Chapter Nineteen
Brynn
My tummy is rumbling by the time I get to the student lounge outside the auditorium for coffee, cookies, and doughnuts before the seminar.
“Ugh, I want all of it,” I mutter to myself as I look at all the offerings.
“Right?” says a dark-haired girl next to me with a faint smile. “They could have put out some apples or something. They set us up for failure,” she says as she reaches for a cookie.
I recognize her from one of my classes, but not physics. “Aren’t you in my cellular biology and molecular medicine class?”
She nods, eyeing the cookie before she takes a bite. “Yep. I’m pre-med.”
This seminar is open to all Calhoun students, but it’s unusual for off-major students to attend a lecture like today’s. If you’re not already pretty familiar with the subject matter, it would be difficult to follow, and there’s no medicinal application whatsoever. This is strictly for space geeks.
“Annabel, right?”
She nods. “Annabel Lee. And you’re Brynn Blakely.”
I’m mildly surprised that she knows my name. Honestly, I don’t know the names of most of my classmates. I only remembered Annabel’s because I also saw her during rush week at the Zeta house.
She made the cut. I didn’t.
Smiling prettily, she says, “I remember you from rushing Zeta together.”
“That’s right,” I say with a nod, as if just remembering instead of acutely aware.
“Did you ever end up joining one of the other sororities?”
I shake my head. “Not this year. Maybe next year I’ll try again.”
She pouts in sympathy. “Don’t feel bad. I can only speak for Zeta, of course, but we honestly didn’t have many spots open for freshmen this year, and the demand was crazy.”
Yes, I recall. We all had to do a dance so they could make a rush video for their social media page, and there were so many girls spread across their perfectly green lawn, you’d think we were waiting to get into a Taylor Swift concert.
With the fresh memory of my rejection in mind, I grab a doughnut off the buffet to make myself feel better.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m so hungry or what, but when my teeth sink into the soft dough of the chocolate eclair and the sweet flavor of custard leaks out, my taste buds explode with pleasure. My eyes close of their own accord and a happy food moan slips out of me.
“Oh my god,” I murmur before chewing. “Where did these come from? Heaven?”
I’m startled when a strong arm suddenly wraps around my waist from behind and I’m pulled back against a warm, powerful body. “Hey, now. I’m the only one allowed to draw that noise out of you.”
I grin at the sound of Killian’s voice and turn my head to look back at him. He snakes a hand up to grip my jaw and keep me where he wants me, then he kisses me, and my knees nearly give out.
“Hey, you,” I say warmly when he pulls back.
“Hey, right back.”
I turn to face him and probably because he just made my head swim with that kiss, I’m feeling soft and can’t resist checking him out. He looks damn good in his dark wash jeans and navy-blue Calhoun U hoodie.
Seeing him here, I realize he’s the college fantasy I cooked up in high school come to life. Obviously, we haven’t discussed what’s going on between us or put a name to it, but after three nights of cuddling in his bed—two of those nights involving orgasms—and basically acting like a couple, it feels like we are one.
The thought makes me happy, so I sling an arm around his neck and lean against him, bringing my doughnut to his mouth. “Wrap your lips around this. It will change your life.”
He smirks, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. “I could tell you the same thing,” he says, then he takes an exaggeratedly wolfish bite of the doughnut.
“Jesus. You know I have to concentrate on dense academic subject matter in a few minutes, right?”
“I’ll give you something dense to focus on,” he mutters playfully. Then he nods. “Damn, you’re right. That is good.”
I nod. “See? Aren’t you glad you stopped by?” I take another, much smaller bite so I can chew it quickly. I want to talk to him while he’s here, but I also have to finish this before I can enter the auditorium. “The seminar lasts an hour, so I don’t know if you want to stay on campus and just study while I’m here or leave and pick me up. We really need to get my car back so I’m not such a constant burden on you.”
“You are not a burden,” he says, the idea seeming to irritate him. “And I’m not stopping by. I told you, I’m staying. When it’s over, we can leave together.”
My eyes widen. “You’re seriously staying for the seminar?”
“I told you I was,” he states.
“Well, yeah, but I thought you were joking because of Liam. Don’t take this the wrong way, but this is… I mean… I don’t think you’ll enjoy this.”
Apparently, he’s done his homework and at least knows what the talk is about, because he says, “What do you mean? I’m totally interested in cosmological observations and galaxy dynamics. I have a T-shirt and everything.”
I crack a smile, glancing down at his hoodie. “You should’ve worn it then.”
“Forgot. I was too excited.”
I roll my eyes good-naturedly. “Sure you were.”
I’m startled—and honestly didn’t even realize she was still standing there—when Annabel says, “Shouldn’t you be watching Wolf of Wall Street with your econ brosinstead? Might be more on your level.”
My eyes widen at her unprovoked rudeness, then my brain processes the fact that she seems to know his major, but I’m still reeling a bit when Killian shoots back, “Shouldn’t you be shopping with your daddy’s credit card?”
Annabel rolls her eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“And you should mind your own business.”
“You two know each other?” I ask uncertainly, gesturing between them with my doughnut.
“Mm-hmm,” she murmurs. “Killian has spent his fair share of time at the Zeta house.”
Oh. Yikes.
I’m not obtuse; I knew Killian likely had hookups before we met, but I had hoped not with anyone I know. I’m only peripherally familiar with Annabel, but I still have to see her twice a week, and I don’t want it to be awkward.
Before I have to wonder for more than a moment, Killian says, “And Annabel spent more than her fair share of time on her knees for a friend of mine and still couldn’t keep him interested.”
She narrows her eyes at his jab. “Once a cheater, always a cheater. I should have known better.”
Killian hooks an arm around my waist to guide me away. “I’ll tell Andrei you said hi.”
I wait until we’re on the other side of the room to ask, “Is that the friend you mentioned who has an undeserved bad reputation?”
“I didn’t say his reputation wasn’t deserved, just that he’s not a cheater,” he says, smirking faintly. “But yes.”
“I’ll have to meet him so I can put a face to the stories.”
Killian nods faintly, glancing back in Annabel’s direction. “Maybe one of these days.”
___
As expected, Killian isn’t really into the seminar. He watches with me when she first starts talking, but after twelve minutes, his attention shifts to his phone. I don’t blame him. I knew this seminar was going to be way outside his field of interest, but I still think it’s sweet he wanted to be here with me.
We decide to grab an early dinner in the dining hall while we’re on campus, that way we can do some studying and then have more Frito pie later if we’re hungry.
Killian is mostly quiet while I chatter excitedly about space stuff. I know he’s not into astrophysics so I don’t expect much engagement, but he humors me.
I can’t help feeling something is off, though. At the dining hall, it could be that he’s just humoring me and listening to me talk about stuff that doesn’t interest him, but by the time we return home, I expect to fall back into our usual rhythm.
We don’t.
He seems distracted, and he’s checking his phone more often than usual.
It’s the first time since we met he has raised any alarms, and while I don’t distrust him even a little bit, memories from the past resurface and threaten the peace I’ve had being here with him the past couple of nights.
It even distracts me from studying when we’re curled up on the couch together tackling our respective workloads.
“Is everything okay?” I finally ask him once my frustration has mounted to an intolerable level.
Maybe if he just tells me all is well, I’ll believe him, and this weird feeling will go away.
He glances up from his laptop and nods. “Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know. I have this anxious feeling and I don’t know why.” I glance down at my open books, then back over at him. “You know when you can’t get your mind to focus, so you have to keep rereading the same passages again and again? I’m having a lot of that tonight.”
His dark brow flickers with displeasure, but the expression is fleeting. Then Killian closes his laptop and stands.
At first, I’m not sure why, but then he comes over and closes my textbook.
“What are you doing?” I ask, looking up at him.
He grabs my hands and pulls me to my feet. “Helping you clear your mind.”
He doesn’t let go of my hand when I stand, and I follow him at first, curious to see what he has in mind. But as we near the bedroom, I think I have an idea, so I start to resist. “Oh, no. I don’t have time for this kind of mind-clearing. I have so much studying to do.”
“So do I,” he says solemnly, dragging me into the bedroom and closing the door. “It’s very important work.”
I expect him to haul me to the bed, so I’m startled when he drags me to the side and spins me around, forcing me against the wall. My heart drops on instinct and my hands press against the wall, but before I can push myself back, Killian presses his body close to mine, pinning me against the wall with his weight.
Oh. That’s… alarming, but kind of nice.
He brushes my hair away from my neck, and I feel a shudder of anticipation as his lips brush against my ear. “Can’t have my girl distracted,” he murmurs, sending a thrill coursing through me and bringing a helpless smile to my lips.
His girl.
He knew the thrill those words would send through me, and he knows exactly what he’s doing when his kisses on my neck turn rough and possessive, nearly bruising in their intensity. My body shivers in response to the brutal possession, and Killian slides his fingers through my hair, gripping the back of my skull so he can control my movements and position me however he needs for the access he desires. Thrills shoot through me, and tension pulls taut as he kisses the sensitive nape of my neck, then slides a hand around to unbutton my jeans.
Once the waistband loosens, his hand slides down the front of my pants. I moan softly when he pushes beneath my panties, then uses his fingers to spread me open. I know what’s coming next, and I’m not disappointed when seconds later he’s teasing my clit. My breath hitches, and my hips buck in response as his fingers expertly find the right spot, sending waves of pleasure rippling through me.
I’m trapped between his hard body and the wall, eyes squeezed shut and moaning at the magic his fingers are working between my legs when I hear a knock at the front door.
My heart sinks and I feel a rush of adrenaline. I expect Killian to stop touching me so he can see who’s there, but he doesn’t.
“Relax,” he commands casually, as if we were never interrupted.
“Killian,” I say uncertainly, looking back at him. “I think someone’s here.”
Kissing the side of my neck as he strokes me, he murmurs, “They can wait.”
It feels wrong to let him do this to me when someone we both know may be just a couple of walls away. I don’t think they can hear, but even if they can’t… if it’s a friend of his, someone who comes into the apartment, they’ll see me looking flushed and shy and probably be able to guess why it took so long to get to the door.
I’m caught in a web of pleasure and uncertainty, but his relentless fingers make it impossible to ignore the rising tension in my body.
They knock again and I feel shameless as I moan, helpless to stop the pleasure. I need something to hold on to, so I plant one hand on the wall and reach back to grab Killian’s hip desperately.
“That’s it, baby,” he murmurs. “Let go.”
His murmured command is all it takes to unleash the torrent of pleasure building up inside me. I cry out sharply as I come, ecstasy rippling through me and weakening my trembling muscles.
I’m thankful for Killian’s thigh wedged between my legs, because as the tremors subside, I’m not sure I can stand. I feel like a ragdoll held up like this, Killian’s hand still gripping my scalp, his strong body still pinning me to the wall. With another possessive kiss to the nape of my neck, he finally releases my hair.
He locks his arm around my waist and grabs my hip, turning me around so my back is against the wall.
I’m fuzzy and blissed out, but I give him a soft little smile as he moves close and presses his lips against mine. “I have to go out for a bit,” he tells me.
“Okay,” I murmur, without the presence of mind to even ask where or how long he’ll be gone.
He slides his hand through my hair tenderly, pulling me close and kissing my temple. “Get some studying done while I’m gone.”
“Okay,” I murmur again.
Killian smirks. “So agreeable. I love when you’ve just come.”
I wrinkle my nose up at him, but I’m too physically satisfied to offer much in the way of a retort. Besides, he’s right. Orgasms make me incredibly docile.
He kisses me one more time, then lets go and steps away.
I stand there for a few seconds to get my bearings, but then I zip up my jeans and follow him back out to the living room. I get there just in time to see him grab his keys off the counter and open the door.
I catch sight of Hex on the other side. Two other guys are with him, but I don’t recognize either of them. Hex is the only one to make eye contact with me while the door is open. The other two politely pretend I don’t exist, but it’s the cool calculation, almost displeasure in Hex’s gaze that unsettles me.
Why is he looking at me like that?
A frown flickers across my brow, but without a word, Killian glances back at me, then closes the door behind him.