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After her outburst, Zee had sat still as a statue for the rest of the session, glaring daggers at Professor Reid. I didn’t blame her. I could only imagine how she was feeling after the topic of the podcast was announced. The question I’d been mulling over in my head was whether Ezra knew, and if he’d known, why hadn’t he said anything to forewarn her.
Ezra was in deep, deep trouble.
Zee had suffered more loss than anyone our age was supposed to—losing both her mother and brother at once changed her in ways she doesn’t even realize. Then the bullying started, and she’d become harder, more cautious about letting people in. She let anyone use and abuse her body, but all the sex in the world hadn’t made her feel any better.
On top of all that, she was delving into the online world. Sinking into her online persona. Her computer was a shield. Her weapon was Queen. She interacted with people on her terms, dictated the conversations they had and how they spoke. She never let her guard down.
Part of it was necessary. She couldn’t be too careful in her line of work—no one could know anything about her—but it made for a lonely existence.
She was an island personally too. She wouldn’t admit it, but she hid away on her multi-million-dollar yacht, only speaking with a very select group of people and meeting even fewer in person. Ezra had been one of those privileged few, but he never gave her much of a choice either. First Ezra made her dad take him out to the yacht, then I was roped into it whenever he needed to talk. I didn’t push back much because she’d never asked me to. But going forward, it might be a different story.
I’d be beyond annoyed if her circle got smaller because he’d screwed up.
And if it affected my relationship with Zee, he’d have even bigger problems.
I was one of the few people she let her guard down with completely. I didn’t know of a single other person—apart from Ryder and her dad—who’d ever stayed the night on the Noble Steed. But unlike those two, I shared her bed. I got to hold her whenever she was lonely. We’d never done anything more than cuddle—her trust in me was worth more than pushing for any of my fantasies to come true. I’d give the world to kiss her and make love to her. Except our friendship. I would never risk losing her, so my fantasies had remained just that—dreams. Wishes.
Instead, I kept her close. I restricted myself. I forced myself to stay in the friend zone, never touching her the way I wanted to. I’d live with it if it meant keeping her in my life.
She trusted Ryder too, but their relationship was different. Zee always complained that he acted like her big brother, but I saw the truth. She needed him around, and he wanted her as much as I did. Even though Zee and I had one of those touchy-feely friendships, in his mind, I wasn’t a threat. He made a good point—if Zee hadn’t cottoned on yet that I was in love with her, she probably never would.
Zee hadn’t lost it in class, but I could see it coming. She was like a star about to go supernova. She would obliterate everything in her orbit if she did.
But I wasn’t worried about being burned.
I’d gladly walk the fires of hell if it meant keeping her safe.
I just didn’t know whether I could. She’d directed her rage inward, being consumed by it. I could see the flames burning behind her eyes, the cold desires she needed to excise.
I wanted her to scream and shout, to rage against the unfairness of it all. But this would never be about what I wanted myself.
The doors to the building containing Professor Reid’s office creaked closed after us and we silently followed the signs along the red-grey-and-white-carpet-lined corridors to his office.
The professor’s name was etched onto a stainless steel plate mounted on the door. Zee knocked, never hesitating, and “Enter,” sounded from within. I opened the door, holding it for my girl as she strode in, her chin up and her shoulders back. There was no cowering, no timid girl as she owned the room. No, Zee was spoiling for a fight, and she wouldn’t back down from it either. I admired her strength and resilience among so many other parts of her.
The door clicked closed after me, the sound carrying like a gunshot in the silence that enveloped us.
Staring at the two most beautiful people I’d ever seen would make me hard again. This was neither the time nor the place. So I blatantly ignored them, taking in my surroundings. The office was bigger than I’d imagined, with a floor-to-ceiling window behind the professor’s desk overlooking the grassy quad. A gauzy blind pulled part way down shaded him from the midday sun. On the left in front of his desk was a bench seat against the wall, a square table, and six chairs surrounding it. An armchair was perched in the corner, the professor’s satchel and jacket tossed haphazardly on it. On the wall to my right, a whiteboard ran halfway down the length of the office, filled with notes for what looked like a publication schedule. Beyond that, A1 sheets of paper were tacked to the wall with a hand drawn timeline and bubbles of indecipherable scrawl written at different points in time.
The weighted silence was pressing in on me, tension ratcheting up. My gaze finally came to rest on Professor Reid. He sat behind his desk, sexy black-framed glasses perched on his nose. His fingers were steepled in front of his mouth—a mouth that I wanted to taste. He took his glasses off, finally breaking the tension as he stood up and gestured to the table.
“I didn’t catch your names in class.” He held out his hand to shake, and Zee looked down at it with contempt, her chin rising defiantly once more as she kept up her stare down.
I was a terrible friend, but I couldn’t resist the chance to touch him, albeit innocently. My fingers closed around his, and I practically purred. The strength of his warm grip was a dream. My traitorous dick thickened like a cat unfurling and stretching out as it basked in the sunshine.
Squeezing his hand a little, just so I’d know what it was like to have him apply some pressure, I introduced myself. “Flynn Kennedy and Zali Stephens. Thank you for meeting with us.”
“You’re Ezra’s colleagues. Please take a seat.” He gestured again, slipping onto the chair closest to him. I accepted his invitation, sitting kitty-corner and strategically placing myself between him and Zee. Separating them was the most nonconfrontational way of ensuring my beautiful but lethal friend didn’t beat the gorgeous professor to death with her bare hands.
The ghost of his touch lingered, and when Zee crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up her gorgeous breasts, my self-control crumbled to dust. My mouth went as dry as the Sahara too. There was no way she was wearing a bra, given the way her perky nipples were showing straight through the stretchy material.
So much for not getting hard.
I spun, hooking my hands under her butt and spreading her legs so I could nestle my hips between them, rubbing my shaft against her mound. Propping her up on the table, I laid her back, nudging her top up and feasting on her skin as I uncovered her breasts. Lapping at the tight peaks I’d seen but never had the privilege of touching before, I turned her into a quivering mess. When I finally made my way back down her body, pausing to slip off her tiny shorts and whatever scrap of material she called underwear—if she was wearing any—I licked her, tasting her essence and taking her to heaven. After she came on my tongue, I plunged inside her in one long stroke, working her until she came screaming my name, her core tightening around my length.
Then I did the same to the good professor.
Focus, Flynn. Focus.
