“Let him protect you.”
“Luke, I—”
“Just …” He walked to her.
Would she ever feel truly worthy of him?
“Just let him.” He lowered his beautiful body, kneeling before her on the abrasive concrete in his custom-tailored pants.
With a squeeze of her hands, his desperation broke her heart.
“I’m begging you. Let him protect you. Leave your past. Leave it for me.”
Sniffling, she nodded while wiping the tears from her face. “It’s just that I feel it … I feel his pain and it’s so deep.”
“I know.” Luke stood and hugged her to him. “After the wedding, I’ll talk to him. Okay?”
She nodded, but the comfort of Luke’s arms didn’t overpower the fear that Jude’s words embedded in her mind, a bomb waiting to go off without a breath of warning—destined to shatter her world.
Chapter Sixteen
Knight
The woman who never ran late found herself running quite late to her first job. Sex with Jackson Knight, self-professed murderer, could do that to a woman. His confession demanded her attention, but she didn’t want to acknowledge any of it. The most unexpected feeling of happiness felt within her grasp. Just for once, she wanted to take it. Damn the consequences.
A quick kiss on Gunner’s head and she scurried out the door, ice melt crunching beneath her feet as she walked to the garage. As soon as she shut the door, her phone chimed. Plopping sideways into the driver’s seat, she banged her boots together as she jabbed her hand into her purse in search of her phone.
“Maddie, hi, sweetie. What’s up?”
“Hey, Mom.”
Despite running late, Ryn paused mid-motion of fastening her seatbelt. First, Maddie called her which was rare. Second, her tone was friendly—too friendly.
“Everything okay?”
“I’m having issues with one of my professors.”
“What kind of issues?”
“He’s … interested in me.”
Ryn latched her seat belt. “Sounds unethical.”
“It’s kind of creepy. He’s old, like your and Dad’s age.”
Ryn closed her eyes and shook her head. There was always a verbal slap in the face when it came to her daughter.
“Are you certain he’s interested in you?”
“He’s my International Law professor. I’m not doing so well in that class. He offered me extra credit.”
“I’m not seeing how that’s a problem.”
“There is no extra credit for the class. He summoned me to his office to offer it to only me. When I got there he told me if I was interested to lock his office door behind me.”
A nauseous feeling settled in Ryn’s stomach. “You need to say something to the Dean of Students.”
“Dad is friends with the dean.”
Just the mention of Preston made the sick feeling in Ryn’s stomach intensify.
“Have you told your dad about this?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He said I need to pass the class.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“He thinks I’m too close to being done with school to start making waves.”
“Making waves? Reporting sexual harassment is not making waves.”
“Dad said my professor will deny it and it will be his word against mine, then he’ll flunk me.”
Ryn rubbed her temples. “I’m still not following. He doesn’t want you to report your professor, but he doesn’t want you to flunk the class either. So—”
Maddie sighed her usual sigh, the one that conveyed her frustration with Ryn. The OMG-Mom-you’re-so-dense sigh. “So he said that some of the most successful women in the world had to suck a few dicks to get to where they are.”
“He said what?” Ryn saw red—blood red.
“Calm down. I was shocked at first too, but the sad part is he’s right.”
“Maddison!”
“I’m not going to do it, so don’t get mad at dad for telling it like it is.”
“He wasn’t telling it like it is, Maddie. He was encouraging you to turn a blind eye to sexual harassment, but even worse, he basically told you to say yes to your professor! That is not okay and I’m not mad at your dad, I’m fucking furious!”
“Oh my God! Did you just say the F-word?” Maddie laughed. She actually laughed.
The girl had no clue how serious her situation was, thanks to her father downplaying women sucking dicks to get ahead in life.
Still parked in the garage, Ryn rested her head on the steering wheel. Thankfully her first client was out of town and would never know that she was late, but it set the pace for the rest of her day. Late. Late. Late. And pissed. Seriously pissed.
“I’ll deal with your professor and your father. You just stay away from both of them.”
“I have class this afternoon. It’s not going to help my grade to skip class.”
“Fine. Go to class, but don’t put yourself in the position to be alone with him again. Got it?”
“Whatever. But if I flunk this class—”
“If you study harder, you’ll have no reason to flunk it. And let’s just be clear on one thing, my dear daughter. Some of the most successful women in the world got to where they are in life not because they sucked a few dicks, but because they stood up for themselves and refused to take it up the backside.”