Unveiled Ties (Intoxicating Passion #2) (2 page)

Long red
tresses floated around me as she rode. Soft breasts jiggled against my chest.
Hot thighs clenched around me, her slick thrusting sending me to a delirium of
pleasure. Rolling her nipples between my thumb and forefinger, I suckled and
bit. Gripping her hips, I slammed her closer to me, feeling her draw together
only to come completely undone. She collapsed atop me, her sweaty body feeling
thousands of pounds heavier than it truly was.

This is why
I insisted to be in control. Women being on top gave them a sense of authority,
a confidence that it was ok with me to cuddle and continue to wrap
themselves
around me once the release came.

It wasn’t
ok.

It
suffocated me.

Gently, I
rolled her off of me. It was a dick move, but the pressure building on my lungs
was too much. I was afraid this time I would literally die. She gave me a hurt
filled gaze, so I jumped up, “I have to pee, sorry.”
 
Rushing to the bathroom, I locked myself in
for the acceptable amount of time, deciding I would use studying as an excuse.
Hell, it was only the first day of classes, but surely some class, somewhere
enforced its students to do work the first night.
Right?

She still
lay
there,
looking spent and turned on at the same
time. Giving me a seductive gaze, she patted the spot beside her with a lazy
grin.

Pulling my
pants on, I gave her a half-hearted frown, “Sorry, I have some class stuff to
do. One of my professors is a real ass and assigned us work tonight.”

“Seriously?”
she asked, obviously not accepting my lie.

I nodded,
pulling the shirt over my head.
“I know, it sucks.
This was fun, though,” I said, giving her a wink before jamming my foot into my
shoe.

“Maybe we
can meet up again?” she hopefully asked.

“Maybe,” I
lied. I gathered my belongings, giving her a quick peck before I dashed out the
door.

That was a
close one.

###

Korah
dominated
my attention. It was the wee hours of the morning, and the text I sent her was
left unanswered. Why didn’t she want to talk to me? Why was this so hard for
me? Why did I give a shit?

Bio lab only
met once a week…I would only see her roughly twenty times this semester if I
didn’t do something to make her talk to me. She seemed to absolutely detest me
and for no apparent reason. The conversation from the too short hour long lab
replayed in my mind. Did she know who I was? Did she regret our encounter? Was
I too obvious?

What in the
hell was wrong with me? This girl unglued me. No other had left my feelings so
unhinged, my heart so raw and open. Well, not since
Cassadee
.
She had been different, though, the girl I grew up with, the first my heart
grew to love.
Korah
was just a girl I saw in a
costume store. Kicking myself, I knew that wasn’t true. She was so much more
than that. Seeing her made me feel things I’d long ago buried. I barely knew
the chick, having
went
months with only calling her
Angel Eyes, but she stirred my cold, broken heart for the first time in years.

I didn’t
like it one bit.

I had to
stop it.

But how?

###

Cale
plunged
onto the couch beside me, throwing me off balance and causing my current car to
crash. Cursing him, I punched him in the shoulder before tossing him the second
controller. We settled in with a new game and played for probably hours. I only
had classes three days a week, and I managed to schedule work study hours
during those days, so that left me four days a week to do nothing. I should
probably get a job, now that I thought about it, but eh…I’d worry about that
later.

“Classes good?”
I questioned
Cale
before ramming my
vehicle into his.

“Yep.
Yours?”
His eyes didn’t leave the screen.

“Yep.”

We continued
on for the rest of the day. Concentrating on the game caused all thoughts of
Korah
to vanish. For the time being, that was. Breakfast
and lunch had long passed us by, leaving our stomachs rumbling with hunger.

“Pizza?”
Cale
asked, standing to stretch his sore muscles.
Sitting in one spot for hours was a lot harder than one would think.

“I’ll go get
it,” I offered, dashing to the stairs to grab money and keys. Noticing my phone
on the dresser, I checked it quickly to see if I’d missed any calls. I wasn’t
expecting
Korah
to reply and instantly chided myself
for leaving it in my room all day.

-Sure,
if you think it’ll help us get a better grade.
 
Korah

My heart
fluttered and I wanted to reach in and slap it for reacting that way. Inhaling
deeply, I typed a quick reply.

-Of
course it would, plus I don’t understand what exactly we have to do next week
and don’t want to put all the weight on you. Can you meet tonight? D

It was a
flat out lie. I knew exactly what I was doing. But if playing dumb and needing
her help was what it took, then that’s what I would do. Earning her trust was
my ultimate goal, though I had no idea why it was so important to me.

-Sure.
Let me eat dinner first. K

-I
do, too. Meet me at
Andie’s
and I’ll buy you dinner.
D

I do, too?
What did that even mean? I
replied before I could assess my actions, but now it was out there and all I
could do was wait. Pray she didn’t think I was an ass for sending a weird
message and demanding she let me take her to dinner. And since when did Dane Davidson
take girls out for dinner?

I was losing
my damned mind.

-Uh,
ok. I guess. Be there in ten. K

My heart
flipped at her reply. Running down and taking the stairs two at a time, I threw
a twenty in
Cale’s
direction. “Change of plans, man.
I’ll be back later. Pizza’s on me.”

He watched
me dumbfounded and just nodded with a quick wave.
Cale
wasn’t one to ask too many questions, which I was grateful for, but I knew this
would cause him to interrogate me later. It was vital I came up with
appropriate answers before I came back to the house.

###

Andie’s
was crowded for a Tuesday evening, but I didn’t mind. Maybe
Korah
wouldn’t be as cold with onlookers. After searching for her inside, I decided
to wait outside the door. Leaning against the building, I fought to control the
excitement with each car that pulled in.

I was
officially stupid.

She finally
arrived, looking even
more sexy
in her winter
clothing. Her jacket was tight around her, a red scarf adorning her neck and
bringing out her dark features. Her feet were hidden behind knee high boots
that somehow looked incredibly hot every time a girl wore them. I didn’t know
what it was about shoes, boots for that
matter, that turned
me on,
but those did it. A simple red hat adorned her head. She was
gorgeous.

“Hey,” I
called, pushing off the wall. “How are you?”

“Cold,” she
chuckled, burying her hands deeper in her pockets. “You didn’t have to wait for
me out here. It’s almost thirty degrees out.”

“I wanted
to. I hate leaving a lady to walk in a restaurant alone,” I winked.
What are you doing, Dane? Chill.

She laughed
nervously, sending her gaze in any direction but mine. “Shall we? Before we
turn into ice cubes?”

Duh.
“Of course.
Sorry about that. I guess my
brain is already frozen.” I jumped ahead, opening the door for her with a
flourish. She eyed me curiously before stepping inside.
Calm down before she thinks you’re a complete weirdo.

She stepped
up to the hostess, telling her how many and stepped back. I wasn’t used to a
woman who took the lead, who didn’t wait for me to talk or make the decisions.
I wasn’t sure what to do.

“Right this
way,” the hostess said a few moments later, leading us to a booth in the back.
It was quieter here, to my delight.

Once seated,
she pulled a notebook out of her bag and stared at me expectantly.

“You want to
study now?” I choked out. “You don’t want to eat first?”

“They’re
busy,
we can get a few things out of the way before they
come for our order. Such as who is doing what and how we’re going to handle
deadlines and
the such
.” Her bossy demeanor was an
instant turn on and I squirmed in my seat.

Deciding it
was time, I could no longer hide my identity,
I
interrupted her scribbling. “
Korah
, there’s something
I need to tell you.”

Why did I
agree to this? Dane sat across from me, watching me with that intense gaze once
again, only now he insisted on telling me something. Having no clue what he
could possibly have to confess, but the sinking awareness in my gut told me it
wasn’t something I would like, I urged him to continue. “What could you
perchance have to tell
me
?”

Nervously
twisting his hands on the table,
then
placing them out
of sight, his dark brown pools of emotion locked on me. “Angel eyes,” he
whispered.

Everything
around me stopped. I felt like I was in slow motion on the silver screen, the
camera deliberately zooming in on my face for a reaction. My breathing became
ragged, my heart a thousand pound weight on my chest. I couldn’t speak,
couldn’t move,
only
stared back at him. His gaze
didn’t waiver, the depth of his conviction growing with each passing second.

Finally
regaining control, I cleared my throat and breathed, “Zorro?” It came out more
of a croak, more frog than lady.
The watering in my eyes
reminding me to blink.

Dane was
Zorro.

Zorro was
Dane.

My lab partner.

“Yeah,” he
sighed, lowering his head only to peer right back at me. He was so damned sexy,
but even more so now that I knew who he truly was.

I was in so
much trouble.

“How do you
know who I am? I didn’t take my mask off,” I questioned.

“I know, you
left,” he accused, the hurt thick in his tone. “I saw you at the store, when
you bought your costume, and I recognized you.”

“Are you
stalking me?” I challenged. His words were sinking deeper in my mind, the
questions flowing quicker than I could process.

“No!” he
shouted, garnering attraction from nearby tables. “I thought you were so
beautiful and I was going to talk to you in the store, but you disappeared.
Then I saw you looking so breathtaking at the party…I just couldn’t stop
myself. It was fate we ended up lab partners. I had absolutely nothing to do
with that and you know it. We’re meant to know one another.”

“And by
know one another
do you mean we’re meant
to have sex?” I hissed. “I wasn’t myself that night. I’m not that girl, ok? I
don’t randomly spread my legs for guys in tempting costumes!”

“You thought
I was tempting?” he smirked, his cocky attitude spilling all over his posture.

“Oh, come
on,” I cried, throwing my arms up in defeat. “I know you, ok? I know what kind
of guy you are. You’re the love-
em
and leave-
em
type, never sticking to one girl. You know you’re sexy
and you use it to your advantage. Don’t play these games with me. Been there,
done that, got a t-shirt.”

Wide eyed,
he slumped back. “You’re different,” he finally said, his voice low and almost
inaudible.

Narrowing my
eyes at him, I berated, “I’m sure you’ve never used
that
line before.”

We sat in
silence for a long time. The server didn’t even come over to ask for our orders
after walking up on our argument. He finally conceded, throwing his napkin and
some cash on the table. He didn’t look at me as he stood, but he lingered as he
passed by my side of the booth.

“I know you
don’t believe me, but you are. I’ll prove it to you somehow.” And he left.

###

Aimlessly, I
walked into the apartment, slamming the door behind me. The revelations of the
night weren’t sitting well with me, but instead swarming my brain, leaving a
cloud as thick as a quilt wrapped around my head. Throwing my purse and coat on
the couch, I headed to the kitchen. I needed chocolate and a lot of it.

I continued
my boisterous banging once there, creating a symphony of cabinets opening and
closing synced with my foul mood. I never heard
Leela
come in to watch the show, or her snapping a video to send to
Windi
. After what seemed link hours of my temper tantrum, I
found a chocolate bar. Taking one look at it, I grasped it in my hand and threw
it as hard as I could to the floor.

Leela
laughed,
alerting me of her presence.

Shocked, I
backed into the corner of the cabinets, “I didn’t hear you come in, Lee.”

“I know. You
were busy slamming everything you could get your hands on. What’s going on?”
she quizzed. She didn’t judge, her eyes were calm, amused, as she watched me.

“Remember
Zorro?” I sighed. I sunk to the floor in front of the sink, drawing my knees to
my chest.

“Of course,
you just told me about him a few hours ago,” she chuckled. She stepped into the
room, coming to sit beside me.

Resting my
head on her shoulder, I inhaled her sweet scent and took comfort in it.
Leela
would know what to do.
How to
handle this problem.
She always had a good solution. Unlike me, who
managed to screw things up without even
trying.
“He’s
my lab partner,” I confessed.

“He’s…your…lab…partner…,”
she repeated, each word annunciated slow and I could feel her processing what
this meant. “How do you know?”

Somehow, I
anticipated this question. “He admitted it. He knew who I was all along. Lee,
he’s just like all those other assholes. He goes after every girl coming and
going, never sticking with one, never developing feelings for one. I can’t do
this again. And now I have a whole semester to fight off his advances because I
couldn’t control my hormones for one night!” The panic had set in at this
point, and I was seriously considering dropping the course.

“It’s not
like you slept with him,
Korah
,” she said in an
attempt of comfort. “He will forget about you and move on. Unless of course you
don’t want him to, then I say go get you some,” she giggled, wiggling her
eyebrows at me.

“
Leela
!”
I exclaimed, drawing away from
her. “I can’t do that. You know how many women he’s probably been with? I would
need to bleach him before he could
sex
me and that
would be with a condom!
Gah
, I shouldn’t have ever
touched him. I may have caught something,” I murmured. I glanced at my hands,
studying them as the memories flooded me all anew. My breathing became labored
as I realized Dane was Zorro, once again. I hadn’t expected to see him again…ever.
And now I was stuck. I’d see him once a week, at the least, but probably more.
Grades were important to me.

Why did this
have to be a required class?!

She softly
gripped my hand, bringing it out of my vision. “Look at me,
Korah
,”
she demanded.

I obliged,
the tears threatening to spill all over both of us.

“You didn’t
do anything wrong, and wanting him isn’t wrong. I know you think you’re stuck,
but you’re not. If you really want nothing to do with him, you can make it
happen. You’re a woman. A woman he wants. You have all the power. I have to
teach you to use it for your own
good
,” she smiled,
and it filled me with her warmth and friendship.

I knew
Leela
would have the answers.

“Teach me?”
My voice quivered, and I unattractively wiped snot from my nose. Thank goodness
it was just
Leela
here. Breaking down was not my
thing. And when it did happen, Elle was usually my only witness. Being strong
was important to me, and showing weakness was unacceptable. It was a big reason
why I didn’t let myself get lost in the lies of these men. They brought out the
weak side of me, and I never wanted to be that vulnerable again.

“Yes,” she
grinned. “You will stay in the class. And you will drive him absolutely insane.
He may even change his ways,” she winked.

“He said I
was different,” I mentioned, rolling my eyes.

“What did
you say?”

“Told him I
would bet he’s used that line before and he didn’t say a word,” I chuckled.
“Guess he’s not used to a woman putting him in his place.”

“
Which shows you
are
different.
I think you’re special, but I know you. For someone like him,
a woman that doesn’t immediately peel her pants off at the sight of his grin is
different for him. He literally
charms
the pants
off women, if you’re correct in your assumptions,” she advised.
“So, you have to charm him in return. I know you can’t admit this yet, and
that’s fine, but you feel an attraction to him or Halloween night would have
never happened. Tell me how he knew who you were.”

So I
explained. I detailed everything he’d confessed at dinner, and she’d oohed and
ahhed
in all the right spots, her eyes widening more times
than I could count. We talked for hours, her devotion washing over me and
coating me like a warm blanket. For some reason we stayed right there in the
kitchen floor, talking, giggling, and even eating the broken candy bar I had so
childishly thrown around. She made me feel better, knew all the right things to
say. I decided I wouldn’t drop the class, but instead beat Dane at his own
game.

I couldn’t
want him.

So I
wouldn’t.