The Billionaire's Assassin [COMPLETE]

File 4: Cravings

Santa Barbara, California

*Eight Years Before-2010*

Rex

Everything was tedious.

Rex had everything he could ever dream of since birth and yet, he felt as though there was a cavernous tunnel devouring anything to sustain him. Partying. High-speed chases. Drugs and liquor. Carnivorous s*x. Spending his parents' wealth meaninglessly. However, they were only snacks compared to what he needed. He could ignore that hunger as he’d done since he’d realized its existence with those inconsequential goods. He yearned for more though. Something electrifying, effusive, something more than the little nibbles out of life. But what? What more could he possibly need?

Take his friend, Gabe Kakashi, for example, fulfilling his appetite with true companionship. Although their friendship was novel, he proved himself early on with Rex. Having his back during fist fights and stayed by his side during their arrest. Not like all the other students at A.J Santiago who only befriended him for his money, connections, and opportunities. Then ran off when flames rained down. Human nature, Rex noted. It never bothered him they’d utilized his company for their gain.

In fact, he thrived on it. The attention received from his abundance, his charm, his intelligence, were his creme de la creme. Decadent and gratifying to nourish the pit inside.

“I don’t do girlfriend-boyfriend relationships, zorra,” Rex stated indefinitely.

Olivia Porter’s lip quivered, his finger caressing her chin. A hypnotizing pulse coursed through his hazel green eyes, leaving her stagnant. “I thought I was the exception. The school practically thinks we’re dating.” The corner of her lip scowled. “And my names Olivia, not Zorra.”

He rolled his eyes, her ignorance dismal at this point. “You thought wrong. We can have fun, I don’t mind that. But don’t start rumors that we’re dating because you’re jealous.”

Snapping her chin away from his grasp, she gasped at the accusation. “I’m not jealous!”

Rex smirked. He knew the type of girl Olivia was around the school. An air of superiority cloaked her, along with a blonde supermodel presence to boast. Her wits socially were vigorous, however, worldly intellect wasn’t her forte. Mentally, Rex weighed his options. Staying on her good side meant always having a f**k buddy on speed dial. There were the occasional temper tantrums though...

“You are, princesa.” Her blue eyes sparkled at the familiar nickname, giving him a sultry smile. “You’ll always be my favorite girl though.”

She was now putty in his hands, touching his chest, arching her back between the lockers and wall. “That’s good to hear.” A manicured nail delicately grazed his chiseled jawline. “Maybe later after school, we can go chill at your place…”

Then he saw her.

From his peripheral, as though a beacon of thunderous lightning had flashed her direction, he glimpsed the wild curls that sent his heart ablaze. He inhaled, his pulse surging inexplicably. The girl was nowhere near his type. He liked his girls tall, not petite. Hourglass figure, although her clothes were loose, he could tell by her strides it was a possibility. Silk smooth hair he could run his fingers through easily. Her hair mimicked wildfire, thickly coiled flames licking the air around her. It complimented her dark honey skin tone. Shines like gold, he thought. His girls could barely pull off a tan. And yet, he found her captivating, eyes locked on her as she strolled down the halls, head held high, books in hand.

“Really, Rex?!” Olivia screeched, causing his senses to return. Agitated at his wandering eyes, she pushed him away, making him stumble in surprise. “God, you’re a jerk!”

He didn’t retort when she strutted away, heading towards the classroom entered previously by the wild curls. His legs acted on their own, his heart still hammering at the thought of her, pulling him to her. Scanning the room, he found her in the middle of the aisle, taking a seat. And to his amusement, there was an open desk right beside her.

Sliding in, he granted her a dashing smile he knew hypnotized all the girls. She’d be his by the end of the day and he’d figure out what propelled him to desire her soon. “Hi, princesa,” he greeted, his tongue rolling sensually on the nickname. “It’s obvious that you’re new, so I won’t bore you with an introduction. Just know, I’m the designated tour guide at A.J, on and off campus.”

The girls' profile remained expressionless, staring forward. Close up, Rex admired the gleam of light in her mocha eyes, the curvature of her glossed lips. She wore a loose-fitting school hoodie, so he couldn’t size her body proficiently. A mystery. He liked that. Her legs, although short, were well sculpted in dark fitted jeans and ankle boots.

He licked his lips. “Unless you prefer--”

“Mr. Henson!”

Rex’s eyes darted up to Ms. Kim looming over him with a stern gaze. “Ms. Kim, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you to these neck of the woods?”

Ms. Kim rolled her eyes behind her glasses. “Mr. Henson, do you know what classroom you’re in?”

Decyphering his surroundings, he looked along the walls of posters written in French, Spanish, and German. He was in one of the language classes. The whiteboard had been clear of any evidence of the current curriculum. Noting Ms. Kim’s presence though, something was out of place. She was his chemistry teacher, not a language teacher.

He’d have to wing it.

“I want to say...French.”

Her finger shot toward the door. “Get out of my classroom.”

Tightening his lips, Rex stood up, catching one last sweep of the mystery girl who kept her eyes forward. The rest of the class snickered under their breaths, watching Rex exit the room. Before Ms. Kim could close the door completely, he caught glimpse of the slightest smirk carving a dimple on the girl's cheek. Through the curtain of her hair, her eyes caught his with the glimmer of a smile that sent his pulse galloping.

Now, this was more than foolish curiosity. This was slowly transforming into a hungry obsession demanding to be fed.

To think, if he hadn’t stepped out of first period early to confront Olivia about dating rumors, he wouldn’t have glimpsed the girl at all. This bleeding obsession tearing at him throughout the day wouldn’t have been bred. At first, he told himself to forget about it. There were dozens of girls easier to get a hold of. It was just childish interest that would dwindle in an hour or so. In the deepest recesses of his mind, the carved dimple was taunting him. Throughout his classes, he prayed he’d see her in at least one. The hope depleted when he entered his last class for the day, chemistry with Ms. Kim.

“What class does Ms. Kim teach for second period?” he asked the school administrator.

It’d been a week since he last saw the girl. However, she raced through his mind each day, wiggling beneath his skin like a demonic snake he needed to scratch. They had no classes with each other. The few times he stayed for lunch in the cafeteria, she wasn’t there. By now, he grew maddening at the thought he’d hallucinated the wild curls and dimpled smile.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Mrs. Charmon, the administrator, scrutinized him harshly over her computer. “No class you should be concerning yourself with, Mr. Henson.”

Rex had received the reputation of a slacker around the school. He took the easiest classes for the easiest passes. No reason in challenge himself only to suffer a downfall. “Mrs. Charmon, it’s my junior year. I need to challenge myself for those college admissions. If I shouldn’t concern myself now, then when?”

He’d caught her attention, her inquisitive eyes sparkling, the clicks of her keyboard ceasing. “Mr. Henson, I’m glad to see you want to broaden your horizons. However, the time to transfer classes expired a month ago.”

Rex shrugged. “I just asked what class Ms. Kim taught…” He allowed his words to fall like bait on a hook.

“Beginners Korean. A bit challenging for someone who’s only ever taken Spanish...already knowing Spanish fluently.” Her glare pricked him, memories of his freshman year flooding through his mind.

His mother, Cara Luciana, signed him up for German, wanting him to expand his language palette. He’d been raised bilingual of Spanish from his mother and English from his father. Rex already knew he wanted to glide through high school with little to no effort. After the heated California summer, Rex’s hair had a bold tinge of ginger which gave him the advantage of forging ignorance. He’d gotten the sign off to switch to Spanish against his mother’s wishes.

“And here we are today,” he mused, sitting back in his seat. Now to reel her in. “Needing to challenge myself. I also saw the football field earlier this week and recalled my parents--so charitable--asking if the school need more funds nowadays. Would be nice for the football team to play on a brand new lawn, maybe even get some new uniforms. Ah, but the school's doing fine on funds, especially from tuition kids like us. Right, Mrs. Charmon?”

And the fish was caught.

Monday morning, he was gliding into the seat beside the wild curls and dimpled smirk he’d dreamt of since last week. He yearned to trace the length of her neck with his fingertips, assuring himself she was real. That curious bud had bloomed into a wicked obsession for him that had been sustaining the void inside all week. And this was just his imagination. He hadn’t even heard her speak or knew her name. Never in his right mind would he spend the money he just did to transfer into a class for some girl. This was a foreign hysteria he thought only possessed stalkers of celebrities and serial killers. Not him!

The girl stood from her desk and walked towards the front, turning to the class. Rex’s heart knocked. She was about to speak. “Joeun achimieyo…”

Her voice, comparable to smooth silk flowing through his ears, caressing his skin. The words she spoke were incomprehensible to him but he held on to each syllable that poured from her succulent lips. The fluctuation of her tongue and soft murmurs eliciting her mouth. He memorized it all, like a song he would replay, visualizing her graceful expression.

“Thank you, Maya, for that astounding example of the Korean language.”

Maya! Her name’s Maya! His back straightened at the name of the girl he’d been admiring for a week. Impulsively, he mouthed her name, the pop of the M on his lips and the whisper of an A in the back of his throat.

When she took her seat beside him, he leaned over inconspicuously. “You’re a fast learner,” he noticed.

With a smug shrug, she stated, “Yeah.”

For the first time, she turned to him and smiled brilliantly. Vertigo at the sight touched him, leaving him breathless. Internally, he chided at the baffling emotions flooding him but unable to prevent them. Girls fell for him, not the other way around.

A dimpled smirk grazed her lips, shining brown eyes directly on him. “Wanna know my secret?” He prayed she couldn’t heart his heart convulsing, leaning closer. “I’m fluent, actually. But it makes for an easy A.”

That moment, when the world seemed to holt and the air around them filled with sweet mint, Rex knew this newfound obsession, this girl with the fiery wild mane, was exactly what he’d been craving.