Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

DANE

Running into Chloe Bell wasn't an accident.

I didn't expect her to be in the corridor just then, but she was, and she was alone. And not paying attention. I took the opportunity that was offered. I stepped into her path and let her walk into me.

To be perfectly honest, being that close to her was not a hardship. She made me hard, but I could have stayed like that, touching her, for a lot longer. She was gorgeous, and smelled like lavender and arousal.

Fuck, just thinking about her made my balls heavy.

Where her twin, Lila, was hard and unbending, there was something about Chloe that suggested she was still pliant. Still ready for me to mould into what I needed.

I wasn't going to be a professor forever. Chloe Bell was my ticket out of here. One gorgeous ticket with legs for days, an ass I wanted to bury my face in, and the most lickable tits this side of Sydney.

Remembering the feel of her body pressed against me made my cock hard. Touching her almost made me lose my load in the corridor.

I wanted her for her family connections, but just as much, I wanted her body. And she would give it to me. I was certain of that. She'd let me sink into that?—

"Thinking that hard might give you wrinkles." Ryker Norris leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his muscular chest. "Oh, wait, too late."

"Fuck off," I told him.

He was barely out of school himself. This was his first year teaching at Brutham. His first year teaching anywhere, to be specific. He seemed determined to give me a run for my money in the cocky department.

He grinned and pushed unruly hair off his face. "Is that any way to speak to a colleague?"

"Probably." I closed my laptop and leaned my elbows on the desk in front of me. "Did you want something?"

Ryker taught psychology. Something I suspected he'd learnt so he knew how to fuck with people.

I taught history, because dates were easier to deal with than people.

"I thought I'd say hello as I was walking past," he said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Men like Ryker Norris didn't just stop for a friendly chat. They stopped for a chat which coincided with their agenda. What his was, I hadn't managed to discern yet. Although, I was generally too preoccupied with mine to give it much thought.

He lowered his arms. "Fine. I want you to sponsor me. You are a member of the Brotherhood of Kings, aren't you?"

I should have expected exactly that question. It wasn't the first time I'd been asked, and it wouldn't be the last. I wasn't a fan of being used, but in this case it was understandable. Membership to the Brotherhood was difficult to gain, but invaluable to have. The secret society controlled governments all over the world, regimes, economies.

The Brotherhood had more power than even I could get my head around sometimes. Power I wanted to wield, but I was stuck in my present rut.

"I am," I agreed. "Why would I sponsor you?" Also a legitimate question. A member didn't sponsor anyone lightly. They had to be beneficial to the Brotherhood in some way. They needed to be ruthless, but discreet. They couldn't run around shouting to the world, telling them all about the existence of the Brotherhood.

The fact he was speaking to me so directly showed he had balls. Did that impress me? Not necessarily. Balls only got a person so far in life. Like teaching here.

"Because I deserve it," he said, unflinching. "We both know it."

"Do we?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "What I know is that you're arrogant, self-absorbed and ambitious."

"Thank you." He smiled. "I'm flattered."

"You would be," I told him. He wasn't the least bit ashamed of any of it. If anything, he seemed proud. Was I like that at his age, before I became jaded with frustration and reality? Probably. In all likelihood, I was worse. With age came wisdom, or some shit.

"I know you think I'm an asshole." He crossed his arms again. "But you can't deny I have all the right attributes. Sponsor me."

"That's exactly what I think," I agreed. I was an asshole too, so I couldn't exactly judge him for that alone. Being nice only got people screwed over. So I've been told. I haven't tried that approach much.

"Why are you asking me? Did everyone else turn you down?"

He didn't flinch.

"I didn't ask anyone else," he said. "I want you to do it."

That took me by surprise, but I kept it contained.

"Why me?" I asked. "Am I the only member you know?"

He chuckled. "Not at all. My father is a member. He'd sponsor me if I asked him to."

"Then why not ask him?" I pushed myself up off my chair and walked around to sit on the front of my desk.

"Because that's too easy," he said. "I don't want to get in because of who I'm related to. I want to get in because I'm worthy. Because I don't want anyone pointing fingers at me and saying I'm only there because I'm Charles Norris' son."

I totally understood that. I hadn't wanted to walk in my father's shadow either. For so many reasons. Including the fact he was dead after screwing over people more powerful than us. That ultimately wouldn't have reflected well on me.

My father was a fucking idiot, as far as I was concerned. He could have been powerful and influential, but he overreached. To the detriment of me and my three siblings. They'd all bounced back and found their places in the world, but me… I was still working on that.

"I'll think about it," I said.

Arms still crossed, Ryker raised his hands. "Why? You know I'm exactly the kind of man the Brotherhood is looking for." He was clearly pissed off and getting frustrated, but keeping it contained for now. There was no benefit to him in losing his temper with me. Not when it came to this. Or anything else for that matter. I had enough influence to remind people to keep themselves in their place.

I shrugged. "You might be."

"Then why hesitate?" he asked.

I looked him right in the eyes and spoke coldly. "Because patience is a fucking virtue, and it seems like you need to learn it. Maybe then, we'll talk."

He closed his eyes, looking furious for a few moments before opening them and nodding. "Fine. I can be patient. Whatever it takes." He brushed his hair back again, this time with a curt gesture.

"I thought you'd see it that way," I said. "But if you don't, you can always go and ask your father."

I watched his expression carefully, curious about his response. As I expected, he squared his jaw and lifted his chin. He wanted this sponsorship, but not at the expense of asking his father for it. Not if it meant he had to back down from that decision. He was absolutely determined to be his own man.

I was right, he did have balls.

After a few moments, his posture relaxed and he smiled. "I get it, you're not going to make it easy for me. I guess you shouldn't. If the Brotherhood was easy to get into, what would be the value in it? Anyone and everyone would join. They might even start letting in…" He paused for effect. "Women." His expression was one of mock horror.

I snorted. "The Brotherhood has existed for a couple of hundred years, they're not going to start letting women in now."

How did I feel about that? Honestly, it was irrelevant. It was a policy the Brotherhood would change over the dead bodies of all its members.

"Not unless they're fillies," he agreed. He looked ready to rub his hands together at the thought.

The only way women could with the Brotherhood in any capacity, was to offer themselves to the members, for their pleasure and amusement. In return, they could expect to marry incredibly well, if they caught a member's eye.

Considering the amount of power the Brotherhood wielded, plenty of women thought that was a good opportunity. Some of them could end up married to world leaders, or even literal kings. To the brothers, they were little more than warm pussies and willing mouths.

I enjoyed my share of them, when the opportunity arose. Women whose faces I couldn't remember, much less their names. I didn't care who they were, as long as they were willing.

"If that's the only reason you want to join," I said, "there are plenty of undergrads and postgrads here at Brutham. Fellow teachers too."

"Are you offering?" Ryker grinned.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Fuck no. I don't care who does what with whom, but I'm only into women." If I wasn't, I wouldn't be into someone like him. I wouldn't turn my back on him, literally or figuratively.

"Shame," he said. "I'm told I'm a pretty good fuck."

I smirked."Did you tell yourself that?"

He laughed. "All the time. My cock is very fond of my hand. But I hear it from my partners too. You've probably heard them screaming my name."

How did we end up on this line of conversation?

"I'll take your word for it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting starting shortly."

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Chloe should be here in about five minutes. I preferred he be gone from here before she arrived. If he saw her, no doubt he'd try to gain her attention. He might even succeed. The idea made me want to grind my teeth. And smash his in.

I needed to make sure I staked my claim before someone like him tried to muscle in on her.

Not that I was scared of competition, even from him, but I had a plan I wanted to execute and I didn't want anything going wrong.

When I was done, Chloe Bell would be mine.

Correction, she already was mine, she just didn't know it yet. Soon, she'd come to understand that. Right around the time she wrapped her lips around my cock.

"After hours?" Ryker asked.

"I'm dedicated," I said sarcastically. I was, just not necessarily to my job. Like Ryker, my ambitions went a lot further.

He snorted. "That's one word for it. We all know Dane DiMarco would be out of here like a shot, given half a chance." He hesitated for a moment. "That's why you insisted on patience, wasn't it? Because that's what you've needed to have all this time. Tell me something, why here? Why teaching?"

"Because Brutham Academy is the perfect place to recruit people for the Brotherhood," I said. "And teaching was better than the alternatives."

I had grudging respect for the cleaning staff here at the Academy, but I didn't want to be one of them. The Brantley brothers would have found it hilarious to see me cleaning toilets. To be fair, I'd laugh at them if they cleaned toilets too. That might bring them both down the several dozen pegs they needed, to get back to the ground. Assholes.

"You're here undercover," Ryker said. "That's kinda cool. Except the part where you have to grade papers to look legit." He grimaced.

"Except that part," I agreed. Fortunately, the history department was small. Most of the students didn't come here to study history.

Those who took my classes tended to be interested in the subject matter, which at least took the edge off teaching it. Sometimes, they even got me interested.

When it came down to it, I'd rather teach history than psychology. Or something like computer science. Those were both too technical and too boring to me.

I'd always been fascinated by how powerful people came to be powerful. They say you should learn about history so you don't repeat the mistakes of the past, but I was more interested in the successes of the past. And how I could follow those examples to my own advantage.

Okay, a small part of me would like to be someone history students learnt about in a hundred years. Who wouldn't? That was the ultimate legacy. One I was determined to leave behind me.

"Anyway, like I said, I have a meeting." I looked at him meaningfully.

If he didn't leave soon, I'd flatly refuse to sponsor him and that would be that. He'd have to find someone else. If that meant going back to his daddy to ask, too fucking bad. That was firmly in the 'not my problem' department.

Although, if I sponsored him, he'd owe me a big favour. It was always good to gather those in life. I never knew when I'd need to call them in.