, scanning the darkness as if I’d consider allowing him to see me until I was ready to strike.

  When I dared to run my pinky ring across a chain-link fence, he didn’t bother looking back, instead taking off running. I’d allow him the belief he’d gotten away, finally slowing to an exhausted walk before making a wrong turn.

  At least for him.

  The few abandoned buildings were the perfect backdrop of a horror movie.

  Or a slaughter.

  I shook my head as I pulled out my favorite hunting knife. It had been one of the only birthday gifts my father had bothered to give to me, telling me to use it wisely. Oh, I’d learned to alright.

  Chuckling, I flicked the blade open, ensuring no unsuspected bystanders were walking the ugly streets this late at night.

  With the quietness of the predator I’d been trained to become, I advanced, wrapping one arm around the jerk’s throat and yanking him further into the ominous shadows.

  “No. Please,” he managed before I nearly crushed his windpipe while he tried to struggle. I was too big and too muscular, no one able to best me.

  “Please what? Spare your worthless life?”

  “I… have… money,” he rasped out.

  “Money? I don’t want money. I want your soul burning in hell.”

  “You’re going to… kill me.” He was already whimpering, still fighting even as I continued squeezing his life out of him.

  “I’m afraid so, fuckhead. Didn’t your mama ever teach you to treat women like they were golden angels? Tsk. Tsk. What a shame.”

  I allowed him to see the jagged edges of the blade in the slight illumination from the single dirty streetlight before I laughed softly. I preferred seeing the fear of God slide into their eyes, but I had papers to grade, a final lecture to prepare. However, summer was almost here, my favorite time to go hunting.

  It was definitely the right time for a change in careers, leaving my academia world far behind me.

  Exhaling, I felt a sense of peace as I sliced the sharp blade from ear to ear, the remaining anger allowing the weapon to go in deep as I twisted it. He gurgled only briefly before floating away into the dark abyss, waiting for the devil’s creatures to crawl out of the dirt to take him to where he belonged.

  As I tossed the body, lowering the blade and sliding it back into my jacket pocket, a smile crossed my face. My personal demon had been appeased.

  For now.

  But he was very hungry…

  CHAPTER 2

  Sara

  “Remember darkness is in the heart of every one of us.” His voice was deep and sensual, booming in the vast lecture hall, the husky baritone evoking far too many filthy images in my mind.

  “Goddamn, I’m wet,” Taylor whispered from beside me.

  I glanced in her direction, noticing the warm flush on her face. There wasn’t a single female student who hadn’t experienced sinful fantasies about the man. Myself included. But he was the university’s resident bad boy, or so I liked to think. As arrogant as he was self-assured, he rarely gave anyone the time of day, nor did he participate in school activities. The mystery was as sinfully hot as the man himself. To him, all of us little people didn’t exist. I doubted he even knew who I was.

  As the professor scanned the crowd of mesmerized students, boys included, I held my breath. It was impossible to take my eyes off him, basking in his glorious ruggedness while he lectured.

  “Jesus Christ,” Josie said from my other side as she leaned forward in her chair. “That man is hot.”

  “Fuckable. Every girl’s fuckable fantasy,” Taylor said through clenched teeth.

  “Untouchable,” I whispered as a reminder. At least that’s the way I thought of him, the teacher-student relationship considered forbidden in some circles. Especially the likes of a university catering to those students who were considered the cream of the crop, the next generation of powerful politicians and corporate moguls.

  The man screamed wealth.

  And arrogance.

  And power.

  And most important of all—danger. It oozed from every sensual pore, and from the soulless look of his eyes. With his fifty-thousand-dollar watch and the Italian sports car I’d seen him around town in a couple of times, he exuded the kind of opulence meant for royalty.

  But he was no Prince Charming.

  “Don’t look now. I think she’s drooling,” Taylor mused, elbowing me with a gleam in her eyes.

  “Maybe we should set her up on a blind date with the man,” Josie said.

  “You say a word to that man, and I’ll toss you off a cliff. I mean it.” I might have said the words just a little too loudly, half the class and the sexy professor glancing in our direction. I slunk down in my seat, trying to remain as tiny as possible. I didn’t like attention being drawn to me under any circumstances.

  I glanced from one of my friends to the other, trying to avoid getting sucked into their wicked dreams. Although I couldn’t deny I’d enjoyed discussing the man’s finer qualities over a glass or two of thick red wine.

  After Professor Saint took a deep breath, he walked to the other side of the desk where he had his things. “Finals day after tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen. Be prepared to stretch your boundaries further than I’ve had you do. You will be writing a short story and it better be worth my read.” He fisted his hand, slamming it on the surface, his personal indication the class was concluded.

  The one hundred and fifty or so students didn’t waste any time jerking to their feet. With only graduations and summer festivities on their minds, the last final exams for most were mere icing on the cake. Everyone already knew where they stood in the hierarchy of the system. Most, especially given the majority of students were from wealthy and highly influential families, had cushy jobs lined up.

  Not this midwestern girl with a desire to be famous.

  If I wasn’t careful, soon I’d be homeless. I gritted my teeth from the thought.

  “Shit,” Josie huffed. “I thought now that we are graduating, I was finished with writing stupid stories.” She jerked her things into her arms, as she stood, glaring at the sexy man. She wasn’t fooling me. She’d suck the man’s cock underneath the desk with class going on if he commanded her to do so.

  She’d told me as much.

  I rolled my eyes, slowly getting to my feet. It could be a very interesting day given the job interview I had later. “Maybe it’ll be on Edgar Allan Poe,” I said almost wistfully.

  “Why do you like that dark stuff?” Josie teased.

  Shrugging, I knew the answer but certainly couldn’t tell anyone. If I did, I’d lose more than just friendships. “It suits me.”

  “I’m worried you might be a witch in disguise.” It had been something Taylor had teased me about since learning my favorite movies were in the horror genre.

  A crack of thunder made us all groan.

  I made a spooky sound and the girls glared at me, both unable to keep from grinning.

  “Another storm. I am sick of the Great Lakes weather.” Taylor half laughed. “At least I have a job in Miami starting in July.”

  “What are you going to do, Sara?” Josie asked. They were always teasing me, saying I had my head in the clouds. Maybe I did.

  Both girls were from extremely wealthy families, both sinfully gorgeous. I was the misfit of the trio given my parents were barely getting by, but we’d become friends our freshman year. “I’ll have you know I have a fabulous job interview later this afternoon. If I get it, I’ll be allowed to spend my summer doing exactly what I love. Writing a book.”

  Taylor shook her head. “You’re not going to make any money doing that.”

  “You don’t know that.” I hated being told what I couldn’t do.

  “That’s so you,” Josie purred then pulled an apple from her bookbag. “But I’m more the action girl. Watch this. I’ve been waiting all semester to rock the man’s boat.”

  “What are you doing?” I shook my head. Josie had had a slew of boyfriends but couldn’t settle down. I’d had one in the four years I’d been here, which wasn’t an experience I’d consider memorable in the least.

  She left her bag on the chair as she sauntered down the stairs, daring to unbutton her blouse more than normal.

  “Oh, for the love of God,” Taylor hissed. “Does she really think giving the teacher an apple is going to make him look at her twice? He’s an old guy.”

  I punched her in the ribs. “He’s not old. He’s mature, which is more than I can say about the assholes in this school.”

  As if to prove my point, two of the guys started shooting basketball with balled-up papers inside the lecture hall, whooping and hollering as if they were twelve.

  “You’ve got a point there.” We both laughed, watching Josie intently even if we couldn’t hear what was being said.

  I had to admit, when she turned on the seduction, she was one hot mama. Yes, I was jealous.

  Josie placed the apple on the professor’s desk, leaning over and saying something else. From where we stood, we could see the sexy expression she wore. There was no mistaking her intentions, especially when she was rolling her fingers around her nipple. Jesus Christ. A warm flush rushed from one side of my jaw to the other. I wasn’t exactly a prude, but she was the epitome of a bad girl.

  We watched intently for his reaction. In his true grumpy fashion, the gorgeous six-foot four-inch man with eyes the color of whiskey merely took a bite of the forbidden fruit before saying something in return to Josie. That we also couldn’t hear. Damn it. He grabbed his briefcase, turning abruptly toward the door. Before he left, he tossed the mostly uneaten apple into the trashcan.

  “Oops. I guess hot mama failed,” Taylor said in a ruthless tone. We both watched as Josie stormed up the tiered set of stairs, holding in our laughter as she grabbed her bag. She was furious, her face reddened from anger.

  “What did he say?” I finally asked.

  “That if I were the last woman on earth, he wouldn’t go out on a date with me, let alone anything else. That’s it. The man is gay. Fuck him.”

  That I doubted. And hoped I was right. He was far too hot with his intense eyes and killer body, including the dragon tattoo on his arm a few of us had been lucky enough to see.

  In my mind, he was the perfect man. Dark. Demanding. Dominant.

  What could be better?

  Even if he’d never paid any attention to me, my gal pals, or the other women in his classes who fawned over him like he was a fine wagyu steak on a silver platter. He was all business, barely saying anything outside of his always prepared lesson plans. Given the size of the room and where Josie, Taylor, and I had assigned ourselves at the start of the semester, I doubt he’d be able to recognize me if we were up close and personal. Besides, I rolled out of bed, pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed either jeans or sweatpants to come to class. Sans makeup to boot.

  I wasn’t here to be a fashionista like my two friends.

  I was tingling all over, even if I knew I couldn’t act on my desires. That wasn’t what good girls did, or those attempting to get a job as an intern with the man.

  So he’d stay forbidden albeit a delicious treat for the very bad girl inside of me.

  Taylor and I sucked in our breath, trying to keep from snickering as we looked at each other. With every ounce of my being, I doubted that was the truth.

  Easton Saint had simply not found the right woman yet.

  I licked my bottom lip as we headed out of the lecture hall.

  It was going to be a great summer.

  CHAPTER 3

  Easton

  “Hey, man. Do you want to grab a beer in celebration?”

  Marcus had more than his usual shit-eating grin on his face as he swung into my office. He’d been my buddy since we’d both arrived at the university about the same time. With his expertise in psychology, we’d had lively discussions late into the night over a bottle of gin while playing cards. Hell, the discussions had often become existential, leading us to weird and wild conspiracy theories, each one of us trying to top the other.

  He’d even mused on psycho killers, as he’d started to call them, enjoying my take on the dark and evil men of society. Marcus Shelton was a little psychotic, and the kind of guy who refused to talk about his awful family he’d disowned.

  That made us far too similar in nature, which had led to several bizarre conversations over the last couple of years.

  “I have a mountain of papers to grade. You should too.”

  “Yeah? So what? All work and no play. Come one. Let’s grab one beer.”

  I laughed and shoved my laptop into my briefcase, glancing up at the clock. “It’s not even three-thirty in the afternoon.”

  “So the fuck what?” He tapped his index finger on his watch. “You know what they say. It’s five o’clock somewhere. But in my mind, it’s always time for a cold one.”

  I had to admit I’d been keeping my nose to the grindstone over the last few weeks in both illustrious careers, including my work as the CFO of the Saint Corporation. We’d been busier than I’d been able to grab a handle on, our lucrative weapons and security system designs sought after by almost every government in the world. While our less than scrupulous business activity was down in comparison to this time last year, I still had my hands full juggling two full sets of financials.

  Anyone who believed that powerful crime syndicates didn’t take business seriously was a fool. “Yeah, fine. But one beer. One. Do you hear me?” I pointed my index finger at him, as if that would deter the man from trying to pull me into the dark zone.

  “I heard you.” He held up his index finger in return yet entirely different than I was doing. “Just one. I promise.”

  “Uh-huh. Which bar?”

  “Let’s go to our favorite dive bar. What do you think?”

  As if there’d been any other choice over the last couple of years.

  The place reminded me of the one I’d been in the night before, only closer to where I lived and worked. It wasn’t the typical college kid haunt, which made it more attractive. “Let me finish what I was doing, and I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “Hell, no. I’ll drive. I know you too well. Remember, brother?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “The faculty Christmas party where you said you’d be right there and jumped ship. I almost sent a search party out after you, especially since I was stuck flirting.” He laughed as my mind drifted back to that night. The Angel of Death had made an unexpected appearance, the first in a few months, the asshole janitor trying to assault a student at one of the residential facilities the night before. I’d followed him home, using a wire to slit his throat.

  “When has flirting ever been an issue for you?” I chided.

  “When it was with Mrs. Olsen.”

  “Ouch,” I said, laughing softly. The woman was likely more than twice my buddy’s age. “Sorry, dude. I just had a family situation to deal with and you know it.”

  “Yeah, so you said but you hate your family. Anyway, water under the bridge. Come on. One beer won’t take up that much of your oh-so precious time.”

  “Asshole.”

  “Yes, I am. Proudly so.”

  I glanced around my office, grabbing a couple of my personal books I’d yet to have time to look at, shoving them under my arm before snatching my keys and heading out of my shoebox-sized office, shutting and locking the door. “Maybe a beer will taste good.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  We chatted about basketball and our plans for the summer as we walked out into the parking lot. Suddenly, I lost him while I was discussing the best team in the industry. I stopped short, turning and trying to figure out what he was looking at. “Something wrong, bud?”

  He laughed but was definitely fawning over one of the female students. “Nah. It’s just been a rocky road since my divorce. You know how it goes.”

  No, I didn’t. “Fortunately, I have no desire to enter into a dark hole I’ll never be free of.”

  “You make it sound horrible. Marriage can be decent, or so I’ve heard. I wouldn’t know.” Yanking out his keys, he pressed the key fob, the lights to his aging Mercedes catching my attention. He’d had it rougher than some, his wife trying to take everything he had. Granted, the man had a roving eye, and I didn’t know all the details, but I felt sorry for him nonetheless.

  I tossed my briefcase and the books into the backseat, slightly concerned about my friend. He’d been down lately, more so than normal. As we climbed inside, I noticed he was lamenting again.

  “Pining away for some hot chick?” I finally asked. Students were everywhere, the approaching storm having almost no effect on their moods or activities. It seemed everyone was eager for the summer months. Myself included. I had plans, including whether or not to return for another semester. It was something I’d been fighting with for months. Teaching wasn’t my first love, merely a stopgap in what I’d always considered the evil lurking inside of me.

  “I don’t know,” he said as he started the engine. “I had a girl drop off an apple today after class. She sashayed by, swishing her tiny little skirt while pursing and licking her swollen pink lips. That was after winking at me. Fuck. My cock has never been so hard. I needed to go to the bathroom and relieve myself. The girl had the perkiest tits I’ve ever seen.”

  “I hope like hell you did this in private.”

  “I’m not an idiot, my friend.”

  Uh-huh. No, but he was itching to get himself into hot water. I almost choked thinking about the student in my class who’d done the same thing less than an hour before. Had to be the same girl. “Let me give a piece of advice. Don’t touch.”

  “I know the rules are etched in stone. You’re not allowed to fraternize with the students in any format, including carnal activities. If it’s determined such actions were taken, you will be terminated.”