Chapter 10
ten
Two Weeks Later
I leave the exam hall, blinking like a mole in the bright sunshine.
My back hurts and my head throbs, but I’m finally free—the last exam is done, and university is finished.
I wait for the euphoria to hit me, but it doesn’t come.
I feel curiously empty and adrift. Everything I’ve worked towards is done, and now it’s just a waiting game.
“Is that it?” someone calls from behind me.
I turn to see Caleb, one of the blokes in my class. I don’t know him well, just on a nodding basis. “Yeah,” I say. “Thank fuck.”
He laughs.
“What about you?” I ask.
“One more tomorrow.” He stretches. “I can’t wait to be free of this place.”
I nod, but I’m not sure I agree with him.
I’ve relished coming here for the last three years.
It’s made me feel like I finally belong somewhere.
The campus is modern and pretty fucking ugly but it’s still familiar and has always felt safe.
I’m the only person in my family who’s ever been to university, to my knowledge.
My dad’s side of the family tree is rather shadowed, to say the least, and I’ve never known any of them.
“So, are you off to celebrate?” he asks.
I smile at him. “Nah, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
I laugh at his expression of stupefaction. “Because I’m knackered, and all my mates have finished and gone home.”
“What about Julian? You’re mates with him, aren’t you?”
His wary tone makes it sound like I’ve exchanged friendship bracelets with a crocodile, which isn’t too far from the truth if you know Julian.
“I am friends with him. He didn’t take this course option, so he finished yesterday and he’s going away for the weekend.” His client is taking him to Sussex for a few days. I smile at Caleb. “So, it’s a takeaway and an early night for me.”
And maybe Mac. But I keep that thought to myself.
I haven’t seen or heard from him in two weeks when he texted me that he was going away on business again.
The thought of seeing his handsome face makes me smile, and I nod at Caleb and walk away.
I raise my face to the sun and wonder when Mac will be home.
Now that my exams are done, I feel like I’m coming out of hibernation, and my body is stirring again.
I need sex—the good, bone-rattling kind that only he can give me.
I walk past a black SUV, admiring its expensive lines, and then stop dead as the back window slides down. I hear a very familiar voice say, “So, how did it go?”
I can’t help my massive grin for the life of me. “ You .”
Mac nods. “I notice your powers of observation are still spectacular.”
I approach the SUV, clutching my rucksack. Joy is filling me at the sight of him. Far too much joy. “What are you doing here? Are you waiting for someone?”
“You.” He opens the door. “Get in.”
I scramble inside. The car smells deliciously of Mac’s aftershave. It’s a scent I associate with wild, sweaty, and intensely satisfying sex, tumbled sheets, and wrecked beds. My cock begins to stir.
I settle into the leather back seat and grin at the driver. “Robert, how are you?”
His eyes twinkle as he half turns. “I’m fine, thank you, Wes. How were the finals?”
“They’re done, which is the best I can say.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He starts the engine, and the car pulls smoothly away.
I turn to Mac. He’s dressed in a dark grey suit with a forest-green tie, and his eyes seem very blue in the dim light.
We’re a study in contrast because I’m wearing an old pair of Levi’s that are so old they’re fraying at the hems, along with a T-shirt that I’m sure has a hole under the arm, a navy uni hoodie, and a pair of trainers that look rather grubby. I slide my feet out of sight.
“How was the business trip?”
He shrugs. “Successful.”
“I’m sure it wouldn’t dare be anything else.”
Robert coughs, and then concentrates very hard on the road when Mac flashes a glance towards him.
“How joyful it is that the stress of exams hasn’t affected your personality,” Mac tells me.
“I doubt a nuclear bomb detonating would do that.” I poke him. “I missed you.”
His eyes widen. “Did you?”
To ward off the cynical expression I know is coming, I say, “Yes, I did. Thank you for the food and the housekeeping.”
Every night since I last saw him, a meal from a local restaurant has been delivered.
Astonished, I’d tried to pay the man at first but was informed that Mr Reilly was footing the bill for a daily delivery of the special of the day and a dessert.
He’d also doubled up my grocery delivery, minus the energy drinks, which I’d been informed Mr Reilly had vetoed.
He’d made me feel like he was thinking of me despite his lack of direct communication.
“Honestly, that was more for the sake of my soft furnishings than you. Plus, you and a hundred energy drinks are a dangerous combination.” A smile hovers on his lips that I’m longing to kiss. I want to take that full lower one and bite it before sucking it better.
His blue gaze reels me in like a tractor beam, and I shift closer as we share an impossibly hot look.
When his hand drops to my knee and squeezes, I shift on the seat, trying to get his touch closer to my now-throbbing cock.
His grip immediately shifts from caressing to staying me, and I remember Robert driving the car.
Sorry , I mouth, and Mac’s gaze drifts to my lips. The heat between us is palpable. “So, are we going back to the flat?” I ask, shifting away slightly to avoid throwing myself into his lap or blowing him on the back seat.
“No.” He clears his throat. “I have to be in Paris this week.”
“ Really ?” I say, unable to hide my disappointment. I immediately break into words to cover up my slip. “Is that why you were waiting for me today? So you could tell me in person?”
I immediately want to take the words back. He bought me a very expensive phone on which he does all his communicating, or what passes for communication with Mac.
He seems ill at ease, his gaze flicking toward the window as he absently picks at a thread on his trousers. It’s very unusual behaviour for Mac. He has stillness down to an art form, as if any wasted movement is anathema to him.
“Mac?”
He glances at me. “I was thinking of taking you with me.”
I stare at him, uncertain if I heard him right. “ Pardon ?”
“Do your ears need syringing?”
“No, just a coherent conversational partner, but you can’t help me with that.”
The car swerves slightly. “Sorry,” Robert calls in a choked voice. “Just a bump in the road, Mr Reilly.”
I edge closer to Mac. “You’re thinking of taking me where?”
“To Paris, of course. Do keep up.”
“Paris?”
His eyes trace over my body, and I shiver as if he used his hands. His eyes flare impossibly hot, but he sucks in a long breath and his voice is cool when he says, “Yes. Would that be acceptable to you?”
“For a whole week?”
“No, for four days. I will, of course, pay you for the pleasure,” he adds in a low voice. I appreciate his discretion, but I’m pretty sure Robert knows all his business anyway. He smiles. “Look on it as a congratulatory present for finishing your exams.”
“I’ve never been to Paris,” I muse.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ve never been out of the country.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Perfectly possible, Monsieur Moneybags.”
“Please do not ever attempt to speak French while we’re there. We’ll be kicked out of the country if they hear your deplorable accent.”
I smile and shrug. “We never had any money for luxuries,” I say simply.
“Well, it’s lucky that you had a passport.”
“I always felt a bit silly applying for that, but sometimes it’s nice to dream.” I’m struck by a sudden thought. “How do you know that I’ve got a passport?”
He rolls his eyes. “I know most things, and the things I don’t know I employ other people to find out.”
“You’re very lord of the planet this morning.”
He chuckles and immediately looks discomposed. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“It’s such a nice thing to do.” I edge closer and kiss his cheek, nuzzling into him for a long few seconds, absorbing his scent and feeling it steady me. When I pull away, his hand comes up to cradle his cheek in the spot where I just kissed him.
He visibly pulls his control around him again. “So, would that arrangement be acceptable to you? I must warn you that you will be alone often, because I am there for work, but you can explore the city during the day.”
“And during the night?” I whisper into his ear, taking the lobe in my mouth and sucking. He shudders and makes a soft groan. I pull back and grin at him.
He leans closer. “During the nights, you’re all mine.”
“Lovely,” I say very honestly. I glance out the window and startle when I see signs for Heathrow. “Wait. I need to go home and pack.”
“ Home ?”
I ignore that in favour of panic. “I haven’t got anything to wear.”
“Relax. Your bag is in the boot. I took the liberty of getting your housekeeper to gather what you might need.”
“So, I’m all packed?”
He leans over, his hand on my thigh, tugging me closer. “Yes. I hope you don’t object to her going through your wardrobe. I debated doing it myself, but my courage failed me at the last.”
“I don’t blame you. It’s not a job for the fainthearted.” I grin at him and squeeze his hand. “I’m so excited. Paris, here we come.”
I’m expecting to go into the main terminal at Heathrow Airport. I’ve been there a couple of times to meet friends who’ve been away. Instead, we travel past it, pulling up outside a long building. I climb out of the car, stretching in the sunshine, and then leap to take the cases from Robert.
“No need, Wes,” Robert says, setting them on the ground. He shakes Mac’s hand, shoots me a smile, and then climbs back into the car and pulls smoothly away. As if synchronised, the building’s doors slide open, and a man in uniform appears, pushing a trolley.