Chapter 22 #2
“But unlike the rest of us poor suckers,” Kolter joked, oblivious to any undercurrents, “Daniela has no reason to be terrified. She’s clearly the teacher’s pet.”
“What?” Daniela croaked, whipping her head around to stare at Kolter. “I am not the teacher’s pet.”
“Sure you are.” Kolter grinned conspiratorially at Dean Kinsale. “Professor Thorne calls on her more than anyone else.”
“Is that right?” The dean chuckled at Caleb, whose inscrutable expression hadn’t changed.
“Few lawyers love a good debate more than Caleb Thorne. Those who can match his wits—or at least mount a good challenge—tend to earn his respect and appreciation. So I suggest you step up your game, Mr. Busch.”
“Yes, sir,” Kolter said with a sheepish grin. “Daniela’s showing me the way.”
Her whole face flamed. She could see the rigid line of Caleb’s shoulders and the tight grip he had on his glass, tension radiating from him in tangible waves. He thought she was on a date with Kolter, and he was unhappy about it. Not just unhappy. Pissed.
A cold dread trickled down her spine.
“So are you two enjoying your evening?” Dean Kinsale asked kindly.
“We are, sir. Very much,” Kolter said with the eagerness of a golden retriever. “We haven’t tasted the food yet, but so far the place definitely lives up to the hype. The ambience alone is top notch.”
Dean Kinsale smiled indulgently at Daniela. “Would you agree, Miss Moreau?”
“Oh yes. For sure.” She shifted from foot to foot, her legs suddenly too wobbly, her heels too high. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.” She shot an apologetic glance at Caleb, then turned and practically fled before anyone could respond.
She hurried through the restaurant, her mind a whirl of conflicting emotions. She needed to lock herself in a stall just long enough to gather her composure. But the restroom was crowded, every toilet and sink occupied.
Frustrated, she backed out the door and looked around.
After a moment’s hesitation, she continued down the hall.
Tucked away in the back was a small private lounge reserved for special events.
It was filled with plush sofas and chairs, with a bar on one side and a grand piano in the corner.
A bank of windows overlooked a small garden.
The lounge was blessedly empty, the lights dimmed low. Moving toward the windows, Daniela took out her phone, her fingers fumbling as she navigated to her text messages and pulled up her last conversation with April.
She fired off a text.
Hey! Where the hell are you guys???
Her phone buzzed moments later, April’s reply lighting up her screen in the dim room.
What do you mean?
Daniela huffed in exasperation, her thumbs flying across the keypad.
Did you get caught in traffic? Kolter and I are here waiting for you guys to show up.
There was a long pause.
Uh…this is weird. Kolter moved dinner to tomorrow, said he had a conflict tonight and asked if we could reschedule. It was in the group chat. Didn’t you see the messages?
Stunned, Daniela shot back the only response she could.
WTF???!!!
Her phone buzzed again with April’s rage-inducing reply.
Oh shit. I just realized Kolter created a new group chat. I’ve been so swamped today I didn’t even notice; I just saw his text and updated my calendar without replying. Girl, wtf is he up to?!?!
Daniela stared at the screen, her disbelief turning to anger. Kolter had rescheduled tonight’s dinner without telling her. He’d deliberately excluded her from the new group chat to keep her in the dark. He didn’t have a conflict; he’d created one to get her alone and all to himself.
“That little shit!” she fumed, squeezing the phone in her hand. She couldn’t believe he’d maneuvered her into a date masquerading as a study group outing. Fury shot through her veins, making her seethe.
“Something wrong, Miss Moreau?”
The voice, deep and resonant, sent a jolt through her. She spun around, her heart leaping into her throat.
Caleb stood in the doorway, his wide shoulders almost filling the frame. Those dark, intense eyes were fixed unerringly on her. She hadn’t even heard him coming. He’d just appeared like smoke.
“Ca— Professor Thorne,” she managed, her voice little more than a croak. “I…I was just…”
“What’s going on?” His voice was a low rumble that had shivers shimmying up and down her spine.
She swallowed hard, her anger at Kolter momentarily eclipsed by the potent pull of Caleb’s focused attention. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she muttered.
Caleb moved away from the door, advancing with an almost predatory purpose that was both exhilarating and terrifying. “You took off rather abruptly, leaving your date to fend for himself,” he said with a dangerous edge.
The word “date” hung in the air, heavy with accusation.
“Date? You think that’s what this is?” She gestured impatiently with her phone.
“Kolter tricked me, Caleb. It was supposed to be a study group dinner, but he rescheduled with everyone else and didn’t tell me.
” Her voice rose, indignation sharpening every word.
Caleb stopped just inches from her. His size and aura of raw masculinity dominated the small space, shrinking it in half.
“Kolter tricked you,” he repeated flatly.
“Yes! I’m so pissed right now!”
Caleb’s eyes raked over her face, searching, assessing, a muscle twitching in his cheek. He didn’t believe her.
“I’m not lying!” she snapped and then lowered her voice, remembering where they were. “He’s a conniving little creep. I can’t believe I didn’t catch on to him sooner.”
Caleb’s gaze dropped to her lips, then back up again to her eyes. There was no mistaking the hint of menace in his stare, in the slight tilt of his head. “Are you playing me, Daniela?” he asked softly.
“No!” she cried, even as white-hot guilt stabbed her through the chest. It would be the cruelest irony if what toppled her house of cards was someone else’s lies, not her own.
Caleb’s inked hand lifted to her face, his thumb grazing her cheek before ghosting over her lips. His touch sent a tremor through her, equal parts thrill and warning. “Layers,” he mused, dragging his thumb across her bottom lip. “So many layers. Too many, maybe.”
Her breath hitched at his enigmatic words.
She could hear noises outside the room—a distant laugh, the clatter of dishes from the kitchen.
This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. They shouldn’t be seen together, not like this.
Going for coffee in broad daylight was one thing.
Sharing a stolen moment in a dimly lit lounge was something else entirely.
“I…I should go,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “Please let me—”
“Let you what?” His hand slid to her nape, his fingers tangling in her hair and roughly pulling her head back. “Let you go back to your table? Back to your cozy little date with that boy?”
“It’s not a date!” she insisted.
“Sure as hell looks like one.” The dangerous glint was back in his gaze, his lips twisting into a snarl.
“What the hell am I supposed to make of you with him—holding hands, teasing, flirting? Am I supposed to enjoy seeing you with someone else just hours after I had you bent over my desk and coming on my hand?” His eyes darkened to obsidian, his fingers tightening in her hair. “You got me all the way fucked up.”
His darkly possessive words hit her with the force of a physical blow, nearly dropping her to her knees. He was jealous. Unmistakably, viscerally jealous. And the realization sent a blast of heat through her, a forbidden thrill that transcended all logic. All danger.
“W—We shouldn’t be doing this here.” The words were a feeble protest undermined by the way her body leaned into his touch, desperate to bridge the remaining inches between them.
“I know we shouldn’t.” He made her toes curl with that searing stare of his. “You think I don’t know how goddamn reckless this is?”
Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. She could feel the primal heat radiating from his body, could feel the sheer force of his warring urges, a mirror of her own. Her eyes dropped to his mouth, those firm, sensual lips that had tasted her, devoured her, made her scream.
“Caleb…” she whispered, her voice a plea.
With one hand fisting her hair, he wrapped his other hand around her waist and crushed her against his body. Before she could even gasp, his lips came crashing down on hers in a hard, ruthless kiss, ravaging her mouth with a feral aggression that stole her breath and sent her senses reeling.
Her eyes closed as he groaned darkly and parted her lips, his tongue plunging between them to explore every recess of her mouth.
It was like a release valve had snapped inside him, unleashing a torrent of pent-up tension, frustration and taboo longing.
The kiss wasn’t tender or gentle or patient.
It was a kiss meant to inflame, to own, to possess.
Daniela coiled her arms around Caleb’s neck, pressing her body harder into his. He responded by sucking on her tongue and biting her lower lip, pulling it firmly between his teeth and breaking skin. She tasted blood before a thready moan escaped her, swallowed right up by his hungry mouth.
She could feel his cock huge and hard against her lower belly. An insatiable need pounded through her, a desperate need to be devoured by him, here, now, despite the risks, despite the very public setting.
She whimpered when he tore his mouth away, panting, his lips slick from hers, dark eyes blazing as he rasped in her ear, “God, Daniela. You have no fucking idea what you’ve done to me.”
She leaned her forehead against his heaving chest, her heart pounding a frantic drum against her ribs and between her trembling thighs. “You’ve been pretty hazardous for me, too.”