My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82 A Public Display of Possession and Control

6 78

The silence in the chemistry lab possessed a physical weight. It pressed against the cinderblock walls, suffocating the ambient hum of the

lights.

Mr. Sterling stood at the front of the room holding a glass beaker. He did not move. Thirty juniors sat frozen on their metal stools, their

eyes darting between the open doorway and the workstation I shared with Julian Hayes.

Ryder filled the doorframe. The dark, scuffed leather of his jacket stretched across his broad shoulders. He carried an energy so dense and lethal it stripped the oxygen straight from the air. His hazel eyes, devoid of any golden warmth, remained fixed on Julian.

Julian’s confident, predatory smile crumbled. The expensive cologne radiating from his skin could not mask the sudden, sharp scent of his panic. He dropped his hand, stepping back from my space. The soles of his designer shoes dragged against the linoleum.

“Mr. Steinmann, Mr. Sterling managed to say. The teacher’s voice lacked its usual booming authority. “You do not belong in this wing.”

Ryder ignored him.

He stepped into the classroom. The heavy tread of his combat boots echoed like a war drum. He walked down the center aisle, his gaze never wavering. He did not look at the intricate diagrams on the whiteboards. He did not look at the glass burettes or the swirling pink

chemicals.

He stopped directly in front of my workstation.

Julian swallowed hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed above the collar of his crisp white shirt. He opened his mouth to speak, perhaps to offer an excuse or a fake greeting, but the words died in his throat. The sheer proximity of Ryder’s massive frame shut him down completely.

Ryder did not throw a punch. He did not raise his voice. He kept the promise we made in the abandoned drama corridor. He restrained the

monster.

But he made his point with devastating precision.

Ryder turned his back on Julian, dismissing him as if he were nothing but dust on the black resin counter. He stepped into my space, closing the gap until his boots bumped against my scuffed loafers. The freezing temperature of the lab vanished, replaced by the scorching heat radiating from his chest.

He reached out.

His large, calloused hands bypassed my waist. He slid his palms under the lapels of my navy blazer, his long fingers wrapping around the nape of my neck. He tilted my head up, forcing me to meet his eyes.

The feral darkness in his expression shifted the moment he looked at me. The lethal threat melted into a raw, burning possessiveness.

He leaned down and pressed his mouth to my forehead.

1/3

13:01 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 82 A Public Display of Possession and Control

It was not a brief, calculated peck designed for an audience. It was a heavy, lingering kiss. His lips burned against my skin. He inhaled a deep, ragged breath, burying his face in my dark hair, breathing me in. He flooded my senses with the smell of worn cedar, damp earth,

and sharp peppermint. He completely erased the lingering trace of Julian’s cologne.

My heart slammed against my ribs. A frantic, chaotic rhythm hammered in my ears.

78

“We are leaving,” Ryder murmured against my temple. The rough gravel of his voice sent a shockwave straight down my spine.

“The bell hasn’t rung, I whispered.

“I don’t care about the bell, he replied.

He pulled back just enough to look at my face. He traced the line of my jaw with his thumb. The touch was gentle, but the grip he maintained on my neck was an absolute, unyielding anchor. He was claiming me. He was drawing a massive, impenetrable circle around

us, daring anyone in the room to step across the line.

A dark, undeniable thrill exploded in my chest.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify