Page 16 of Releasing Reenie

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

His dark eyes bored into mine. “In the lifestyle, if you’d wronged me, I wouldn’t just accept your apology, forgive and move on. There’d be a punishment in there first. And the punishment is the key part, the part that makes it easy for us to move on. You forgot that.” He turned on his heel and headed down the hall.

I stood for a minute, staring after him, my jaw opening and closing like I was a fish out of water. “Oh get fucked!” I finally yelled. Then I turned on my heel and marched in the opposite direction. The asshole could find his own tour guide.

CHAPTER 10

Maureen

I looked up suddenly, and as if I’d sensed him, Trent was walking into the cafeteria. His smile was instant when he saw me, and guilt washed through me. How could he look so pleased to see me when I’d been so rude? Get fucked? Had I really said that? I’d been angry but he didn’t deserve to be told so thoroughly off. And why did I find the man so infuriating anyway?

But I knew the answer to that even if I didn’t want to admit it. Shoving the thought away, I lowered my head, avoiding his gaze. Would he believe I hadn’t seen him? Scrunching my brow, I speared a piece of teriyaki chicken with my fork and popped it in my mouth. What only a moment ago had been delicious was now as tasteless as sawdust.

With a growl, I rose. Grabbing my tray, I headed for the trash, appetite gone. I had managed to avoid him for the last few weeks by eating salads and sandwiches from the cafe, not going to the Dungeon, and running the property trails in the evenings with Luna just in case he decided to come to my apartment.

“I was hoping you had just started,” Trent said, making me jump and knock my fork to the ground with a twang.

How this man moved so ninja-like was beyond me. “Sorry, I’m finished.” I swallowed hard when I finally looked him in the eye. He glanced down at my half-full plate and back.

“Is that all you’re sorry for?” The sparkle in his eye didn’t deter from my sudden irritation.

My jaw tightened, the heat of frustration battled with the warmth of unwanted arousal at the intention behind his words and his handsome, dimpled face. I took a breath, reminding myself that reacting was just playing into his little game. Looking at my watch, I gave him a tight smile.

“Gotta run.” And, plopping the tray on the counter, I walked away. My heart speeding unnaturally and my gut flipping were the only indication he’d had any effect on me and thankfully, I was the only one who knew what they were doing.

I didn’t look back, no matter how hard it was not to, at least not until I was turning the corner out of the room. I was surprised to see he wasn’t watching me. Surprised and… disappointed.What? What the hell did I have to be disappointed about?A little noise of frustration gurgled from my throat and then, bam, I collided with someone.

“Oh! Damn.”

“Sorry!” I looked up and saw Luna. She reached out, grabbing my shoulders to steady me.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?”

In my panties.

“Luna, sorry.” I glanced at her bag on the floor and stooped to pick it up along with the lip balm that had rolled from it. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

Luna’s eyebrow rose in a perfectly sculpted arch. “We really need to talk. Running has been great but it’s not conduciveto conversation—not the way you run, like there’s a wildfire chasing you.”

I waved a hand. “We will, but I need to go.” I made the mistake of looking back at Trent who was now sitting with Dalton Rogers, another university professor. A few students surrounded them, and I was reminded of what a popular man Trent had been at Columbia. The draw he’d had. Was that what made me want him?

“Maureen?”

Luna’s voice pulled me out of my head and I blinked at her. “Yes, okay. We’ll talk. Next week…” I paused, thinking of my taxing schedule or maybe just the dread of talking about my issue. “Maybe the week after would be better. I’ll text you.”

“Let’s pick a day now. We’ll go into town. Away from the Ranch.”

I gathered a breath, both annoyed and relieved at Luna’s insightfulness. “You’re not going to let up, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Fine. I’ll text you tonight with an actual date.” I didn’t bother saying anything else, just headed for my office where I knew I wouldn’t run into anyone.

The next few days were busy, but uneventful. I’d once again taken to eating lunch from the cafe in my office to avoid…people.

A knock on the door came as I was grading essays. I stretched, looked up from my laptop screen to the clock on the wall. It was after five. I’d been so absorbed in them that I’d barely noticed time passing. I’d been at it for three hours already.

“Come in,” I mumbled through a yawn, deciding I needed a coffee to get through the rest.

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