Chapter 26 #2
I shove my pink STFU notebook into my tote and follow him toward the door, keeping my eyes forward as we pass Bastian’s desk.
“Miss Lee.”
Fuck.
I stop, and Kai stops with me, his hand immediately going to the small of my back.
Bastian doesn’t even glance at him. His attention is fixed on me, expression perfectly neutral. “A word about your midterm essay, if you have a moment.”
“No,” Kai says flatly.
“It’ll only take a minute.” Bastian still doesn’t look at Kai, and I feel Kai tense against me like that’s pissing him off. “Or would you prefer I email the feedback? I—”
He cuts off as a pair of students pass within a foot of us on their way out, his eyes tracking them carefully until they’re out of earshot.
“This is not an attempt at manipulation,” he says, dropping his voice low as he finally looks at Kai, “I simply find in-person discussions more productive than email chains.”
Kai flinches against me as soon as they lock eyes. The hand on my back slides around my waist, his fingers digging into my side hard enough to make my breath catch.
Bastian’s challenge is subtle, but it’s there. He’s daring Kai to admit he doesn’t trust his girlfriend alone with her professor for sixty seconds.
“It’s fine,” I murmur, before this turns into a fucking pissing contest. “I’ll meet you at the library?”
For a long moment, Kai doesn’t move. His green eyes flick over Bastian’s face, narrowed, calculating.
Then he huffs through his nose, lifting his chin. Kai turns, grabs my chin, and kisses me. It’s rough and hungry, a blatant mark of territory, before he pulls away.
“You’ve got ten minutes,” he rumbles, staring at me until I nod.
He walks out without looking back.
“Christ,” Bastian scoffs, rubbing his eyelids with the fingers of one hand, the other tucked under his arm. “That fucking boy and his—”
He cuts off when I glare up at him.
The lecture hall empties around us. A few lingering students cast curious glances our way, but no one stays. Within a minute, it’s just me and Bastian and the ghost of everything we’re not talking about.
“You left more than enough feedback on my essay,” I say dryly. “In fact, if we’re doing Secret Santa this year, I know exactly what to buy you.”
“Red pens?” Bastian asks, mouth tugging into a rueful, lopsided smile.
“Bulk pack.” I cross my arms. “We’re not going to dinner with you tonight.”
He leans back against his desk, crossing his ankles, thumbs tucked into the pockets of his charcoal slacks. The posture is casual, but I’m not fooled. Nothing about Bastian Rooke is casual. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“And you’re a manipulative psychopath. Guess we’ve both got our flaws.”
His mouth twitches, but his expression turns serious before the smile can break. “And him?”
“He’s fine, too,” I lie.
He tilts his head, studying me. “I’m trying to give you space, but I’m…concerned.”
“Concerned,” I repeat flatly.
He scoffs. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“Coming from you? Almost impossible, actually.”
He’s quiet for a moment. When he speaks again, his voice is a low rumble that does nefarious things to my clit.
“I know I’ve made things difficult in the past. But I’m trying, Haven. For whatever that’s worth.”
I don’t know what to do with that, or with this version of Bastian who says things like “I’m trying” and actually seems to mean it.
“Kai needs time,” I finally say. “What happened…it fucked him up.”
Bastian uncrosses his arms, bracing his hands on the desk behind him. “Is there anything I can do?”
I shake my head. “Nope. You’re doing good.” I smile wryly. “Ish. Good-ish.”
“Christ,” Bastian scoffs, glancing away.
“He—We’ll come when we’re ready.”
“And what if I can’t wait that long?”
My stomach tightens.
It’s the same thing I’ve been asking myself every day for the past fortnight.
I still don’t have an answer, and it pisses me off that he’s expecting one.
Casting a furtive glance around to make sure no one’s slipped back into the lecture hall when I wasn’t paying attention, I step up to him and poke him in the chest.
“You’ll fucking wait until we’re ready. If that’s tomorrow, cool. If it’s a week, a month…then I guess you’ll just have to suck it up. Or you could always move on to someone who’ll bend over for you like a fucking gymnast.”
He grabs my wrist, tugging hard enough to send me barreling into his chest as he pushes away from his seat on the edge of the desk.
“How far do you think you can push me, girl?”
I huff out a laugh, despite how my insides are quivering. “You push, I push back harder. That’s who we are.”
His eyes go dark. “Do you have any idea how badly I want to kiss you right now?”
“But you won’t,” I murmur.
It feels like moving in quick-dry cement, but somehow I manage to push away from him and step back before I’m the one kissing him.
The urge is so great, my entire body is shivering.
“But I won’t,” he repeats, eyes latched to my mouth. “Yet.”
It’s not a promise.
It’s a threat.
I hurry out of his class like the fucking Devil is on my tail…because he is.
Me and Kai?
We’re running out of time.
And I don’t want to imagine what happens when Bastian decides he’s done waiting.