Page 73 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast
By now, I’d reached the double doors leading into the room she was working in. Even though I was angry about her abrupt departure, my desire for her was still evident. My cock strained at my pants, turned on by the sound of her raspy voice.
She bit her lip, concentrating on the work in front of her. I fought the need to suck her lip into my mouth and coax the moans I heard from her last night. To lean her up against the nearest surface and take her from behind.
I shifted in the doorway, accidentally bumping a crutch against the open door. Her head whipped up, her face growing pale.
“Lily.”
“Uh, hi, Jaxon. Good morning.” She ducked her head back down. Her dismissal hurt until I noticed her hands trembling.
“So that’s how we’re going about this?” A hard edge laced my voice.
She flinched. “Um, there’s not much to say.”
Lily had me where she wanted. There was no sense in beating around the bush. “What do you want?”
Her gaze rose to meet mine, a look of horror slowly replacing the confusion on her face.
She must not have thought I’d have figured out her end game this quickly. Her silence reinforced my thoughts that she’d been using me. That last night meant nothing to her. Realizing I was right sent a shaft of pain through my chest. “Money, prestige, or something else?”
“You think I slept with you to gain something?” She shuddered, her hand raised to rub over her heart.
“You’re just like the rest of them. Everybody is looking to see what they can gain.”
She nodded sadly. “Many people are. I’m sorry you think you need to lump me in with them.”
I blinked. I’d expected an insincere apology or a blatant request for what she wanted, but not this. Not understanding.
She dropped her hands to the table and sighed. “Jaxon, this isn’t about you. While I know this might be hard to believe, it’s about me and what our involvement might do tomycareer.”
“You mean doforyour career?” I couldn’t let it go. I only needed to wear her down until she admitted the truth.
She let out a frustrated huff. “No. I left because I realized it couldn’t happen again. If I stayed, it would be harder to resist you.”
“So you’re going with the ‘I forced you’ route.” I pressed my lips together in a hard line.
Lily skirted around the table, placing the book she’d been holding on the flat surface, and headed toward me. When she stopped, she stood close enough I could smell the sweet rose scent of her shampoo. She reached out and laid her palm on my cheek. “No, you asked me plenty of times if I wanted to stop. Each time I chose no, and I meant it.”
“Then what the hell happened, Lily?” My words rumbled in my chest. I struggled to keep my temper in check. “I thought I was clear when I said this wasn’t a one-night stand.”
“You were.” She winced. At least she had the decency to be honest about our conversation last night. “But it’s not like we’re promising each other a lifetime.”
A shiver of panic worked its way down my spine. I was ready to see where things went with us, but talking about forever had me freezing up.
Her thumb rubbed against my stubble, and with each pass I wanted to turn my head to nuzzle into her hand. My body and mind battled. I didn’t know if I was looking for a forever thing right now, but I also wasn’t trying to string her along.
She dropped her hand away from my face. “Jaxon, if anyone found out about what happened between us, I could loseeverything. My education is tied to me being here. They could question my ethics as a professional. I might still graduate, but who would hire me thinking I would seduce the men I worked for? People would think I slept my way into getting jobs.”
“You didn’t seduce me.”
A tiny frown appeared. “The world is a cruel place for women. If enough people spin the truth like that, it becomes fact, not fiction. And if people use that as a reason not to hire me, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my dad.”
I held her hand within mine, cursing the stupid crutches for not allowing me to grab both of her hands. My heart pounded loud in my chest. I was far from my comfort zone right now. Yet, there was something about Lily that made me want to take a chance.
Realizing I’d done it again, I prepared myself for another apology. “I jumped to conclusions earlier. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” Her sweet smile beckoned me to kiss her lips. I held back, knowing we needed to have this conversation first.
“We have two options then.” I started. “Wait until the end of next semester and remain friends or we move forward with thenewstatus of our relationship, continuing to see each other but we keep it a secret until after you graduate.”
