The way she clenched and shivered and held onto me like that. There was no holding back. I groaned into her skin as release tore through me, and I had to brace a hand against the wall beside her head just to stay upright.
“Professor Carrington!” I moaned.
She held onto me like she didn’t want to let me go, and I stayed inside her. Breathed her in, feeling every last pulse of her body around mine.
By the time we finally stopped moving, the bar felt different. As if our bodies had left something changed in the air. Like the place was holding its breath right along with us.
Lila leaned against my chest, breathing slow and steady, and I wrapped my arms around her without thinking. The reality of what we had done began to sink in.
Rules. Lines. Consequences.
None of it mattered.
Not tonight.
Not with her in my arms.
26
Lila
We cleaned ourselves up in silence, quickly dressing and going back to cleaning up the bar. We exchanged glances and smiles, and I couldn’t help but giggle at howfunit all was.
When the chairs were all stacked, I walked up to Brock and put my hand on his back. “I need to tell you something. It’s a secret that you need to keep.”
He frowned. “Okay…”
“Jace and I have been sleeping together.” It was the first time I had said it out loud, I realized. An unseen weight felt like it had been lifted from my shoulders. “For a couple of weeks now.”
Brock stared at me. “What makes you think youneededto tell me that?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had multiple partners at the same time before. It feelswrongnot to at least let you know.”
He thought about this for a few seconds, then nodded. “I appreciate that. But I already kind of knew.”
“Wait, really?” I asked. “Did he tell you?”
“He didn’t have to. You two have been kind of obvious about it.” He must have seen the way I tensed, because he quickly said,“Obvious tome, because I know both of you. And have been watching for it. You share private little smiles when nobody else is looking. Also, you glance up at him a lot during class. I’ve seen him texting you while you’re giving your lecture. So I suspected, but didn’tknowuntil right now.”
I sighed heavily. “Okay. Thanks for explaining that.”
“Anything else you need to get off your chest?” he asked with a grin.
“Well…” I licked my lips. My throat felt dry all of a sudden. “There’s one thing I need to say about what just happened here…”
“That we can’t tell anyone?” he asked.
I blinked. “How’d you guess?”
“It’s all I’ve been able to think about,” he explained. “Believe me, I understand what’s at stake if this comes out. For you, I mean.”
I smiled. “Thanks for understanding. It’s… kind of unnerving when other people have something to hold over your head.”
“I would never—”
“I know,” I said, putting my hand on his chest. “I’m just telling you how I feel. Thanks. It’s good to know I can trust you. I should get going.”
I gathered my bag and coat, but Brock still stood in the same spot at the bar. He was staring at the ground, like he was frozen.
