Chapter 38
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
ROSE
Neither of us spoke a word as the car pulled away. I looked out the window instead, fingers trailing my lap as Raoul weaved through traffic. Professor Maxwell’s knee brushed mine when we turned a corner, and I shifted away immediately. His eye twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
The car rolled to a stop in a deserted parking lot, and I could no longer keep my apprehensions at bay. “Where are we?” The leather seat creaked beneath me as I leaned forward, my palms damp.
“Here’s fine, Raoul,” he told his chauffeur instead of answering my question. “Leave me the keys and take an Uber back.”
Raoul’s sympathetic eyes met mine in the rearview mirror before darting away.
He complied, wordlessly handing over the keys to Professor Maxwell.
I studied the gray building towering over the empty parking lot.
It looked like an abandoned warehouse. We were still in the city, but the building was tucked away in a secluded corner, stripped of civilization.
Fear slithered around my spine like a cold snake.
The double doors were rusted, and the walls were cracked and covered in graffiti.
According to the ladders and paint canisters, someone had been doing repairs to fix the years of neglect.
He hauled me out of the car and dragged me inside.
Protesting would only piss him off at this point, so I followed quietly.
The warehouse was massive, with high ceilings, rows of towering pillars extending endlessly, and natural light filtering in through the windows.
I expected the walls to be covered in layers of dust and grime, but the restoration efforts for the interior showed better progress.
Despite the gnawing sense of dread curling around my ribs, I couldn’t help but admire the relentless precision of the renovations.
The walls had a fresh coat of paint—eggshell, I believe—and the floorboards were brand new.
Every spackled edge of the drywall was flawless, and every beam and bracket was marked with laser-leveled accuracy.
Rows of brand-new workbenches gleamed with unused intent.
The glassware was stacked in military order, as if awaiting a parade inspection, while the glistening steel of the autoclaves and centrifuges stood sentinel in their assigned alcoves.
It was clearly meant to be a giant science lab, and a dream come true for someone with OCD.
“What is this place?”
Professor Maxwell raked his fingers through his dirty-blond hair, leaving furrows like a freshly plowed field. “I bought this place to start a pharmaceutical company.”
“You’re leaving NewTech?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. He chose to work at NewTech because of its cutting-edge technology. But it seemed he had set up shop with similar access.
“Eventually. This warehouse is being converted into a lab, and I’ll add offices for the admins. The renovations will take at least six months.”
“The space has…potential,” I admitted reluctantly. “Why are you showing it to me?”
“Because you were upset, and I wanted to speak to you somewhere private.” He paused before adding, “I also thought you might like to see our new lab.”
My insides coiled with dread. “I’m not working for you after graduation.” I was counting down to the day until I could get away from him. I thought he would have worked that out by now.
His jaw tightened, eyes turning cold. “Of course you are.”
“No, I’m not,” I snapped.
“You don’t have a choice. Your father cut you off and blacklisted you from every graduate program and job in the tristate area.”
“Then, I’ll move.”
“Like hell you will.” His frosty eyes moved over my face before he inhaled. I assumed he was trying to calm himself down. “It doesn’t have to be this way, Rose. You don’t have to fight me every step of the way.”
Frustrated, I closed my eyes. “What do you want from me?”
“Everything.” His voice cut like steel. “How much clearer can I be about my intentions? I want you .”
“I think you have a lot of options if sex is what you’re after.”
“It’s not about sex.” His voice cut like a blade against stone. “I want you, and I want everything that comes with it. But you keep yourself locked away from me. Let me in, Rose.”
The raw confession from this usually composed man sliced through my anger. He’d never exposed himself like this, and, for once, he seemed vulnerable. Despite everything, I found myself wanting to reach out, to smooth the hurt from his face with my fingertips.
His hand raked through his hair again. “This is driving me fucking crazy. You are driving me fucking crazy. I’ve never been this way before you.” His eyes seemed wild and unfocused.
I didn’t make a sound as his short-lived vulnerability fizzled away. He was like a live wire, electrifying the air around him and ready to explode with the wrong move.
His eyes held mine captive, the silence stretching between us until it became its own form of violence. The absence of the city noise felt like a trap. I was suddenly hyperaware that there was no one around in a one-mile radius.
His eyes bored into mine, unblinking. “All you have to do is admit that you want me,” he finally said, his voice like gravel. “It’ll put me out of my fucking misery.”
My insides twisted into a knot. “How can you ask that of me after what you did to me? You’re lucky I didn’t report you.”
He considered my words for a moment. “You’re right. You should’ve told someone by now.” He cocked his head to one side, curious. “Why haven’t you?”
I scoffed. “Because you wouldn’t have faced any consequences even if I had.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have tried.”
This felt like another trap.
His eyes lit up with triumph. “Little Rose, have you fallen so deeply in love with me that you’re protecting me?”
My composure slipped through my fingers at his mocking tone. The word love sounded bitter to my ears. “Don’t talk to me about love. You’ve no idea what it is.”
“Sounds like you know a lot from personal experience.”
My head jerked up. “I do.”
For a moment, something akin to hope flickered in his eyes.
My stomach dropped. Oh God. If he believed that I loved him, there’d be no stopping him. Any boundaries he still recognized would dissolve completely. I needed to take it back before this turned into something unstoppable.
“I didn’t mean you.” I froze as soon as the words tumbled out. I had revealed too much in my haste to correct his misinterpretation.
Professor Maxwell’s reaction didn’t disappoint. A radiating sense of dread kept me rooted to the spot as he strode forward. I yelped when he lunged for me, seizing my jaw between his fingers.
“What the fuck did you just say?” His gaze hardened into something that made my blood run cold.
That flicker of hope in his eyes turned into something else—a desperate, wounded plea to say it wasn’t true. A ghost of tenderness fluttered in my chest at his gutted expression.
“Who did you mean?” The question was measured and controlled as he tried to rein in his temper, but the muscle twitching in his jaw told me everything I needed to know.
The air between us was tense, as if a pin had been pulled from a grenade and we were waiting for the explosion. I parted my cracked lips and scanned the warehouse for exits.
His fingers dug into my cheeks. “Answer the fucking question.”
Whatever logical man had once inhabited Professor Maxwell’s body was gone, leaving me with an unhinged sociopath. Panic seized my chest, crushing my lungs until each shallow breath became a struggle. The only way out of this was the half-truth because he’d see through my lies.
“N-no one has touched me other than you. I was a virgin. You know that.”
His eyes raked over my face, searchlights seeking the truth. The confession he extracted from my expressions didn’t satisfy him. “Who said anything about touching? We were discussing love. Who did you mean?”
“No one!”
“Who?” he thundered. It was so loud that I was pretty sure a flock of birds flew away at the horrid sound.
I tried to bat his hand away, which only tightened at my resistance. I met his gaze, realizing he wouldn’t let up. Physical pain gave way to exposing the horrid truth. “He was my first love, and I never quite got over it. It was a long time ago.”
His grip tightened until I felt my teeth against the inside of my cheeks. He leaned closer, blue, bottomless eyes pulling me in. “Name.”
I tried to shake my head, which was impossible with his grip on my cheeks. “It doesn’t matter. We don’t even have communication. All that matters is that I can’t get over him,” I told him, realizing the truth was inevitable. “Maybe things would’ve been different had I met you first.”
The air between us turned sharp, metallic, like the moment before lightning strikes. He didn’t move, didn’t blink. The lines around his mouth deepened like I had betrayed him in the worst way possible. I forced myself to look away from it.
I swallowed. “I’m sorry. Please just try to understand. I can’t help what’s in my heart.”
“Then I’ll rip your fucking heart out and feed it to dogs.”
My heart slammed against my rib cage at the threat.
His fingers released my face. “Tell me his name before I lose it.” The words came out soft, precise, each one landing like ice against my skin.
His stance remained tense, body rigid and unmoving. There was a distinct smell in the air, an acrid mix of anger and determination.
I shook my head, not entirely convinced he wouldn't go after his own brother. He was like an animal, driven to eliminate any threats that prevented him from mating with his female.
His face went blank, a mask sliding into place that revealed nothing of the storm raging behind it. “Protecting another man in front of me was a stupid thing to do.”
The edge in his voice made my stomach clench. At this state, reason might have abandoned him completely. I pivoted on my heel, ready to take off.