Page 123 of Give In

I’d threatened to punish Eden, and she’d asked if I promised.

Every time I thought I knew her, she surprised me. And every time I thought I knew the depths of my addiction to her, she said something like that and I fell deeper. Or she smiled, and I fell deeper. Or laughed. Talked. Moved. Breathed. Existed.

I was addicted to all of her, including the attitude she gave me.

Especially that.

Staring at her ass as she walked away, my dick went hard as I pictured her perfect cheeks red and hot. I was about to call her back to me, goad her into giving me more of her attitude, when her body went rigid.

My gaze shot up when she spun around fast. Her face was pale, the mischief and lust that’d lit her eyes was replaced by panic and something I couldn’t read, but it twisted my gut nonetheless. Then it was gone, her expression smoothing out as her eyes went blank. She turned toward the door just as someone knocked on it, though they didn’t wait for a response before entering.

I barely glanced at the man and woman who came in first, my focus on trying to read Eden. When someone else joined them, I turned my attention to see a woman I’d only met a handful of times.

Shit. This is either really good or really bad.

A plastic smile was in place as she gestured in front of her. “Oh, good, we’ve found her.”

Her?

“And we’re in luck,” she continued. “This is the professor I wanted you to meet but wasn’t sure we’d be able to catch. Damien Caine is one of our best, which unfortunately means his time is in high demand.”

Knowing how to play the game, I hid my surprise at the unheard-of visit and acted as though the president of the whole damn university frequently popped into classrooms. I climbed the last couple of steps and offered my hand. “President Diaz, you know I always have room in my schedule for you.”

Eden jolted almost imperceptibly.

If she didn’t know this was President Diaz, why was she panicking?

President Diaz’s shoulders visibly relaxed, her smile warming as she shook my hand. “And I appreciate it. This is Noah and Ruth Wilkes.”

Recognizing the name immediately, my eyes darted to truly look at the couple. I worked to hide my surprise as I extended my hand to the governor of Iowa.

What the hell warrants this?

“Governor,” I greeted, shaking his hand before switching to his wife’s. “Ma’am.”

President Diaz turned to the couple. “Damien Caine is our professor of political theory. His classes and waitlist fill within five minutes of registration. Of course,” she added giving me a look, “I may have to reconsider your standing at the top since you never shared that one of your students was the daughter of a governor.”

My brows lowered. “Who?”

“Me,” Eden whispered, stepping forward again. There was no emotion in her tone when she looked between the man and woman, saying, “Hi, Dad. Mom.”

I had iron fucking control, but even I couldn’t hide my astonishment at the revelation.

“You didn’t know,” President Diaz surmised from my jaw on the floor.

“Our daughter is very secretive,” the man—Eden’s damn father—said. “Private. Proud. She doesn’t want anyone to treat her different, so she uses my wife’s maiden name to hide.” He offered a politician’s smile. “Or at least try to.”

President Diaz gave a small laugh and looked Eden’s way. Whatever she saw made her wince. “I thought… I mean… I—”

Eden forced a smile. Dull and fake, it hurt to see. “I’m sorry, I’m just so surprised.”

“Your father mentioned you couldn’t make it home for the holidays. They wanted to surprise you,” President Diaz muttered, eying everyone as though she were trying to get a read on the room.

“That’s very thoughtful. Thank you for helping them find me.”

President Diaz beamed. “You’re welcome. I’m going to finish the tour if you’d like to join us.”

I’d thought she was sharp, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that it wasn’t a joyous family reunion. Her relief made me wonder if she was being willfully ignorant or just not paying attention.

---