False Assumptions (Players of Marycliff University Book 6)

by Jerica MacMillan

  “Evan!” She was surprised, but a smile tugged at her lips.

  He stepped close to her, glancing around them before giving her a brief kiss. That only made him want more. But he’d wait until they got to that back corner. The librarians here didn’t look kindly on students making out in the library, which he’d discovered first hand a time or two before. And they were Layla’s bosses. Or coworkers. Anyway, he didn’t want to get her in trouble. But he couldn’t stop himself from getting at least that little kiss. Maybe just one more.

  Pushing on his chest, she stepped back. “Evan! I’m at work!”

  He grinned at her shouty whisper. “Come upstairs with me for a few minutes. No one’ll find us there.”

  Her eyes darted around, and she bit her lip, but she nodded, following him to the elevator. They stood casually, and he made sure to keep either Layla’s cart or the book in his hand covering his junk. No one needed to see the bulge in his jeans, and you never knew when someone would walk by.

  While they waited, Layla tried to wipe the smile off her face, but it kept coming back. Good. She was as excited about the naughty interlude that he had planned as he was.

  When the doors opened, a woman stepped off the elevator and nodded at Layla. Layla nodded back, her smile now gone. Evan tugged the cart onto the elevator, and she came with it, her eyes still following the other woman. The doors closed, but she shifted nervously, looking all around.

  When they got to the second floor, she wouldn’t let him lead the cart the direction he wanted. “Evan, I’ve got to put books away. That woman is my supervisor. If she catches us …”

  He stepped around and tugged her hands from their death grip on the cart, pulling her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to mess things up for you here, but I miss you so much. I feel like I barely see you now.”

  Her head moved against his chest, and she pushed up on her toes to give him a kiss. It started out sweet, but when her tongue slid along his lip, he couldn’t control himself. He took over the kiss, trapping her against him and dominating her mouth.

  His brain reasserted itself for a moment, and he broke away. “Come on.”

  This time she followed where he led her cart without protest. He used it to block the front of the aisle that led to his destination, and then pulled her into the back corner, caging her in against the books with his arms. “I just need a few minutes, Layla. That’ll be enough to last me until you get off work tonight.” He was lying. It wouldn’t. Not really. But he didn’t have a choice. Even though he wanted to beg her to leave early, he knew she couldn’t. She needed her job.

  He dipped his head, his lips touching hers softly, but she surged against him, snapping his control again. His arms wrapped around her, holding her where he wanted her, not giving any quarter. Her hands clutched at his shirt, and she clung to him like it was all she could do to stay on her feet while he kissed her. He knew the feeling. He felt it every time she touched him. She made his knees buckle, his muscles lose their ability to hold him up.

  His hips found hers, and she arched against him when he pressed into her. Damn. He wished he didn’t have on clothes. And that she didn’t either. And that they weren’t in the fucking library. His fingers slid under her shirt, needing to feel her skin.

  This girl. He couldn’t get enough of her. Even if he moved her into his room and never let her out, he didn’t think he’d ever tire of her. Of her little sighs and the nonsense that came out of her mouth when she was close to coming. The way she pulled her hair over her shoulder into a fall of black silk. How her eyes lit up when he came to get her.

  Some part of him still couldn’t believe that she’d given him a chance. Was letting him do things for her. She was so fiercely her own person, not letting very many people in. He’d watched her for a long time, especially after she’d rebuffed his first approach last year. She had friends, she got along with people, but she was just as often on her own. No one seemed to know her all that well.

  And now, here he was, with her. Having spent tons of time in her apartment, getting her to spend a week in his and still let him take her places, even though the didn’t have her ankle as an excuse.

  When his hands slid higher under her shirt to the band of her bra, her hands came down to his arms, and she broke the kiss. Her breasts rose and fell with her rapid breathing, which matched his.

  Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “Not here, Evan.”

  He made a low sound in his throat. Even though she was right and he knew it, he didn’t like being stopped. He didn’t like not getting his way. And his way would be to rip all her clothes off and slam himself inside her. But this was the library. He knew of people who’d had sex back here, but he wasn’t one of them, and he wasn’t going to start now. No matter how much part of him—specifically the part of him that made his zipper seem like an instrument of torture instead of a device for closing pants—wanted to. She was at work. He needed to remember that. If for no other reason than that he wouldn’t jeopardize the job of the woman he l—

  Her lips against his neck derailed his thoughts. “Layla.” He groaned. “If you want me to stop, you have to stop too.”

  Her tongue swiped at his collarbone, and she pulled back with a smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes.

  “You are such a tease.”

  She laughed. “I’ll make good on all my promises after work.”

  Blood surged south again, making his dick twitch. “Promise?”

  “Promise.” She pressed a kiss to his jaw.

  “Does that mean you’ll stay the night?”

  She trailed her hands down his chest, a satisfied smile on her face. “We’ll see. Unless you want to stay at my place.”

  He kissed her hard. “I’m good with that. I’ll go get my things and come back to get you when the library closes. If I stay here, I don’t think I’ll let you get back to work.”

  Instead of letting her respond, he kissed her one last time, making this one softer and last a little longer, his tongue finding hers and stroking it slowly. Then he pulled back, turned around, and walked away, throwing a glance over his shoulder.

  She stood leaning against the bookshelves, her fingers touching her swollen lips, watching him walk away. With a grin, he headed for the car, his night looking up.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Hey, man. Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

  Sitting in the library again a week after he’d dragged Layla upstairs, Evan looked up from his laptop to see Romero standing across the table. Evan stood and held out a hand. “Hey, man. Slumming it in the library, huh?”

  Romero laughed, clasping Evan’s hand briefly. “Something like that. Needed some references for a paper. You?” Romero leaned against the table as Evan sat back down.

  “Yeah. Working on a paper, too. Needed a change of scenery from the tiny desk in my room, y’know?” It helped that the scenery in the library included Layla, since she was working tonight. His eyes flicked toward the circulation desk, where she stood sorting books again.

  Romero followed his gaze, a grin breaking out on his face. “Yeah, man. There’s some nice scenery here.”

  “Shut up, man.” Evan’s smile turned into a scowl. He didn’t need his former teammate scamming on his girl.

  Romero chuckled. “Yeah, okay. I see how it is.” His eyes didn’t leave Layla, though, who was now pushing her cart full of books across the library into the shelves not far from Evan’s table. He itched to get up and go “help” her, but didn’t want to be an ass to his friend.

  But Romero could read him well enough to know he wanted to go after her, and his grin didn’t dim at all as he sat back in his chair, glancing between Evan and the row of shelves where Layla had disappeared. Shaking his head, he ran his hands through his hair. “So that’s why you haven’t been at any parties lately, huh?”

  Evan’s brows rose. He hadn’t actually noticed he’d given up parties since he’d started spending time with Layla. It hadn’
t been a conscious decision. He’d been focused on her and spending time with her. They had enough fun together, both in and out of the bedroom, that he didn’t feel the lack. “I guess you could say that.”

  Romero nodded, the picture of understanding. Evan waited for him to give him shit, but he just stood and said, “Alright. I was going to invite you to a party tonight over at Thompkin’s place, but I can see you have better things to do.” His eyebrows bounced suggestively. “Have fun.”

  Chuckling, Evan raised his hand. “Thanks, man. You too.”

  He waited until Romero had turned the corner before getting up to find Layla. She wasn’t as far away as he’d expected, a couple of rows over and halfway down.

  Looking up at his approach, she had her lower lip caught between her teeth and her brows furrowed.

  He pulled her in for a kiss, and she relaxed a little, but not as much as normal. Pulling back, he looked her over. “What’s wrong? Confused about the shelving?” He nodded to where her hand rested on the spine of a book.

  “Why? You planning on offering another tutoring session?”

  He grinned as he remembered their first exchange in the library. How different things were now. “Mmm. No. You don’t need that kind of tutoring anymore. However, I’m happy to offer my services for general relaxation purposes.”

  She practically purred as she settled her head against his chest. “You are very good at relaxing me.”

  “I know. And you love it.” He moved her back enough that he could look down at her. “But seriously, what’s with the face? What’s wrong?”

  She stepped away and pulled a book from the cart, giving him her profile as she placed it on the shelf. “I overheard your friend inviting you to a party. Have you really not been going because of me?”

  When her eyes met his, her gaze was troubled. He hesitated, and she took that as confirmation, nodding and dropping her gaze to the cart again. “You should go.”

  “What?”

  “To the party. You should go. Hang out with your friends.”

  He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, evidently having picked that up from spending so much time with her. “Layla.”

  She didn’t look at him, just moved the cart a foot down and put another book away.

  Following her progress, he hated how he chased after her like a lost puppy. “Stop shelving the damn books, and look at me.”

  That got her attention. She stopped and turned to face him. In two steps, he had her trapped against the books, her face cradled in his hands. He kissed her. He hadn’t planned to, but with her at his mercy like this, he couldn’t help himself. But he pulled back before he got carried away. She was at work, and they were in the middle of the first floor of the library, not in the back corner upstairs. Anyone could walk in on them.

  “It’s true that I haven’t been going to parties because I’ve been spending time with you. But it’s not like it’s a sacrifice. I haven’t even thought about going to a party. I want to hang out with you, even if it’s just doing homework or having dinner or watching a movie on my laptop. I’d much rather do that than go to a stupid party and watch a bunch of people drink, get high, and feel each other up in front of everyone.”

  Her eyes widened, and she searched his face. “Really?”

  He nodded, and the worried, guarded look left her face. Thank fuck. In the beginning he’d had to work hard to convince her of anything. Now all it took was a kiss and some focus and she believed him the first time. He liked this stage of things much better.

  Letting her go, she resumed shelving books, and he pushed the cart for her, handing her the next book she needed when she needed it. She chewed on her lip some more, and he knew she was thinking, but waited for her to share it with him.

  After moving to the next row of shelves, she pushed a book into place, then stopped and looked at him, her hand lingering on the books. “I still think you should go.”

  He blinked. “What?”

  “To the party. Tonight. I’ll be working until eleven, and I have a paper I need to write this weekend. If you go to the party tonight, I can work on my paper after work, which will give us more time together this weekend.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but she closed the distance between them and put her hand over his mouth. Without thinking, he sucked one of her fingers into his mouth. She tasted like dust and paper.

  Her lips parted on a gasp, and her eyes dilated. With a little giggle, she pulled her hand away.

  He grinned, completely unrepentant. Circling her waist with his hands, he pulled her in close. “What’s this about? Why do you care if I go to some party or not?”

  Snuggling into his chest, her voice was muffled, but he still made out what she said. “I don’t want to come between you and your friends. You’ve already turned your life upside down just to drive me to and from school. I’m working. There’s no reason for you not to go. You like parties. You should go.”

  He drew in a breath, still halfway wanting to protest, but what she said made sense. And now that he’d had some time to think about it, it would be fun to see the guys. Romero was right that it had been a while. It’d always annoyed him when guys dropped their friends the second they got a girlfriend. And now he’d become one of them.

  Sighing, he squeezed her against him. “Okay. I’ll go. But I can’t promise that I won’t try to see you after you’re done working.”

  She had a smile on her face when she looked up at him. “I wouldn’t expect any different from you. But just so you know, if you drunk text me at two thirty in the morning, I can’t promise I’ll answer.”

  A chuckle escaped him at her narrowed eyes and saucy tone. “I can live with that.” He didn’t plan on having more than a few drinks and hanging with the guys anyway. By midnight, everyone was usually too drunk to be any fun if you weren’t as drunk as they were. Or banging someone in a back room. And since he had Layla, he had no desire to do that.

  She squeezed him and pressed a kiss to his mouth. Not letting her get away, he deepened it, holding her against him, wanting to get his fill since he wouldn’t get as much time with her tonight.

  When he let her go, her lips were pink and swollen, and he was grinning. He stole one last kiss. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  When he turned, she smacked his ass, and when he looked back at her, her naughty grin almost made him stay and wait for her after all. But she gave him a little wave. “Have fun.” And then she pushed her cart away before he could even respond.

  Laughing to himself, he pulled out his phone to text Romero and get the address for the party. He gathered his things and headed out, looking forward to seeing some friends and ending the night in Layla’s bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Layla’s phone chirped. She’d turned the volume on just in case Evan actually called before she went to bed. She didn’t want to miss his call by having her phone on vibrate and not hearing it when she went to get a snack or something.

  There he is, just like I expected. But when she picked up her phone, Alyssa’s name and number flashed on the screen. Weird. It was almost midnight. Alyssa didn’t usually call this late.

  “Hey, Lyss. What’s up? Is everything okay?”

  Alyssa let out a heavy sigh. “Hey, Layla. Not really. What are you doing?”

  “Um, working on a paper for Monday.”

  It sounded like Alyssa cursed, which was strange too. She didn’t normally curse unless she was really angry. Why would Layla writing a paper on a Friday night make Alyssa that mad? Sure, it was kind of lame, but if that’s what she wanted to do, wasn’t that her business?

  Another sigh carried over the phone. “Pull up Facebook.”

  Layla frowned, but did what Alyssa said. “Okay. It’s up.”

  Seconds later, a message notification dinged and a chat window popped up on the bottom of the screen. The message was from Alyssa with a link to another Facebook post.

  Layla chuckle
d. “Why are you messaging me on Facebook when we’re on the phone?”

  But Alyssa didn’t laugh along with her. “Just open the link, Layla. You need to see this for yourself.”

  Frowning again, Layla clicked the link. It took her to a picture of a party. Three girls were in three quarter profile with their backs to the camera and were holding their shirts up. Two other girls with their boobs almost spilling out of their tiny triangle bikinis bracketed two guys who had red plastic cups in their hands. One of them was the guy she’d seen talking to Evan tonight. Her breath froze in her chest when she focused on the other guy.

  It was Evan.

  “Motherfucking motherfucker. I knew it. I knew this would happen all along. Why did I let myself think otherwise? That charming fucking smile makes my brain turn to mush.”

  Layla threw her car into park and grabbed the printout of the picture of Evan and his friend with a group of topless girls off the passenger seat. She slammed her car door and stomped up the stairs to his apartment, but she didn’t get the satisfaction of banging on his door. He opened it before she got a chance, his smile of greeting melting into concern.

  She wrapped her anger around her like a shield. She couldn’t let that smile get to her.

  After she’d seen the picture on Facebook last night, Alyssa had said, “I’m so sorry.” Layla had hung up after that, too numb to try to have a conversation. She couldn’t even process what she’d seen, so she’d gotten a drink of water and finished her paper. She’d been nearly done when Alyssa had called.

  With that distraction out of the way, she’d clicked back over to the picture, staring at it for long minutes, studying it, trying to figure out a way for it not to mean what it meant. She couldn’t.

  At first she’d blamed herself. She’d cried. She’d told him to go to the party. What did she think would happen? He flirted with everyone. Maybe not in front of her, but without her there, what would stop him? She’d overheard his conversation in the library with his friend. Not once had he said she was his girlfriend or that they were together. Nothing. He’d let the guy talk about her like she was just another piece of ass. A diversion.