The Devil's Archivist

Chapter 5

August POV:

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely fit my key into the brass lock of my dorm room.

The encounter with Christopher in the lecture hall was still burning through my veins like liquid fire. His voice, his touch, the dark promise in his amber eyes—it had completely ruined any chance I had at focusing for the rest of the afternoon.

I'm the only thing keeping you from turning into ash.

I turned the key, but before the mechanism could even click, the door swung inward on its own.

It was already unlocked.

A cold wave of dread washed down my back, instantly freezing the blood in my veins. I stood frozen in the doorway, my knuckles white around the strap of my leather bag.

"Is... is someone in here?" I called out, my voice thin against the empty corridor.

No answer.

Slowly, using the tip of my boot, I pushed the heavy oak door open all the way.

The room was in complete disarray. My books had been swept off the shelves, cluttering the hardwood floor. The drawers to my vanity hung open, my clothes yanked out and tossed carelessly across the bed. But what made my breath catch in my throat was my wooden desk.

Carved deep into the polished mahogany—with deep, jagged cuts that smelled faintly of fresh sap—was a single word:

OBEY.

And sitting right in the center of the carved wood was another fresh crimson rose, its heavy petals weeping that thick, oily perfume.

My knees buckled. I stumbled back against the doorframe, my chest heaving as panic took full control of my body. They had been in here. Someone had been in my room while I was in class. They could have been waiting for me. They knew where I slept.

Without thinking, without taking a single second to logically process what I was doing, my hand plunged into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

I didn't call the campus police. I didn't call dorm security.

I dialed the private extension Christopher had stamped onto the top of his syllabus.

It rang once. Twice.

"August."

His voice came through the speaker, deep, dark, and instantly alert. He didn't even say hello. He just knew.

"They were in my room," I sobbed out, the fear finally breaking through my stubborn pride. "Christopher... someone broke into my room."

"Don't touch anything," he commanded, the sudden sound of a chair violently scraping against marble ringing in the background. "Lock yourself in the corridor. I'm coming."

He arrived in less than three minutes.

I was sitting on the floor of the hallway, my knees pulled tightly against my chest, when his towering frame rounded the corner of the stairwell. He wasn't wearing his suit jacket anymore. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up, dark hair messy as if he’d sprinted across the quad in the pouring rain.

The second his golden eyes landed on me, a dark, lethal rage flickered across his sharp features.

He didn't say a word. He crouched down in front of me, his broad hands instantly wrapping around my arms, pulling me up to my feet effortless. His touch was burning hot against my freezing skin.

"Did they touch you?" he growled, his hands sliding up to frame my face, his thumbs gently wiping away the hot tears on my cheeks. "August, look at me. Did anyone touch you?"

"N-no," I choked out, shaking my head. "I came back from class and found it like this."

Christopher let out a low, dangerous breath, his forehead resting against mine for a brief, heavy second. The scent of rain, expensive cedar, and pure male warmth engulfed me, grounding the frantic terror raging in my chest.

He stepped past me into my ruined room, his eyes scanning the upturned furniture, the carved desk, and the crimson rose.

His jaw worked violently. "They're testing me," he whispered, mostly to himself. "They're trying to see how far I'll go."

"Who, Christopher?!" I demanded, stepping into the room behind him and slamming the door shut. The rain lashed against the windowpanes, isolating us in the dim room. "Who is doing this to me?! Why won't you just tell me?!"

Christopher turned around slowly. The cold, aloof mask he usually wore was completely shattered. In its place was a man unraveling—eyes blazing with a dangerous, terrifying mix of fury and raw, unfiltered obsession.

"Because the moment I tell you, you become a casualty in a war I've been fighting for seven years!" he roared softly, taking three long strides toward me until my back hit the wooden door.

He slammed his hands against the wood on either side of my head, trapping me completely in his shadow.

"I tried to stay away from you," Christopher breathed, his chest heaving against mine, his gaze dropping to my trembling lips. "I told myself you were just another student. That I could protect you from the shadows and leave it at that. But you... you look at me like you want to tear my secrets out with your teeth."

"Because you're hiding everything!" I gasped, my blood rushing in my ears, my hands instinctively pressing against his firm, broad chest. I could feel the violent, heavy thud of his heart beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. "You act like you hate me, but you look at me like..."

"Like I want to devour you?" he whispered, his voice dropping into a rough, gravelly purr that sent an electric shock straight down between my thighs.

He leaned down, his warm lips brushing the sensitive skin right under my ear, making me gasp.

"Like I want to lock you in a room where no one else will ever look at you, touch you, or take a single breath near you," he murmured, his tongue tracing a line down my neck, making a quiet moan escape my throat.

"Christopher..." I breathed, my fingers tightening on his shirt, tugging him closer instead of pushing him away. "You're crazy."

"I am," he admitted against my skin.

His hand slid down from the door, his long, warm fingers gripping my waist tightly, lifting me up slightly until my hips were flush against his. The solid, heavy evidence of his arousal pressed hard against my lower stomach, making my breath hitch violently.

"I am completely out of my mind, August," Christopher growled, raising his head to stare down into my eyes with a dark, hungry gaze. "And if you don't tell me to stop right now... I'm going to ruin you."

My heart pounded like a caged bird. The fear of the rose, the Order, the university—it all melted away, replaced by a suffocating, intoxicating heat that centered right between us.

I reached up, my fingers tangling into his damp, dark hair, and pulled his head down to mine.

"Don't stop," I whispered against his mouth.

Christopher let out a low, primal groan, losing his last shred of restraint.

His lips slammed onto mine in a fierce, possessive kiss that took my breath away entirely. It wasn't gentle. It was hungry, demanding, and hot, his tongue parting my lips to claim my mouth with a ferocious intensity that made my knees completely melt.

He lifted me effortlessly, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he carried me two steps away from the door and pinned me against the edge of my bed.