Page 62 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

Temptation - Chapter 33

Monday

We pulled into the parking garage of the fancy new apartments that had been built on the edge of Main Street. "You live here?" I remembered seeing flyers advertising them. I think you could buy one of them for close to a million dollars. Professor Hunter was definitely loaded.

"Yes." He turned onto the third story of the parking garage. He pulled into a space next to his black Audi coupe and a line of several other cars.

"Your neighbors have really nice cars too." Of course they did. Anyone who could afford to live here was insanely wealthy.

He stepped out of the convertible. "Those are mine."

"Seriously?" I got out of the car and looked around. "All of them? One of them looks like the Batmobile!"

"Yeah. Turns out it's never very convenient to drive though. And it doesn't give me any superpowers." He put his hands in his pockets as he watched me take my hoodie out of my bag, zip it up, and lift the hood over my head.

"Okay, I'm ready," I said.

"What, do you think I'm sneaking you in? I don't believe that anyone from the university lives here."

"Well I don't want to get caught. Someone in the lobby might see us."

He laughed. "Okay." He put his hand on the small of my back and led me over to an elevator. I noticed that there were two other elevators in the parking garage. One was in the middle andone was on the opposite side from us.Weird.I was just about to ask why there weren't any buttons by the elevator when he opened his wallet and swiped a card where the buttons usually would be. The doors opened immediately and we stepped in. He touched the button for the top floor and the elevator doors closed.

"Penthouse, huh?"

"I guess you could say that."

I looked around the elevator. There was a door on the opposite side of the elevator as well. So maybe each floor had two apartments? I thought about the other two elevators. No, each floor probably had six apartments. I had seen elevators going directly to rooms before in the movies, but never in real life. But when the elevator stopped, the doors didn't open. Professor Hunter took out a different card and swiped it next to the buttons. The doors parted, he grabbed my hand, and we stepped into his apartment.

"Wow." I walked down the few steps from the elevator and looked around. I was standing in his living room, which was surrounded by windows that overlooked the small college town. Professor Hunter walked over to the fireplace, touched a button, and a flame burst to life. There was no T.V., no magazines on the coffee table, and the modern couch looked like no one had ever sat on it. The kitchen to the right had granite countertops and shiny new appliances. And there was a dining area with a vase of fresh flowers in the center of the table.

I had completely forgotten to thank him for my flowers. "Oh, Professor Hunter. Thanks for the friendship roses."

He laughed. "You're welcome."

"But really, thank you. How did you know I was going to agree to skip class anyway?"

"I just hoped you would. And I know that I can be pretty persuasive."

"Yes, you can."

It was hard to pull my eyes away from his, but I was still curious about the apartment. I looked around again. I wasn't sure what I had expected. I just thought by being in his place I'd get a sense of who he was. The apartment was immaculate, but there were barely any decorations. It felt cold. It didn't look like anyone lived here at all. It looked more like a sample apartment that people could come look at when they were deciding if they wanted to buy one.

"Okay, so this is the living room." He walked over to me, grabbed my hand, and steered me to the windows all along the back of the apartment. I looked left toward Main Street. The lights from the small shops made it look beautiful. He wrapped his arms around me.

"It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful," he whispered into my ear.

I laughed. "I'm a mess." I was sweaty from the beach and my skin was tight from the salt water. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Well, I was thinking maybe a quick shower could be the rain portion of the date you requested."

"Actually, that sounds perfect. Are you sure that's okay?" I turned around to face him.

He was smiling down at me. "Come with me." He grabbed my hand and led me to one of the closed off rooms next to thekitchen. He turned on the lights and I felt my body tremble slightly. It was his bedroom. I couldn't help but imagine all the things that he might do to me in here. Professor Hunter's bed was in the center. His sheets were pristine white and the bed was made perfectly. I never made my bed.Ever.Not even when my mother bugged me about it.

He turned on another light and stepped into his walk-in closet. There was a whole row of white collared shirts and suit jackets. And below it, all his pants were folded on hangers, even his jeans.Who hangs up jeans?I thought about the clothes all over the floor in my dorm room. He'd be horrified.