When he finished, his long fingers interlocked as his palms rested on the surface of his desk and his eyes latched onto hers.
“Let us discuss this dance,” he said. “You’re going.”
A statement. Jane was confused, glancing out his office window before looking back at him. “Yes,” she said, unsure of what else to say.
“With whom?” He sounded so innocent, but Jane knew there was something up his sleeve. There was a reason for this topic.
“Calvin,” she drawled out.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said, leaning back in his chair but keeping his eyes firmly on hers.
Jane waited for him to say something else, but he remained silent. She sighed, rolling her eyes as she said, “Why not?”
“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” he said. “This is very serious. You’ve agreed to go to the dance with a boy that aggravates you to the point where you will move an object with your mind without knowing you are doing so. Such an uncontrollable action could harm someone else or you, and you want to go to the dance with him?”
“It’s not like a date or anything,” Jane said.
“I do not care whether or not it is a date,” he said, his voice dropping in temperature. “Your dating life is of no concern to me.”
It felt like he had slapped her across the face, but she clenched her jaw together, trying not to show it. “Look,” she said tightly, “he wanted to experience a dance. He’s never been before, and I’m the only person he knows.”
“He can go alone.”
“It’s a social setting,” she said, as though it was completely obvious. “He’d be alone, hanging out at a table, not really experiencing the dance.”
“It’s a bad idea.”
“Is it a bad idea that I go to the dance at all or that I’m going with Calvin?” She could feel the electricity in the air. It was familiar, foreboding.
“Any social situation that frustrates you to the point of lashing out you should not attend until you can control yourself,” he replied, his voice getting crisper with each word out of his mouth. “And considering the lack of control over your emotions, perhaps you should refrain from any social setting, including this nightclub you’re going to tomorrow night.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Jane stood up. “Who do you think you are, my father?”
He leapt up on his feet, leaning over his desk so he could look at her levelly. “The last way I think of myself in relation to you, Miss Cabot, is your father,” he hissed.
Sparks were flying, quite literally. The chair behind her started shaking, but Jane would not relent. She would not break his stare. It was obvious to Jane that he could sense the chair’s movement as well. His eyes softened and he reached his hands out to her face, preparing to calm her down.
“Jane,” he murmured in a low voice.
This was everything she wanted, and yet, the word out of her mouth was a shrill, “No!” She even took a step backward in order to be out of reach from the touch she craved. “I have to do this myself. You’re not always going to be around.”
Even as she said this, she couldn’t calm down. Her emotions were too conflicted, her mind warring with her heart over what she wanted versus what she needed. Her hands started to shake so she closed her eyes tightly, hoping to rid her mind of his face, those eyes.
Everything only stopped when blackness took a hold of her.
Daryl didn’t have time to reach out and catch her as she crumpled to the floor of his office. He didn’t wait another minute before practically leaping over his desk in order to reach her as quickly as possible. He knelt down, picking her up in his arms. He could smell the subtle hint of vanilla, could feel her soft golden tresses tickling his fingers. His heart had jumped into his throat seeing her faint, and he constantly kept his ears open in case she had fainted while not around him. He never worried this much in his entire life about anyone else or himself, for that matter, until her.
“What are you doing to me, Jane?” he murmured.
He knew he shouldn’t speak her first name; it was too familiar, too intimate, but there was something about her, something that made him do things he didn’t normally do.
Like now, for instance. He knew that he should take her to the nurse, or at the very least, to her room. But Daryl was also a quis and he knew the pain Jane would be feeling when she woke up. The best person to take care of her would be him. It was wrong, practically a scandal, but he decided to take her to his room. He would be right there if she woke up in the middle of the night, if she experienced any pain. He’d have hot tea waiting for her.
Luckily for him, it was way past curfew. It wasn’t likely that he would run into any students, and if he did, he would think of some excuse as to why Jane—Miss Cabot—was unconscious in his arms before giving the poor student more detention than he could comprehend at the moment. Will would be called immediately; Daryl wasn’t looking forward to that conversation but knew it was necessary.
Like all RH Directors, he had the entire seventh floor to himself. Unlike Will, he used two of his room as guestrooms and placed Jane in the room directly across from his, in case she needed something in the middle of the night. He tucked her in the blankets, making sure she was tightly wrapped up. Though she never confessed it to him, he noticed that she got cold much more easily than other students.
Against his better judgment, he took a seat next to her on the bed, his midnight-blue eyes going over every contour, every freckle, every line on her face. The moon glow basked her face in light, making her look ethereal, like some kind of angel sent to him to save his poor, damned soul. She had the smallest nose he had ever seen on a person, but somehow, it fit her face. She really was the most beautiful thing he had seen in a long, long time, even when her green eyes squinted and her entire face turned red as she went off on one of her trivial tangents, completely over-emotive and obnoxious, but beautiful, nonetheless.
This was wrong. He was treading dangerous territory, but it was like he couldn’t stay away.
He brushed a strand of hair from her face—a gesture he found himself liking more and more each time he did it—his fingertips lingering on her skin.
“What are you doing to me, Jane?” he repeated. He forced himself to stand, to distance himself from her. He could not let his feelings for the girl get any deeper, had to force them out of his system. In times like these, he might have prayed, but Daryl believed that not even God could help him now.
With that, he walked out of the room. He had a phone call to make.
33
As Sophie sat down for breakfast, Elle headed over to the Aqua table in order to invite Brielle to go dancing tonight and to ask about Jane. Jane hadn’t come back from some special meeting with Depogare last night, which was strange, to say the least. Sophie suggested that maybe she had fainted and he had decided to keep her with him, or maybe she was in the nursing station, but Elle didn’t think so.
Sophie was glad they would be going out tonight. She needed a break, a distraction, from this whole Will thing. She knew she wasn’t supposed to care, especially since she had Jason. But as much as she tried to get rid of him, there he was, underneath her skin as though that was where he belonged all along. It was aggravating, obnoxious, and a little painful. She might not be able to forget her feelings forever, but maybe they’d vanish if the music was too loud to think, if she was surrounded by too many people.
Maybe.
When Elle got back, there was a small frown on her face.
“What’s up?” Sophie asked through her bite of pancake.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and sitting down to her oatmeal. “Brie’s going to meet us there.” A pause. “It’s just …” She turned to regard Sophie with her blue eyes. “It’s just, I’ve been hearing rumors. About Jane and Depogare. Especially over at Aqua’s table.”
Sophie furrowed her brow. “What kind of rumors?” she asked.
“That she went to Depogare
’s rooms last night; that she’s sleeping with him.”
“I know I don’t know Jane as well as you,” Sophie said, “but there’s no way. Jane isn’t that type of person.”
“I know, I know.” She glanced over at the professor’s table before looking back at Sophie. “But when was the last time both Jane and Depogare missed breakfast? I’m not saying Jane slept with him at all, but they must be together. I mean, Jane’s spending all this time with him, and there was this time when he—” She abruptly cut herself off, shaking her head. A tiny smile crept onto her face. “You’re right. This is ridiculous. Jane and Depogare?” She started laughing. “The whole thing is sketchy. Jane is gorgeous. Depogare is … Depogare. If the rumors are true, why would she sleep with him?”
“Wow,” Sophie said with an amused grin. “Harsh much?”
The day went by as normal. Jane met them in Astrology, smelling distinctly of cinnamon. Sophie and Elle said nothing, but Elle did shoot a look at the red head, one Sophie promptly ignored. Jane’s explanation for her disappearance was as Sophie thought; she fainted again and Depogare took her to his room and let her sleep in his spare room. The two tried to get more out of her, but Jane was surprisingly tightlipped, only answering in the affirmative when Elle asked if she was still able to go dancing.
Once dinner was over, they met up with Brielle and headed back to the dorm to get ready. For whatever reason, Elle seemed more nervous than normal.
“She’s supposed to meeting Aiden tonight,” Jane softly murmured to Sophie. “He’s back, remember?”
Sophie nodded, watching Elle smooth the tight ruched skirt of her dress down, despite the fact that there were no visible wrinkles in the material. She had been in front of the closet’s full-length mirror for the past half hour, her eyes going over every single aspect of her outfit. Sophie didn’t know why; Elle already looked flawless. She kept her blonde hair curly, wearing it in a half-up, half-down style and sweeping her bangs—which she straightened—to the left side of her face. She wore dark eyeliner, mascara, and red lipstick. And the dress itself wasn’t a sundress, but one of the few club dresses Elle possessed.
At that minute, Jane sauntered out of the bathroom, leaving it open for Sophie, who had been patiently waiting for it. Jane was wearing a sheer black dress with nude undertones. It was tight and characteristically short.
“Jane?” Elle called.
Jane arched a brow in response from her bed.
“You sure this is okay?” She indicated her dress, softly gnawing on her bottom lip.
Jane exchanged a glance with Sophie and proceeded to stand up and head over to her friend. Elle’s hemline was shorter than Jane’s, reaching just a few inches past Elle’s backside, showing off her incredibly long legs only amplified by the plain black heels Elle planned to slip on after getting to Ultra. The dress itself was deep crimson, clashing beautifully with Elle’s skin. Despite the tightness of the bottom of the dress, the top half was loose and billowy with a round neck and short sleeves. There was even a self-tie in the back.
“Elle,” Jane drawled, “the minute he sees you, he’s going to fall madly in love with you. That’s what you want, right?”
Elle blushed, but said nothing.
Sophie slid into the bathroom and quickly pulled on her own dress, a maroon number with a dangerously plunging neckline. The hem nearly reached her knees while the sleeves reached her elbows. The sleeves were slit down the middle so her arms showed through. She put on light makeup, save for red lipstick, and used a couple of barrettes to pull back certain parts of her hair, but otherwise left it down.
“Are we ready?” Jane asked once Sophie emerged from the bathroom.
Elle was out of the closet, Jane was sitting back on her bed, and Brielle was sitting at the desk. The brunette was wearing a simple sweater dress which reached the middle of her thighs and gold ballet flats. Her hair was pulled from her face and tied in a loose ponytail that hung over her right shoulder. She offered to carry Jane’s bag, and surprisingly enough, Jane agreed.
The four made their way off-campus and headed to the club. After they were all situated—jackets and shoes off, heels on—they walked into the club, Jane checked in her bag, and the four split into pairs. Sophie and Elle went to the bar to get drinks while Jane and Brielle went to grab a table. This time, everyone agreed the drinks should be nonalcoholic so there would be no repeat of last time. Sophie blushed in shame, but agreed wholeheartedly with the decision.
“What’ll you be having?” Liv asked.
Sophie glanced over at Elle, waiting for her to respond. She was looking for someone, Sophie realized. While she wanted nothing more than for Elle to find her Prince Charming, the bartender was giving the two of them an odd look. As such, Sophie decided to nudge her.
Elle blinked and looked back and the bartender. “Sorry, Liv,” she said sheepishly. “Can we get two Cokes, a water, and a strawberry lemonade?”
“You seem to have a lot on your mind,” Liv said, somehow keeping her eyes on her patrons as her hands began to expertly make the drinks. “Everything okay?”
“She’s just thinking about a boy,” Sophie said, jumping in.
“Oooh, do tell!” Liv said in her heavy English accent. She gave Elle a wink.
Elle bit her bottom lip, her face nearly matching her lips. “No one important,” she said. Liv smirked though her eyes were firmly locked on her task at hand. “Just a boy.”
“Aren’t boys always important?” Liv asked, shaking her head. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, away from her face. “Good luck with him, whoever he is.”
Elle nodded and paid for the drinks. Sophie helped carry the drinks back to the table and both Jane and Brielle murmured their thanks. Sophie took her seat, taking a sip of her Coke through the straw. She tried to hide a smile as she saw Elle’s eyes immediately begin to scan the room once again.
“Hey Jane,” Brielle said, leaning in closer to the girl so Jane could hear her. “I didn’t see you in class today. Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah,” Jane said with an easy shrug of her shoulders. “I’m fine. I just got overstimulated during training last night.”
“Jane,” Elle said, though her eyes continued to sweep the crowd. “I want you to know something. A lot of rumors have been swirling about you and Depogare, that you guys have some kind of thing going on.”
“I heard that too,” Brielle put in, a look of surprise on her face. “Except I heard,” here, her face turned pink, “I heard that you two, well, were sleeping together.”
“What?” Jane yelped. “That’s not true at all. Look, I’m just having this problem with training and I see Depogare because of it. You know how anal I am about my grades, especially since Depogare grades so hard.”
As the night went on, the foursome somehow split up. Elle was the first to leave, excusing herself to go to the bathroom, but everyone knew she was going off to find Aiden. Jane was the second; a really cute guy bent down and said something in her ear, causing the blonde’s face not just to blush but to turn entirely red. She left moments later, claiming she’d return in a little while. Brielle was next, after a guy came up to her and asked to dance. He was definitely good looking in a boybander sort of way, but there was something familiar about him. He had short, curly, dark blond hair and red lips. She had seen him before, but where? Sophie pressed her lips together, trying to think.
Probably here at Ultra, she figured.
The guy must have had his eye on Brielle since the last time she was here.
But now, Sophie was all by herself. She looked like a loser. Maybe she should look around for a guy to dance with.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Will was here?
Where had that thought come from? She absently grabbed a stray napkin from her table and started to peel thin strips off it, trying not to think about Will. Even so, his face continued to occupy her thoughts. She wondered where he was right now. Was he still on the island? Or was he in California or m
aybe Washington, where Ethan first found him? Was he himself or was he a wolf? Why hadn’t he told her himself that he was going to leave early? Why had he told Dianna? And why did it bother her so much? She had Jason, who was sweet and ate breakfast with her and told her he liked a girl with a big appetite. She was going to the Halloween dance with him tomorrow night, and she was excited. She was happy.
But there was something about Will that made her … feel, feel more than she ever had before. And she hated it.
34
“Where are we going?” Jane asked as Cillian led her out of the nightclub. His fingers were clamped around her wrist as though he was afraid she was going to pull away from him.
“I want to show you something at my place,” he explained, craning his head over his shoulder so he could look at Jane. He gave her a smile. “Trust me.”
The problem was, she didn’t. She didn’t entirely trust him, but she went with him anyway, breaking all her rules. This was a bad idea. This wouldn’t end well. And yet, she couldn’t stop herself from going. It was otherworldly, as though she was outside of her body watching him lead her away, much like an audience member watching a horror movie and knowing the girl onscreen was about to die. She didn’t think she would die, but a part of her would. Even now, she was numb. She couldn’t feel. Something was occupying her mind and that was all she could focus on. She was in a daze.
It was official. She was in love. With her professor. Which was completely and utterly inappropriate.
It also didn’t help that she woke up this morning in a stranger’s bed with him looking over her, sitting in an uncomfortable chair with a hot cup of tea waiting for her. A good thing too, because the pain in her head suddenly drowned out the surprise at her surroundings.
“Drink,” he commanded her gently, handing her the cup. He didn’t have to tell her twice; she grabbed the tea and took a giant sip, completely forgetting about its temperature. She spit out the hot liquid all over Depogare, who gave her a flat look as he muttered, “Be careful. It’s hot.”
The Stranger Trilogy Box Set Page 22