by Lara Swann
She’s off limits. Sullivan’s daughter. And whatever my mind might insist on fantasizing about - and shit, it does that a lot - that’s all I can indulge in. A dirty little fantasy.
Hell, if Sullivan knew that much, I’d probably be missing my balls already.
Which is why I haven’t spoken to her since I fucked up that day she moved in. I hadn’t planned on provoking her. Or seducing her. Or staring at her like that…
But, fuck, how else am I supposed to react to a girl who looks like that? Especially with that prissy, innocent-as-thou attitude.
I’d even meant what I said to her - I figured I could act the new guy on campus, make a friend, get an excuse to stick around her for a while. Instead, I’d blown that out of the water by looking through her panties.
The rest…probably wasn’t my fault. I mean, how was I supposed to know that’s not how you talk to women? Apparently. I’m still not sure I believe her about that. Every woman I’ve ever met has been more than fine with it.
But it clearly isn’t how I’m meant to talk to her. Damn it.
The panties though…well, I could’ve guessed that was a bad idea. I just couldn’t resist. And even now, the thought of her modeling those, of prancing around in too-big, innocent panties and then peeling them off to reveal silky-soft skin…
Fuck.
I pick up the pace, running faster around the track and wishing for a proper training session as my blood pounds from lust more than exertion.
Yeah, after that introduction, I was pretty much fucked. No way I can start acting like I want to be an innocent friend now. And since I can’t risk what might happen if I act the way I want to around her…I’ve kept my distance.
I decided it wouldn’t hurt to do that for a few days, a week at most - but now…I bite back the stream of curses that’s right on the tip of my tongue.
I’m bored, and frustrated, and pissed off for even being here.
A quick glance down at my watch shows me it’s almost 6.30am and I need to start heading back. Gritting my teeth in annoyance, I surge forward and try to get myself sweating at least a little.
The hour I snatch in the morning to do this can’t compare to the intense training regime with my father back in Baltimore - hell, I don’t even have the gym to enjoy because it would take too long and attract too much attention. And apart from this time of day - too close to daylight and with people starting to move around for a killer to strike, but early enough that Alana won’t have left her room before I can get back to follow at a distance - I can’t take any more time to train.
If this goes on for much longer, I’m going to be unfit as hell by the time I get back to what I should be doing, and watching all my prowess and focus slip away in the drudgery of following Alana around campus isn’t my idea of fun.
And I’m just waiting for her to start getting suspicious. Sure, it helps that I’m officially in all of her classes - and enough students head to lunch, and the library, for me to get away with everything else so far - but I’ve started catching her glancing over at me. And not in the hot picturing-you-naked way that I’d like.
Shit.
I finally slow and run a hand through my hair as I settle into a fast walk that will cool me down and take me back to the small room next to Alana’s, wishing for a punching bag to take some of the pent-up frustration out on.
How the hell do normal people manage to deal with shit without releases like that?
Maybe girls and booze works for them. But I’ve got no chance at that either, since it turns out Alana is the most boring girl I’ve ever met - even if she is smoking hot. No chance of crazy parties or slutty college girls to enjoy here.
I glance up at her window as I walk towards the dorm building, the closed drapes reassuring me that I’m back in time before I head inside and jog lightly up the stairs, already picturing another tedious day in the back of a lecture hall.
Then I pause as I reach the third floor and see her coming out of her room - wrapped in a large towel covering entirely too much and leaving only a glimpse of her smooth, long legs. What I wouldn’t give to see her clutching one of those too-small towels around that delicate body, the kind where any little movement threatens to expose either more cleavage than most girls are comfortable with…or the sweet flesh between their thighs.
My cock twitches at the thought, and as my eyes finally rise from the fluffy towel, I catch another one of those slightly bemused looks in my direction. Shit. She caught me staring. Again.
Hey, what the hell…I’ve never cared about that before.
Forcing myself to refocus, I give her a broad smile and return my eyes to their slow wander down her body, imagining what I’d see if I walked right over there and ripped the towel off - and letting her feel every one of those thoughts. This time when I meet her eyes, that sweet red flush is creeping up her neck and I continue walking forwards.
“Up early today, hun?” I ask casually.
“You tracking my movements now?” She raises a brow, and despite the lightness of the accusation, my gut tightens a little.
“It’s hard not to notice you passing, babe.” I flash her a grin and let my blatant interest cover any other suspicion she might have.
But I don’t need to worry - she’s already moved on, giving me a lingering glance of her own. “Doesn’t seem like it’s all that early for you.”
I wait until her eyes return to my face, then spread my arms as I give her a knowing smile. “Like what you see?”
“Sweat and unwashed guy odor? No thanks.” Her nose wrinkles, but from the way her cheeks redden I don’t believe her.
“Girls like that kind of thing.” I insist.
“Then I suggest you try looking for those girls in some other hallway, Caleb.” She turns around to walk towards the shared shower rooms and I’m momentarily distracted by the way she says my name. Some combination of exasperation, amusement and…something else. Something that makes me want to tell her to say it again and again, until I can work it out.
It takes me a moment to shake that strange feeling off, and by then she’s disappeared into the shower room. I shake my head with a small laugh - whether at her or myself, I’m not sure - and push the door to my own room open, surprised that my irritation of only moments before has disappeared.
What the hell is it about her?
I have no idea, but I already know I’m not spending another day watching her from a distance. The fact that she’s Sullivan’s daughter might have kept me in line for a week, but I’m done with caring.
I need a reason to be close to her, and trying to get in her far-too-big girly panties is the perfect cover. Sure, if Sullivan finds out, he might string me up for it - but I’ve never let that stop me before, and a week is about as long as I can bring myself to stick to the rules.
Of course, there’s also the small risk that I actually do want to get her in bed. But I can deal with that too.
And if not…at least I’ll be having some fucking fun.
Chapter Four
Alana
“Are you girls shitting me? Don’t tell me none of us had any fun this summer?!” Mel exclaims far too loudly, throwing her hands down on the table in an exasperation which seems to run right through her and make even the curvy, jet-black hair sitting on the top of her head bounce. I wince and look around, hoping she doesn’t attract too much attention.
“Well, there was this cool astronomy conference—” Lily’s enthusiasm cuts off abruptly at Mel’s pointed look. “Um, no…maybe not.”
She catches my eyes briefly and we both stifle a laugh at Mel’s sudden determination to swap hot guy stories. Probably just the natural frustration of signing up to work at an all-girl summer camp and not realizing that meant none of the staff would be male either.
“Alana, c’mon, you at least had the summer to yourself - and it was your first summer without Andrew, right? You must’ve had fun with that! Can’t you give us a couple of fun anecdotes? Saucy stories? Something?” She gives me a
n exaggerated big-eyed expression and I can’t help but laugh.
Andrew was my wannabe-lawyer ‘boyfriend’ from high school, but since our time together largely consisted of falling asleep over essays and papers or occasional texts about work experience, it was hardly the most thrilling experience I could’ve asked for. It took until I arrived here last year to realize there was nothing that made it worth maintaining and we split pretty quickly after that. Which changed exactly nothing about my life - or my summer.
I answer with a good-natured shrug. “What’s so bad about reading up on a few papers and classes, lying around in the sun and volunteering with my Mom? I’ve got plenty of fluffy puppy stories, y’know.”
She gives a dramatic sigh while I nibble on a fry. “Puppies might be cute, Alana, but at least tell me there were a couple of guys in there too?”
“Hmm, well, there was one…sweet, and funny, and he kept asking after me…” I let myself trail off almost absently as I play with my food.
“Yes?” Mel’s voice rises an octave as her eyes gleam at me.
“Pity he was sixty, really.” I meet Lily’s gaze and we both burst out laughing, while Mel chucks a fry at me.
I keep grinning, and after a moment she joins in too, shaking her head again.
“I don’t know why I even bother with you two, you know.” Mel gives a wry smile. “Not that I’m any better, I s’pose. I just…feel like we ought to be doing more. Living it up a little.”
“I did actually have a good time with my parents, Mel, honest. It was fascinating.” Lily perks up in the momentary silence, tucking her long brown hair behind her ears and fiddling with her glasses for a moment. She’s quieter than Mel and I, usually preferring to listen rather than talk - until you get her started on the intricacies of chemical physics, anyway.
“I know, babe, but don’t you wonder whether there’s more to life than science seminars and conferences?” Mel’s eyebrows raise, but I can’t help smiling. As the daughter of an astrophysicist and chemical engineer, Lily probably hasn’t considered much else.
Mel glances over at me for support when Lily doesn’t say anything, and I lean back to look at her properly. “What’s really going on, Mel? You don’t usually care about any of that stuff either.”
I say that stuff with a glance over at the popular kids gathered around a couple of tables at the end of the food hall. They told us all those cliques would disappear when we got into a good college - that everyone would be intelligent and eager to learn, but…so far, it seems like they were full of shit. There are still the cool kids, the geeky kids, the sporty ones - and the clubs, frats and endless societies only seem to make it worse.
I love Mel and Lily to death, and we’ve had a great time, of course, but it doesn’t change that sometimes it still feels awfully similar to high school. I glance over at Mel again. At least, I thought we were still having a good time.
“Nothing’s going on. I just…it’s our second year of college, and don’t you wonder whether we’re doing it right sometimes? This is meant to be the best time of our lives - partying and boys and drinking and craziness.” She gives me an imploring look and I feel a strange tug of unease.
None of that sounds like my idea of fun at all, but…I’ve wondered the same thing more than once. Lily shares another side-long glance at me, but this time she’s frowning and I know she’s thinking the same thing.
“Shouldn’t we at least try that stuff? You know, make some bad decisions, date the wrong guy, get in trouble—” Mel continues.
“You’re really selling this.” Lily laughs, and Mel shoots her a grin.
Unbidden, my mind jumps back to Caleb earlier this morning. Sculpted body barely covered by a tight t-shirt and shorts, tattoos running down his arms and muscles bulging from obvious exertion, with a light sweat that made his tanned skin gleam.
Girls like this kind of thing.
The flash of his cocky smile as he said it. The way the heat in my stomach agreed with him even as I denied it. Why the hell would I like that? And the fact that he just seemed to know it made it all so much more infuriating.
He would definitely be a bad decision. Exactly the kind of thing Mel’s talking about.
Why does that make her proposition seem so much more attractive?
“Alana?” Lily’s voice startles me, and I try not to look up too guiltily as she continues. “What do you think?”
I blink stupidly for a moment and try to shake the silly-lust feelings off again. “Um, about what?”
She shrugs a little self-consciously. “I was saying I think I agree with Mel. Maybe we should make a pact this year - to have a bit more fun. And try new stuff.”
My eyebrows rise instinctively. Lily wasn’t the one I was expecting to hear that from. But I’d been feeling the same thing the last week or so. And if I was honest with myself, part of the reason I hadn’t said anything was because I didn’t know whether that thought was coming from me…or the hot new dorm mate I hadn’t been able to get out of my head.
“Okay. Sure, why not?” I smile at the two of them.
Feeling a little like a ridiculous school kid, we put our hands in the middle of our half-eaten lunch and clasp them together.
“To this year!” Mel says grandly, and I manage to resist glancing around in embarrassment, grinning at her even as I feel my cheeks turning pink.
Lily nods officially. “And having fun!”
They both look at me, and I figure what the hell. “And hot guys!”
Then we burst out laughing and shove at each other a little, my face still red. But I’m grinning, and thinking to myself how much I love these girls. At least we can be insecure and unsure about college together.
“So, Alana…going to introduce me to your friends?” The now-familiar cocky voice interrupts the brief merriment, and I can feel him coming up behind me in the same moment that I register Mel and Lily looking up in confusion.
That already tells me what - or who - is behind me, and my pulse stutters annoyingly in response.
What the hell is he doing here?!
I want to turn around and hiss it at him, because the last thing I want is Mel asking the dozen questions that are already flitting through her eyes but before I’ve got a chance, he’s already grabbed the chair next to me. He swivels it around before straddling it to lean forwards against the chair’s back, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I didn’t think guys actually did that.
And I sure as hell didn’t realize it made their crotch look that good. Not that I’m looking. Not at all.
“Well?” My eyes dart guiltily back to his face as he asks the question, shooting me a shit-eating grin and I think I’d rather hit him than introduce him to anyone, but Mel’s already giving me a who-the-fuck-is-this and what-haven’t-you-told-us look. There’s no chance of getting out of this now.
“Um…Caleb is living in the same dorm as me this year.” I want to sound irritated and get rid of him, but instead it just comes out awkward. Exactly how I feel. Ugh. “And…these are my friends. Mel and Lily - we’re all on similar courses.”
They say their ‘hello’s and I’m still trying to work out how to make it clear he’s not needed here - and understand myself why I’m so desperate for him to leave - when he reaches over and steals a fry.
“Hey!” I scowl at him.
“Just checking they’re safe to eat, babe.” He gives me an unrepentant grin back.
“You’re about half an hour too late for that…” I deliberately pull them away from him and avoid looking at Mel and Lily, who I’m just sure are giving each other looks right about now.
“Heh, sorry ‘bout that - I’ll make sure to arrive earlier next time, shall I?” The amusement in that deep voice ripples through me in a not-so-unpleasant reaction that only puts me more on edge.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” I say almost accusingly, still not meeting Mel’s questioning eyes. In a moment she’s going to start bursting out with her own questions, an
d I’d rather not be subjected to that awkwardness. This is not the kind of guy that usually comes to sit with us.
“Came to call in that debt.” He adds a wink to the comment, and suddenly my cheeks are flaming - for no reason whatsoever.
“Ohh?” Mel jumps it straight away, her tone indicating that she very much hopes it’s as saucy as his attitude implies. “What does Alana owe you a debt for?”
“Just a bit of heavy lifting.” He responds easily, while I wonder whether his voice has actually been made for sex, before I catch Mel cocking her head curiously at me.
“You didn’t tell us about that…” Her tone of voice implies that I definitely should have.
“Why would I tell you about someone helping me move in?” I act as if I’m completely oblivious to her point, while realizing that this probably counts as exactly the sort of fun anecdote she’d been asking after earlier.
“So how can we help you in return then, Caleb?” Lily breaks in and even though I wish this conversation would end already, it’s much better than the back-and-forth with Mel.
“I’m new here - transferred this year. Alana promised to show me around a bit, help me make some fri—”
“I didn’t promise anything.” I protest, then continue under my breath to him. “I said I’d consider it if you got your head out of your ass. Which I’m not convinced of—”
His laughter and the amused shake of his head - as if he thinks I’m joking - interrupts me, before he spreads his hands to indicate all of us. “So, c’mon, girls - what’s fun around here? The least you could do is tell me where all the good parties are at.”
This time it’s all of us exchanging awkward glances. Yeah, this guy doesn’t know what he’s doing here - we’re really not the right people for those questions. And I would’ve thought that was obvious.
Mel - forward as ever - laughs and shakes her head. “Yeah, babe, you’re asking the wrong girls.”
His brows raise and she continues with a thumb over her shoulder. “Not our scene. I think you’re looking for those tables over there - they’ll hook you up, I’m sure.”
