“Kita?” he repeats, pulling away from me so I have to meet his eyes. “What time is your first class?”
“I'm not sure I want to go,” I finally admit. “I feel like —”
“— come on, let's get up. I'll drive you.”
He whips the covers back, sitting up in one smooth motion. I curl onto my side, not wanting to leave our warm nest.
“No… I think I just need a little break or something.”
Pushing his hands through his hair he scowls at the wall for a moment before turning back to me. His hazel eyes are intense and serious.
“Kita, those girls… they’re just trying to intimidate you. You can't let them do that. The best way to show them is to just continue on with your life.”
“This is not the only college in the United States,” I pout, suddenly irritated that he's bossing me around like this. “And there's no deadline either. I can get a degree when I'm fifty. There's no rush, right?”
“That's an evasion, and you know it,” he counters. I'm surprised at how his eyes flash at me, like he's actually angry about it. Why does he even care so much? It's not his college degree, is it?
“I can decide if I want to evade something or not,” I snap back, startling myself. Normally I would try to be polite, but I also know what I want.
“That was our deal,” he reminds me. “Just a reminder, the deal is: free room and board while you're in school. Isn’t it finals week or something?”
I shrug one shoulder and roll my face toward the pillow.
“Then you're almost done,” he says more reasonably. I can hear that he is trying to soften his tone. “I’ll tell you what… we can renegotiate our deal, okay? But I need you to keep going to class. Finish your finals, and then we can talk about some other arrangement. Online classes or something. Maybe a transfer.”
I don't say anything for a long while. I haven't had anybody to boss me around for a long time, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Part of me wants to resist, but part of me knows that he's right too. And part of me just wants the comfort of submitting to him.
He leans back over to me, taking both of my hands in his big hands. I stare at the union, sort of liking it in spite of sort of wanting to be super-pissed off at him.
“Kita, you know that I only want what's best for you, right?” His voice is soft and low now. It’s loving, but also…strong.
I nod slowly.
“And do you believe me when I tell you that I'm going to take care of Lizzie too?”
I look up at him, shocked. “No… I don’t want you to do anything about that. That's over,”
I say in a rush. “Let’s just let that one go, please?”
He opens his mouth as if he is going to say something, but then he doesn't. Instead he draws my hands up to his lips and kisses the backs of my knuckles. Then he leans forward and kisses the top of my head, before getting up and leaving the soft bed to take a shower. I watch his butt muscles clench with every step, somehow wanting him even more. All over again.
Chapter 15
Daniel
The admin looks up from her desk when I enter. A vague, polite smile crosses her lips, and she gestures to one of the leather seated chairs positioned against the wall across from her. I'd rather stand, actually.
I can hear voices behind the closed door to the Dean's office and try to appear interested in the framed documents on the wall. Doctor of Education. Master in Business Administration. A photo of him and the governor. A picture of a boat that I presume must belong to him.
Honestly, I have to wonder, why do some men take pictures of their boats? This will always and forever remain a mystery to me. I have ten cars and I don't think I have ever photographed any of them. What’s the obsession?
Compensation?
The admin clears her throat behind me, and I turn around. Her eyebrows are raised in a hearty, direct stare. She's attractive… some would even say beautiful. But she does nothing for me. I've got work to do here, and her light flirtation would not do anything but irritate me.
I turn back around and glance over the bookshelf, preferring not to antagonize her with my mission-focused attitude. It's not her fault, and I don't mean to insult her, but I'm afraid my tone would come off as rudely abrupt. Other women just do nothing for me but present obstacles. There is only one woman on my mind now.
Kita. My kitten. I can still feel her small, soft body against mine. I force my mind away from her. I don’t want to talk to the dean with a hard-on.