Page 169 of Drown Like Heaven
His request genuinely shocked me, and my eyes flicked over to his before I could stop them. I hoped all my vulnerability wasn’t showing in my gaze, but I knew it probably was.
“Fine,” I answered quietly.
“Thank you.”
Some of the tightness in my chest loosened with his words.
And then he suddenly scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder. Shock made me cry out, a surprised smile tugging on my mouth.
I couldn’t control the laughter from tumbling past my lips as I smacked his back, then leaned down to smack his ass, too. He did the same to me, considerably harder.
It made me feel normal.
?????
Micah’s house was nice, and mostly what I would’ve expected from him. Decorated enough to look lived-in without being cluttered. All his things were nice—no cheap shit. Even his soap was expensive. He didn’t give me much of a tour, but I saw enough on the way to his bedroom to figure out the layout of the place.
After sex, he brought me down the living room, where I spread all my homework out on the coffee table, sitting on the Persian-style rug. He disappeared into the kitchen to put onwater for pasta or something. I didn’t remember what he’d told me he was making for dinner, but I didn’t care either. It would be better than whatever I had at my place.
“Micah!” I called after a few minutes.
He came into the living room with a smile on his face. “I like that. You just yelling for me in my own house.” He crouched next to me. “What do you need?”
“Help me. Please. It’s not your class so it’s not an unfair advantage.”
An amused chuckle escaped him as his eyes scanned over my laptop screen. “Alright. Let’s see…heat exchanger networks.”
“You always knoweverythingI’m learning.” I sighed. I liked it a lot.
“Yeah? Does that turn you on?” he teased.
I gave an exaggerated scowl, face flushing.
“Yes. I’m also kinda cold,” I said, the air conditioning blowing right on me. “Do you have a sweatshirt or something?”
“You’re being incredibly demanding right now. But yes. Wait here.” He stood and disappeared upstairs. I smiled to myself, happiness glowing in my chest.
But the noise of the lock turning on the front door zapped all that joyful glow away in an instant. I froze, turning to stare at the door, icy coldness washing over me. I had no clue who the hell would have a key to his house, and why he wouldn’ttellme beforehand…
The door started to open.
And my heart dropped.
Mason Ashborn, the man who I’d been avoiding after spilling every dark secret in my head, was walking into Micah’s house. Right now.
My mouth popped open for a few seconds, then I snapped it shut, my teeth grinding together while panic clawed at my chest.His eyes were less surprised than I thought they would be, more angry.
So apparently my nightmare knew my professor well enough to have his own key, and to not feel the need to knock. What the hell were the odds of that?
Who are your professors this semester?
I felt like I couldn’t breathe, all the oxygen in the room burning away with the flame of my anxiety. I stared down at the table, tracing a groove in the wood with my fingernail as my two very-separate worlds collided. So much dread and fear was building in my system that I was getting nauseous.
Micah came down the steps and rounded the banister, eyes flicking to mine for an instant. A strange expression pulled on his face, but it was gone before I could identify it.
“This is Mason,” he said, gesturing to the man whose name I already knew. He handed me a thick sweatshirt; I took it stiffly. “Mason, this is Dakota.”
Mason’s eyes narrowed. “She one of your students?”
