Chapter 13
Cara
Two weeks later
It’s that time of the semester where I’m drowning in schoolwork. Between reports, quizzes, and other assignments, I’m lucky to get my much-needed eight hours of sleep every night. Mix that with the pressure from my mom to “finish my degree with a bang,” and I’m strung out.
If I’m not in class, I’m studying. If I’m not in class or studying, I’m lounging with Cooper or taking him to the park.
And if I’m not in class, studying, or with Cooper, I’m emailing Lucian.
I try—I really do—to keep the conversation on topic.
Schoolwork. Mythological creatures. But ever since the day he patched me up in his office, our emails have transformed.
His responses offer small glimpses into who he is behind the desk, and I’m desperate to figure him out.
What does he do in his spare time? Why did he become a teacher, and what made him want to teach these supernatural topics?
But even I know it’s more than that. At night, I fantasize about him.
I think about his hands on my flesh or what it would be like to hear him whisper my name in desperation.
Thank God I only have to see him twice a week.
Any more than that, and I fear what I might be tempted to do.
There haven’t been any more incidents to lure me into making bad choices.
I haven’t told Reagan about it. Not because she’d judge me or anything, but because she’d encourage it—and that’s a slippery slope.
Cooper helps, though. Sure, he’s a dog and can’t actually offer words of wisdom, but it feels good to let my emotions out.
He sleeps in the bed with me now, offering warmth after a long day or snuggled up beside me while I vent.
Sometimes I’ll even reply to myself in a deep voice with what I imagine Cooper is trying to say by his soft grunts or odd looks.
It’s better I release those thoughts to my dog than to break down and email Lucian in a sleep-deprived, study-induced haze.
It’s been a few hours since the last email from Lucian, and once again, I wonder what he does between replies.
Grade papers, I suspect. I can just picture him at his desk, sleeves rolled up and his glasses perched delicately on his strong nose while he reads through our submissions. Is that where he is now?
God, I need to get a grip.
I take another sip of coffee, turn the volume up on the brown noise playing through my earbuds, and focus.
It’s my free period, so I’m sitting at a small café near my apartment trying to get some studying done.
Normally I’d be at home with Cooper, but even he’s become a distraction lately.
He’s so easy to talk to and just too damn cute not to snuggle. The big softie.
I read the highlighted paragraph of my advanced managerial accounting textbook, tapping the cover of the blue highlighter against my lip as I try to retain the words. It’s useless. Clearly, I’m not in the right headspace for this shit.
I cap the highlighter and toss it on the table with a sigh. When I look up, I freeze.
It’s him.
Professor Lucian.
I haven’t seen him outside of class since he patched me up.
He hasn’t noticed me, so I take the rare opportunity to study him.
There’s an extra button undone on his shirt, revealing an intricate chain that rests against the tanned skin of his chest. I can’t stop staring as he turns to pay for his coffee, my gaze traveling down to an ass that makes me want to bite my knuckles.
I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something so inherently sexy about a guy with a bubble butt.
Who the fuck am I right now?
That’s when he looks over his shoulder, gaze landing directly on me.
Fuck.
I looked away quickly enough, right?
Except no, I didn’t, because he’s coming this way with a stern expression on his stupidly handsome face.
Fuck my life.
“What are you doing, Cara?” he asks, his voice mellifluous.
It’s like he knows exactly what I was doing, but I don’t let on. “Nothing.” Or at least I try to, but my reply comes out too quickly. “I mean, studying. Big test coming up.” Get it together, girl.
“Hmm.”
What the fuck does that mean? But because I’m an awkward otter with men I find attractive, I dig my hole a little deeper. “It’s true. I wasn’t, you know, looking at your ass or anything. It might have looked that way, but I was just spacing out. Didn’t even see you, to be honest.”
Dear God, please, someone stop the word vomit.
His lips tilt up into a god-tier gorgeous smile that has my stomach flipping. “It’s an odd pairing, isn’t it?”
Okay, now I’m just confused.
“Mythology and finance aren’t commonly studied together,” he clarifies.
“Oh, they’re definitely two different beasts.” I smile at my own joke. “Mythology has always been interesting to me; add in mysterious creatures, and I’m hooked. But you know that already from my emails about extra credit.”
“You must have grown up with many pets to love animals so much, even the ones made of myth and lore.”
“No, unless you count the retired racehorse I received when I was ten. Spent an entire summer bonding with good ol’ Champ at the country house before my mom decided to stud him out and shipped him off to some faraway ranch.”
“Wow. That’s, uh…”
“Yeah. It is,” I say, not needing him to finish.
“I recently got a dog, though.” I tap my phone, then turn it so he can see the lock screen.
The moment I saw the photo of Cooper with the treat on his snout, I knew I had to put it front and center on my phone.
Lucian peers at it with an odd look on his face, which only spurs me on.
“He’s big enough that I could probably ride him, but at least Mom can’t ship him off to be studded.
Not that I have any intention of telling her about him, just in case. ”
“Would he like that, you think?”
“Like what?”
“To be studded.”
I almost choke on my saliva. “Ah, I mean,” I start, face flaming. “Wouldn’t any male?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to take them back. This is so fucking embarrassing.
To my surprise, Lucian doesn’t untangle himself from the messy web of our conversation. All he says is, “I wouldn’t.”
My gaze jumps to his face, completely taken by surprise at his response. I almost wish I’d kept my focus anywhere else because now that I’m here, trapped in the familiar hazel of his irises, I can’t look away.
“A stud’s sole purpose is to impregnate,” he continues. “It’s quick and dirty, and while I can definitely agree that it has its place, I prefer to take my time.”
“Do you impregnate often?” I find myself asking like a total buffoon, but I don’t feel regret. How could I when it makes him release the most beautiful sound. His laugh is like something called down from the heavens.
“You’ve got me there,” he says, eyes dropping to my lips for the barest second. I’m not certain I didn’t imagine it. Maybe he’s just checking my lip to make sure I haven’t found myself in another horrible situation. Whatever the reason, I like that he looked.
My phone lights up with a call, and Lucian says, “I should go.” He takes only one step away before he turns back. “For what it’s worth, I think your dog would choose you over a stud farm every time.”
Then he walks away, leaving me with a smile I can’t seem to fight.
I hope Cooper would choose me, too.