by N J Adel
But it could have been worse. At least, I had my degree to fall back on.
My job was the only thing that mattered now. I had to protect it no matter what.
My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten anything but that sandwich at lunch. If I went home, I wouldn’t bring myself to cook anything once I saw the bed. I wanted this day to end in any way, and sleep was the best escape.
Miles from home, I turned on the GPS and drove to the next restaurant. Stopping the car under the Grizzly Grill sign, I eyed the horde of motorcycles parked outside. I hoped this place wasn’t one of those biker’s hangouts.
I hurried inside, sheltering my hair with my bag, making another note to self to keep an umbrella at all times in the car because this was fucking Oregon.
The restaurant was more like a diner with a little bar and a pool table, quaint, small and relatively clean. Certainly not a regular biker’s bar or club or whatever they called it. It was packed with all sorts of locals. Still, I felt out of place with my suit and bag, especially when the leather-clad, big men crammed around the pool table stopped gulping their beers and stared at me.
Pressing my thumbnail, I found myself an empty booth as far as possible from them and scooted in.
The waitress gave me a menu. I was too hungry to look. “Can you please just get me the fastest edible thing you have here?”
“That hungry, huh?” She chewed on her gum, writing down what she decided to be my order.
“And in a hurry.”
She glanced at the bikers over her shoulder then back at me. “They might look scary, but they’re harmless, sweetie. Not the ones you should be scared of around here.”
She ambled away and yelled my order at the kitchen. I didn’t bother to ask her what she meant or even think about it. I just wanted to stuff my mouth in peace and go home.
I ran a tired hand over my neck, massaging it a bit until I hit a sore spot. The mark Alec had left. Quickly, I removed my hand and let my hair cascade down, as if someone would see.
Nobody cares about you or your love bite. Nobody even knows you here.
My eyes swiped the place, confirming my thoughts. No one was looking at me. No one recognized who I was.
Why did everybody keep saying they knew me from the case then?
The waitress returned with my food. A burger, slice of pie and a beer. “Enjoy, sweetie.”
My eyes narrowed at her. “Hey, do you know who I am?”
Her lips puckered as she shrugged. “Should I?”
If a couple of college senior boys and a male professor did, then a local woman, who worked at a gossip pit, definitely would. “Have you ever heard about the Beauty and the Beast case?”
She blew a bubble with her gum. “No, sweetie, sorry.”
I gave her a quick smile. “No worries. Thank you for the food.”
My mind swirled with suspicions. Alec pursued me on my birthday. It wasn’t a random hookup. And after my conversation with Kayden, I was positive something out of the ordinary was happening with the twin.
Joshua, too.
The three of them possessed qualities and bodies that made smart women go stupid. I was no exception. Alec with a dick that fucked like a beast. Joshua with his mesmerizing looks, voice and charms. Kayden with his protective alpha bravado, and the I like you but can’t have you act I picked up today and actually believed.
I was stupidly crushing on each of them, enjoying the attention, shutting down my brain. How desperate was I for that kind of care the three were showing me even though it was fake and most likely hiding behind a dangerous motive?
How much trouble would I get myself in for one passionate night or—
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart thrashing, dread and anger roiling together inside me. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” My eyes flicked up toward the voice that managed to set a throb in my pussy every time I heard it. “Are you following me?”
Joshua laughed quietly, already sitting. “I’m starting to think it’s you who are following me.”
I cocked a brow, having a serious urge to throw mustard on his sexy, smoldering, all black clothes, and then take them off, mash my burger against his face and chest, and eat it off him, licking his body clean.
Wait a minute… NO! That was not what I was going with, brain! Work with me here!
“I’m not joking. Are you stalking me, Professor?” I asked.
He stared at me with his breathtaking eyes. Then he frowned. “Of course not.”
“Then why do I keep bumping into you everywhere I go?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “You just happen to be at the best eating places in town. Looks like someone has already been showing you around, and you don’t need my help in that department.”
“Nope. I just stumble upon them.”
“You’re so lucky.”
“Lucky?” I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. “Please get another table. I’d like to be alone.”
He wasn’t moving for a few moments, not even breathing, just staring. Then he nodded once. “As you wish.”
As he left the booth, I sighed in relief. Then I jumped when he crouched down by my side. “What the hell?”
“You are a smart, beautiful woman and a talented teacher. You should be making others walk on eggshells around you, not the other way around. You have so much power, Isabella. It’s all in there. You just have to find a way to pull it forth.”
Did he just say my name, my whole first name, with that voice? Did he just say I was beautiful?
Dizzy, I just looked at him. I was not ready for this. Should I respond? Walk away? If I stood up, I was pretty sure I’d fall over.
I knew what I should do. Shoot myself for being irrevocably stupid to want to hear more of his words when I perfectly knew he was just distracting me from seeking the truth.
I loved the way he was talking about me, and it was working. It started to sink in that I might have been paranoid for no reason, and all I needed with some confidence in myself rather than doubting no one would care or like me without ulterior motive.
His gaze entered mine, taking a piece of me with him. I wanted to go. I wanted to follow him wherever he was going.
“Is that all I get? A blank stare?”
I blinked. “Yes.”
His eyes dipped to my mouth, and he licked his lip. “I have to tell you that I find you very attractive. You are virtually irresistible to me, and it has nothing to do with whom you remind me of.”
“Wow.”
He stole another glance at my lips. “Wow?”
I shook my head, swallowing. “I mean, why do you have to tell me that?”
Rising to his feet, he smirked. “For when you find your power and decide you can date another teacher again.”
CHAPTER 14
JOSHUA
I retreated to the shadows, to the darkest spot of the restaurant where she couldn’t see me anymore. I watched as she munched on her burger, loving every gesture. She ate like a beast. I couldn’t wait to feast with her. I bet she would drink a body dry before I got a chance to taste it.
Oh how much I wanted to taste her. If she knew how much I loved her, how I’d protect her, how I’d do everything in my might to make her happy, she’d just give herself to me right now and never look back.
This time, she was mine. The twin animals would have nothing on the hell I’d planned to unleash upon them if they thought of touching her again.
Fated mate my ass. They would say anything to have her.
Every creature wanted a piece of you, my beloved. Even the devil himself.
But you’re mine, Isabella. Don’t ever forget that.
I’ll protect you from them all. Even that pathetic human coming on to you now.
She disdained the drunken jerk, slowly chewing her food, her nose crinkling with disgust.
He wouldn’t take a hint, of course. Good. I was hungry and ready for dinner.
He lean
ed in, his filthy breaths on her forehead. “Why are you being so stubborn? You like to play hard to get?”
She dropped the rest of her burger on the plate. “You need to leave right now. I told you I’m not interested.”
“You and I are going to happen. The sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better off you’ll be.”
Oh no, you didn’t.
One of the bikers scorned the asshole, telling him to respect the woman’s wishes. Yet again he wouldn’t listen.
In a blur, I reached Isabella’s table. By the look on her face, I could tell she was astonished and relieved to see me. “Is there a problem, here?”
“This doesn’t concern you,” he said.
Standing a few inches taller than him, I stepped in, turning his body toward me. “The lady doesn’t want to talk with you. You should go.”
“Lady?” he snorted. “Why don’t you get your ass out of here and go get your own bitch?” He grabbed Isabella’s arm. “This one is mine.”
When she yelped and her heartbeat thumped in my ears, my composure went down the gutter. I gripped the bastard’s hand and twisted his arm behind his back. Taking the back of his neck in a tight grip, I banged his head on the free table next to Isabella’s. I didn’t want to splatter blood on her food.
He groaned a few swears, fully incapacitated. I was sure I broke a bone of his in the way, too. “When a lady tells you to leave, you fucking leave.” I glanced at Isabella over my shoulder. “Get in your car and lock it. I’ll be right there in a second.”
CHAPTER 15
BELLE
I locked the car the second I was in it, but that wasn’t enough to make me feel safe. An unwanted hand on me triggered a shitload of dark memories to resurface. My breaths raced, my pulse drummed, and I thought I was about to have a panic attack.
I rummaged through the backseat, looking for anything to breathe in. Then a knock on the window almost stopped my heart. I whipped my head toward the sound to see it was only Joshua.
With my chest heaving and fingers shaking, I opened the window.
“Get in the passenger’s seat, I’m driving you home.” He took one look at me then his jaws hardened. “That’s not a request.”
I moved as he asked—ordered—without arguing. I didn’t want to. I loved that he was here, doing all this.
As I settled in the other seat, I unlocked the car. He got in quickly, something crumbling in his hand. Then I realized it was a to-go bag. “Your leftover,” he said.
He beat the crap out of a guy and then had them pack the rest of my meal? I would have laughed but I was having trouble breathing.
“You don’t look so well,” he said. “You look like you’re—”
I yanked the paper bag out of his hand, pulling the containers out frantically.
“—hungry.”
Glaring at him, I buried half of my face in the empty bag. I was hungry, though. I’d been all day— PMS? It was the least of my concerns at the moment. Breathing came on top of feeding.
His eyes widened. “Or you’re having a panic attack. Fuck. Okay, just keep breathing. Deep breaths. Do you have any panic disorders? Nod.”
I shook my head.
“Okay. Good.” His palm fell ice cold on my back as he rubbed it, yet I welcomed it. He breathed with me, deep breath in, deep breath out. His other hand found my arm, and he leaned closer to my body.
I wished I could have snuggled into his arms and buried my lips inside his mouth, not in this recycled bag.
“It’s not going away. Do you have any Xanax or Valium?”
I shook my head again, dizzy, quivering, my eyes tearing up.
“It’s okay, Isabella. You’re going to be just fine.” He enveloped me with his arms and pressed me close to his chest.
Wow. I’d never wished for something, and then it’d come true this fast. Or turned out to be this good. Closing my eyes, I found a better breathing speed, anxiety instantly slimming.
“I’m here,” he said. “I wish I could take it all away, the pain, the fears. I wish I could show you the world is not as terrible as you believe it to be now. There are dark, evil things out there. But they are such a small part of the world there is no reason to be in constant fear. Not anymore. I’m here.”
His words soothed me better than any drug. What was going on here? Where was all this coming from? He was just telling me what I needed to hear, but it felt so real, so intense. This couldn’t be an act. No one was that good.
My head lifted, and I looked into his eyes as they connected with mine. There was something out of this world about them. It was easy to lose myself there, never to be found.
As my breaths evened, I needed the bag no more. All I needed was the second half of my wish to come true.
He stared at my lips for a moment that seemed to never end, causing my heart to leap in anticipation, then at my neck, right where the love bite was.
Self-conscious, I swallowed, but I didn’t try to hide it the mark. I wanted this kiss too much to care.
His lips parted as he lifted his eyes to mine. “The panic attack is gone. I should get you home.”
Just like that, he pulled away and started the car.
CHAPTER 16
BELLE
Only the sound of our hearts accompanied us up to my apartment—or was it only my heart?
When I was pressed to his chest, I didn’t remember hearing his beat accelerating or feeling his skin warming or anything a man who liked a woman should have felt.
Surely, as he let the perfect moment for our first kiss go by, he confirmed he didn’t like me like that.
Didn’t he say I was beautiful, virtually irresistible, and he wanted us to date? Or was it all my imagination? And if he didn’t want to kiss me, why did he insist on taking me up to my apartment?
Perhaps he was asexual or religious. Perhaps he was being a gentleman, and I was just a horny slut.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside, but he wouldn’t. He just stood there, holding my leftover and my bag.
A smile tugged at my lips. “Are you coming?”
He grimaced, his face so pale in the dark. “You need to invite me in.”
“Seriously?” It was impossible not to laugh. “Are you a vampire or something?”
His body stiffened and his grimace hardened.
I grabbed my things from his hand. “That was a joke. You need to lighten up a bit.”
“You still have to say it if you want me to come in.”
“Fine.” I placed the stuff on the console table under the mirror and turned on the lights. “Please, come in, Professor Asher.”
“Thank you.” He carefully set one foot inside, then the next. “Please, call me Joshua.”
“All right, Joshua. Would you like some tea?”
His lips stretched with a smile. “I’d love that.”
I entered the kitchen, his footsteps following me. The place was small enough for me to listen to his breaths as he watched me. It made me nervous and excited at the same time. Biting my lip, I wondered if he was checking me out, how he felt if he was…
Get over yourself, Belle. Charming or not, he’s a creep who has been stalking you all day. Don’t forget that.
A creep you’ve just invited in your place, dummy.
My brain kept screaming at me, yet I was numb to all the danger Joshua entailed. My body welcomed and enjoyed it, already dying for his touch.
Just like with Alec.
Last night at the club was a demonstration and an urge to take the control over my life I’d long lost by doing something extreme. And now, my attraction was also an attempt to take control. To change today’s horrible narrative into something appealing.
The more dangerous the better.
Because even if I got hurt, it would be my doing. I took a chance, and it went south. I wasn’t forced into it. It was all my choice.
“Thank you for what you did at the restaurant,” I said without looking at him.
&nbs
p; “It was nothing. Happy to do it every day.”
My hands tightened around the kettle. “Are you going to tell me why you’ve been following me since I left the campus?”
Silence fell too loud on my ears as I felt him close the distance between us. Frozen in place, I waited for whatever he was about to do. Speak, touch me, grab a knife…
But nothing happened.
“Joshua?”
“I already told you,” he whispered. Then cold fingertips ran along the sides of my neck.
I gasped, a shiver running through me. “So you have been following me?”
His long fingers—the first time I noticed how exceptionally long they were— snaked around the front my neck, and his chin rested on my shoulder. “Yes.”
I sucked in a hissing breath, terrified now. I was no stranger to fear. The one Joshua induced in me was a different kind than Declan’s. This one I’d started to crave, not abhor.
And it made me wet. So wet.
Why I knew Joshua wouldn’t hurt me, why I wanted him to take me here and do whatever he wished with me was beyond my intelligence. But I liked every moment of it.
I needed it.
“Why were you following me?” I repeated.
“I feel very protective of you, Isabella.”
“That’s a line from Twilight.”
Suddenly, he backed away from me, leaving a terrible emptiness around my space. Why did I always say the first thing that came to my head that I never intended for the public?
“The one where vampires sparkled?” he mocked.
I rolled my eyes, turning to face him now that I’d ruined our moment. “Yes.”
“Well, I never watched that.” He leaned against the counter. “But I’m intrigued to know. Were you Team Edward or Team Jacob?”
Finally making that tea, I chuckled, and then returned my gaze to him. “Neither. I’m a why choose girl.”
His eyes narrowed at me with genuine interest. “A why choose girl?”
“It’s when the girl doesn’t have to choose and ends up with all the guys.”
“That’s…greedy.”
