AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Judging by her tone, she wouldn’t give the offer a second of consideration and it made his heart soar.
Even though Liam had gone, Kenna lingered.
Her arms were wrapped around her body as if shielding herself from the biting cold and she stared out into the dark expanse of the campus. The blue bike was anchored on a nearby rack—but she was in no hurry to retrieve it. Kenna remained on the path, mute and unmoving, studying the sinister landscape of the university under the ominous lens of the starless night.
Dayton couldn’t let her stand there a second longer, angelic and abandoned in the moonlight.
Kenna fixated on Markham Hall, which appeared less stately under the shadowy veil of nightfall. A couple of lights illuminated windows throughout the building.
None on the third floor.
This eased her worry for all of five seconds, but an unrelenting doubt persisted. She didn’t know what kind of company Liam kept, and perhaps someone in his social circle—or an enemy—was responsible for the car, the film. But the day he asked her on this date blared in her mind like a siren.
It was the day in the library, the day Dr. Merino had been there. As she considered this, Kenna reflected on their Valentine’s Day conversation, when she had volunteered information about the date. The reexamination gutted her, leaving her insides hollow.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s dangerous to go somewhere alone at night?”
Speak of the devil.
A cocoon of chills coiled around Kenna’s spine at his menacing intonation of the comment. She spun around to face Dr. Merino. “What are you doing here?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets, emitting a throaty laugh. The low, manufactured rumble was terrifying.
“Why do you always question my whereabouts? This campus is mine as much as it is yours.”
“For the record, I wasn’t alone until a few minutes ago.” A tightness settled over Kenna’s features as her guard went up. Like a unified mental front would protect her in this situation. “Why are you here?”
“Oh right, your date.”
The condescending overtone of the remark implied that he had notforgotten. Not for a second.
“If you must know, I was working late.”
Kenna glanced around them, revealing not a soul in sight. He could’ve thrown her in the trunk of his station wagon and no one would bear witness.
An intense shiver radiated from her core but she regained enough strength to offer a jab. “Funny, I didn’t think you had enough work to keep you here this late.”
“Are you freezing or are you just happy to see me?”
The tip of his statuesque nose was pink, implying he had been outside for a prolonged period of time and it led her to believe his presence outside of the theater wasn’t entirely coincidental.
He ventured closer. Kenna fought the urge to create more distance. She couldn’t come off as outwardly frightened by him. He was undeserving of that satisfaction.
She had to forge bravery.
“You’re the one with the doctorate, why don’t you figure it out?”
Dr. Merino bent down, his cracked lips brushing against her hair. The moment that passed before he spoke seemed like an eternity. Fear had her in its chokehold and the suffocation was real, not a figment of her imagination, and her blood ran cold as he hovered in her personal space.
His breath blazed across her cheek.
“Good evening, Miss O’Callaghan.”
13
MEDICINAL
Kenna had stoked a ferocious fire within him—one which required herculean might to contain until he returned home.
