Page 38 of Tempting the President (Oro Nero MC)
Dear Ashton,
You know I love you, right? But you also get it that my heart is so big that other people can fit in it. Right?
I’ll give you your favorite chocolate later if you say you understand.
Love, Big Sis
THE LECTURE HALL WAS shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the PowerPoint presentation projected on the white screen.
In front of us, the professor was still talking, her back to us as she explained about art forgery and why we shouldn’t even include it in our vocabulary.
I was pretty sure she had a lot of good points, but most of it flew over my head since—-
My eyed strayed towards the clock mounted on top of the board.
Ten minutes before class ended.
My teeth clenched. I hate you, Kellion Argyros. The darn biker had turned my life into one big countdown.
I forced myself to concentrate, but it was near impossible. The professor was speaking in English, but I felt like I had suddenly turned Brazilian-Japanese and I couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Time continued to move ever so slowly, and I tried not to fidget in my seat.
*head desk*
But the thought wasn’t enough, and I slowly lowered my head to my desk.
Beside me, KC choked.
Oops.
When I turned to her, she already had her phone out, a message typed on the screen. Did you just hit the desk with your head?
Straightening in my seat, I shook my head. Nope.
She rolled her eyes. You totally did.
I didn’t need that one typed out to get what she was saying, but I just shrugged, determined to lie until the end—-
My eyes found its way to the clock again.
Eight minutes.
No. It couldn’t be. Had it just been two minutes? It felt like more time had passed since the last time I checked. I grabbed my pen, twirling it around with my fingers, trying to distract myself—-
KC was nudging me with her phone again.
KC: Have you gotten better at signing?
I grimaced at the question.
Me: Improving, but I’m still not as fluent as Kellion and I HATE IT.
KC had to smother her laugh when she took her phone and read my reply.
I tried not to, but my eyes were stubborn, flitting back towards the clock—-
Six minutes.
Noooooo.
Something had to be wrong with the clock. It had to be moving slower than it should. It was impossible that just two minutes—-
I put a foot on my mental brakes when I realized what I was doing, realized I was freaking out because it was six minutes until Kellion Argyros came for me and I couldn’t bear to wait for him to take me.
*head desk*
Oh, Ashton. Would you still be proud of me if—-
I almost jumped out of my own seat when I realized what I had started to think, realized who I had been talking to in my mind.
Ashton.
Oh God, Ashton.
But for some reason, thinking about him now didn’t hurt quite as much, didn’t make me want to cry until my eyes bled.
My chest started to tighten, my emotions working like a wrench on the screws of my heart, making sure it wouldn’t stop beating. Was it because of Kellion that I could think of my little brother now without wanting to kill myself?
Even before I finished asking myself the question, the answer was already there, with the way my chest felt so, so tight, the way the whole world around me was no longer a blur...The answer was in the way I couldn’t help looking at the clock—-
Three minutes.
My eyes drifted close, and this time I allowed myself to feel it.
All the longing, the excitement, the desire.
This time, I allowed myself to imagine. His beautiful face.
His expressive green eyes. His rock-hard body.
His cock. This time, I just let time pass me by as I allowed myself to remember.
Every look, every word, every promise...
The bell buzzed.
It was time.
If time moved slowly a while ago, it moved at the speed of light now. The professor reminded us about our quiz next week. Students filed out of the room.
And then—-
Kellion.
He had stepped inside the room, his eyes searching for me, and when our gazes collided, I could have sworn the floor under me trembled, the way he literally rocked my world.
Just by being there, Kellion eclipsed everything else. He was all I could see. All I could love.
His hair was still wet, like he had just taken a shower.
He had also changed clothes, looking even more gorgeous than usual in his black sweater and low-slung jeans.
The V-neckline of his shirt showed enough of his chest to make me gulp.
It felt like a preview of the rest of what I’d be seeing tonight.
His beautiful face was impassive, but oh, those green eyes. His gaze spoke a thousand words. Hello. You’re beautiful. Finally, I get to fuck you...
Yes, exactly those words and more.
Beside me, KC said softly, “Ah.”
It was hard to look away from Kellion, but I managed.
KC smiled at me. “I get it now.”
I blinked.
“Why you guys are not the type to say ‘I love you’,” she explained.
That had me blinking again.
“You guys already say it all the time with your eyes.”
Oh.
Something inside me clicked at her words, my chest tightening, my heart swaying unevenly, intoxicated by the meaning behind KC’s words.
Oh.
It was so ridiculously hard to be coherent when you felt so much.
After that, KC must have said goodbye and I must have said goodbye back. I wasn’t really sure. I couldn’t remember much of it. I wasn't even sure how I managed to stand in front of Kellion.
When he reached for my hand and drew me to him, I didn’t even think of resisting.
When he tipped my chin, his head lowering, I only closed my eyes, my breath catching as his lips, warm and tender, brushed against mine.
My heart skipped one, two – no, there wasn’t any end in sight, with the way it kept skipping.
God, this biker. He just made me fall harder and harder for him.
KELLION HAD AN ACTUAL limousine waiting, and the sight of it made me want to turn tail and run. Kellion acted so normal with me, nothing like the conceited ass most rich guys I knew did, that I could easily pretend to myself he was not rich and famous.
As Kellion walked me towards his car, his numerous fans threw daggers at me with their eyes. If only I could catch one of those and throw it at the guy beside me instead.
Tugging on his sleeve to get him to bend down, I hissed under my breath, “Limo... really ?”
“It’s a special occasion,” he whispered back just before turning his head towards me, causing our lips to touch.
Oh!
“Oops.” Kellion sounded sincerely apologetic, which of course meant he was not, and the way his green eyes gleamed told me I was right.
God, this biker. Didn’t he know he was just making more enemies for me? Right now, half of the school’s female population weren’t just glaring daggers. This time, their furious gazes were throwing the equivalent of A-bombs on me, hoping I’d disintegrate into nothing.
When we reached the car, the driver smiled at me in greeting as he opened the door for us. As soon as the door closed, I started kicking him, again and again, and harder when it only had him laughing.
“Stop it.”
Another hard kick.
He laughed. “Ah, terataki. Don’t you know that you make me want you more this way?
” Ignoring my struggles, he pulled me onto his lap, forcing my head back down against his chest. My resistance was half-hearted, and already I could feel my body slowly relaxing against him.
Being on Kellion’s lap was my favorite place in the world, but it was also a secret I’d take to the grave with me.
“I’ve made reservations at Mario’s,” Kellion murmured over my head. “I thought we should have dinner first. Is that okay?”
I nodded against his chest. Mario’s was a cozy Italian restaurant a few blocks away from uni. Great ambience, but not too fancy that I’d feel uncomfortable.
“How is it working for Helios so far?”
I answered honestly, “Like...working...for...myself.”
Kellion laughed, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling a little, too. “That grumpy, huh?”
“Yeah.” But I didn’t really mind. Helios was a good boss, and designing for the club was a lot more interesting than serving drinks at la-di-dah parties.
“And classes? You’ve got a trip coming up next week, right?”
“Uh...huh.” Talking was still hard, but I tried to do it more and more when I was alone with him.
“I’m going with you, of course.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. He was? Before I could react to that, he had already moved on to another question. Listening to him, answering him, a part of me was reeling at just how much this man knew about my life.
“My lawyer will be handling all correspondence from your parents,” Kellion was saying. “He’ll let you know if there’s something you should be informed about.”
“Thank...you.” It was a responsibility I was glad to get rid of since most of Dan and Amelie’s letters tended to consist of demands that I do something to get them released from prison.
“Your investment portfolio went up by 3.1%, by the way.” Kellion was one of the few people who knew I had given away most of my earnings to fund additional research on ADHD, leaving myself with just enough to pay for college until graduation.
He was also one of the few who didn’t think I was crazy for doing it, one of the few whose first question was not why I did it.
“Is...the...profit...enough...for...me...to...buy—-” I paused, going through my mental shopping list for art supplies. “—-new...pens?”
“Depends. How much does it cost?”
“About...$150?”
“You wish,” he said in such a cheerful manner I just had to kick him again. It was hard, since I was on his lap, but I managed. Sometimes, I had a nasty feeling he was praying that I didn’t earn so much from my investments just so he’d have an excuse to buy me stuff.
“Should I buy it for you then?”
I kicked him again. That was my answer.