Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
ROSE
Professor Maxwell’s towering stature ensnared me. He had always been larger than life, but now, his presence was imposing to the point of suffocation.
Oh, God. I wasn’t ready to face him. My eyes darted sideways, hoping to spot a familiar face. He wouldn’t do anything to me out in the open and in broad daylight, right?
I did a counting down exercise in my head, one Dr. Harper had taught me, before opening my mouth. “Morning, Professor Maxwell.”
He seemed amused. “Are you planning to call me ‘Professor Maxwell’ forever? I do have a first name, Rose. Start using it.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t do that. It would shatter any illusions of boundaries left between us.
He stepped forward, his gaze tracing my face before settling on my mouth.
His eyelids drooped, as if recalling a particularly lewd memory about my lips.
I would have moved back were it not for his ironclad hold on my elbow.
Leaning closer, he said, “I’ve been inside you, and that’s where you draw the line—being on a first-name basis?
It’ll be awkward to call out my last name when I have you on all fours. ”
My hand flew to my mouth, not expecting the vulgarity. We were in public!
I quickly brushed him off and took a step back. Noticing my unease, he dropped the curved smile. His intuition had always been on point, and he must be aware that I was beyond uncomfortable.
Professor Maxwell tapped his fingers against his thigh, a subtle rhythm signaling apprehension. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was suddenly nervous, as though unsure whether his teasing or presence was being well received.
Odd.
He was always sure of himself.
He glanced at Bageltown, then back at me. “Have you had breakfast?”
I nodded tentatively.
“Good.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “That’s good.”
An uncomfortable silence befell us. At least he didn’t appear angry today.
I thought he would be pissed at me for running away, but he seemed mellow.
More so because he wore a casual gray jacket that hugged his broad shoulders and a plain gray T-shirt underneath.
He also sported his black-rimmed specs with the blue diamond studs.
I had a soft spot for his glasses because they made him more approachable.
He almost seemed like a regular person with flaws, and I remembered he was just a few years older than me, and not some untouchable god.
“Miles mentioned that I’ve been acting differently,” he said at long last. “I’ve been going home at reasonable hours. It doesn’t feel as important to spend every waking moment at the lab.”
I didn’t understand what he was alluding to and merely nodded along.
“In fact, my entire team thinks I’ve changed, but in a good way.”
This conversation felt oddly familiar to the one I had with Dr. Harper and my friends.
They also said that I was acting differently, but it was a good thing.
I wasn’t obsessing over peculiar rituals, and he wasn’t engaging in his workaholic habits.
If I didn’t know any better, I would think we were each other’s cures.
“From what I have seen, you have changed, too. It seems we’re good for each other.”
How would he know that? The image of a dirty-blond-haired figure flashed across my mind. Perhaps it wasn’t my imagination running wild this morning. Was he watching me?
“But something’s still holding you back,” he observed. “At first, I thought it was because I was your professor.” His eyes softened. “But I get it now. It’s your family.”
My brow creased. Sure, our families hated each other. However, my concerns had little to do with them and everything to do with sleeping with the wrong brother.
“You’re worried about adding to the pile when they’re already angry,” he assessed.
“What?”
“Your adviser mentioned that your father found out you’d changed your major. You should have told me what happened,” he chided gently.
I had confided in my adviser about the fight with my father. It seemed she mentioned it to Professor Maxwell. He must have concluded that I’d ran away from him because things were tense at home, and I didn’t want to rock the boat more.
“This isn’t about Papa or my family.” This was about sleeping with the wrong man.
“Of course it is. Why else have you been on edge?”
I opened my mouth to set the record straight before realizing it was a bad idea.
Professor Maxwell’s parents had favored Damon throughout their childhood.
Being mistaken for his brother would strike a raw nerve and reopen old wounds.
I couldn’t do that to him. No matter what had happened between us, I couldn’t shake the sadness I felt over his childhood.
My heart went out to the lonely rich boy abandoned by his family.
I closed my mouth, and Professor Maxwell took it as acknowledgment that my family was the problem. “What did he say to you?” he asked.
Lots of things, but none of it had anything to do with my current dilemma.
“Is he trying to intimidate you into working for him?” he pressed.
I said nothing.
“I’ll take care of him if he doesn’t fall back in line,” he declared with an air of finality.
Take care of him?
Did he just threaten my father?
My concerned expression did nothing to deter his spiel. “Your father has some well-kept secrets that can ruin him if I make them public. One phone call, and he’ll never hold a position at Ambani Corps again. Just say the word.”
My heart started beating erratically. How long had he been keeping tabs on my family?
Papa had a few skeletons in his closet, I knew that. Men of his stature generally had some sordid secrets stashed away. What I didn’t expect was for Professor Maxwell to uncover them and blackmail him.
While we had a complicated relationship, Dev Ambani was still my father. How could Professor Maxwell casually discuss destroying him without so much as batting an eye?
He kept talking about different ways to sabotage my father, but I couldn’t hear him.
He was insane, I just hadn’t realized it until now.
I stared at him blankly. He was a completely different person from the supportive teacher who had helped me with my term paper.
Professor Maxwell had a dangerous side, and he had given me a glimpse into his darkness.
He didn’t have morals, nor did he live by a code.
There was no line he wouldn’t cross if it accomplished his end goal.
He leveled me with a sharp look at my extended silence. “Rose. Say something.”
I breathed heavily, my skin tingling with dread.
He stared at me for a long moment. “Fine. We’ll deal with your father later. For now, give me your phone.” He extended his hand, prying it out of my fingers.
His touch lingered. Electricity shot up and down my arm, my eyes widening at the intensity of it. Not only could I tolerate his touch, but I nearly melted under it. I never thought I could bear anyone touching me other than Damon, and that was only because he had made me feel safe when I was young.
I retracted my hand as if I had been electrocuted. What the hell was wrong with me? This man just threatened my family.
Professor Maxwell held up the phone to my face so it would unlock. When I glanced over, he was registering himself into my phone. He paused and frowned at something. My guess—he had figured out I had blocked his number.
If he was offended, he showed no inclination of it other than the small eye twitch.
When I peeked at my screen next, he had unblocked himself.
He handed the phone back to me. “Call me the next time your family gives you a hard time. Don’t let me find out about it from your adviser.
” He paused before clarifying, “Call me the next time anyone gives you a hard time.”
I nodded, hoping it would end the conversation.
It didn’t.
He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a box that had Cartier on it. “Before I forget, I bought something for you.”
I tried to make sense of my weird predicament. I slept with my professor, he yelled at me for running away, he threatened my family, he fucked me like a beast, and then, he bought me a gift.
Was he trying to bribe me so I wouldn’t tell anyone about what he did in the lab?
I pushed the box away. “No, thank you.”
The controlled stillness of his face was betrayed by the tautness in his jawline. He was unhappy with my reaction. “You don’t know what it is.”
He popped open the lid, revealing a set of heart-shaped sapphire earrings. The deep, vibrant blue shimmered, gleaming like frozen drops of the ocean. They were framed by a delicate halo of tiny, brilliant-cut diamonds, casting sparks of silver across the precious metal.
My eyelids flipped up to his glasses. His black frames had the same gems by the hinges. These earrings weren’t sapphire, but blue diamonds like the ones on his glasses.
“I can’t accept this,” I told him.
His lips pressed into a thin line before he blew out an irritated breath. “Of course you will. I bought them for you.”
My gaze dropped to the earrings and inadvertently found myself admiring them.
Jewelry had never been a weakness of mine, I only wore them to complement my outfits.
But the deep blue stones called to me like a siren’s song.
I couldn’t explain the pull, only that they seemed to have been made for me.
There was something peculiar about the gift, and the sentimental value behind the thought somehow exceeded the price tag.
Perhaps he wasn’t trying to buy me off, and this was a symbolic gesture.
Did he think of me as a romantic prospect?
No. That was impossible.
No one could beg Professor Maxwell. He hated everyone, particularly students who tried to seduce him. This was misplaced attraction, stemming from his curiosity over my scars and sexual inexperience.