DON’T STOP (Lila and Darrell) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Bella

I couldn’t stop replaying the plan in my head as Lara and I slipped out of the English Department building that night the stolen key still warm in my palm from where I’d pocketed it earlier that afternoon.

It had been almost too easy.

Professor Black had been distracted, his phone pressed to his ear, pacing behind his desk while he argued with someon low, clipped voice. I’d come in pretending to ask about an extension on a nonexistent assignment, lingering just long enough to spot the spare key hanging on a small hook behind a stack of books. One quick swipe while his back was turned. and it was mine. He never even glanced my way.

Now, hours later, under the cover of darkness, we’d used it.

The office smelled the same-old paper, leather, and that faint trace of his cologne that always made my stomach twist in ways I didn’t want to admit. Lara moved like she’d done this before, silent and sure. She found the perfect spot a small decorative shelf high on the wall, angled just right toward the desk. The tiny camera, barely bigger than a coin, slipped into place behind a row of leather-bound journals. Invisible unless you knew exactly where to look.

We were in and out in under five minutes.

I locked the door behind us. Then, as exactly as Lara instructed, I placed the key on the floor right beside the doorframe, half-hidden in the shadow of the threshold. He’d think he’d dropped it or misplaced it. No suspicion. No missing key report. Just a man who thought he was careless for once.

We didn’t speak the whole walk back to the residence hall. The plan sat between us like a loaded gun.

Back in our room, I stripped down to my underwear and crawled under the covers, heart still racing. Lara turned off the lamp but left the glow from her phone screen on low.

“You okay?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” I lied. Then, softer: “What if he doesn’t even look at me? What if he just tells me to get out the second I walk in?

Lara rolled onto her side to face me. “He’ll look. Trust me. You’re going to walk in there tomorrow wearing that black wrap dress-the one that hugs your hips and dips so low it’s basically criminal No bra. Thigh-high stockings if you’ve got them. Red lipstick. Hair down. You’re going to smell like sin and look like temptation. There’s no way a man like Black, controlled or not, ignores that.”

I swallowed. “And if he does fall for it… if he touches me…”

Γ

“Then you let it go far enough. A kiss. His hand on your waist. Maybe lower. Just enough to get clear footage. The second it crosses the line you want, you pull back. Scream if you have to. I’m not interested. Stop. Then you show him the camera feed on your phone. Tell him you recorded everything. That you’re done playing games. That unless he changes the F to at least a B, or better, an A, you’ll make sure the whole department, his fiancée, the dean, and everyone see exactly what kind or man he is.”

My stomach flipped. “Blackmail.”

“Survival,” she corrected. “He started this when he failed you out of spite. We’re just finishing it.”

I stared at the ceiling, the plan looping in my mind like a dark mantra.

I would wear something sexy, highlighting my curves, seduce him, get him to cross the line, pull the evidence. Finally, force

1/3

Chapter 49

Hand

Simple Ruthless Effective

But then Jones’s face flashed in my head-his worried eyes from that night on the ledge, the way he’d held me like I might break. I felt a sharp pang.

*I should tell Jones,” I murmured.

Lara’s voice came back firm. “No. You shouldn’t. Jones is sweet, but he’s not built for this. He’d freak out, try to stop you, or worse, confront Black himself and make everything ten times messier. This stays between us. Jones doesn’t need to know. Not now. Not ever, if it works.”

1 didn’t argue. She was right. Telling him would only drag him into the mess I’d already made.

I turned onto my side, pulling the blanket higher. My skin felt too hot, too restless.

“What if it flops?” I whispered into the dark.

“It won’t,” Lara said, sounding more certain than I felt. “You’ve got this. Sleep. Tomorrow you become the one in control.”

I closed my eyes, but sleep didn’t come easy.

All I could see was his office door. His desk. His pale blue eyes darkening as I leaned close. The moment he reached for me. The moment I turned the tables.

It was really tomorrow. The real deal. I couldn’t still believe it.

I hoped and prayed, even, that our plan wouldn’t flop.

Because if it did… I didn’t know what I’d do next. Wait, I know. I might really kill myself.

The next morning came too fast, sunlight slicing through the blinds like it was in a hurry to expose me. I woke before my alarm, stomach already knotted, skin prickling with nerves that felt electric. Lara was up too. She was quiet and focused, like we were prepping for a mission instead of a seduction.

She helped me pick the outfit we’d settled on last night: the black wrap dress that tied at the side, fabric soft but clingy, dipping low enough in the front to show the swell of my breasts without screaming for attention. No bra-Lara’s rule. The dress hugged my waist, flared over my hips, and stopped mid-thigh, leaving my legs bare except for the sheer black thigh- highs that whispered against my skin every time I moved. Heels-simple black pumps with a low enough heel i could still walk without wobbling but high enough to make my legs look endless.

Lara sat me on the edge of the bed and worked on my hair first, loosening the curls so they fell in soft, full waves around my shoulders instead of the usual tight bun or ponytail I hid behind. Then makeup: light foundation, a touch of shimmer on my cheekbones, and smoky eyes that made them look bigger and darker. And the lipstick was deep red, the kind that looked like sin on my full lips. She stepped back, tilting her head.

“Stand up. Let me see the full effect.”

I stood slowly, smoothing the dress over my hips, feeling the fabric shift and cling in places I usually tried to downplay. Lara’s eyes widened, then softened into something almost proud.

“Wow,” she breathed. “You’re so beautiful, Bella. I swear, I didn’t know you were this dangerously curvy. Why do you hide

thir

I laughed, but it came out shaky. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I looked down at myself. The dress accentuated everything the dip of my waist, the flare of my hips, the way my breasts rose with each breath. I’d spent years layering sweaters and 9/8

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