Shame (Ruin #3)(32)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

Lisa burst out laughing then gave a little bow. “See? I knew I could figure you out.”

“Right, Mulan-loving bad ass with a heart of gold. You were so ridiculously close that I got chills. Look, right there. Hairs standing on end.”

“Hmm…” She reached across the couch and placed her warm hand directly on my arm. “Yeah, I see what you mean. Disney gives you chills, who knew?”

“Right.” I leaned forward so I was inches away from her face. “Let’s blame Disney.”

“Well, it’s not the pizza.”

“Or the crickets.”

“Geishas?” She moved closer.

“Negative.”

“Extra cheese dirty talk?”

“Close,” I whispered, my lips almost touching hers.

“Well!” She jerked back. “Then I’m out. I have no idea what it could possibly be.”

I let out a low growl and narrowed my eyes. “Teasing the professor may gain you a bad grade.”

“And what? Kissing your student gets you promoted?”

“I bet Gabe doesn’t win any argument with you, does he?” I joked, looking away so I wouldn’t be tempted to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her again.

She shrugged. “Sometimes I throw him a bone.”

“How horrifyingly degrading.”

“Put that in your label maker and smoke it.”

I rolled my eyes and picked up my plate. “You have an oddly strange fascination with my label maker. Maybe next time you come over I’ll let you have some alone time, just you, the maker, and some wine.” Standing, I held out my hand for her plate and waited.

Lisa handed me her plate but didn’t release her grip right away. “Sounds like a dirty fantasy to me, Professor.”

“And there it is.” I jerked the plate away and fought the urge to laugh out loud. She brought that out in me, the temptation to laugh, to forget responsibility, to just be normal, when I knew I wasn’t anywhere close to being able to own up to that particular word and the meaning behind it.

“So…” Lisa placed her hands on her hips while I put the dishes in the sink. “…Secretary of State, huh?”

My hands shook as they gripped the edge of the counter. With a curse, I bit my lip and stared her down, trying to read her expression, but it was blank, emotionless, like she didn’t give a damn who I was or who my father was.

“What?” Her eyebrows furrowed. “I figured you didn’t want to talk about it.” She tucked her hair behind her ears then crossed her arms. “Besides, I imagine that’s why you liked the mask.”

“Mask?” I rounded the corner back into the living room. “You mean the party?”

She gave a quick nod. “At the party you could be whoever you wanted to be. For a while, you weren’t a CEO, you weren’t the son of a really powerful man, you weren’t even a nerdy professor.”

I smirked.

Her smile grew. “You were just you, and sometimes, well, sometimes it’s nice to remember what that’s like, right? To just be you and not have to worry about anything else in the world.”

“Right.” I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. “There’s something about… being anonymous, not having to worry about others.”

“I know.” She swallowed convulsively and looked away. “Believe me, I know.”

Did it make me a total ass that I knew more than I let on? That for a minute I was actually judging her for judging me when really I’d been doing nothing but passing that same judgment over and over again until my head spun.

On impulse I held out my hand. “So come with me.”

“What?” Her eyes darted to my hand. “What do you mean?”

“Anonymous…” I was flirting with danger. I could feel it in the way my body heated at the word, the way my blood roared to life. “Tonight, come with me.”

Her breathing turned ragged as she clenched her fingers around my hand tightly. “Where?”

I tugged her in against my body and wrapped my arms around her waist. “That’s just it, wherever we want… anonymous, right?”

Lisa tensed beneath my arms. “Is that what you’re offering me? Just another night, full of masks, full of dancing under the stairs, stolen kisses, and pretending not to know each other the next day?”

I tilted my head and examined her expression, the way I could see her pulse pick up in her neck, the way her body continued to arch toward mine, even though her eyes were unsure. She wanted it; she was just afraid to take it. “Yes Lisa,” I finally said. “That’s exactly what I’m offering. No strings, no commitment, no promises. Just… right now.”

“And tomorrow?”

“It always comes, doesn’t it?”

She nodded, nibbling her lower lip between her teeth. “Even when we’re afraid of what it may bring.”

“I promise to keep you safe… you’ll be with me, no stalkers, no break-ins, no crying… just us.”

“And if I fall for you?” She looked directly into my eyes. “What then? Who’s going to pick up the pieces?”

“I never thought you’d lie to me.” I searched her gaze. “There won’t be any pieces to pick up, Lisa, because you won’t trust me enough in the first place to give anything, let alone leave it in my hands.”

She gasped.

I kissed her hard on the mouth, backing her toward the door, tangling her hair in my hands, gripping the silk, my tongue exploring her mouth like it was made for me and only me.

“Okay.” She broke away the kiss. “Okay.”

Little did I know that one more night with her would seal my fate forever… would align our destinies in a way I couldn’t possibly fathom.

But that’s what happened when you were blinded by your own attraction. Your own emotions, they rule you. So when you walk by someone taking pictures of you from the shadows… when you hear cursing from the dark corners, you don’t pay attention — because you’re blinded by your lust for her. And that’s where I took my first stumble, not knowing I was taking her with me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“So…” I licked my lips and waited. “…when do you leave?”

Mel looked up, her eyes wide. “Not for another month or so… but, I mean, it’s not finalized I still have to…” Her voice trailed off.