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“You don’t have to.”
“Iwantto.”
I nod because I’m too shocked to do anything else. No one has ever offered to open a door for me. Much less act insulted that I might have to do it on my own. He climbs out of the SUV and jogs around the back of the vehicle, opening my door. I smile as he holds out his hand. I take it, noticing the jolt of electricity that passes between us. I really need to pull it together. He’s way out of my league. Heck, he’s just doing this to be nice.
He gives me a small smile and leads the way. There are two lifts, and he goes to the one that requires his thumbprint for the door to open.
“No eye scan?” I tease.
“Only on my front door.”
The elevator rises high into the sky. My ears pop as they adjust, and I feel a bit dizzy. When the doors open, we step out. There’s only one door.
“You own the entire floor?”
“I do.”
He goes to the door. Oh, my goodness. I guess he wasn’t kidding. There’s a small pad next to the door that scans his eyes and beeps. The door swings open.
“After you.”
Am I crazy for going home with someone I don’t know? Sure, he’s a professor at my college, but I don’t know him. I glance up and meet his gaze. I might not know him, but I know he’s not a bad person. He doesn’t have the same malicious look in his eyes that my father does, and he doesn’t look at me like he wants to hurt me. So, I walk into the house.
It's an open-floor concept with a floor to ceiling window with a view of Lake Michigan. The walls are dark, and there are beams on the high ceilings, reminding me of a pub. His furniture is brown leather and I almost expect to find a fur rug in front of the stone-covered fireplace. The decorations on the walls are interesting. Old muskets hang in rows. They must be important. Why else would he display them?
He says, “These were my grandfather’s. Had to fight a cousin for them, but the old man wanted me to have them.”
“Did he like to hunt?”
He looks pained for a moment before snorting. “If it ran, he liked to hunt.”
He motions for me to join him on the couch. I sit next to him, and I think he’s pleased as his arm goes around my shoulder, pulling me close.
“His house was massive. My cousins and I used to spend the summers there. We’d run the grounds until we were worn out. My favorite place was this hidden meadow with a creek that ran through it.” He smiles. “I could spend hours out there. My older cousin liked to spend time in the library. That room used to creep me out, but I never said anything.”
“Why?”
“Why did it creep me out, or why didn’t I say anything?”
“Both.”
He looks at the guns. “The library was dark and foreboding. It smelled like musty books and old people.”
I laugh. “Old people?”
“I guess like baby powder and something else.” He shakes his head. “I could get past all of that, but it was the mounted heads on the wall that really got to me.”
“Heads from the game he killed?”
He nods. “They hung there, trophies to his cruelness. He loved exotic game best, so there were plenty of elephants, lions, and any other beast you can imagine. There were also a few stuffed animals. I think those were the worst. Frozen in time for eternity in min-run.”
I say, “I can see how that could creep a kid out. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“My grandfather was an asshole. He didn’t mellow out until we got older and could knock him on his ass if needed. Had he known that I was scared, he would have used it against me. Hell, my older cousin would have, too.”
I touch his arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I got out of that house and from under the thumb of the family. They were so fucking mad when I became a teacher. Said I could be anything, and that I was wasting my life by being an educator. Never mind that it takes a master’s degree to become a professor and never mind that I paid for it on my own.”
