Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“My grades…?”
“Your grades. They’ve been slipping for a while. Slow but steady. It’s not because you’re not smart enough, so there’s something else. Tell me what that is.”
She’s got a whole vintage thing going on. Like a cross between fifties diva and cute girl next door. She could have a boyfriend, but I don’t think so. And if she does it’s over now.
“Is Cyn right?” she asks suddenly, azure-blue eyes narrowing at me from behind those gorgeous round glasses.
“Cynthia doesn’t need a personal approach,” I tell her, keeping my eyes fixed on hers, keeping her on edge. “I want to see her succeed, but hand holding will only drag her down.”
“She’s smart, I know that. But is she right?” she insists, not backing down.
“Is she right about what?”
“Are you gay?”
I almost grin. So that’s it. Cyn told her I’m gay, just because I didn’t respond to her advances. I don’t have anything against her, but she should understand that Keryn is different. Keryn is the world and everything in it.
No bullshitting this girl, though, that’s for sure. When she wants to know something, she goes straight for it with no fear.
“Would that bother you?”
She frowns. “I’m not homophobic, Max.”
“I didn’t say you were. There are other reasons it might bother you. Would it?”
“I just want to know, that’s all.”
“And if I said I was, what would you do with that information?”
I don’t miss the frustrated little growl. “I…I’d…” She trips over her words, and I can’t help noticing the hard, round twin peaks pressing out on the bodice of her dress, same as they did in the lecture hall.
“Why does it matter so much to you?” I press. “Tell me, Keryn. What are you hoping to get out of this meeting?”
She shakes her head. “Don’t put words in my mouth, Max. You told me to come in here.”
“I did,” I acknowledge, leaning back a little and watching her almost gasp a breath, like I was taking all the air from around her. There’s something else I’d like to be putting in her mouth, but that can wait. “I’m not gay.”
She nods, trying to act like it’s no big deal, but the relief washing over her is palpable. The idea that I might be unobtainable didn’t just upset her, it bothered her. And I understand. From the moment I saw her in that lecture hall, from the moment our eyes met, I knew there was some connection, something deep, something primal.
Soul mates. Fate. Whatever you want to call it, but it’s more than that for me. I sense something from her. A kindred spirit. She wants the same things I want, I’m sure of it. But this is complicated, for both of us.
I’ve tried and failed with relationships in the past. I’ve even had sex once or twice, though it’s never been an obsession for me. Not like it is with every second I spend looking at Keryn. I’m a loner by nature. Ex special forces engineer, doing the kind of jobs governments don’t admit exist. And with an attitude problem that got me kicked out in the end. Truth is, I studied for a teaching certificate because I was bored, not because I wanted to teach. I certainly didn’t need the money.
This is the first time I’ve used it, and only now because an old friend of my mother’s got into a car accident.
“So. Your grades.” I purse my lips. “Why are they slipping?”
“It’s personal. I’ll be fine, I just need to find time for study.”
I nod, jumping back into teacher mode, trying to get my errant cock to calm the fuck down. “You need self discipline. I get it. I was the same once.”
She narrows her eyes. “You? No offence, but you seem kind of neat and organized, like everything has to be just so.”
“Now, yes. I found that was what I needed. I had to be tough with myself or my world would fall apart.”
“I don’t think I can do self discipline.”
“Everyone’s different,” I tell her. “For me, I needed to take control. But maybe you need someone else to do that for you.”
“I think that would be better.” She meets my eyes, and I don’t think it’s even conscious when she chews on her bottom lip. “I’m good at following commands.”
The way she fixes her eyes on me, it’s my turn to feel the discomfort. I shift in my seat but it’s no good, my hard-on is raging now and I can feel it dripping with need. Good at following commands? She has no idea what she’s saying, but still, that’s no coincidence.
I’ve tried the upscale clubs. I’ve tried the underground communities. None of them quite catered for what I needed, and now I know why. None of them had her. She’s so perfect and she doesn’t even know it.