He folded his arms across his chest. “Is there an echo in here?”
My hands went to my hips in full don’t screw with me mode. “There is nothing wrong with what I’m wearing. It’s a sundress and sandals. I’m not even showing any cleavage.”
Caine’s eyes dropped to my chest. I might not have been showing any cleavage, but the dress was thin, and I felt my pebbled nipples protruding.
“I can see the outline of your nipples.”
“It’s cold in here.” My initial reaction was to want to cover myself, but…fuck him. I thrust my chest forward a little more. “You know what? Your pants were so snug a few weeks ago, I could see your outline. Why is that okay, but seeing my outline isn’t?”
Caine’s eyes rose to mine. His voice was hoarse. “You were staring at the outline of my cock?”
“It was right in front of my face. I couldn’t help but look.”
He took a step closer, his nostrils flaring. “Did you like what you saw, Ms. Martin?”
I have no idea where it was coming from, but I wanted to keep dangling a red cape in front of the raging bull. Rather than reply, I ran my tongue across my top lip. Slowly. His eyes followed in pursuit.
The way his chest was heaving up and down, I thought he might blow. It made me feel fearless and empowered. You don’t want to be with me? Good. But here’s what you’re missing, Professor West.
“Don’t ask for something you don’t want, Rachel. I’m warning you.” He took a step closer, invading my private space.
His pupils were dilated, and he looked angry as hell, but there was something lurking just beneath his dark gaze—desire.
I tilted my head coyly and leaned in. “Who says I don’t want it? I’ve seen the outline.”
Caine’s jaw flexed while I waited with my heart hammering inside my chest. I held my breath as he reached for me, the blood swirling around inside my ears so loudly I couldn’t even hear my own gasp as his hand gripped my hip.
I braced for it…waiting for a string of frustrated curses I would have sworn were coming, waiting for his mouth to crash down on mine.
But instead, it wasn’t Caine’s voice I heard.
“Professor West?”
Oddly, I’d heard the door creak open at the top of the lecture hall, it just didn’t register in my brain until a few seconds later when reality smacked me in the head.
Caine stepped back. He walked to his desk and cleared his throat. “Ginger—Professor Ashby. Can I help you with something?”
She looked back and forth between us. “I was hoping I could speak to you in private—about a student. But if I’ve come at a bad time?” She pointed to the door that was now behind her. “I can come back later.”
“No. It’s fine.” He looked at me sternly. “Ms. Martin and I are finished.”
For a moment I was still in shock from the rapid change of events. But that didn’t take long to morph into anger. I looked at him with disgust and spoke under my breath so Professor Pink wouldn’t be able to hear me.
“Are you serious?”
He lifted his bag. The desire so openly on display just two minutes ago had been quickly shuttered over. He spoke under his breath. “We’re done here, Rachel.”
The bastard had dismissed me already. Well, screw you, Caine West.
I walked up the stairs with Caine a safe distance behind me as we made our way to Professor Pink—only today she had on an aqua suit. Apparently Ginger liked color. My guess was she liked to stand out in a sea of black-wearing New York women.
As I reached the top of the stairs, she smiled at me. “I love your sandals. But must be tough walking through campus in those heels.”
I offered a broad, phony smile in return. “Thank you. But I only had the one class today. I wore them for my date.” I turned to Caine, spread my lips wide, and gave him a chance to check out my teeth. “See you Friday, Professor West. I don’t want to keep Davis waiting.”
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a second glance before I was out the door.
Rachel
My mood was effectively ruined. Screw you, Caine West, I’m going to have a good time with Davis even if it physically hurts. I took a few minutes in the car to settle myself before going into the restaurant. Looking up at the sign, I realized Davis had picked a place we’d been to together during our short period as a couple. Roberto’s had incredible food and was romantic, with an olden-days type of feel. I wondered if he’d picked a spot with those memories on purpose.
Inside, I looked around and spotted him sitting at a table in the back corner. It was exactly where we’d sat the last time we were here. If there was any doubt that Davis was trying to rekindle the mood we’d once experienced, the table he’d arrived early to secure confirmed his intentions. It was actually sort of sweet of him to put so much thought into where we had dinner. That was Davis—sweet and thoughtful. He was the polar opposite of Caine’s bitter and thoughtless.
I had no idea why I was even comparing the two men. It didn’t feel fair to Davis, even though he’d win in pretty much any category I could scribble down on paper and analyze. The problem was, Caine made me feel something that couldn’t be categorized—something I couldn’t even really describe. And for a reason I didn’t quite understand, that stupid feeling trumped all of the awesomeness of Davis.
But this afternoon had been a real eye-opener. I’d practically thrown myself at a man who was attracted to me physically, but hated that he was. No good could come of tempting a man to act who had no interest in anything more than sex and would also immediately regret giving in to his temptation.
I sighed and vowed to enjoy my evening and focus on the man sitting across from me.
As I approached the table, Davis’ smile brought back all the good times we’d had over the years. He stood as I approached and pulled me into a giant hug. It felt so good. His arms wrapped tight around my waist as he buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply.
“I missed you,” he said. “You always smell so good.”
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed being held. Yes, I missed the sexual gratification of being with a man…but being held and feeling wanted felt pretty damn amazing. Down deep, I knew I was needy after Caine’s rejection, but I buried that and allowed myself to enjoy Davis holding me anyway. He took a long time before he released me, and when he did, he stepped back, holding my hands so he could look at me.
“Wow. You look incredible, Rach.”
“Thank you.”
We sat, and Davis just kept staring.
A nervous giggle snuck out. “You’re staring at me like I have two heads.”
His eyes had such a tenderness as he smiled. “I was just thinking…remember that picture we took at my graduation? The one where I had on the gown and you were wearing my cap crooked with a goofy smile?”
“I think so.”
“Well, I printed it out, and I have it on my dresser, and…” He trailed off.
“What?”
“Nothing. I don’t want to scare you off before the appetizers even come.”