55

Blaine
I pace up and down the length of the courtyard outside the library under the cover of the overhang that wraps around it, irritated that she hasn’t arrived yet. My text to her yesterday evening was clear that she was to meet me here in the courtyard at nine o’clock sharp. It’s ten minutes past and there’s still no sign of her. I’m not a person who accepts tardiness, especially not from a sub.
I pull my cellphone out of my pocket and call up her name, when I hear soft footsteps approaching. When I turn around, she standing a few feet away from me. “Sorry, I’m late.”
I tilt my head. “You’d better have a good reason.”
She shrugs. “My alarm clock didn’t go off.”
I shake my head. “That’s not a good enough reason, Azira.” The desire to hold her to account is strong, but I know we don’t have the time and this isn’t the place. “I’ll have to punish you after spring break.”
Her cheeks redden. “Yes, sir.” She tilts her head. “Why did you ask me here?”
I glance around the courtyard to ensure we’re alone and pull her further into the shadows, wrapping my palm around the back of her neck. “For this.” I pull her lips to mine and kiss her forcefully, my tongue thrusting into her mouth and devouring her from the inside out. This is the last time I get to kiss her for two weeks and that makes me feel odd. I can’t explain why exactly, but I don’t like how I feel.
She wraps her arms around me, pulling me closer as she moans into my mouth.
Normally, I don’t allow her to touch me, but for now, I’ll let it slide. When we finally tear ourselves apart from one another, we’re breathless.
She tilts her head. “Why did you withhold your number?”
I clench my jaw. “Because I can’t have you badgering me over the Spring Break.”
The flash of hurt in her eyes doesn’t go unnoticed. “Badgering you?” She takes a step back and places her hands on her hips.
“Yes, I told you, this is just sex. While we’re away on break, there’s no need for us to be in contact.”
Her jaw works and I can tell she’s fighting back tears.
Perfect.
It turns out Azira is hooked on me in more than one way. I’m emotionally unavailable, so if she still hoped this could turn into anything other than physical, she’s wrong.
“I warned you what this was when we first got intimate, Azira. You assured me you were fine with that.”
She nods. “I am. I have said nothing to the contrary.”
“The look on your face says it all.” I narrow my eyes, feeling a headache starting between them. This kind of bullshit is exactly what I wanted to avoid. “You better not be reading into this anymore than it is, Sidorov.”
Her jaw clenches. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I mean, you better not be hoping that anything other than sex can come from our relationship.” It’s best I put her in her place now before things get too far out of control.
My blazing desire has blinded me to the truth that she’s falling for me.
The hurt in her eyes is as clear as the sea on a blazing hot day, but she tries to hide it. “You shouldn’t be so full of yourself, sir. It’s not a very good look.”
Going on the offensive. “Is that right?” I push her against the wall of the library, my hands tightening around her hips. “Then why are you so aroused right now?”
Her throat bobs. “I’m not. And I don’t have time for this.” She tries to push me off her, but I hold fast.
“You’re a liar, Miss Sidorov.”
She releases a frustrated grunt. “Let go of me.”
I tighten my grasp. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll scream for help.” Her eyes are blazing with determination.
I narrow my eyes, wondering if she really would scream for help and put this entire thing we’ve got going between us in jeopardy.
“You are being emotional.”
“Emotional?” She sounds furious and I realize my mistake.
Never call a woman emotional, even if she’s being emotional. It’s a rule I’ve always followed and yet I’ve forgotten about it completely.
“And you are being a first rate asshole.”
I growl. “Don’t speak to your professor like that.”
She grinds her teeth, struggling to break free from my grasp frantically.
I can see the tears welling in her eyes, but she doesn’t let them fall. I could never understand a woman’s proclivity for waterworks.
Hell, the last time I cried I would have been younger than ten years old, but then I’m dead inside now.
Whatever humanity I once harbored is entirely gone, obliterated long before Oak found me.
“I will speak to you like that because right now you are not acting like my professor,” she rebuts.
I shake my head. “I don’t wish to leave for Spring Break with you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Angry.”
Her nostrils flare as she clenches her jaw. “Then stop calling me emotional and being a general dickhead.”
I release her then and nod. “Fair enough.”
She straightens her clothes and holds her head up high. “Now, I have to get my car in less than an hour and I’m not packed.”
I arch a brow. “Who leaves packing to the last minute?”
“I do.” She sets her hands on her hips. “I was busy last night.”
My eyes narrow. “Busy with who?”
She holds my gaze for a few beats. “Does it matter?”
I growl and pin her against the wall again. “It matters whether the person you were with was male or female.”
“You are fucking insane.”
“What is your point, Azira? Answer me. Who were you with?”
“Natalya, Adrianna and Eva,” she replies.
I release her then. All the rage that had begun to build like lava beneath the earth’s crust ready to erupt from a volcano eases. “Good.”
She tries to step around me, but I block her path.
“One last kiss, malishka.”
The anger in her eyes flares brighter, but I ignore it and drag her against my chest.
Even as she tries to resist, her eyes dilate and she instinctively tilts her chin, an invitation to kiss her.
My lips mold with hers and I thrust my tongue into her mouth, searching it for the last time for two weeks.
A part of me doesn’t want to stop, because that means we’ll be apart. Hundreds of miles apart.
I try to push that nagging sensation away and focus on how good she feels in my arms right now.
When we part, we’re both gasping for air and aroused.
“See you in two weeks, sir,” she murmurs, and then she’s gone, waltzing away from me easily.
I don’t know what the nauseous sensation is in my gut, all I know is I don’t like it. It’s a warning sign to keep my distance from Azira Sidorov.