Page 84 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Saturday

I pulled up outside Sussex Hall. Eight o’clock was early on campus on the weekends and there wasn’t a student in sight.

Parties wouldn’t start until later. And the dining halls were already closed.

It would be a ghost town until later when Main Street would be flooded with drunk students without a care in the world.

That was why I’d chosen this time. For just a few moments, Penny and I could be a normal couple dating on campus.

No one would look at us like a professor and his student.

Especially at the back entrance of her dorm building.

I looked around once more to make sure the coast was clear and put my car into park.

The camera Ian had placed outside the dorm’s door was impossible to see. Even though I had designed it and had already seen the angle of the video footage. I smiled to myself. An undetectable high-quality surveillance system. That was the whole point.

Even though this use hadn’t been my intention, I was still pleased with the results.

There were always consequences to new tech.

The list was a mile long with this camera.

The world was full of disgusting people.

And there wasn’t a way to keep it out of their hands if I went through with production. Except for the exorbitant price tag.

I straightened my tie. I wasn’t going to think about business tonight. Penny was my sole focus. I needed to figure out whatever was going on between us. Whether it was all in my head. Whether it was real. Whether it could and should be more than a one-time thing.

My body tensed when I heard her dorm door open. But then she appeared with a smile on her face and I breathed a little easier. It didn’t matter how the date went. I already knew we would be more than a one-time thing. That number would go up tonight if everything went according to plan.

For just a moment, I watched her walking down the steps, knowing she couldn’t see me through the tinted glass of my windows.

She was wearing a strapless, summery dress and a brown belt that cinched around her waist. Not that she needed the belt to have a sexy hourglass frame.

You could tell she was perfect even when she was wearing one of my sweaters.

She took the stairs slowly and I smiled.

She probably wasn’t used to wearing heels.

There was something comforting about the fact that she was just a normal girl.

Not one that spent the weekends at red carpet events and elite charity functions, more concerned with climbing social ranks than having fun.

She was real. Down to earth. And despite what Ian thought, she wasn’t after me because of my money.

She liked me for God knows what reason. And I couldn’t wait to know more about her.

Before she could reach the car, I looked around to make sure we were still alone and stepped out.

She just stared at me as I walked around the car and opened the door for her.

I got a whiff of her cherry perfume and remembered the feeling of my lips pressed against her skin.

I swallowed hard. It had been too long. I wasn’t used to waiting for things that I wanted. And my patience was wearing thin.

"Hi, Professor Hunter."

I grabbed her face in my hands, leaned in, and kissed her. We were supposed to discuss us tonight, but instead all I wanted to do was rip off all her clothes again. Breathe . But even telling myself to focus on my breathing didn’t help. Not when all I smelled when I breathed in was her.

I forced myself to break the kiss. "Good evening, Penny." I tilted my head, motioning for her to get in my car. "We should get going. We have a reservation."

She slowly stepped back, like she’d rather be ripping off my clothes too, and got into the car. I closed the door behind her and took another slow breath. I needed to focus on her, not just all the ways I wanted to have her.

I climbed into the car and sped off without opening the conversation back up.

I was worried that I didn’t have enough willpower to resist her.

That we’d end up on the side of the road fucking instead of getting to our destination.

And I’d spent a lot of money to make tonight perfect.

She deserved that. Besides, I already knew we were compatible in bed.

I wanted to know if we were compatible in other ways.

"Where are we going?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Someplace where we can be alone." I merged onto I-95. The farther I drove away from campus the less wrong this felt. We were just two adults on a date. And there was nothing wrong with that.

"But I haven't had anything to eat."

I lowered my eyebrows. Did she seriously think I wasn’t going to feed her? What kind of dates had she been going on? "Yes, I'm taking you to dinner."

She settled into the passenger’s seat, looking more relaxed by the minute. "So you wanted to discuss what you meant by just this once?"

I was surprised that she jumped right into the heart of the matter. She kept surprising me. "I meant what I said." That’s all we were supposed to be.

"Oh." She turned away from me and stared out the window. "I don't understand why you asked me to dinner then." Her voice sounded small.

I wasn’t trying to upset her. I was just being honest. But I’d left off an important detail. "Because I've changed my mind."

"Why?" She turned back to me.

I took my attention away from the road for a second. "Because I can't stop thinking about you, Penny."

"I can't stop thinking about you either."

We drove in silence for a few moments. I tried to focus on the road instead of on her.

She was wearing red lipstick which made her look a little older.

It was like she was trying to be more sophisticated for me.

I wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary.

That I liked her exactly how she was. She didn’t need to be someone she wasn’t for me.

That wasn’t what tonight was for at all. I just wanted her to be herself.

I tried to concentrate on the road, but it was almost impossible when she was beside me. My gaze kept gravitating back to her, like I couldn’t resist. I watched her bite her lip as she looked out the windshield.

She turned back to me. "Did you grow up around here?" she asked.

"No. I'm from New York."

"What made you come here to teach then?"

I gripped the wheel a little tighter. I wanted to know more about her, but I had forgotten that she’d be asking me questions about myself.

Personal things weren’t something I talked about freely.

I was barely honest with my shrink. Let alone a beautiful woman.

I thought about the suggestion Dr. Clark had given me – that I’d need to be honest. But I wasn’t ready to lose Penny yet.

"I needed a change." It was a vague answer, but at least it was true.

"Did you live in the city?"

"Yes."

"I understand why you needed a change then."

I laughed. "Not a fan of New York City?"

"Everything is so loud and busy all the time. And everyone seems so depressed on the subway."

"I wouldn't know, I rarely rode the subway." But I agreed with the first thing she’d said. NYC was loud. And busy. It was easy to get lost in all that.

"I'm sure the taxis aren't much better. And there's not enough grass."

I laughed again. This was a topic she had a strong opinion about.

But she hadn’t seen my New York. I had a feeling a subway and taxi-free experience with a view of Central Park could easily change her mind.

Not that I wanted to go back. I’d left for a good reason.

"Well it is very different from here. Is this where you grew up? "

"I live about an hour away,” she said. “Well, an hour from school. I don't really know where we are now."

I pulled into the country club’s entrance without answering her. She’d see for herself soon enough.

A valet quickly came to her door and opened it for her.

"Welcome, madam," he said and put out his hand for her to grab.

I climbed out of the car while he assisted her.

"Hello, Mr. Hunter," the valet said with a huge smile. "I've heard so much about you."

I was sure he had. The whole staff had been briefed about the new ownership transition. And about the importance of this evening. I handed the valet the key. "Thank you."

I put my hand on the small of Penny’s back and escorted her inside.

The marble floors had been polished since the last time I’d been here. And the chandelier glistened even brighter. Small cosmetic changes and the place already seemed livelier.

The same hostess that had greeted me the other day walked up to us. "Mr. Hunter. Your table is ready." She seemed nervous to be talking to me this time. I wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t let any of the previous staff go. I wanted things running as seamlessly as possible. Especially for tonight.

We followed her down the hallway and entered the restaurant.

I felt like everyone turned to look at us.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get patrons to sign confidentiality agreements, or else I would have.

There were no country club members that also went to the University of New Castle.

Ian had confirmed it after I bought the place.

But the restaurant was open to the public.

Hopefully no one I knew or that knew me was here.

The hostess showed us into the private room in the back that I’d requested. There was a roaring fire and an elegant loveseat to one side. In the middle of the room was a table with a flower arrangement in the center. A bottle of wine and two glasses were already on the table. It was perfect.

"Your waiter will be right with you," she said and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Penny looked up at me. "Where are we?"

"My country club."