Текст книги "Undone"

Автор книги: R. E. Hunter

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

17

Embry snapped her jaw shut as she watched Luke. He turned toward the woman and guided her to a table, his hand on the small of her back. Bile crept up Embry’s throat, and she had to grip the table for support. Turning away from Luke, she saw Morgan’s concerned face. She must have followed Embry’s eyes.

“Um, we’ll be right back!” Morgan announced, hopping from her stool to grab Embry.

“Weren’t you girls just in the bathroom?” Brett asked, shaking his head.

“Shut it, babe.” Morgan’s eyes sliced across the room, giving Brett a hint. He had no idea what Luke looked like and probably thought his girlfriend was crazy, but he shrugged and went back to his conversation.

As Embry followed Morgan back to the bathroom, she heard Jeremy say, “Hey, isn’t that Professor Brody? Holy shit, that chick is hot!” A small whimper escaped her lips.

Morgan pulled her into the bathroom. “Shit, Bree, I’m so sorry. What the hell is going on with you guys?”

“Clearly nothing is going on with us,” Embry said, trying to compose herself. She flipped the toilet cover down with her foot and plopped on top of it, staring at the floor. How had it gotten to that point between them? They were angry and bitter, fighting their feelings so hard, and seeking comfort anywhere else.

He’d seen her with Brendan and that had to have hurt, but she hadn’t gone on a date. Brendan was sprung on her, and although she was having fun, nothing could distract her from Luke. But him? He was on a date. After everything, he was with someone else. Images flooded her mind: Luke kissing someone else, touching someone else, shirtless and turned on and braced above someone else in his bed. She couldn’t bear it. That had to have been who he was on the phone with when she’d walked into his office earlier. He was planning his date right in front of her.

“Morgan, I have to get out of here,” she pleaded. Tears threatened to fall.

“Bree, think about how that’ll look. Luke walks in and you turn white as a sheet and leave? I dragged you away from the table before Jeremy and Cindy saw your face, but you can’t let on that he’s bothering you. Just go out there, have another beer or two, and try to ignore it. I promise we’ll leave soon.”

It was easy for Morgan to suggest that. She had no idea what’d been going on. Embry and Luke had been pushing every boundary they had. A touch here, a kiss there, his middle-of-the-night rescue. There was no ignoring Luke, especially when he was across the room with another woman. Embry could lay no claim to him, and that hurt the most. No matter what went on between them behind closed doors, no one could know. She could never go out to dinner with him or be seen with him in public. But that would never change.

She had two choices at the moment. She could put on a brave face, enjoy the rest of her night, and deal with Luke later, or she could run out crying. No matter how upset she was, she knew option two wasn’t the way to go.

She stood up, splashed some water on her face, and touched up her makeup. “You’re right. Let’s go have fun.”

* * *

About an hour later, Jeremy left with Cindy. Embry hadn’t made much effort to get to know her. Cindy wouldn’t be around long anyway, so Embry didn’t feel too bad about it. She had enjoyed herself, laughing with Brett, Morgan, and Brendan, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Luke. He seemed to be having the same problem. She felt his eyes on her and caught him glaring at her multiple times.

When she sat back down after giving Jeremy a hug good-bye, she glanced in Luke’s direction. He and his date had slipped out. Anxiety clutched at her stomach, and she struggled to keep her thoughts from going to what they’d be doing next. Would he kiss her? Take her home? Had he been with her already?

“Hey,” Morgan said, gently nudging Embry. “You want to get out of here?”

Embry nodded. They walked to the parking lot, said their good-byes to Brendan, and got in the car. Morgan or Brett must’ve warned him off, because other than a sweet kiss on the cheek, he didn’t push her. She was relieved she didn’t have to turn him down. She didn’t want to have to explain her situation. She didn’t even know what her situation was.

Morgan and Brett dropped her off by her car in the student parking lot. She slipped in, threw her purse on the passenger seat, and searched for her school tote. Her studying had taken a back seat to her memo, and she had a lot of catching up to do over the weekend. She checked the back of the car and rummaged around in her trunk before she realized exactly where her bag was. She’d left it in Luke’s office when she ran out that afternoon. Shit!

She was thankful Luke had given her a key to his office. After grabbing her purse, she walked back to the school and up to the faculty wing. The building was still open since the law library didn’t close until late, but all of the faculty had left. It was eerily quiet. She walked to his door, inserted the key, and walked in. Her eyes went to her bag, sitting right where she’d left it. She nearly screamed when she looked up and found Luke sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, his banker lamp the only thing lighting the room.

“Oh! You scared me. I’m s-sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”

He looked up at her, his face unreadable. “Who was that?”

“What?” She wasn’t sure who he was referring to.

“Who was that you were with at the bar?” he asked again.

She felt the tension rolling off of him, and she didn’t like his tone. It was too accusatory considering he’d been there with someone himself.

“You should talk,” she scoffed. “Who was that woman you were with?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. “Who. Was. That?” The words were spoken deliberately as if he were fighting to keep his calm.

“It was no one, Luke. I was out with friends.”

“He looked more than friendly to me.”

“Yeah? Well it didn’t look like you were just having a friendly bite to eat with that blonde bimbo.”

“Careful. She’s a colleague.”

“Careful? You show up on a date, and you’re pissed at me because I was having fun with some friends? Brendan is just a friend.”

He flinched at Brendan’s name. Shit. He didn’t need to know his name, just like she had no desire to know the name of the girl he was with. She knew why Luke was upset. She felt the same way.

“Look, he’s a friend of Brett’s,” Embry said. “I just met him.”

“Really? You looked pretty cozy. You were practically in his lap.”

“What do you want me to say? I’m sorry I flirted with someone else?”

He stared daggers at her but refused to respond.

Embry threw her hands up. “Fine! I’m sorry. I’m sorry I tried to have fun for one night. I’m sorry I wanted to feel like a normal person instead of the girl sneaking around with her professor she has feelings for.”

He let out a breath, some of the tension falling from his shoulders. “You ran out of here so fast today. Why?”

She was thrown by the change in subject. “Seriously? Are you completely oblivious to how you affect me?”

His anger seemed to recede further as he stared at her with an unreadable expression.

“Do you need me to explain to you how hard it is for me to be around you? How I can’t think straight when you’re near me? How I can’t breathe when you get too close? That despite how hard it is, I find myself rationalizing all of this,”—she waved her hand around wildly—”just to find another excuse to be near you?”

Luke’s face fell. He stood from his desk and stalked toward her. He cupped her cheeks, and her hands flew up to his forearms, trying to steady herself.

“I didn’t know,” he said, his voice filled with sincerity.

“Didn’t know what?”

“How I affected you,” he said quietly.

“How can you even say that?”

He just shook his head, looking down. His proximity was distracting. Having him so close, his hands on her, was a heady feeling, but she refused to let it sidetrack her.

“Luke,” she said, wanting an explanation.

He met her eyes. “I’m going along with this because it’s what you want. I didn’t give you a choice to begin with, so I’m giving you one now. You say we can’t be together, and I’m trying to respect that. But then you play these games—”

“Games? You think this is a game to me? I’m not playing a game. I’m trying to stay away from you, and it’s impossible. I’m not playing a game,” she said again, barely a whisper. She saw the battle raging in his eyes.

“You want to stay away from me, Embry? It’s not impossible.” He dragged his hands down her body, coming to rest on her hips. “Tell me to stop.” He held her eyes for a minute before snaking his thumbs under the hem of her shirt, brushing gently across her bare skin and leaving a trail of heat. “Tell me you can’t work with me.” He gripped her hips and pulled her to him as he leaned in, nuzzling her neck. “Tell me not to touch you.”

Chills broke out across her skin.

He pulled back, flicking his eyes to hers once more before gently ghosting his lips against hers. “Tell me not to kiss you.”

She was rendered speechless as he ran his hands back up her body, tangled them in her hair, and settled his mouth fully on hers. She was putty in his hands, and her body responded without another thought. “I can’t. I can’t tell you to stop.”

He pulled her lip between his teeth and sucked gently, causing a tightening in her core. “Tell me why.” He released her lip to kiss down her neck, his hands finding their way under her sweater.

She could tell him to stop—should tell him to stop—but his lips were everywhere and she couldn’t think straight. She was forced to say the first thing that came to her muddled mind. The truth. “I don’t want you to.”

His eyes shot to hers and she gave a small nod, answering the question in his eyes. Luke growled as he found her mouth again. All thought left her mind, and she let her body take over. Digging her hands into his hair, she climbed his body, wrapping her legs around his waist as he walked her backward. Sweeping the files from his desk, he set her down, never breaking the kiss.

She pulled back to stare into those baby blues she’d missed so much. So many thoughts ran through her mind as she lost herself in his eyes. A nagging voice told her to slow down, but she pushed it back. She’d deal with the consequences later. She pulled him down, and he swept his tongue into her mouth again, demanding and unapologetic. Cupping her neck, he gently lowered her back onto the desk. He lifted her leg to his hip as he leaned over her, every hard inch of him pressed against her.

“Luke,” she whispered.

He rocked against her, creating a delicious friction that made her arch up off the desk. “Hmmm?” he mumbled as he trailed his tongue up her neck and nipped her ear lobe.

“I—” She was cut off by obnoxious dance music coming from her phone. Morgan. “Ignore it.” She worked the buttons on his shirt while the phone continued ringing in the background. He brought his mouth back to hers as she pushed past the buttons and ran her hands over the hard contours of his chest.

The techno beat pumped from her phone again, and Luke pulled away. “Morgan?” he asked, adjusting himself discreetly.

“Yeah, sorry. She’s probably checking to make sure I got home safe.”

He held his hand out and pulled her up from the desk. “Answer it.”

Embry sat up, smoothed out her clothes, and hopped off the desk in search of her phone. By the time she’d pulled it out of her bag, it had stopped ringing. She sent Morgan a quick text letting her know she had forgotten a book and was on her way home. When she looked up from her phone, she saw Luke staring out the window. She wished she knew what he was thinking. They’d pretty much destroyed all of their carefully drawn lines, and it could’ve gone a lot further had Morgan and her impeccable timing not interrupted. But she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

She walked up to him and gave him a light nudge with her elbow. “Hey.”

He looked at her with a fondness in his eyes that she never got tired of seeing, but something under the surface worried her. “Hey, yourself,” he replied, managing a half smile.

The window looked out over the sprawling campus. In the middle of the grounds was a manmade lake with a fountain at the center. It was set aglow with multi-color lights and Embry was mesmerized as the falling water cast iridescent reflections across the glassy surface of the water.

“Beautiful,” Luke said.

She nodded and glanced up at him, but he wasn’t looking out at the fountain. His eyes were locked on her. She smiled shyly, not knowing what to say, and instead leaned into his side. He brought his arm around her, and they stood staring out the window in comfortable silence.

The loud ringing of Embry’s phone interrupted them once again.

“I swear to God, I’m going to take away her phone privileges,” Embry said.

“She’s probably just worried about you. Go answer it.”

Embry stalked back to her bag and grabbed her phone. “Hey, M, didn’t you get my text?”

“Yeah, but you were a little vague. What are you doing at school at this time of night?”

“I had to grab something from Luke’s office.” She turned toward Luke and rolled her eyes dramatically. A small smirk appeared on his lips.

“Grab something? Or someone? Are you grabbing Luke?”

Embry could practically hear Morgan’s eyebrows raising. “Hah, very funny.” She stared into Luke’s eyes, still burning bright with desire. “I left a book. He’s not even here.” She wasn’t ready to discuss her and Luke with Morgan until she figured out exactly what “her and Luke” were. But as soon as the lie rolled off her tongue, she saw his face fall.

By the time she hung up, his shirt was re-buttoned and he was packing his work bag. “We should probably get out of here, huh?” he suggested.

Looking at her watch, she realized the library would be closing soon. “Yeah, I guess.” She was confused by his mood change. Maybe he just needed some time to sort out his feelings. Embry slowly gatheri her things, unsure of what to say but not wanting to leave yet. They couldn’t continue the way they’d been going. They needed to talk. “Luke, I—”

“No, Bree,” he said, holding up a hand. He let out a long, low sigh. Digging his hands into his pockets and slumping his shoulders, he looked completely defeated. “It’s okay. I know what you’re going to say, and you’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you into that.”

“No, I wasn’t going to—”

“Really,” he rushed to say. “It was a mistake. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

She faltered, the words crashing into her as if she’d been hit. A mistake? She didn’t understand how he could think that after all she’d revealed to him. It was the farthest thing from what she was about to say. They had blurred the lines—or completely obliterated them—but she never considered being with Luke a mistake. She knew it was improper and against school rules. It was a huge risk because of their professor/student relationship, but being with Luke felt more right than anything else.

“Bree?”

“Yeah,” she answered, turning away. She pulled her keys from her bag and tried to compose herself. She’d never expected that. How was she supposed to respond?

He came up behind her his voice softening. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she answered, turning back to him. She stared at the solid wall of his chest, refusing to make eye contact.

“You all right?”

“Great,” she answered.

“Convincing,” he shot back. “What I said—”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not what I was going to say, but you’re right. We can’t keep this up.” She tilted her head up to look into his eyes, and noticed the light had gone right out of them.

“Yeah, okay. Well, let’s head out then.”

“We probably shouldn’t walk out together,” she suggested, throwing her bags over her shoulder.

“Okay, then I’ll follow you. Make sure you get to your car okay.”

He followed close behind her as she walked down the hallway. Each step carried her farther from where she wanted to be. She had to fight every instinct to turn around and throw herself into Luke’s arms, tell him that she didn’t care about the rules. He was where she wanted to be. But instead she kept walking, trying to ignore the ache creeping back into her chest.

18

Everything looks different in the light of day. Embry saw the truth in that statement … if different meant worse. As the sun streamed in through her sheer curtains, she pulled the covers over her head and groaned. She’d left school last night and thrown herself in bed, trying as hard as she could to not think about what had happened in Luke’s office. Unfortunately, her brain had other plans and she’d tossed and turned all night.

She was mortified that she’d revealed her feelings to Luke, and he’d brushed her off. It was nobody’s fault but her own. How could she expect Luke to take her seriously when she’d been pushing him away for the better part of a month? She’d let him in, and as soon as he got too close, she pushed him away again.

Dragging herself out of bed, Embry made her way to the coffee maker and started a pot. She had no business thinking about love when her brain was barely awake. A mistake. Although the words made her wince, her gut told her he hadn’t meant them. The pain and desire in his soulful blue eyes had betrayed him. But it didn’t change the fact that they were stuck in the same holding pattern. The only way to stop the cycle was to avoid each other, but neither one of them seemed able to do that.

Embry took her coffee out to the balcony and called Morgan.

“Hey chicky! I was just gonna call you,” said her best friend.

“You’re way too enthusiastic for this early in the morning.”

“Early? It’s eleven o’clock. Rough night?”

“You could say that,” Embry responded. The fall breeze scattered leaves across the grass and left Embry chilled. She tucked herself into the lounge chair and pulled a blanket around herself, trying not to think about the warm arms she wished were wrapped around her instead. “I saw Luke last night.”

“You mean after he showed up at the bar with Trampy McBimbo?”

“Yeah. I lied. I was with him when you called.”

Morgan let out a fake gasp. “You don’t say!”

“You knew?”

“I had my suspicions,” Morgan admitted. “You’re a shit liar.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know if there’s much I’m not shit at anymore.” Embry decided to come clean. She told Morgan about everything that had been going on for the past month. The flirting. The kisses. Jack. She felt especially guilty about keeping Morgan in the dark about her ex’s harassing phone calls.

“Are you kidding me?” Morgan’s voice lost its earlier playfulness. “How could you not tell me this was going on? Did you at least tell Luke?”

Embry let out a long sigh. “No. I don’t want him to know about Jack. He shouldn’t have to deal with my drama.”

“I seriously have my doubts about your intelligence sometimes,” Morgan said.

Embry winced. “That hurt.” She hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. She was used to Morgan’s light-hearted demeanor.

“This isn’t a joke, Bree. I can’t believe Jack’s been harassing you, and you haven’t told a single person! What if he knows where you live?”

“He doesn’t,” she said, becoming defensive.

“How do you know? Have you even talked to your mom about it yet?”

“No.” Embry dropped her head in shame. As much as she wanted to argue, she knew Morgan was right. She wasn’t making smart decisions when it came to dealing with Jack.

“Embry, I know running to Florida worked for you last time, but you can’t run again. You have to handle this. You need to come clean to your parents. Your mother would be mortified knowing she gave that abusive fuck your phone number.”

Embry worried at a frayed edge of her blanket. “I just don’t want to make them feel bad. She’ll blame herself; you know how my mom is.”

“Stop thinking about everyone else and worry about yourself for once. I’m telling Brett, and when you get yourself sorted out with Luke, I suggest you let him know what’s going on as well.”

“But he—”

“Won’t think you’re weak,” Morgan interjected. “You’re one of the bravest people I know. You were sixteen when you met Jack. He was all you knew. You were strong for getting out when you did. He charmed the pants off of everyone he met while putting you through hell. You did what you had to do to survive.”

Embry sometimes forgot how deep Morgan was. She gave nothing away with her cheery facade. But at times like that, Embry remembered why she put up with Morgan’s crazy antics. Her best friend was fierce. And she was right. Embry wasn’t a scared teenager anymore. She needed to handle it. She would handle it. “You’re right, you’re right. I’ll call my parents.”

“Good.” And with that, Morgan went right back to her bubbly self. “So what are we going to do about this Luke situation? Maybe I was wrong about getting under Luke. Maybe you need to get over Luke and under someone else. Brendan?”

“No!” Embry clasped her hand over her mouth and heard Morgan giggling. “No. I mean, he was nice, other than nearly high-fiving me to death, but I think I need to sort things out with Luke. Whatever this is between us, it isn’t just going to go away.”

“How about you do your sorting tomorrow?” Morgan suggested, sounding way too innocent.

Embry was certain if she had been sitting in front of her best friend, she would’ve seen a devilish glint in Morgan’s eyes. “Are you scheming?”

“Well, there’s this party tonight …”

“Famous words,” Embry mumbled.

“No, really, it’ll be amazing. It’s at Scandal, you know, the one we went to for the social. It’s not a school event, but a few girls in my class were talking about it. It’s a masquerade ball. We can pick up some sexy Venetian masks, maybe new dresses, and go all out. We’ve busted our asses these past few months, so let’s go let loose!”

Embry wasn’t sure she was up for another night out. “I thought that’s what last night was for.”

“It was supposed to be,” Morgan admitted. “But it didn’t go too well, did it?”

“No,” Embry agreed, “it didn’t. But it’s not even Halloween yet. Why the party?”

“Halloween is this week. You need to get out more, girl!”

“Yeah, there’s this thing called law school that’s been in the way,” Embry deadpanned.

“Well for tonight, I say we have a school-free, Luke-free, stress-free night. Get your mind off of things and just have fun.”

Hearing his name caused a small tug at Embry’s heart. A Luke-free night was just what she needed.

* * *

Embry sat in the back of a cab, squished between Brett and Jeremy. Morgan sat up front giving the cabbie an earful. The girl could literally talk to anyone.

“How did I get stuck back here with you two?” Embry grumbled as she tried to adjust her long legs around the hump in the floor.

“Hey,” scolded Jeremy. “Any girl would be lucky to be stuck between us. It’s like a sexy sandwich.”

Embry rolled her eyes at her friend. “This would be an Embry sandwich because I’m in the middle.”

“Dude”—Brett leaned past Embry to get Jeremy’s attention—”did you just call me sexy?”

Embry watched Jeremy, waiting for his answer.

“Yep.”

She looked back to Brett.

“Okay cool, just making sure.”

“You guys are weird,” Embry said.

“No,” Jeremy corrected, “we’re sexy.”

“That we are,” agreed Brett, reaching across Embry for a fist bump from Jeremy.

“At least you’re not high-fiving,” Embry said under her breath. When Brett nudged her ribs, she knew she’d been caught.

“What do you have against high fives?” he asked.

“Nothing, they’re awesome,” Embry said with fake enthusiasm.

“Come on. Brendan’s a nice enough dude.”

“Not as sexy as us though,” Jeremy added.

“Well, who is as sexy as we are? It’s not a fair competition,” Brett said.

“Seriously, Embry”—Jeremy put his arm around her and pulled her toward him—”you really should be honored to be in the middle of this man-meat sandwich.”

“Hmm, I could go for a sandwich,” Brett mused.

Morgan craned her neck from the front seat. “Really, babe? Jeremy talking about man meat made you hungry?”

Embry burst into a fit of laughter, and her friends followed. All thoughts of Luke drifted to the back of her mind as she laughed with her friends. She was having fun.

The cab pulled up to the curb outside the club. Morgan took care of the cab fare while Jeremy hopped out and held out a hand for Embry. She took his hand, climbed from the cab, and stretched her legs. She had tamed her long waves into a sleek ponytail with a small bouffant at the front. The top half of her face was covered by a black mask with an intricate lace design. Jewels accented the arch of each brow, their sparkle casting more attention on Embry’s green eyes. Her lips were a deep red and glossed to perfection, and her dress was to die for. While out with Morgan, she’d come across a little black dress she couldn’t pass up. Strapless and short, it hugged every one of her curves and showed off her toned legs. Jeremy didn’t bother to hide his appreciation as his eyes traveled up and down her body.

“You look gorgeous, B,” he said, pulling her hand to his lips in a rare show of genuine affection.

“Thanks, Jer.” She tugged on the collar of his dress shirt. “You’re not looking so bad yourself.”

Morgan marched right up to the bouncer, whispered something in his ear, and he waved them into the club. Smoke from the DJ booth covered the crowd in a light mist as warm bodies moved together to the electric dance beat. Embry felt the bass in her chest, and the familiar vibrations brought her back to another time, standing in a similar spot in Scandal.

“Deja vu?” asked Morgan, sliding her arm through Embry’s.

Embry nodded, looking out over the dance floor. She could almost feel Luke. That was where it had all started for them. She wished that for one night, they could forget everything, ignore all the reasons keeping them apart, and just be.

“Deja don’t,” Morgan warned, pointing a finger in Embry’s face. She tried hard to school her face into a stern look to match her voice.

Embry laughed.

“I’m serious! No thinking about southern sexy tonight. This is our night. Fun only. No downers allowed!”

“Aye-aye, captain,” she replied, mock saluting. “Let’s go get some drinks.”

“That’s more like it,” Morgan responded.

Embry rolled the moment over in her head while they followed the guys toward the bar. “How’d you know?”

Morgan stared at her. They stood on the outskirts of the dance floor, waiting for Jeremy and Brett to push their way through with drinks. Embry looked around the club.

“That I was thinking about Luke,” she amended.

“You get this wistful, dreamy look in your eyes anytime Luke is on your mind or nearby,” Morgan answered.

Embry’s eyes gravitated toward the lounge where she first met him. She couldn’t help herself. She wanted to look into the room and not see him. To know he wasn’t sitting there waiting for her. She scanned the lounge, taking in all the different people standing at the bar. It was more crowded than the last time, but the majority of the patrons weren’t wearing masks so she could see them clearly. No Luke. The weight lifted off her chest just a little. She didn’t have to think about him. She could enjoy herself, just like Morgan had suggested.

Speaking of Morgan, she’d ignored her statement. “What do you mean, a look?” Still distracted by the lounge and drawn by some unknown force, Embry continued to scan the room. Just as she began to turn back toward Morgan, the crowd parted.

Morgan was talking again. “What look? That look. You’re doing it right now. That’s exactly what I’m talking about, Bree. Embry?”

Embry heard her. She knew that Morgan was speaking to her, but she couldn’t respond. She couldn’t even breathe.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Morgan spit as Luke came into view.