Falcon (Trinity Academy Book 1) Read online

  “Thanks for everything you guys did for me tonight. I really appreciate it.”

  “Always a pleasure, babe,” Mason says, then walks out of the room. I stare after him for a moment thinking he’s not such a bad guy after all.

  “Call if you need anything,” Lake says, and giving my elbow a squeeze, he presses another kiss to my temple. When he leaves, I have no choice but to look at Falcon.

  Lake feels like an older brother, and it makes it easy being around him.

  Mason’s aloof attitude and quick temper keeps everyone at a distance, including me.

  But Falcon… Confused doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. Before the crap hit the fan, my biggest worry was the attraction I felt for him. Tonight, he took control and dealt with my problem.

  While it was happening, I didn’t have time to process anything, but as our eyes meet and I see the remaining embers of worry still smoldering in them, I know it’s too late from keeping him out of my heart.

  “You need to get some sleep as well,” he says, then gestures to the bed. “Which side do you usually sleep on?”

  “The left.” Placing a knee on the bed, Falcon slips his arms under Kingsley and moves her to the right side.

  “Hopefully she stays like this, otherwise just kick her off,” he comments while covering her with a blanket.

  “Never thought I’d see the day where you tuck someone into bed,” I tease.

  Falcon’s eyes find mine, and then the corner of his mouth lifts into a sexy grin. “Don’t tell anyone. It would ruin my reputation.”

  “Your secret is safe with me.”

  Falcon walks to where I’m still awkwardly standing in front of the bed, and placing a hand on my lower back, he gives me a gentle nudge. “Get in bed. This will be your only chance to have me tuck you in.”

  I let out a breath of laughter. “You don’t have to. You must be tired as well. I’ll let you out first.”

  He shakes his head and nudges me again. “I know I don’t have to. Get in bed.”

  Knowing Falcon won’t stop until I listen to him, I walk to the left side and crawl under the covers. He walks out of the room, and I wonder if he’s leaving, but then he comes back with the chair from my work desk. He sets it down next to the bed then takes a seat.

  “You really don’t have to stay.” Because there’s no way I’ll sleep knowing you’re here.

  “I know.” He leans back and stretches his legs out in front of him. “Close your eyes.”

  Instead of listening, my eyes find his. He has so much confidence, I wish I could borrow some.

  “Sleep, Layla,” he whispers.

  I shake my head and look down at my hands where I’m clutching the covers.

  “Are you scared?” Falcon’s voice is a low murmur, and it makes me feel like I could share all my secrets with him.

  I nod, not taking my eyes away from my hands.

  “Move up,” he says, and getting up he comes to sit next to me. He leans back against the headboard and crosses his arms. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

  It’s clear he won’t leave until I’m asleep, so I decide to fake it so he can go get some rest himself. I close my eyes and pull the blanket up until it covers the bruise on my jaw.

  I hope the marks fade quickly because there’s no way I can go to any of my classes looking like this.

  I begin to worry about all the work I’ll miss when Falcon slides down until he’s lying next to me, and pushing an arm under my head, he uses his other hand to pull me against his chest. “Stop worrying. I’ll take care of everything.” His voice is a low murmur, and with the way he’s holding me, I can almost believe he cares about me.

  “Why are you so nice to me?”

  “It happened on my property. I’d do this for anyone.” The answer sounds well-rehearsed.

  When I try to pull back so I can look up at him, he brings a hand up to the back of my head to stop me. Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, he whispers, “Shh, Layla. No more questions.”

  Giving in, I close my eyes and try not to think why Falcon is nice to me, or about anything that happened today.

  Instead of being distressed about the incident, my last thoughts are of how calm I feel having Falcon by my side.

  Falcon kept his word. When I woke, there was only Kingsley who was lying half on top of me. She left soon after waking, and I’ve been cleaning my suite since.

  A knock at the door has my eyes darting to it. Wondering who it could be, I walk closer. “Who is it?” I ask, which is something I haven’t done before.

  “It’s me. Quickly, the bag is heavy.”

  I yank the door open and can’t help but smile when I see her with a huge bag of candy, her laptop, and an overnight bag.

  “We deserve a day of pigging out and pampering ourselves. I think I managed to bring everything.”

  “It looks like you’re moving in,” I tease while closing the door. I follow her to the couch and watch as she dumps the bag of candy over the coffee table. “And you raided the candy aisle.”

  “This is my private stash.” She opens her overnight bag and pulls out one facial product after the other from it. “I swear it feels like I aged ten years after yesterday.”

  “You and me both,” I agree as I sit down next to her.

  “No, get up. We need to wash our hands and faces first before we start.”

  “But I just showered.”

  Giving me a stern look, she points to the restroom. “We need to do a proper cleanse.”

  Kingsley’s definition of a proper cleanse means scrubbing off a layer of skin.

  “How can this be good for you?” I ask, following her back to the couch.

  “We need to remove all the dead cells so all the goodness can soak in.”

  Sitting down, she hands me a charcoal mask. “Trust me, once we’re done, you’ll feel brand new.”

  Doing facials with Kingsley is a whole new experience, but it’s nice and just the distraction I needed.

  “I heard he left the Academy,” she suddenly says.

  “Who?” Only when the word leaves me do I realize who. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I don’t have all the details, but apparently Falcon escorted him off the campus.”

  “Where did you hear this?” I ask, worried that rumors are already spreading over the campus.

  “I overheard two girls talking. Serena also told me Grayson called her to let her know he had to return home because of personal reasons.”

  “She said that? Do you believe her? You don’t think he told her more? What if –”

  Kingsley takes hold of my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Serena doesn’t know the real reason. She wouldn’t ask me if she knew. She’s the type who would tell the whole world. Don’t worry. I’m sure she doesn’t know about what happened yesterday.”

  “What if he tells someone?” I voice my concern.

  “I wouldn’t stress about it if I were you. I’m sure Mr. Cutler took care of it all.”

  “It was really nice of the guys to help last night,” I mention.

  “Yeah, but honestly, I’ve never seen Lake so upset before.” Kingsley opens a pack of Swedish Fish and pops one into her mouth. “The way he punched Grayson,” she chews and swallows, then laughs, “Grayson’s head went back like this.” She tries to show me but only laughs harder. “His eyes rolled back.” She lets out a snort then cracks up with laughter. “I think I just snorted a piece of Swedish Fish.”

  I begin to laugh because Kingsley’s laughter is infectious. This girl walked right into my heart and staked her claim on it.

  Chapter 8

  Falcon

  Walking to my next class, I slow my pace when I see Layla and Kingsley coming toward me.

  Layla has managed to cover the bruises with makeup. Looking at her, it’s almost hard to believe she’s the same girl from three days ago. Her strength is admirable.

  “Hi,” Kingsley greets and stopping in front of me she pops a piece of choco
late into her mouth.

  “Isn’t it a little early for candy?” Even though the question is addressed to Kingsley, my eyes keep scanning over Layla’s face for any signs that she might not be coping with the incident.

  “It’s never too early.” Kingsley begins to walk around me and waves at Layla. “Meet me at the library after class.”

  “Sure.”

  A group of students coming toward us catches my eye, so I quickly take hold of Layla’s arm and pull her closer to the wall.

  “How are you doing?”

  She smiles at me, and when it reaches her eyes, it makes a smile of my own tug at my mouth.

  “I’m much better. Kingsley has been a mother hen,” she answers. “Thank you for everything you guys did for me.”

  “You’ve already thanked us,” I remind her.

  “I know.” She scrunches her nose, looking a little awkward. “I’m just really grateful.”

  Not knowing what else to say, I resort to how things were between us before the attack. “I had them set aside books on equities for me. While you’re at the library, check them out.”

  “Okay.”

  “Just the person I’m looking for,” Serena’s voice sounds up behind me.

  Whispering ‘fuck’, I close my eyes for a second.

  “I’m going to head to class. I’ll bring the books later,” Layla says, leaving me to deal with Serena who comes to stand in front of me.

  “I have to get to class as well,” I try to excuse myself.

  Serena reaches a manicured hand out to me and places it on my arm. “I’ll only take a minute.”

  I let out a chuckle. “You never take just a minute.”

  “Did you have anything to do with Grayson leaving?” This woman is so bad at hiding anything. I can see the suspicion written all over her face, but there’s no way I’m giving her the answer she wants to hear.

  “He left?” I feign ignorance.

  “Come on, Falcon. We both know nothing happens at Trinity without you being aware of it.”

  I just stare at her, willing this conversation to come to a quick end.

  “Fine, if you’re not going to talk about Grayson, let’s move on to the next subject.”

  “Dear God. You have more than one subject?” I grumble, not at all pleased.

  “Is there something going on between you and Layla?”

  I’m definitely not discussing it with her. I glance at the students walking by us. “You’re wasting my time.”

  “There are rumors around campus, and I have to admit, I’m a little worried. Not like she’s competition, but I’d hate to be made a fool of.”

  Annoyance bubbles up in my chest as my eyes settle hard on Serena. “Who I have a relationship with has nothing to do with you, Serena. Don’t you think you’re giving yourself too much importance in my life?” I can’t stop the sneer from forming around my mouth as I continue, “I hate to break it to you, but you’re making yourself look like a damn idiot by running after me.”

  A calculating look settles hard on her face as she lifts her chin in a defensive way. “I don’t think your mother would agree.”

  The threat only makes me angry, and taking a step forward, I don’t care that I’m being intimidating toward a woman right now. “The difference between you and me is I don’t give a shit about what my mother thinks. You and my mother can scheme all you want, but it’s not going to happen. Neither of you has a say in my life.” I take another step closer, and my voice drops low. “I will never feel anything for you. I will never kiss you. I will never share a bed with you. I will never give you my name. I. Will. Never. Marry. You.” Lifting an eyebrow, I wait five seconds, so my words have time to sink in. “Have I made myself clear?”

  The corners of her mouth begin to pull down, and she crosses her arms. “Careful, Falcon. If you fly too close to the sun, you’ll end up burning your wings. You’re not in a seat of power yet.”

  I can’t stop the laughter from slipping over my lips. I’m done wasting another second tolerating this woman and begin to walk away. “Hey, at least I’ll go down in a blaze of glory.”

  I’ve decided to skip class after the encounter with Serena, which only managed to ruin my day. On my way back to the suite, I run into Mason and Lake. “Where are you headed?”

  “We’re going for a swim,” Lake answers. “You want to join us?”

  “Sure, I’ll grab my stuff and meet you at the pool.”

  After stopping by the suite, I head over to the pool house. Mason and Lake are already doing laps. Grabbing the hem of my shirt, I pull it over my head and toss it on the chairs, situated around the pool. I dive in and swim a couple of laps before I stop to catch my breath.

  A group of girls has made themselves comfortable by the windows. The one excitedly waves when I glance in their direction. “Hi, Falcon.”

  During high school, I used to feel flattered by the attention, but like everything else in my life, it now irritates me.

  Not bothering greeting her back, I swim over to the other side of the pool where Lake and Mason are leaning against the edge, looking just as annoyed as I feel by the intrusion.

  When I reach them, Lake asks, “Are we leaving?”

  “Might as well,” I answer, and wait for Mason and Lake to get out before I grab hold of the railing so I can take the stairs out of the water.

  My eyes land on Layla as Lake throws me a towel which falls to the floor. Layla’s eyes sweep over my body and when her tongue darts out to wet her lips, a smirk forms on my face. That’s definitely a look of interest.

  When her eyes meet mine, and she sees that I caught her staring, she clears her throat and quickly turns her head to Lake. “Looking good, Lake.”

  My eyebrow lifts and I glance between Lake and Layla. “You’re welcome to look whenever you want,” Lake teases.

  “Yeah, let us know what times you’ll be here, and we’ll work it into our schedules,” Kingsley jokes.

  “We already have a fan club,” Mason comments and then throws the damp towel at Kingsley.

  She quickly slaps it away. “Oh, I didn’t even see you there.”

  “Why are you here again?” Mason asks, taking a step toward Kingsley.

  “Uhm… We were walking by and saw you through the windows. I just want to drop off the books Falcon asked for,” Layla answers quickly, and stepping between Kingsley and Mason, she holds the books out to me. “Here you go.”

  I walk toward her, and when her eyes drop to my chest, they widen slightly before she glances away. I take the books from her and wait for her to look up. When she finally gives in, and her eyes meet mine, a blush creeps up her neck.

  Did she hear the rumors? Is that why she’s uncomfortable?

  “I assume you heard the rumors?” I ask.

  “Rumors?” Mason asks.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” Lake mentions.

  “Yeah, and you need to do something about it, Falcon,” Kingsley says. “Layla is getting death glares from the so-called fan club.” She rolls her eyes before they land on Mason with a glare.

  “No, it’s fine. They’re just rumors. It’s nothing to worry about.” Layla smiles, and her eyes shift down to my chest before jumping back to my face as she begins to ramble, “Crap, not that I’m saying it’s nothing to date you. I mean, who wouldn’t want to date you.” The blush reaches her cheeks, and she begins to fidget as panic flashes over her face. “Shit, that came out wrong.” She points to the exit and begins to move backward. “I’m just going to go now. You have your books. We’re good. Enjoy the swim.” Her eyes drop to my chest again. “Or the drying off. Enjoy whatever you’re going to do now.” She swings around and quickly walks to the exit while shaking her head.

  “Wow, she just buried herself alive there,” Mason says then begins to laugh. “I’d pay to see that again.”

  “Mason, this is why people say you’re an asshole,” Kingsley comments drily.

  “Got to live up to the title,” he quips
back at her just before she leaves to follow Layla.

  “You’re all going to drive me to alcohol,” Lake grumbles as he starts to walk away.

  I pick up the towel and wrap it around my waist, then grab my shirt and pull it over my head. “Wait up.” I fall into step next to Lake, then ask, “Is there something going on between you and Layla?”

  Lake frowns and gives me a look which clearly asks if I’ve lost my mind. “Why would you think that? You remember I’m getting engaged next summer?”

  “You’re friendly with her,” I say because thinking about it, I don’t have much to base my suspicion on.

  “I’m friendly with everyone. Also, let’s not forget the rumor on campus is about you and Layla.”

  “True. Just thought I’d ask.” I run a hand through my hair as we cross the street to get to The Hope Diamond.

  Walking into the building, Lake gestures toward Layla’s closed door. “The real question is whether it’s a rumor or a fact?”

  “What? Layla and me?” I let out a burst of laughter and press the button for the elevator. “Yeah, right.”

  The doors open, and we step inside. As they slide shut, Lake says, “When are you going to admit you like her?”

  “I don’t.”

  “You do.”

  “Lake.”

  “Falcon.” He glances at me and sighs. “You like Layla. I’ve known you since diapers, and you wouldn’t be bothered about a girl even if she laid dying at your feet. The way you were with her the other night, it’s clear you care about her.”

  The doors open just in time, and trying to ignore Lake’s words, I stalk down the hallway, so I can get to the privacy of my room.

  ‘It’s clear you care about her.’

  ‘You like Layla.’

  Entering the suite, I head straight for my room. When I shut the door behind me, I stand and stare at the floor like an idiot that’s just been hit by lightning.

  When did things change from her being my assistant to me liking her? Yeah, sure I felt a spark of attraction, but caring about the woman?