Prologue

A wise man once said that there are three sides to every story. His side. Her side. And the truth. The truth can set you free, but it can also set off a ticking bomb.

When it comes to love and sex, the truth can be a dangerous thing. Sometimes, it can cost you everything.

Chapter One

Jaxon

Women don't understand that men love the thrill of the chase. It sets something off in us. It is our instinct to pursue. Being pursued scares us away like a bunny rabbit seeing a fox crossing the yard on a hot summer day. I'm a wolf, a predator. I'm very patient in seeking my prey, and when I find her, I go in for the kill.

Chapter Two

Nancy

I'm not usually impetuous. In fact, I'm not usually argumentative or feisty in any way. I'm the girl who keeps things inside. That nearly changed as I listened to Jaxon and his father talking. My first reaction was hurt. Then it turned quickly to shock, and then I became incensed with anger. Jaxon was playing me? He was trying to get me to fall for him? That's what it sounded like. The only question I had was why? Was this a game to him and his father?

I wanted to go and approach them both. I wanted to scream and about. I wanted to hit Jaxon in the chest and tell him what an as**ole I thought he was. I wanted to do all of those things, but I didn't. There's something to be said for calmness. I had the ability to stay calm in almost all situations. I wasn't prone to outbursts and showing my emotions. In calmness, I could listen to reason and rationale. My own reason and rationale.

I knew that it was unlikely that Jaxon and his father would tell me the truth if I confronted them. They were playing a game with me. They had been from the train. I just needed to figure out if I’d become a target on the train or beforehand. If I'd become a target on the train, it meant that this was a smaller case of cat and mouse. If before the train, it meant something else entirely.

Quickly and quietly, I walked back to my room, thinking back to my time at the private club. I'd gone to the private club to find out the truth about my sister, Maria, and her death. By the time my ordeal was over, I'd found out that she was actually my mother. There had been so much going on under the surface of the private club, and I was beginning to wonder if that was the same thing here. What exactly was going on at the Lovers’ Academy? Why was Jaxon teaching me? What did they get from this business?

I sat on the bed and hugged my pillow to me. I couldn't figure it out. At all. I knew that I needed help, and my mind immediately went to Meg. She would know what to do. She would be able to figure out the secrets. I knew she could do it better than I could. She'd put her heart on the line and won. I didn't think I had the same verve as her.

I was already confused. I'd come here for one guy who didn't even seem to remember me. I was thinking about sleeping with another guy who was somehow targeting me, yet here I still remained, even though I knew my dad would flip a switch if he knew where I was. My heart beat fast as I imagined his face when he found out that I had lied to him. He would be furious. Katie would have to take Harry and hide out because I was pretty sure he would give me the shouting match of my life. He hadn't known he was my dad for very long, but he had taken to the role easily and quickly.

My mind was buzzing as I lay in the bed. I couldn't stop thinking about Jaxon and his father talking, and I couldn't stop thinking about being in Jaxon's bed. His fingers and hands on me, touching me and teasing me. It made me squirm to remember just how badly I'd wanted him. Just how badly I still wanted him. I was ashamed of myself for wanting him still. I was ashamed that my body still craved him. I wanted to go back to his room. I wanted to beg him to touch me and finish what he had started. I froze as I realized that was his plan. He wanted me to want him. I hadn't known that sexual attraction could feel like this. It was mind numbing. And I hated him for making me feel this way.

I jumped up in my bed again. I needed to talk to Jaxon. I didn't care if he lied to me. I needed to tell him what I'd heard. I needed to see his reaction. I needed to know why he and his dad were talking about me.

I paused by the door as it suddenly hit me. What if they hadn’t been talking about me? What if I had confused myself? What if there was someone else they had been targeting on the train? Shannon and Amber had been on the train as well. What if Jaxon and his father had been talking about them?

I slowly walked back to my bed, not feeling as confident anymore. I didn’t want to confront him if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. I knew better than that. Then I remembered that I’d heard my name. I sighed as I realized that it was as bad as I had thought.

I drifted off to sleep at about two a.m. My mind was still thinking, but my body was exhausted. I wasn't surprised when I woke up at five a.m. feeling anxious and alone. I wanted to go home and forget everything, but a part of me knew that I couldn't. Not until I figured out what was going on here.

I jumped out of bed, not thinking about anything but getting the truth. I'd kept quiet in the private club and I'd nearly cost people their lives. I wasn't going to allow fear to stop me now. I knew I had to approach Jaxon. I had to be honest about what I'd seen and heard. I had to demand the truth. I knew that I wasn’t a great sleuth. I was too trusting and I didn't have the killer instinct to do whatever. At my core, I was a scaredy cat. I'd rather crawl into bed and hide than face intruders. But this was something different. This was something I knew I couldn't let slide. I needed to know exactly what was going on with Jaxon and his dad. I quickly walked out of the bedroom door and headed to Jaxon's room.

"It's going to be fine," I muttered to myself as I walked briskly through the dark and quiet hallways. I was about to round the corner when someone grabbed me. “Argh!” I cried out.

“Be quiet, Nancy,” a voice whispered in my ear, and I froze.

“Hunter?” I blinked rapidly and looked behind me. “Hunter, it’s you.”

“Yes.” He gave me a half-smile. “It’s me.”

“You know me?” I was confused.

“Of course I know you.” He gave me a wry smile. “Who could forget your beautiful face?”

My eyes widened. “Beautiful?”

“I suppose you’re wondering what’s going on?” he whispered and looked around the hallways.

“You could say that.” I nodded, my heart racing. Hunter remembered me! I was ecstatic. He thought I had a beautiful face.

“We can’t talk here.” His fingers tightened around my waist.

“Where should we talk?”

“We can go back to my room.” He looked down into my eyes and I could see a small glimpse of lust in his gaze that made me slightly uncomfortable.

“Is that a good idea?” I whispered slowly. “What if Shannon walks in and comes to find you?”

“Don’t you want to know why I pretended like I didn’t know you?”

“I do want to know.” I nodded slowly, my mind going to Jaxon. I was starting to lose my resolve. “Can we talk later? There’s something I need to do.”

“What’s that?” His fingers ran down my back, and I took a step back.

“I need to ask the owner some questions.”

He frowned. “What owner?”

“Jaxon. I need to talk to Jaxon.”

“Jaxon Cade?” He let go of my waist. “The guy you were with at the dinner?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“He’s not the owner.” He laughed with a dark note in his tone.

“He’s not?” I felt like my heart was slowly constricting and oxygen was hard to come by.

He looked into my eyes. “Why would you think he’s the owner?”

“No reason.” I shook my head slowly, all of a sudden feeling like I was in a really dark place.

The whole situation was starting to feel like déjà vu. I’d been in a situation like this before, where nothing had made sense and lies had been flowing. I hadn’t liked it then and I sure as hell didn’t like it now. I was angry and upset. Why had Jaxon told me he was the owner?

“So is Jaxon a teacher then?”

“A teacher? Jaxon?” Hunter raised an eyebrow. “I don’t even think he likes women.”

“He’s gay?”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s gay.” Hunter shrugged. “I just don’t think he gives two shits about making sure a woman is a good lover.”

“And you do?”

“That’s why I’m a teacher.”

“Why did you leave high school?”

“I don’t want to talk about that now.” He shook his head and grabbed my hand. “Come to my room with me.”

“No, I can’t.” I pulled away from him. “I have a question for you. If Jaxon isn’t a teacher or the owner, how do you know him?”

“His dad founded the school. Everyone knows him.” His eyes bored into me. “They’re big shots in this town.”

“Oh?”

“Remember the train station stop?”

“Cadestown? So?” I paused and my eyes widened. “Oh! Cadestown as in Cade?”

“Yeah.” Hunter’s face looked bitter. “Must be nice to have a town named after you.”

“So he’s rich?” I asked stupidly, as if I didn’t already know the answer to that.

“Why do you care?” Hunter looked jealous, and I felt my stomach flip in excitement. He really did like me.

“I don’t care.” I smiled up at him to console him. I wanted him to know that I liked him and that Jaxon was no threat.

“Why were you with him at dinner?” His eyes narrowed.

I felt something inside me twinge. I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I hadn’t seen this side of Hunter before and I wasn’t sure that I liked it.

“Because he was the first person I met and he asked me to sit with him.” I felt annoyed inside and I wasn’t sure why.

“Stay away from him.” He pursed his lips. “He’s not a good guy. I have no idea why he’s paid any attention to you.”

“Well, thanks.” My face was heated.

“I’m not trying to be rude, Nancy.” He leaned towards me. “Jaxon is bad news. As in really bad.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I shivered.

“I don’t know.” His eyes bored into mine. “But he hasn’t been here in months and he’s certainly never paid attention to any of the women before.”

“I think he...” I stopped. I wasn’t sure why I was defending Jaxon. It wasn’t as if I trusted him. “I want to know what his story is as well.”

“You want to know what his story is more than mine?” Hunter made a sad face.

“It’s not like that.” I sighed, not liking how Hunter was trying to manipulate me.

"Tell me, Nancy. Why did you come here?" Hunter’s blue eyes were bright with mischief. "Is it because you wanted to be seduced by me and made love to?"

"I came to get to know you better." I wasn't sure how to feel about his overtly sexual gaze.

"I was shocked when I saw you," he smiled and touched my hair. "At first, I wasn't sure what to do."

"Why didn't you just say hello?"

"I couldn't believe that all my fantasies were coming true."

"You had a fantasy about me?" I gasped, shocked. This was proof that he'd had a thing for me as well.

"You were the sexiest girl in Spanish class." His eyes darkened. "I'm not supposed to say this, but I always wanted to keep you back in class so that I could have my wicked way with you."

"Oh?" I smiled back at him, my heart racing.

The only problem I had with his comment was that I hadn’t been in his Spanish class. I tried to ignore the disappointment at his words. If he really remembered me and had a crush on me, wouldn't he have known what classes of his I'd taken?

"Oh, Nancy Hastings, I've always had a thing for you." He leaned forward to kiss me, but a noise made me jump back.

"What's going on here?" A deep, dark voice walked towards us.

I looked up and saw Jaxon glaring at me. His eyes looked murderous and I could tell that he was furious.

"Nancy and I were just talking." Hunter shrugged and smiled at me, his hand still around my waist.

"I think it's time for you to go back to your room, Hunter." Jaxon's face was grim.

"I don't think so." Hunter looked at him. "I'm talking to Nancy."

"It's time for you to leave." Jaxon stopped in front of us, and I watched as his lips curled up in derision as he stared Hunter down.

I swallowed hard, trying not to stare at Jaxon’s bare chest. I shivered as his eyes turned towards me. They were cold, and I could feel his gaze searching deep into my soul. I shivered as I stared at his clenched fists.

I spoke up. "Jaxon, we were just talking."

His eyes narrowed. "Was this planned?"

"That's not really any of your business, is it?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Everything you do is my business."

"Why is that?" I took a step towards him and looked up at him, searching for the truth in his eyes.

"You don't think he's going to tell you the truth, do you, Nancy?" Hunter touched my back, and I looked back at him, his familiar face looking older and harder than I remembered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaxon grabbed me and pulled me to the side if him, laying his claim on me.