There was something so undeniably exhilarating about being this close to him in a room full of people we had to hide from. No one else outside of the four of us knew what was happening behind closed doors. Specifically, closed office doors.
“You look stunning,” he said, his voice low and words to-the-point. “I wish I could stay longer but there’s another event I promised to attend. Lucas and Ronan are still here to keep you company though. I’ll get my time with you later.”
Heat surged in my belly. “I look forward to it, Professor Reed.”
His gaze briefly ignited but all he did was run a hand down my arm, then turn to leave. There wasn’t too much time for me to be alone though. Not when, after some more room-working, I found myself in a quiet corner with Lucas.
We were standing a respectable distance apart from one another, both of us holding a glass in hand.
“Having fun?” I asked him.
He smiled but there was something strained behind it. “As much fun as someone can have at these kinds of events, I suppose.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to avoid me the entire evening” I said, my voice low enough so that only he could hear what I was saying. I noticed as his hand tightened around the stem of his glass.
“I wasn’t… I wasn’t trying to avoid you,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s just that we’re in a room full of faculty members. I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, especially now that we’re really doing this.”
I recalled how, while Ronan and Oren were a bit more playful in their risk-taking when it came to stealing glances and sly touches, Lucas had stayed the most distant. I thought initially that it may have been him still thinking about my proposition but now, looking at how tense he looked, I wondered if it wasn’t something else. A different kind of tension.
I was about to ask him when I felt a hand on my back.
“Forgive me for interrupting.” Ronan’s familiar voice cut through our conversation. Lucas frowned and that only seemed to widen Ronan’s smile. He focused it on me. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, Miss Price, but this building actually has a number of rather fascinating study rooms. Abandoned and dependably soundproof, I might add. I’ve discovered one with a fireplace.”
That was all he said as he led the way, knowing that I would follow.
I took a few steps forward when I noticed that Lucas was hanging back. He looked so unsure of himself, and the tiniest bit pissed off at Ronan’s intrusion. But I took his free hand and rubbed my thumb against the back of it.
Trust me, was the thought I hoped he’d understand from my body language. Whether he understood or not, he let me guide him as I followed Ronan’s path.
22
~
Lucas
It was hard to stay angry when June looked at me that way.
It was like she knew just how to twist me around her little finger and I felt every bit the fool as I let her lead me to whatever Ronan had planned. I wasn’t sure at all if this was something that I even wanted to do.
I’d never entertained the idea of sharing a woman I was interested in. When she’d initially told me, I’d balked. The thought of having to split her attention between me and not just one but two other men inspired an anger in me that I didn’t think was healthy or rational.
But what about any of this had been rational at all?
I’d had sex with my student three times. That was three chances I’d had to be rational and I’d failed every single one. There was nothing rational or healthy about the way I wanted June, and that foolishness was the only reason I could muster to try and understand why I was following her right now.
I was a fool for her.
Her hand squeezed mine and she looked at me over her shoulder, a coy almost shy smile on her lips.
Fuck it, I really was a fool.
We finally reached the room Ronan told us about and judging by the dense, textured walls, he was right about it being soundproof. I closed the door behind us as the last one inside.
Ronan didn’t waste any time, immediately pulling June into an embrace where he buried his face in her neck. She closed her eyes, a soft sound escaping her that ramped up my anxiety. The strongest initial instinct I had to contend with was to tear Ronan from her and punch him right in that smug face of his. But I restrained myself, remembering that I told her I would try.
I was nothing if not a man of my word, especially when it was given to someone I cared about.
June’s green eyes fluttered open and she reached out for me. I moved closer, my movement as staggered and uncertain as my mind. She grabbed onto me and pulled me to her, dragging me down for a kiss.
