I gave her a pointed look, “You know. He touched me, I him, and we kissed some…” I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks, the awkwardness of this conversation getting the best of me. “Oh, I can’t talk about this, Leela!” I cried, burying my face in my hands.
She chuckled beside me, peeling my fingers from my eyes. “Korah, look at me.”
I obliged, but only because I didn’t have much of a choice.
“You did nothing wrong. I promise. Sexual desire is normal, sweetie. And you are a beautiful, sexy young woman and men find you attractive. I know you are scared and from the looks of it, ashamed, but you shouldn’t be. What you did was perfectly human and normal. What’s his name? Have you talked to him since?”
Biting my lip, I timidly finished my story. “I left, Lee. As soon as we were finished he wanted to take our masks off at the same time, and as soon as he turned, I fled. That’s why I was in such a hurry. I knew he would look for me.”
“Oh, Korah,” she sighed. “It’s ok. So you had an interesting night at Halloween. You could have done much worse, so I really wouldn’t worry about it.”
“I feel slutty,” I meekly conceded.
“Don’t.” Leaning in, she enclosed me with her hug, and her love. She left silently shortly after.
Alone with my thoughts, I pulled Elle back out, snuggling up to her once more. “Oh, Elle. How did I get in this situation?” Immersing myself further under the covers, I attempted to sleep, but thoughts of the dark haired Zorro filled my head. My want, need, for him was consuming. It was new, and terrifying. I finally drifted, filled with interchanging dreams of his face and Dane’s.
Chapter Three-Dane
Long red tresses floated around me as she rode. Soft breasts jiggled against my chest. Hot thighs clenched around me, her slick thrusting sending me to a delirium of pleasure. Rolling her nipples between my thumb and forefinger, I suckled and bit. Gripping her hips, I slammed her closer to me, feeling her draw together only to come completely undone. She collapsed atop me, her sweaty body feeling thousands of pounds heavier than it truly was.
This is why I insisted to be in control. Women being on top gave them a sense of authority, a confidence that it was ok with me to cuddle and continue to wrap themselves around me once the release came.
It wasn’t ok.
It suffocated me.
Gently, I rolled her off of me. It was a dick move, but the pressure building on my lungs was too much. I was afraid this time I would literally die. She gave me a hurt filled gaze, so I jumped up, “I have to pee, sorry.” Rushing to the bathroom, I locked myself in for the acceptable amount of time, deciding I would use studying as an excuse. Hell, it was only the first day of classes, but surely some class, somewhere enforced its students to do work the first night. Right?
She still lay there, looking spent and turned on at the same time. Giving me a seductive gaze, she patted the spot beside her with a lazy grin.
Pulling my pants on, I gave her a half-hearted frown, “Sorry, I have some class stuff to do. One of my professors is a real ass and assigned us work tonight.”
“Seriously?” she asked, obviously not accepting my lie.
I nodded, pulling the shirt over my head. “I know, it sucks. This was fun, though,” I said, giving her a wink before jamming my foot into my shoe.
“Maybe we can meet up again?” she hopefully asked.
“Maybe,” I lied. I gathered my belongings, giving her a quick peck before I dashed out the door.
That was a close one.
###
Korah dominated my attention. It was the wee hours of the morning, and the text I sent her was left unanswered. Why didn’t she want to talk to me? Why was this so hard for me? Why did I give a shit?
Bio lab only met once a week…I would only see her roughly twenty times this semester if I didn’t do something to make her talk to me. She seemed to absolutely detest me and for no apparent reason. The conversation from the too short hour long lab replayed in my mind. Did she know who I was? Did she regret our encounter? Was I too obvious?
What in the hell was wrong with me? This girl unglued me. No other had left my feelings so unhinged, my heart so raw and open. Well, not since Cassadee. She had been different, though, the girl I grew up with, the first my heart grew to love. Korah was just a girl I saw in a costume store. Kicking myself, I knew that wasn’t true. She was so much more than that. Seeing her made me feel things I’d long ago buried. I barely knew the chick, having went months with only calling her Angel Eyes, but she stirred my cold, broken heart for the first time in years.
I didn’t like it one bit.
I had to stop it.
But how?
###
Cale plunged onto the couch beside me, throwing me off balance and causing my current car to crash. Cursing him, I punched him in the shoulder before tossing him the second controller. We settled in with a new game and played for probably hours. I only had classes three days a week, and I managed to schedule work study hours during those days, so that left me four days a week to do nothing. I should probably get a job, now that I thought about it, but eh…I’d worry about that later.
“Classes good?” I questioned Cale before ramming my vehicle into his.
“Yep. Yours?” His eyes didn’t leave the screen.
“Yep.”
We continued on for the rest of the day. Concentrating on the game caused all thoughts of Korah to vanish. For the time being, that was. Breakfast and lunch had long passed us by, leaving our stomachs rumbling with hunger.
“Pizza?” Cale asked, standing to stretch his sore muscles. Sitting in one spot for hours was a lot harder than one would think.
“I’ll go get it,” I offered, dashing to the stairs to grab money and keys. Noticing my phone on the dresser, I checked it quickly to see if I’d missed any calls. I wasn’t expecting Korah to reply and instantly chided myself for leaving it in my room all day.
-Sure, if you think it’ll help us get a better grade. Korah
My heart fluttered and I wanted to reach in and slap it for reacting that way. Inhaling deeply, I typed a quick reply.
-Of course it would, plus I don’t understand what exactly we have to do next week and don’t want to put all the weight on you. Can you meet tonight? D
It was a flat out lie. I knew exactly what I was doing. But if playing dumb and needing her help was what it took, then that’s what I would do. Earning her trust was my ultimate goal, though I had no idea why it was so important to me.
-Sure. Let me eat dinner first. K
-I do, too. Meet me at Andie’s and I’ll buy you dinner. D
I do, too? What did that even mean? I replied before I could assess my actions, but now it was out there and all I could do was wait. Pray she didn’t think I was an ass for sending a weird message and demanding she let me take her to dinner. And since when did Dane Davidson take girls out for dinner?
I was losing my damned mind.
-Uh, ok. I guess. Be there in ten. K
My heart flipped at her reply. Running down and taking the stairs two at a time, I threw a twenty in Cale’s direction. “Change of plans, man. I’ll be back later. Pizza’s on me.”
He watched me dumbfounded and just nodded with a quick wave. Cale wasn’t one to ask too many questions, which I was grateful for, but I knew this would cause him to interrogate me later. It was vital I came up with appropriate answers before I came back to the house.
###
Andie’s was crowded for a Tuesday evening, but I didn’t mind. Maybe Korah wouldn’t be as cold with onlookers. After searching for her inside, I decided to wait outside the door. Leaning against the building, I fought to control the excitement with each car that pulled in.
I was officially stupid.
She finally arrived, looking even more sexy in her winter clothing. Her jacket was tight around her, a red scarf adorning her neck and bringing out her dark features. Her feet were hidden behind knee high boots that some
how looked incredibly hot every time a girl wore them. I didn’t know what it was about shoes, boots for that matter, that turned me on, but those did it. A simple red hat adorned her head. She was gorgeous.
“Hey,” I called, pushing off the wall. “How are you?”
“Cold,” she chuckled, burying her hands deeper in her pockets. “You didn’t have to wait for me out here. It’s almost thirty degrees out.”
“I wanted to. I hate leaving a lady to walk in a restaurant alone,” I winked. What are you doing, Dane? Chill.
She laughed nervously, sending her gaze in any direction but mine. “Shall we? Before we turn into ice cubes?”
Duh. “Of course. Sorry about that. I guess my brain is already frozen.” I jumped ahead, opening the door for her with a flourish. She eyed me curiously before stepping inside. Calm down before she thinks you’re a complete weirdo.
She stepped up to the hostess, telling her how many and stepped back. I wasn’t used to a woman who took the lead, who didn’t wait for me to talk or make the decisions. I wasn’t sure what to do.
“Right this way,” the hostess said a few moments later, leading us to a booth in the back. It was quieter here, to my delight.
Once seated, she pulled a notebook out of her bag and stared at me expectantly.
“You want to study now?” I choked out. “You don’t want to eat first?”
“They’re busy, we can get a few things out of the way before they come for our order. Such as who is doing what and how we’re going to handle deadlines and the such.” Her bossy demeanor was an instant turn on and I squirmed in my seat.
Deciding it was time, I could no longer hide my identity, I interrupted her scribbling. “Korah, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Chapter Four-Korah
Why did I agree to this? Dane sat across from me, watching me with that intense gaze once again, only now he insisted on telling me something. Having no clue what he could possibly have to confess, but the sinking awareness in my gut told me it wasn’t something I would like, I urged him to continue. “What could you perchance have to tell me?”
Nervously twisting his hands on the table, then placing them out of sight, his dark brown pools of emotion locked on me. “Angel eyes,” he whispered.
Everything around me stopped. I felt like I was in slow motion on the silver screen, the camera deliberately zooming in on my face for a reaction. My breathing became ragged, my heart a thousand pound weight on my chest. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, only stared back at him. His gaze didn’t waiver, the depth of his conviction growing with each passing second.
Finally regaining control, I cleared my throat and breathed, “Zorro?” It came out more of a croak, more frog than lady. The watering in my eyes reminding me to blink.
Dane was Zorro.
Zorro was Dane.
My lab partner.
“Yeah,” he sighed, lowering his head only to peer right back at me. He was so damned sexy, but even more so now that I knew who he truly was.
I was in so much trouble.
“How do you know who I am? I didn’t take my mask off,” I questioned.
“I know, you left,” he accused, the hurt thick in his tone. “I saw you at the store, when you bought your costume, and I recognized you.”
“Are you stalking me?” I challenged. His words were sinking deeper in my mind, the questions flowing quicker than I could process.
“No!” he shouted, garnering attraction from nearby tables. “I thought you were so beautiful and I was going to talk to you in the store, but you disappeared. Then I saw you looking so breathtaking at the party…I just couldn’t stop myself. It was fate we ended up lab partners. I had absolutely nothing to do with that and you know it. We’re meant to know one another.”
“And by know one another do you mean we’re meant to have sex?” I hissed. “I wasn’t myself that night. I’m not that girl, ok? I don’t randomly spread my legs for guys in tempting costumes!”
“You thought I was tempting?” he smirked, his cocky attitude spilling all over his posture.
“Oh, come on,” I cried, throwing my arms up in defeat. “I know you, ok? I know what kind of guy you are. You’re the love-em and leave-em type, never sticking to one girl. You know you’re sexy and you use it to your advantage. Don’t play these games with me. Been there, done that, got a t-shirt.”
Wide eyed, he slumped back. “You’re different,” he finally said, his voice low and almost inaudible.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I berated, “I’m sure you’ve never used that line before.”
We sat in silence for a long time. The server didn’t even come over to ask for our orders after walking up on our argument. He finally conceded, throwing his napkin and some cash on the table. He didn’t look at me as he stood, but he lingered as he passed by my side of the booth.
“I know you don’t believe me, but you are. I’ll prove it to you somehow.” And he left.
###
Aimlessly, I walked into the apartment, slamming the door behind me. The revelations of the night weren’t sitting well with me, but instead swarming my brain, leaving a cloud as thick as a quilt wrapped around my head. Throwing my purse and coat on the couch, I headed to the kitchen. I needed chocolate and a lot of it.
I continued my boisterous banging once there, creating a symphony of cabinets opening and closing synced with my foul mood. I never heard Leela come in to watch the show, or her snapping a video to send to Windi. After what seemed link hours of my temper tantrum, I found a chocolate bar. Taking one look at it, I grasped it in my hand and threw it as hard as I could to the floor.
Leela laughed, alerting me of her presence.
Shocked, I backed into the corner of the cabinets, “I didn’t hear you come in, Lee.”
“I know. You were busy slamming everything you could get your hands on. What’s going on?” she quizzed. She didn’t judge, her eyes were calm, amused, as she watched me.
“Remember Zorro?” I sighed. I sunk to the floor in front of the sink, drawing my knees to my chest.
“Of course, you just told me about him a few hours ago,” she chuckled. She stepped into the room, coming to sit beside me.
Resting my head on her shoulder, I inhaled her sweet scent and took comfort in it. Leela would know what to do. How to handle this problem. She always had a good solution. Unlike me, who managed to screw things up without even trying. “He’s my lab partner,” I confessed.
“He’s…your…lab…partner…,” she repeated, each word annunciated slow and I could feel her processing what this meant. “How do you know?”
Somehow, I anticipated this question. “He admitted it. He knew who I was all along. Lee, he’s just like all those other assholes. He goes after every girl coming and going, never sticking with one, never developing feelings for one. I can’t do this again. And now I have a whole semester to fight off his advances because I couldn’t control my hormones for one night!” The panic had set in at this point, and I was seriously considering dropping the course.
“It’s not like you slept with him, Korah,” she said in an attempt of comfort. “He will forget about you and move on. Unless of course you don’t want him to, then I say go get you some,” she giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at me.
“Leela!” I exclaimed, drawing away from her. “I can’t do that. You know how many women he’s probably been with? I would need to bleach him before he could sex me and that would be with a condom! Gah, I shouldn’t have ever touched him. I may have caught something,” I murmured. I glanced at my hands, studying them as the memories flooded me all anew. My breathing became labored as I realized Dane was Zorro, once again. I hadn’t expected to see him again…ever. And now I was stuck. I’d see him once a week, at the least, but probably more. Grades were important to me.
Why did this have to be a required class?!
She softly gripped my hand, bringing it out of my vision. “Look at me, Korah,” she demanded.
I obliged, the tears threatening to spill all over both of us.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, and wanting him isn’t wrong. I know you think you’re stuck, but you’re not. If you really want nothing to do with him, you can make it happen. You’re a woman. A woman he wants. You have all the power. I have to teach you to use it for your own good,” she smiled, and it filled me with her warmth and friendship.
I knew Leela would have the answers.
“Teach me?” My voice quivered, and I unattractively wiped snot from my nose. Thank goodness it was just Leela here. Breaking down was not my thing. And when it did happen, Elle was usually my only witness. Being strong was important to me, and showing weakness was unacceptable. It was a big reason why I didn’t let myself get lost in the lies of these men. They brought out the weak side of me, and I never wanted to be that vulnerable again.
Intoxicating Passion The Box Set Page 5