Page 17 of Bewitched By the Mountain Man
The building's unlocked. It's always unlocked for grad students with late-night research sessions. I take the stairs, my heart pounding harder with each step.
His door is closed, but I can see light spilling from underneath. I raise my hand to knock, hesitate, then force myself to do it.
"Come in."
His voice, muffled through the door, sends shivers down my spine.
I push the door open.
Lachlan's at his desk, surrounded by papers and books, his laptop glowing in front of him. He looks up, and the moment he sees me, his entire body goes rigid.
"Tessa." He stands abruptly, like I'm a threat he needs to face head-on. "What are you doing here?"
"I…" What am I doing here? "I needed to see you."
"You shouldn't be here."
"I know." I step inside and close the door behind me. The click of the latch holds weight. "But I needed to talk to you. About…"
"No." He cuts me off, moving around the desk but keeping distance between us. "Whatever you're about to say, don't. I told you. We've already crossed too many lines. We can't keep doing this."
"Lachlan…"
"Professor Cain," he corrects sharply. "That's what you need to call me. That's what I am."
Anger flares in my chest. "Fine.Professor Cain."
"This isn't happening." He moves closer, and I spot the conflict warring in his eyes. "It can't happen. You need to understand that."
"I'm not a child." I close more distance between us. "I'm not some naive undergrad who doesn't know what she's getting into. I'm a grad student. I'm twenty-three years old. I'm old enough to make my own choices."
"You don't know what you're saying." But his eyes betray him, darkening with the same hunger I saw in the stairwell and at the club. "I'm supposed to protect you. That's what I do. I protect people. I keep them safe. And being with me, letting this continue, it's not safe."
"I don't care."
"You should care."
"And what about what I want?" I reach up, my hand hovering near his face. "What if what I want is you?"
"You can't want me." But he doesn't move away. "I'm not… I can't give you what you deserve. I'm too fucked up. Too broken."
"From Raven's Creek." I say it softly, watching his reaction. "From the girls you saved. The ones you didn't. You carry it with you. The guilt. The trauma. I get it."
"Stop."
"You watch over people because you couldn't save them all."
"I said stop."
"Make me." The challenge is out before I can stop it.
"What do you want me to do?" He takes a step closer, and suddenly he's towering over me. "To take you right here in my office? To fuck you on my desk where anyone could walk in? Is that what you want?"
"Yes." The word comes out breathless.
"Fuck, Tessa." He's breathing hard now, control fraying. "You have no idea what you do to me."
"Then show me." I reach for him, my hand finally making contact with his chest. I can feel his heart racing under my palm. "Stop telling me all the reasons we can't do this and just…"
