After a long moment, standing there staring down at her, hoping she’ll back down so that I won’t have to deal with her, with the distraction of her lemon-scented hair or her warm brown eyes.
When she doesn’t, I say, “Fine. If you’re so fucking determined to work with me, you’ve got it.”
“Good.”
“But not here. Not now.”
“Why not?” Her gaze narrows just a little.
Why not?
Why not, indeed.
Not now, because I’m too unsettled. Because my pulse is racing, and my senses are filled with her. Because just standing this close to her makes me want things I shouldn’t.
It makes me want to know what her breasts feel like in my palms and if her skin feels as incredible as it looks. What she tastes like. What it would feel like to be buried deep inside of her.
I shouldn’t want those things because I can’t have those things.
I made peace with who I am and what I can and cannot have a long time ago.
But I’m sure as hell not about to say any of that to her.
“Not now, because I have work to do that can’t wait. And this is a clean room. You shouldn’t even be in here.”
“I wouldn’t be in here if you’d kept my original appointment. The appointmentyoumade.”
I don’t have anything to say to that, so I just shut my mouth and stand there glaring down at her.
Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to need a response from me.
“The next time you make an appointment, be ready to meet with me. Stop wasting my time.”
“Fine. The next time we schedule an appointment, it won’t be in my lab. Don’t you ever come into my clean room again.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem. Because the next time we have an appointment, you can come to me.”
She spins on her heel and marches to the door.
“If you think I’m walking all the way across campus to meet in your office, you’re delusional.”
She turns and props her hands on her hips. “I don’t expect you to walk all the way across campus. I assume you have a handicap license. You can drive across campus and park near my building. I have exactly one assigned parking spot and it’s two miles from here. Either you can come to me or we can meet somewhere off campus. Because I’m not walking this long distance again just to have you blow off our appointment.”
Before I can respond, she’s gone.
Thank God.
It hadn’t occurred to me that she might have to walk from a parking space two miles away.
I feel like an ass, which is stupid. I never care whether or not I inconvenience other people. I make a point of that.
Because if I’m going to feel like an ass, it should be because I yelled at her. Intimidated her. Or because I stood her up for our appointment. Thankfully, I’m used to feeling like an ass. It’s pretty much my thing.
Chapter 6
Holly
I’m forty-seven minutes into an hour-long lecture about Heidi Klum’s evolving media presence when the door at the back of the lecture hall opens.
