“Yeah, well, you’re still not going back there,” he growls.
I look down into my coffee. “I don’t know what to do.”
“We’re going to figure that out.”
I shake my head. “And next semester? What am I going to do instead? Go get a job as a barista or something? I mean how much is tuition at Winchester again?”
Colton’s face darkens.
“A hundred thousand a year.”
I bark out a bitter laugh as my face pales. “Fuck. Yeah, I’m not sure I’m going to pull that off working at fucking Starbucks.”
His jaw tightens as he shakes his head. “I’ll talk to the school board. I know they can make exceptions for economic hardship.”
I snort. “At Winchester?”
Colton smiles wryly. “It’s rare, but I’ll make them push it through. You’ve got great grades, and you’ve been doing fantastic on the swim team this year.”
I nod, looking at him, and my thoughts, in spite of my best efforts, going right back to last night, and the image of him stroking his big dick as he growled my name.
“Brynn?”
I blink, blushing furiously as I focus on him again.
“You okay?”
“Hmm?” I swallow, my face hot as I quickly nod. “Oh, yeah, I’m just…” I trial off, looking for words.
“It’s been a long twenty-four hours,” he growls, stepping around to my side of the kitchen island and smiling kindly at me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, sighing. “For everything. I honestly don’t even know how to repay—”
“You don’t,” he growls, shrugging.
“But really, thank you.”
“My pleasure, Brynn.”
Baby girl, I think inside, remembering his words from last night.
He clears his throat, looking away before he suddenly swears.
“Fuck it,” he growls.
“Colton?”
“You can stay here, you know.”
I blink. “What?”
“I mean, look, the dorms are totally safe. There’s a security guard at the entrance, and we’ve got well trained security all over the grounds at night. But, if you don’t feel safe there, you can stay here,” he growls.
Heat teases through me, and I shiver.
“With you?”
He nods.