Page 175 of Wicked Little Secret

His glasses sit obediently on his straight nose, hardly doing anything to disguise his dark and intense eyes, instead adding to his usual severe and authoritarian vibe.

I’m breathless watching him approach. My skin warms, all thoughts vanishing.

I’m back to being a nervous wreck like I’d been years ago when I’d first bumped into him in the corridor of Harper Hall.

He stops before me, his hands deep in his jean pockets. “Miss Oliver, what a coincidence. I was just coming by for some coffee. Is this seat taken?”

I smile without even thinking about it, then shake my head. “It’s all yours.”

“Excellent. A wise woman once said bribing people with caffeinated beverages is quite effective.”

“Well, she tried it on her crim law professor after she spilled his coffee on him. Do you think it worked?”

His eyes gleam staring at me from across the small table. “I’d say it more than worked. I believe he became infatuated with her to the point of turning into a national headline on the news.”

“I wish… I almost wish he hadn’t,” I say, my smile fading. “Because it wasn’t what he deserved.”

“You should know, he doesn’t regret a thing.” Theron leans closer, holding my gaze captive, a lock of his hair curling against his brow. His closeness immediately puts me under his spell, making it impossible to look away. “I regret nothing, Nyssa. Every last thing I did was for you, which will never make it wrong. I would happily do it all over again if it meant getting to be with you even for a minute.”

The emotion I’ve been holding in finally rises up and breaks free. I find myself drawing in a shaky breath, overwhelmed by the man before me.

After everything he’s been through, there’s no bitterness to be found. No judgment or anger.

The only thing to be found is… fondness.

Genuine, sincere adoration that makes me feel unworthy and renders me speechless.

“You can have me for much longer than a minute,” I choke out in a hoarse voice. “You can have me as long as you want me… which, I hope, is a very long time.”

He reaches across the table, his thumb smoothing along the curve of my cheekbone. “Trust me when I say, Nyssa, I want you every day of the rest of my life.”

We talk for hours.

We talk so long, the sun sets and the café closes. Neither of us wants our time to come to an end, so we get creative.

Any surroundings fade to the background as we walk the streets of Castlebury.

I update Theron on what he’s missed since he’s been away. I’m estranged from Aunt Brooklyn after all the lies and deceit she’s put me through and I’ve graduated top of my class from Castlebury’s law school. I’ll be taking the bar soon and then the rest of my future’s wide open.

Theron tells me what the last two years were like for him. He tells me how the police officers of the Castlebury PD treated him and how he grew to like the structure and routine of life behind bars. He explained how he’d received fan mail from all over the country—often from fanaticalwomen who were closely following the nationally covered news story and found him dark and alluring.

“Some proposed marriage,” he says with a scratch to the back of his neck. “One told me I was the third serial killer she had proposed to. She seemed to think the third time would be the charm.”

“Theron, you have a fan club! Just what every sulky, loner law professor wants.”

“Sulky? What do you meansulky?”

“I’m sorry, does that hurt your feelings?” I laugh.

“I amnotsulky. Brooding? Sure. A little short-tempered and condescending at times? Perhaps. But sulky? What am I, a fifteen-year-old girl menstruating?”

“See, there it is! You’re being sulky right now!”

His face darkens as he stops us under the soft glow of a gas lamp and I find myself backed up against the limestone wall of a nearby shop. I’m biting down on the smirk threatening to take hold while he’s glaring into my eyes.

He thumbs my cheek and leans closer, as if about to kiss me. He’s already studying my mouth.

A frisson of excitement racks through me, making me shudder on the spot. It’s little moments like these that I’ve missed. The few seconds leading up to our kiss. The smooth touches and quick banter that get my heart racing and pussy throbbing.

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