Undeniable Attractions: The Too Bad Series Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Emma Vikes

  Susan had stood up and was headed to the book section of the library. I’d recognized this as my chance to accost her and find the answer to my question of whether she was capable of holding down our secret.

  Knowing the library better than she did, I knew exactly where she was going to find the text on the shelves. I’d jetted off from my seat and went to wait for her at the end of the shelf were she’d get the text she was looking for. I saw her walk into the aisle, her concentration fully on the books in front of her.

  My head remained lowered as I began to approach her slowly. Finally, I reached her just as I noticed a smile spreading across her lips. I’d intended to walk in behind her and engage her subtly, but in a moment of blind jealousy, I’d reached out and spun her around. I was certain the smile was as a result of the boy she’d been sitting with and I couldn’t hold myself back.

  When I’d spun her, however, the look in her eyes had me melting.

  “What the hell,” she whispered, completely alarmed.

  “You’ve been avoiding me haven’t you?” I queried.

  “Are you nuts?” she blasted back, her voice barely above a whisper. “Of course I’ve been avoiding you. Isn’t that what you wanted?” she finished.

  “So I take it you are going to keep what happened between us to yourself?” I probed on while staring into her eyes.

  “Of course I’m not going to tell anyone, Howard. I cannot do that to you. I was simply angry when I threatened you the other day,” she finally said.

  I’d managed to engage her civilly up until I’d asked her who the boy was to her. I’d anticipated her reaction in the moment of silence before I’d asked the question. I’d also calculated that moment as the perfect time to plant a kiss on her lips. If the answer she’d given me happened to be a lie, the kiss would both reveal the truth and keep her in check.

  What I hadn’t calculated on was getting drawn into the kiss as well, so much so that I was ready to have her again right there in between the library shelves, not minding the consequences of someone catching us.

  Only her hand reaching for the bulge in my trousers brought me back to my senses. I’d come here to clear up my mess and almost stumbled into something worse than what I was trying to clean up. More importantly, I realized I was in deep trouble with Susan. As I watched her walk away, I knew she was in love with me. Worse still, I understood that this was no longer just a physical attraction on my part, I’d fallen head over heels for her as well.

  I was in love with Susan.

  The realization caused me to pause at my office door, my key inserted into the keyhole with my other hand holding the door knob.

  I had no idea how long I’d remained that way until the voice of the dean behind me stunned me back to reality.

  “Professor Jones?”

  I spun on my heels to face her.

  “Dean Betty!”

  “Are you alright?” she asked.

  “Oh yes, I’m fine.”

  “Ok!” she exclaimed, stretching the word as a result of her confusion at finding me standing absentmindedly in front of my door. “Well the departmental meeting is at 1 pm. I’m on my way there. You coming?” she inquired.

  “I’m right behind you ma’am,” I responded, forcing a smile. In the whole Susan conundrum, I had totally forgotten about the departmental meeting.

  “Ok then,” the dean said as she made to walk away. She turned back after taking a step and faced me again.

  “Are you busy tonight by any chance, Howard?”

  I noticed the shiver in her voice. More importantly, I noticed that she had switched from referring to me as ‘Professor Jones’ to simply ‘Howard’. Whatever reason she was asking about my plans tonight wasn’t official.

  “Actually, I’m not doing anything tonight,” I responded, already anticipating where this was going.

  “Well my ex came to town and decided to take my daughter out to dinner,” the dean said before pausing briefly. “We were supposed to go to see the new Spiderman movie tonight. Now I’ve got two tickets and no one to go with.” She paused again trying to form the words in her mouth before proceeding.

  I saw the stress she was going through and decided to put her out of her misery.

  “Yes, Dean Betty. I won’t mind accompanying you to the cinema.”

  “Really? You sure it’s not a bother?”

  “Not at all dean. I could do with the entertainment.”

  “Ok then. The movie is at 10 pm. So, we could meet out front at say 9:30?”

  “Perfect!” I exclaimed briefly.

  “Alright then. It’s a date.” The dean chuckled nervously. “Oh and please call me Betty,” she concluded.

  “Alright, Betty. See you at 9:30,” I said as I flashed my most charming smile.

  I watched her turn and walk away in the direction of the meeting. I’d agreed to the date tonight for two reasons. One was because the dean was a beautiful divorcee who had been trying to make her move on me for a while now, after a long hiatus from the dating scene. I’d be damned if I messed with her confidence. Two was to get my mind off of Susan. Coming to the realization that I loved her was no small pill to swallow. I needed the time off and the distraction of tonight before I decided what I was going to do about her, seeing as I couldn’t very well continue to ignore her or push her away.

  I turned and opened my door. I had a departmental meeting to get to and I needed to get my iPad from my desk.

  I’d think about Susan and the dilemma I was in later.

  Chapter 12

  Susan

  DAVID PICKED ME UP and took me to the cinema. It was almost 9:45 pm and we were there to watch a movie.

  After the tutoring session earlier in the day, David had asked me what my plans were tonight. I’d confessed to not having any and he suggested we go watch a late movie at the cinema.

  I’d agreed for two reasons. One: I hadn’t been about town since I got to Florida. Settling into school and moving accommodation had taken up almost every minute of spare time I had until now. Two: I needed to distract myself from my encounter with Howard at the library.

  He’d waylaid me at the shelves, hadn’t given me a chance to escape and forced me to come to terms with a new realization that I hadn’t considered yet. And when he’d kissed me, my fate had been sealed.

  I was in love with Howard.

  I wasn’t sure how it had happened but it had happened somehow. The kiss had been unexpected. Even more unexpected had been my immediate response, clawing at Howard and ready for him to take me right there between the shelves, regardless of the consequences of being found out.

  He’d eventually snapped out of the trance and stopped us both before we did something that couldn’t be undone. But as I walked away from him, I knew I was hooked forever.

  Another realization had made an appearance as well.

  Howard was crazy about me.

  I hadn’t believed him when he’d said so in his office, but having him follow me around and eavesdrop on my study session with David, I knew his confession was for real.

  ‘So he’s been watching me?’ The thought had continued to plague me even after I returned to David. It had been a struggle to stay focused on what David was trying to teach me for the remainder of the session. Eventually, he’d conceded defeat, citing the fact that I had most likely reached my saturation point. We’d closed the book and started having a light conversation, where he’d finally arrived at the subject of what I was doing tonight.

  Now we were here and I was still finding it difficult to get Howard off my mind. Now, more than ever, I knew I didn’t want anyone finding out about what had happened between us. I couldn’t bare being the one responsible for putting Howard in trouble with the university board.

  Now that I also couldn’t ignore the fact anymore that I loved him, I was certain I didn’t want anything to hurt him. If that meant having nothing to do with him, I was ready to stay out of his way.

  ‘Oh Howard!’
r />   “Howard?” I whispered as I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

  Right there at the popcorn stand in front of us, was Howard. He was in the middle of a hearty laugh with another woman. The woman turned and I recognized her as none other than the dean, Professor Betty.

  ‘What are they doing here?’ I wondered.

  David was beside me, in the middle of explaining his take on the prequel Spider movie. According to him, it was important to understand how the plot merged with the one we were about to watch. So he was doing his best to refresh my memory. Apparently, he hadn’t met our professor or dean just yet.

  I halted our advance towards the popcorn stand abruptly.

  “David could we just sit here for a bit? My legs are getting tired.”

  “What about our popcorn?” David protested lightly.

  “We can get it just before the movie starts. I just need to rest my leg for a bit.”

  “Ok. Would you like to sit and let me go get our popcorn?”

  “And leave me all by myself? Such a gentleman, you are David,” I said mockingly, trying to blackmail him into sitting.

  I succeeded as he removed his eyes from the popcorn stand and chose a seat for us. When we sat down, David continued to regale me with the plot of the movie. I continued to feign interest, while keeping an eye on our professors at the popcorn stand.

  After what seemed like an eternity, they finally procured their popcorn and left the stand, heading straight for the door to the theatre. My eyes caught Howard’s as he steered the Dean into the movie theatre.

  My breath caught in my chest for a moment before recognizing something else from his look and demeanor.

  Howard didn’t have any hint of surprise on his face. He’d already seen me and David.

  Chapter 13

  Howard

  I HAD SEEN SUSAN WALK into the food court with the fellow she’d been with at the library earlier in the day, just as I’d gotten to the popcorn stand with Betty. I’d almost stumbled in shock but expertly masked my reaction. I continued to laugh and regale Betty with my brand of humor, causing her to erupt in laughter at intervals.

  Susan hadn’t seen me yet so I decided to enter the food court and get the popcorn deal as soon as possible. The next time I stole a glance behind me, Susan and the fellow were seated somewhere in the food court. It had been the perfect time to steal Betty away and straight into the theatre. I’d hoped that they weren’t all here to watch the same movie; but even as I thought it, some part of me already knew they were also here to watch the same movie.

  When I and Betty had got to the door of the theatre, I handed our tickets to the usher at the door. Turning back to look at the food court one last time, I saw Susan staring directly at me. There was no hint of surprise on her face. Too late. She’d definitely spotted me already.

  I disappeared with Betty behind the door and into the darkness of the theatre beyond. Betty had made us sit in the first row of seats before I could stop her

  “You can’t possibly want to sit at the lowest level. That’s the worst set of seats in the theatre,” I exclaimed.

  “But I always sit there. So I can get out of the theatre before the crowd gets to the door,” Betty had protested.

  “Forget the crowd and follow me. I’d show you the best seats,” I responded as I began to climb the steps.

  In truth, the first rows of seats were the worst seats in the theatre but that wasn’t why I’d rejected them. I didn’t want to take the chance of Susan walking in with her escort and seeing me, then climbing beyond where I couldn’t steal glances at her without it being obvious. So, I’d climbed to almost the top before choosing a seat for Betty and I.

  “Are these the best seats?” Betty asked wide eyed.

  “No Betty. The best seats are in the middle of the theatre, but people have already occupied them. These are the next best seats in the theatre,” I exclaimed truthfully.

  I settled in and waited. This way, if Susan walked in, I would be able to see her and watch as she went to her seat. I’d also be able to spy on her throughout the movie from this vantage point.

  I saw her the moment she walked in with her escort holding her hand. The familiar sting I’d gotten in my chest when I’d heard her laughing in the department earlier today returned. I tensed out of jealousy but relaxed soon after when I saw her head darting all over the place, obviously looking for me.

  My heart warmed at the thought that she wanted to find me in the dark theatre.

  Then she and her escort sat down and another round of torture began.

  She had coiled up to her escort as I watched. I didn’t even notice when Betty had slid her arm into mine as well. I was so engrossed in her shenanigans that I was missing out on the movie and missing out on Betty’s attempt at a snuggle. This wasn’t what I’d envisioned when I’d accepted Betty’s offer to the movies this afternoon. I’d hoped for a getaway, and now I was faced with even more torture.

  Finally, when I had enough, I asked Betty to excuse me as I needed to use the rest room. Betty had offered to follow me but I’d impressed on her the need to stay so she could tell me what I’d missed when I got back.

  I’d made my way past where Susan was sitting and I out of the theatre before I paused to inhale deeply, all in a bid to get my composure back. I glanced at the food court, which was virtually empty. At this time, the only people left in the cinema where those who’d come to watch the late night movie and a handful of workers. I turned then and headed for the rest room.

  I arrived at the entrance of the rest rooms and followed the sign that indicated the direction to the male toilets. I walked towards the sink and placed both hands on the ceramic surround in order to support my weight and my raging emotions. I put my head down and closed my eyes.

  “Hey!” Susan barked behind me, causing me to jump.

  Chapter 14

  Susan

  I HAD FOLLOWED HOWARD out of the theatre.

  When I stepped through the doors, I’d paused briefly for my eyes to adjust to the light outside. I glanced all over the food court and beyond trying to find what direction Howard had headed in when he’d exited the theatre.

  After a while, I spotted him at the end of the food court, heading for the restrooms. I immediately set off after him, doubling my pace so I’d catch him in time before he walked into the men’s toilet. By the time I cleared the food court and got to the entrance of the restrooms, I saw Howard walking into the men’s toilet.

  “Darn it!” I swore under my breath.

  ‘To wait for him or to follow him in?’ I thought briefly.

  After glancing about to see if anyone was around, I made my decision. Asides the late night movie watchers and a handful of staff, the cinema was otherwise empty. Most of the movie watchers were at this moment confined within the theatres for the movies they’d come to see.

  “Fuck it!” I exclaimed softly as I barged into the men’s toilet.

  The first sight that greeted me was Howard with his head bowed over the sink. My heart melted. He’d obviously witnessed the show I’d put up for him and had been affected in more ways than I’d bargained for.

  “Hey!” I barked at him, causing him to jump in fright.

  “What the fuck, Susan. You scared the shit out of me,” Howard said, as he turned to face me. “What the hell are you doing in here?” he exclaimed, suddenly aware that I’d actually followed him into the men’s toilet.

  “I came for you,” I responded as I began my advance forward, closing the gap between us.

  “Came for me?” Howard asked, confused.

  “Yes, professor. I came for you,” I reiterated, a seductive smile spreading across my lips.

  Suddenly I closed the gap between us and was standing directly in front of him, causing him to back up against the sink. I loved the fact that he was the one retreating now, the same way he had made me retreat back at his office when we’d had sex for the first time.

  “What are you doing, Su
san?” Howard asked and, for the first time, I heard a slight tremor in his voice.

  The great Howard Jones was no longer as powerful as he’d once been in front of me. Here, in the men’s room, I wielded the power and he was vulnerable.

  “This is the men’s room for heaven’s sake Susan. What do you think you are...”

  I cut him off mid-sentence, planting a kiss on his lips and silencing him. He responded as I’d expected as my lips began probing his. I could still hear some muffled protests so I kissed him deeper. Finally, all forms of protest stopped as he took over the reins of command, forcing his tongue deep into my throat and causing me to go weak at the knees.

  I leaned against him in a bid to steady myself and he grabbed me by the waist, righting me properly. He continued to kiss me till my head spun and I forgot how else to proceed. Before I could get a grip of myself, he lifted me and placed me on the sink counter.

  As at the first time in his office, I was wearing a dress once more. For someone who wore more jeans, how I had managed to be wearing a dress on both occasions when I found myself alone with Howard was a mystery to me. He continued to kiss me on the counter until all I wanted was for him to roll my dress up, push my panties to the side and slide in like he’d done before.

  After waiting for a while, I reached out and touched the bulge in his trousers I knew was there, in a bid to encourage him to take it a step further; after all, I was his for the taking. As soon as my hands began massaging his bulge, he let out a deep grunt from his throat into my mouth. The sound he made spurred me on and I began kneading the bulge as best as I could.

  Suddenly he pulled his head back and pulled me down from the counter. He spun me around till my back faced him and then bent me over. I knew exactly what he had in mind and proceeded hurriedly to remove my panties by myself, as my insides did cartwheels in excitement and anticipation. By the time I’d assumed the position he’d left me in previously, he had rid his waist of his trousers and boxer shorts.