Page 48 of Give In

My brows shot up as I dragged my attention from the apartment door to look at him. “Why?”

“First of all, we haven’t talked yet.”

“We’ll talk some other time,” I lied.

His narrowed eyes let me know I wasn’t fooling him. “Second, I’m finding I enjoy this position.” He moved closer to me. “And last, I’m not leaving you here.”

My gaze darted to watch the door. Adrenaline sizzled through my veins, making my head swim and my pulse pound. Speaking quickly before we were discovered, I said, “I’ve lived here a while and nothing’s happened. I told you we’d talk soon. We will. But I’m exhausted.”

“So come home with me.”

“Are you crazy?” I shook my head and pushed his shoulders, though he barely rocked. “No. Go.”

“I’m not above threatening to make a scene.”

His words were spoken matter-of-factly, as were mine when I asked, “What’s your deal with that?”

Professor Caine shrugged. “It’s effective. Now come home with me. Sleep where I know you won’t be robbed in the middle of the night.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Okay.” He moved away from me, heading into the lobby.

That was… surprisingly easy.

My relief crashed when I realized he wasn’t leaving. As though he belonged in a slummy apartment in the middle of the night, he sat on the nasty couch and lounged back.

“I hope you know, your ass is now a Jackson Pollock painting of various human fluids. Actually, I take back the human part. There’s likely animal there, too.” I rushed to stand in front of the couch in a futile attempt to block him from anyone’s view. “What’re you doing?”

“Just making sure everyone knows I’m here,” he said, his words getting progressively louder.

I covered his mouth and whispered, “Seriously, are you insane?”

His answer came out muffled, his lips teasing my palm.

I dropped my hand. “What?”

“You asked if I was insane. I said, yeah, probably.” He leaned back, stretching his arms along the back of the couch. “Go up to bed. I’ll stay here so I know you’re safe.”

“No. Go home.”

He crossed his legs, putting his ankle up on his bent knee as he settled in. “Not unless you come with me.”

There were voices at the end of the hall, and somewhere a door opened.

I reached down and grabbed his wrist, yanking it hard. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Once I’d pulled him outside, I stopped and released him, unsure which direction to head.

He wrapped his arm around me and turned us left. “Was that so hard?”

“You’re such a dick,” I muttered, scanning the empty street to make sure no one saw us.

“So you’ve said.” He opened the passenger door of a nice car.

I didn’t know anything about them, but I knew his was sweet. Of course, compared to my jalopy, anything with functioning heat would be a luxury vehicle.

Climbing inside, I practically sank into the lush seat. When he got in, I rolled my head to look at him. “Why do you have to make everything so hard?”