Page 606 of Rock Me All Night
"Jess."
"Yeah?"
"You still have to read?"
"About an hour's worth, yeah."
"Then you should go." He slides his hands to my hips. "If you're here in one minute, I'm going to throw you on the bed and have my way with you."
"You're not making your case well."
He smiles. "I'm not the future lawyer." He presses his lips to mine. "School's important to you."
Damn, he's right.
"Jess, you have ten seconds."
"Give me an hour." I step into the hallway before I get any ideas about prioritizing him over school.
* * *
I'man hour into my reading when Pete knocks on my door with the announcement that lunch is ready.
It smells amazing downstairs. Red curry paste, ginger, garlic, and shrimp waft into the air. Thai again. I take a seat at the table and pile my plate with a heaping scoop of each of three dishes—spicy chili green beans, red curry shrimp, and basil eggplant.
Two of the dishes are all vegetables.
He ordered what I like.
My heart melts. I'm not used to people taking care of me.
He pours two glasses of ice water and slides into the seat next to mine. His eyes meet mine as he motions to my drink. "Excited about school?"
I nod. "A little scared. It's already hard, all the reading I have to do."
"You'll ace it."
"How do you know?"
"You don't half ass things." He scoops rice onto his plate then tops it with half the curry shrimp. "We have a corporate gig Thursday in Chicago. Gonna miss your first day. It's a last minute thing."
I chew and swallow a slice of eggplant. It tastes of oil, lime, and Thai basil. "Was that part of you making sure everything is taken care of?"
He nods.
"I understand. This kind of thing must happen all that time."
"Yeah. Thought I was used to it but I'm pissed I can't celebrate with you." His gaze goes to his plate then goes back to me. "I'll make it up to you. Do owe you one from yesterday."
There's something I can't place in his expression, a frustration. He shakes his head and it's gone.
That's better. But there's still something off about his posture. A stiffness to his shoulders.
I don't like it. I want him here, with me, now.
"How about, after lunch, you start making it up to me?" I ask.
His lips curl into a smile. "Done."
