by Vivian Wood
Her brows furrow. Her eyes narrow on my face the tiniest fraction. “This may be too personal, but… has your past behavior warranted having an outside source of information?”
I shift in my seat. “I don’t think I’ve given him much reason for it, no.”
She picks up a pen from her desktop, drumming it a few times. “I see.” She pauses for a second. “Would it be fair to label your father as more than a little overbearing? After all, you are in med school now.”
Swallowing, I nod. “That would be to put it mildly, ma’am.”
“Please, call me Clarissa,” she says gently. “And you are certainly not the first student to ever have such a request. Some parents just have a little trouble letting go.”
My father’s words echo in my brain. I’ll always be in your life.
I wrinkle my nose. “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”
Clarissa smiles. “Have you chosen your academic advisor yet?”
Exhaling, I shake my head. “Not yet.”
Clarissa opens a drawer in her desk, taking out a pad of paper. She starts to scrawl something on it. “I am happy to be a contact for you, to let your father know whatever it is you want him to know. It’s up to you. But here is a list of professors that can serve as your advisor. I think that these professors will be more willing to talk to your father, if that’s what you wish. Your father aside, I really think that you should have an advisor chosen by next week.”
I blush again. “Thank you, Clarissa.”
She gives me a cool smile as she rips off the page she is writing on and hands it over with one of her contact cards. “It’s really no problem, Eve. The school is here to support you in whatever ways you want, within reason. I’d say that your request is well within the bounds of normalcy.”
I glance at the list she’s made in her neat block print. There are only three names. Carter Morgan stands out, the last name on the list.
Oh god. What do I have to do to get an advisor who isn’t… well… him?
Swallowing nervously, I drop the list into my tote bag. “Thank you, Clarissa.”
“Anytime.” She stands and so do I. “You also may want to take advantage of some of our free campus counselors. Having an overbearing parent can be stressful and you will already have plenty of stress heaped on your head by med school.” She starts to usher me out. “Something to think about.”
“Eve?”
I look up at Clarissa, my expression questioning. “Yes ma’am?”
She flushes. “Please don’t ma’am me.”
My cheeks flame a dull red. “Sorry. What do you have to tell me?”
She rocks back in her chair, steeling her fingers, pursing her lips. “I don’t want to cross any lines with you. Please tell me if this is information that you don’t want. But I think you can still apply for financial aid.”
My brow lowers. “Err…”
“It’s just an option,” she says. “But I would imagine that if your father is this strict, there has to be something he holds over you. Most likely financial assistance.”
I blink at her, a blush creeping into my cheeks. “Well… yes.”
Clarissa sits up, opening a file folder on her desk. “It looks like you aced your MCATs and GRE. So you probably have a shot at a few government grants. Public scholarships have already been settled for this year, of course… but there is no rule saying that you can’t get a few private ones.” She wrinkles her nose, looking up at me. “I’m afraid the rest of your tuition would have to be made up in loans.”
I chew my bottom lip. Mainly, I’m trying to calculate how I could possibly pay for everything else in my life besides tuition.
‘Eve?”
I glance up at her. “My father has me wrapped up in his web,” I confess. “I can’t even sort out all the investments and payments made on my behalf. It’s sort of mind boggling.”
She smiles at me, closing the file. “I don’t want you to feel pressure. Just know that in about two weeks, your opportunities for applying for loans and scholarships will dramatically shrink.”
I digest that silently, nodding.
Clarissa sits back in her chair again. “I just want you to know that I work for you. Not your father. Not any loan companies. You and the other medical students are my only priority.”
There is a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. I smile and nod again, but her words don’t fully sink in. I’m just a little overwhelmed.
“Thanks,” I say. It doesn’t seem like enough, but it’s what I’ve got.
“Of course. I’m here for exactly this sort of thing. And my door is always open.”
I flush. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I had a similar experience with my mom, if you can believe it. She is still a real tiger mom.” She waves me out. “Come by anytime.”
“Of course. Thanks again.”
As I walk out of the Dean’s office, I let out a big breath. Yes, my dad is overbearing and controlling. But it seems like going to med school way out here is working in my favor. He can’t just pop up and persuade someone in person to snitch for him.
As a matter of fact, it looks like I will at least get the chance to shield my life from his meddling. I’ve wanted this for so long that I stopped actually believing it.
Raising my chin, I smile as I head to my class.
9
Carter
Eve is going to be the death of me, I swear. It’s only the end of the third week of classes. And yet she has wormed her way into my thoughts.
Well, I thought about her before. Here and there. But now, as I am sprinting flat out in my neighborhood, I can’t think of anything else. Biology, chemistry, even basic mathematics… it all pales in comparison to what she’s planted in my head.
The reoccurring thought of what it would be like to rip off her clothes, spank her for being naughty, and fuck her against my desk.
Her panted breathing the only other noise as I relish the smack of my hand against her bare ass.
She’d get so fucking wet, just from having me cup her tits and kiss those pert pink nipples.
She would moan so sweetly as I filled her, stretching her pussy out for the second time.
We would both come together, her nails raking down my back, my hands gripping her hair tightly. I’d pulse my seed so deep inside of her, filling her with my cum.
God damn.
I slow and then stop, leaning my hands on my thighs. Every part of me burns but it doesn’t really matter. Even when I really, really wear myself out, I know it’s only a matter of time. Sooner or later I’m going to be fantasizing of Eve spread out across my bed, whimpering and clutching at my head as I taste her dripping pink pussy.
Maybe if I hadn’t already kissed her… maybe then, it would be easier.
Shaking my head at myself, I finish my run. As I hit the little picket fence of my rented house, I try to catch my breath. Thinking about the coming events of the day, I’m not really watching where I’m going.
As I cross the yard and start to climb the steps to my porch, a little orange ball of fur streaks across my path. My footing falters and I step right down on top of the orange ball. It shrieks, making the most blood curdling sound I swear I have ever heard.
I lift my foot and the ball scurries onto my porch, underneath a dusty wicker chair. My heart starts pounding, adrenaline shooting through my veins.
What was that?
I climb the steps hesitantly, crouching down to look under the patio chair. I glimpse the little fur ball again, shoved all the way in the back, shaking like a leaf. It’s a kitten, so small that I don’t even know how it could be separated from its mother. Regardless of how it came to be here, I realize that it can’t be outside tonight.
Honestly, looking at the terrified, panting little kitten, I don’t know how it stayed alive before this moment. Seattle is hot in the summer.
“Lost something?” a woman calls from behind me.
Of course. She would find me
here, wouldn’t she?
I freeze on all fours, then push myself up and look behind me. On the other side of my white picket fence is Eve, her expression curious. I frown at her.
“There appears to be a kitten under this chair,” I say evenly.
Her brows rise. “I see. And you’re going to coax it out of there or something?”
Wrinkling my forehead, I think. “I guess? I mean, it isn’t going to live under here. Not with the temperatures so hot.”
Eve nods. “Do you want some help?”
I hesitate. Yes, obviously I’d like someone to help me convince the kitten that living under my porch chair is not a viable option. But I’m supposed to be keeping my distance from Eve, not inviting her to help.
The kittens mews, the tiniest and most pathetic sound I’ve ever heard. After a second, the immediacy of its need wins out.
“Sure,” I say. Standing up, I brush off my hands. “If you want to stay here where I’m standing, I can go inside and get… a towel or something, I guess? Then we can trap it.”
She’s already letting herself inside of the gate. As she approaches I slip off my shoe and take the key out, then let myself inside the house. Putting my running shoe back on, I go to the bathroom and grab a fluffy blue towel. Then I return to the porch.
“Got it,” I say, holding the towel up.
Eve is on her hands and knees, looking through the gap between the concrete porch and the wicker chair. She leans down a little more and I can’t help the way my eyes are drawn to her ass. She’s wearing gray yoga pants and her ass is just sticking up in the air, begging to be grabbed.
I swallow a little and drag my eyes away, rebuking myself. I knew that having her here wasn’t a good idea and yet… I decided to invite her up to my porch anyway.
“I think I should get the towel ready and you should lift the chair,” Eve announces. She reaches up for the towel, which I drop into her hands. She puts the towel over both of her hands and nods to the chair. “Pick it up slowly, starting with the front. I’ll trap the kitten.”
Moving over to the chair, I do as instructed. The cat starts hissing and spitting the minute I move the chair. Eve hovers her towel-covered hands closer and closer as I reveal more of the kitten.
It decides to make a break for it after a few seconds, trying to dart past Eve’s hands. But she catches it easily, wrapping it up as it hisses. I let go of the chair and step back. Her movements are gentle as she stands up.
“Where to?” she asks.
My eyes narrow. “I hadn’t actually thought that far, to be perfectly honest.”
“Well…” She looks indecisive. “We should probably decide whether to take it inside your place or...”
Cocking a brow, I fold my arms across my chest. “Or take it to an animal shelter?”
She bites her lower lip. “I hate to take it to one of those places.”
The kitten growls inside the towel, which is actually pretty cute. “Yeah, there is no guarantee of a kitten even getting to live at a lot of those places.”
Alarm flashes across Eve’s face. “Oh, we definitely can’t take it to a shelter that… kills. Let’s just take it to my house. I would rather have kitten than lie awake at night wondering whether it got adopted in time.”
“Really? You’ll take it in, then?” I didn’t expect that Eve would care about the kitten. I thought I would have to, which isn’t the worst thing I can think of. But if she says she’ll take it, I am definitely not going to argue with her.
She scowls at me. “I just said I would.” Then she pauses. “Actually, I think I saw this kitten earlier. Or one of its siblings.” Her mouth twists. “We should look around the neighborhood and make sure none of the kitten’s brothers and sisters are wandering around. Or its mother, I guess.”
I sigh. “First things first. Let’s take it to your place and… I don’t know, get it settled in, I guess.”
Eve stands up, bunching the towel up so that the kitten hangs down at the bottom. It meows piteously, which makes her frown and cradle the wiggling terrycloth-covered kitten.
It’s a quick trip back to her house. The whole way there, I try not to notice the way her hips shake. The way she cocks her head as she makes idle chit chat.
The bounce of her honey blonde hair in its ponytail, corresponding with how she walks.
I feel like a stupid teenager having such juvenile, innocent things about her become turn ons. Time and time again, she asks me a question and I’m too busy fantasizing about her tits to answer.
Eve stops at her gate, giving me side eye. “Okay, what is up with you?”
I clear my throat, the back of my neck heating. “Nothing. I was just… going over a tricky mathematical equation in my head,” I lie.
Her mouth pulls down. Shaking her head, she unlocks her gate and then flounces up the path. I hear her muttering something as she unlocks her door.
I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the total lie I just pulled out of my ass. Following her inside, I close the door. Her house is large and airy, as fastidious as it is modern. There is a large living room area to the left, followed by a kitchen and dining room. In the back, I can just make out an alcove where the stairs probably are.
Eve walks her meowing bundle over to the kitchen island, setting it down very carefully. As soon as she uncovers the kitten, it pokes its head out of the towel. It’s bright blue eyes are admittedly pretty cute.
Eve scoops it up, checking its belly. It yowls in distress.
“Okay, okay!” Eve says, gracefully putting it down. It looks around with wide eyes, exploring her house very timidly.
“It’s a girl,” Eve says thoughtfully.
I frown. “Are you sure? Aren’t marmalade kittens usually boys?”
Eve shrugs. “I’m pretty sure. We’ll just leave its gender as an unknown for the time being.” She folds the towel, watching the tiny kitten navigate her living room. “What do you think of the name Valentine? That could work for a boy or a girl.”
My gaze has slipped down to Eve’s legs. “Huh?”
She crosses her arms, turning to me. “What are you even here for, Carter? Just to ogle me?”
I clear my throat and cross my arms, giving her a look. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m just being neighborly. I mean, I know we hooked up before. But things have changed.”
She arches a brow. “Oh?”
I feel defensive for some reason. “Yeah. Well, you are my student—“
She rolls her eyes. “Easy, professor. There are like three cell biology classes. If we decide to hook up, I’ll just take a different class.”
I frown. “That would be inconvenient. Especially since we probably shouldn’t sleep together again anyway. I mean… you are all the sexiest person that I’ve ever met and you’re smart as a whip on top of that. But—“
She releases an exasperated sigh. “Are you about to say that we’re related?”
I smirk at her. “We’re not unrelated.”
She starts making a list and ticking it off on her fingers. “Okay. First off, you and my brother only share one parent. Your father.” She cocks her hip. “Aiden and I also only share one parent, our mother. And on top of all that, I’m adopted.”
“That’s still more related than I personally would like. I imagine the woman I love being entirely unrelated to me.”
The second the words pop out of my mouth, I want to cram them back in. Eve’s eyes widen a little.
“You love me?” she asks, sounding strangled.
“I could grow to love you. I mean…” I stop, cursing. “Shit. I’m saying that fucking often leads to… catching feelings…”
Her mouth twists, a sly grin appearing on her face. “You already have a crush on me.”
“What? You wish. That’s just a projection of your feelings for me.”
She saunters a little closer, stopping when she’s almost close enough to touch. “So you wouldn’t get all hot and bothered if I kissed you?”
Eve brings a finger to my lips, silencing my objection. “I’m not a teenager, Carter. And I didn’t exactly hear you complaining when you popped my cherry—“
I haul her lithe body up against mine, silencing her with a kiss. She squeals and kisses me back, meeting my hunger with her own.
Twining my arms around her body, I pick her up. She’s ready for me, climbing my torso like a tree.
God, she feels so fucking good pressed against my body. I can feel her pebbled nipples smashed against my chest and the heat of her pussy as it cradles my erection.
I pull back, breathing as heavily as if I had just run five miles. “Bedroom?”
Her eyes light up. “Upstairs.”
I kiss her again and turn toward the back of the house, moving inexorably to the bed.
10
Eve
I stop at the top of the stairs, surveying the scene. This pop up bar is held in a big open space by the marina, in a place that is clearly normally a restaurant. Right now it is packed, from the bar to my left to the tables in the middle to the huge crowd of hip young people dancing while the DJ spins records. It’s getting hot as the sun sets over the ocean; the huge roll away windows are all rolled up to let the heat and fading sunlight in.
Everywhere I look, there are girls in bikinis and guys taking their shirts off to expose more skin.
“Vi…” I moan as she drags me down the stairs. I have to yell to make myself heard over the music. “This is every bit as cheesy as I was afraid of.”
Vi links arms with me, looking me up and down. “What, were you just going to study all night? You said yourself that your concentration was shot. So just relax. Enjoy a drink. Meet some people!”
I pull a face. Vi grins and pushes further into the dense crowd, heading for the bar.
A waitress in a sarong and a pink bikini top wades through the crowd, carrying a big tray. “Do you want some jello shots? They’re a buck each!”
