B0161IZ63U (A) (7 page)

Even when he’d been inside her in her office, they’d remained.  Stronger and more resilient than The Great Wall itself, warning him that the fight to break through to the other side of Lila James was far from over.  No, it had only just begun.

Their spat at his engagement dinner hadn’t just sent a hundred more walls flying up between them, it had also slapped a padlock around her pussy and thrown away the key.

He moaned, burying his face in his hands.

Their unfinished business ran so deep but remained unspoken.  She’d been right the night before at that disastrous engagement dinner. Jack
didn’t
know how to do anything but rip her to shreds, all while slicing his fingers bloody in the process. He thought of the look on her face in the hallway of the hotel.  The way her knees had been shaking so badly she had to hold herself up against the wall.  He thought about being the cause of it and felt paralyzed.

He tried, once again, to stand up.  To continue living his life, to refuse her permission to take up another inch of space in his head. 

It was only the sound of his cell phone ringing from the bathroom counter that got him up and onto his feet.

“Hello?” he answered, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes when he realized who was on the other end.  “Chase, I can’t talk right now.  Can I call you later?”

Jack hung up, almost immediately regretting how short he’d been with his brother.  He honestly didn’t feel like he was capable of having a normal conversation with
anyone
while his mind was running wild the way it was.

Especially not with Chase.  His brother wouldn’t have deserved the vitriol in Jack’s voice, the anger.  The anger he’d yet to figure out how to control.  The anger that he desperately wanted to be misguided, but somehow, he knew wasn’t.

He took the bathroom sink in his hands and attempted to breathe deeply.  He had to get the monster eating him alive under control, push the breaks on his raging thoughts, or he wouldn’t be able to focus.

The strings to Dean Martin’s ‘Sway’ wafted into the bathroom from the kitchen.  With a grin, he couldn’t help making his way out.

“Babe,” Kelly admonished.  “I thought you were showering.”

“You can’t just turn this song on and expect me to ignore it.”  Jack made his way into the kitchen and reached out when he was close enough to grab her.  He spun her, somewhat clumsily, before tugging her back to him.  She had to smile at his awful dance moves, but it quickly collapsed into a frown when she was in his arms once more, looking into his eyes.

It was the first song they’d ever danced to, but something was pointedly different about him today than during their first dance.  “What is it, Jack?”

His arm tightened around her waist, but he didn’t respond.

“You’re distracted,” she said.  “It’s all over you.  It’s been all over you… since the party.” She looked down at their swaying feet, her blonde bangs tumbling into her eyes as she did.  “I saw you. I saw you arguing with that woman.  I followed you when you ran off the stage. I couldn’t hear what you guys were saying, but… I saw you.”

His eyes narrowed, but he tightened his arm around her waist.

“Who is she?”

He didn’t respond.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

His eyes came back to her.  “There’s nothing to talk about.”  He kissed her forehead before pushing her away gently, ignoring the small frown that was growing deeper between her eyebrows.  “I’m taking a shower.”

Kelly allowed him to sweep out of the kitchen.

She waited until she heard the bathroom door close and the shower water start before she dug her fingers into her hair and nearly pulled it right from her scalp.

5

The next morning in class, Lila was determined to make up for the mumbling mess she’d been the day before.  She’d been doing a decent job, until the door to her class opened in the middle of her lecture, once more.  Her heart stopped cold, and she wondered just how in the world she would keep herself composed if Jack Almeida stepped through those doors again.

Thankfully, it wasn’t Jack.

It was worse.

Chase appeared at the top of the classroom.  He stepped in, caught her eyes at the bottom of the auditorium, and stopped cold.  A silent moment passed before he gave an apologetic, borderline uncertain wave, and began making his way down the steps. 

His green eyes combed his unfamiliar surroundings with a confident ease.  Every young girl in the classroom moved bags, books, and anything else that may have been blocking the seats next to them, freeing up space for him as he moved down the steps.

Lila watched in irritated awe.  The Almeida boys and their immediate effect on anything with a vagina never ceased to amaze her.

Chase paid no mind to the girls clamoring to make room for him, and his face swam with relief as he locked eyes with a student Lila knew as Ronnie. Chase took the empty seat next to Ronnie, and the two friends quietly acknowledged each other.  The sure smile on Chase’s face wavered when he caught eyes with a blonde girl whose name Lila had yet to learn. Chase gave the blonde a cool wave, and she brushed him off like a bug, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a disgusted scoff before zeroing in a little too strongly on Lila.

Lila watched the exchange, pulled back to attention by the blonde girl’s unwavering gaze.

She cleared her throat. “I don’t tolerate late arrivals, Mr. Almeida.”

Chase’s eyes flew to hers, and his eyebrows rose.  An amused smile threatened his lips.

Lila dared him to laugh.  She would make him pay if he did.

He didn’t.  “I apologize Professor.  It’s been a year, and I still get lost in this place.”

“No excuses.”

His eyebrows rose, again.

“If it happens again, you’re not welcome in my classroom.  Is that understood?”

The smile was back. “Wow, yeah.”  Chase had the good sense to feign fear.  “Understood Professor.”

Lila cut her eyes.  “Thank you,” she said, letting her gaze linger just a bit longer before going back to her lecture.

--

“Do you mind telling me what the hell you think you’re doing here?”

Chase pretended to think on that question as he leaned one hip on Lila’s desk, letting his long leg swing back and forth. The class had long emptied out, leaving the two of them alone.  Chase stayed behind to inquire about the death glare Lila had been shooting his way for the majority of her lecture that morning.

He held his arms out.  “I’m just a poor young man trying to make it out alive at Harvard, but I’m not sure that justifies the
tone
you’re taking with me.”

“Poor young man?  Coming from a guy with a multi-million dollar inheritance waiting for him upon graduation?”

“Alright, retract those claws. Maybe
poor man
wasn’t the best choice of words.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea that you be in my class.”

“I completely agree…” He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, reading aloud, “…Professor Charles White, is it?”  He turned the registration slip towards her, allowing her to read the words.

Lila groaned, snatching the slip.  “Professor White was supposed to be teaching this course.  He dropped out last minute.  Looks like they haven’t gotten around to updating the system yet.”

“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.  I heard White gives easy A’s.”

“You’re not the only one.  I can tell most of the students in this class were thinking the exact same thing.” Lila grumbled.  “You know, I thought students at Harvard wanted to learn.  I thought they wanted to be challenged.”

Chase weighed her words.  “You thought wrong. Yeah. That’s definitely incorrect.”

Lila curled her lip.

“All due respect, Lila, I would never choose you as a professor.  You might be number one on the Crimson Cuties, but you’re dead last on Rate My Professor.  You’re too mean.”

“I’m mean?”

“Maybe not Lila the person, but Lila, the professor? Mean as shit.  Tough as nails.”

Lila’s heart swelled.  “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Not sure I meant it as a compliment.”

“Taking it as one…” she sing-sanged.

“Fine,” he laughed. “So I guess we’re stuck with each other.”

Lila promptly stopped packing her things. “Chase Christiano
Almeida.”

“Lila Danielle
James
.”

“I can’t be your professor.”

Chase tried to stop smiling. “Why?”

“It would be a huge conflict of interest.  Obviously I’m never going to fail you.”

“Obviously not.  I don’t fail classes.”

Lila put her bag on her shoulder. He was right.  Chase had been a straight A student all throughout high school.  He’d kept that streak alive at Harvard, which was nothing to sniff at. Not a day went by where she wasn’t amazed by his unstoppable mind. At the moment, however, he was stressing her out.

“You have to put in for a drop.”

“Nope.”

“
Chase
.”

He shifted on the desk.  “Lila--”

“Professor James.”

He faltered, smirking at her from under his eyelids.  “
Professor James,
I’m very sorry that my presence here is making you so emotional, but I need this class.”

“Stop.  I am not emotional.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She nearly punched him.  “You’re Pre-Med.  Your schedule is full to the brim with
real
science and math
courses. You do not need this class.”

“I sat down with my advisor the other day.  Turns out I’m short an elective.  I have nowhere to put it next year, so I have to take it now.  This is the only class that had an open spot.”  He grinned.  “I’m very sorry.”

She watched that Cheshire grin develop into a full on, beaming smile. “Yeah you look real sorry.”

“I might’ve had a chance to pick up a different class last night, but
somebody
I know
got arrested, so…”

Lila fought not to smile.

“I had my hands kind of full, you know,” he trailed off, and leaned forward on his leg, his smile slowly fading. “Look, I would never put you in this position if I didn’t have to.” His voice lowered as he went back to watching her from under his eyes, casting a strong shadow that gave his leafy green orbs a dangerous depth, a depth that had ideas.

Lila forced her eyes away from him and those
ideas
, ideas she refused to indulge.

“Frankly, Lila, I would never put myself in this position.”

“Oh yeah? And what position is that?”

“The one that allows you to continue on doing what you do best.”

“What’s that, Chase?”

“Pretending.”

“Pretending?  Really?”

“It really does give you the perfect excuse, doesn’t it?”

“I have no idea what you’re
talking
about.”

“Oh no?”

“You are an absolute mess.”  She dropped her eyes with an amazed shake of her head.

“Like I said, I would certainly never put myself in this position willingly.  The last thing on
Earth
I would ever want to do is sit in a classroom where you’re getting pulled out by random guys every week…” He watched his fingers as they played along the edge of her desk, and then lifted his gaze to hers.

Her own eyes were now boring into his, one hand cradled on the desk, and the other placed squarely on her hip.

He licked his bottom lip and then trapped it under his teeth.

Lila shifted.  There it was again, the way it always seemed to be these days.  His eyes were speaking to her.  Saying words that, for a multitude of reasons, he wouldn’t say out loud.

“Why in god’s name would I subject myself to that?” he whispered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So my roommate was lying?”

She scoffed, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

“Was he lying about some guy taking you out of class, and you coming back with his shirt on?”

Lila averted her eyes.

He squinted at her.  “Did you fuck Jack?”

Lila sighed. “No, and that’s inappropriate. As my student, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me like that.”

His eyes fell to her lips. “Does my being your student now mean I’m uninvited to your house warming tonight?  The same house I spent all night piecing back together?”

“Of course you’re welcome to come to the party. I actually invited the entire class before you charged in here twenty minutes late. I would appreciate it, however, if you’d refrain from sharing with people that you were alone with me in my house.  It will only raise questions that don’t need to be raised.  Now that I’m under review for assistant professor, I can’t risk doing anything that would be viewed as inappropriate.”

He frowned like he was in pain.  “If you had any idea how sexy that word sounds, you’d stop saying it to me.”

“What is sexy about the word
inappropriate
?”

Chase bit his lip, releasing it slowly.  “You just said it again.”

“You should go now, Mr. Almeida
.”

“Mr. Almeida? I hate to break it to you, Professor, but that’s hot, too.”

“Oh geez.”

“You’re so wound
up.
  I’ve never seen you this wound up, and that’s saying something.”

Lila looked away.

“You should let me help you,” he said.

“Help me what?”

“Release some of that tension.”

Lila eyed him as she circled her desk.

He watched her move.  “Can I help you, Lila?”

“Professor.”

“Can I help you, Professor?” He smiled, following after her, watching her ass switch in that tight skirt as she climbed the stairs.  “Professor
James
?”

“No.”

“I might bring someone to the party tonight.”  He stopped climbing when she did, taking hold of the railing on the wall as she turned to face him.  He looked up at her, eyes falling helplessly back to her lips the way they always did.  “A girl I’ve been seeing.”

Lila wet her lips with her tongue.  “Please do.  Bring whomever you like.  The more, the merrier.”