Outside the suite, my bravery died on my tongue. I paced, knotting my fingers in my dark hair. I was giving him my dignity, but then he was the one keeping my dignity safe from the rest of the world. Our world. Or rather: his world.
While the rest of my class partied and consumed their weight in booze, I was studying or working or trying to do both at the same time.
I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t handed my success. And if that meant giving in to him, then so be it.
I had thought it over while I mopped the kitchen floor. Nathaniel was like a pressure point in my body. One look from him, one scalding hot glance, and my body reacted to him like oil and fire. We were combustible and a destructive force to both of us.
Whenever I was anxious, I went for a run. It helped relax me. I did it before every debate and I’d done it before coming here. But despite the exercise, the nerves still jolted through me.
I pivoted on my toes and faced the white door once more. The centerpiece in the middle stated it was the Dior suite.
The same room he’d caught me cleaning in.
I rolled my shoulders back, hiked up my chin and steeled my features. I was going in for war.
I pulled the key from my bag and slid it in, turning the knob slowly.
As I entered the darkened room, I heard the waves crash against the shore and looked at the white sheer curtains blowing gently in the summer breeze.
Standing in the center of the open balcony was Nathaniel. His suit jacket was gone and I scanned his torso, the white dress shirt fit nicely to his frame. The sleeves were rolled up, exposing the smooth skin of his arms and each time he moved them, veins bulged.
My mouth watered at the sight of the Adonis.
I thought of my study of ancient art and all I could picture was one of those Greek or Roman statues. Nathaniel, I hated to admit it, was sculpted by an artist who had taken the time to carve out delicate, but sharp cheekbones and lips that always looked swollen but soft. Eyes so vivid and dark that he must have stolen the clear night sky.
I had been careful before, never allowing my mind to wander too far away from my goals and never indulging in a fantasy of Nathaniel, but now that I had him before me and I knew we were going to use each other to destroy the lust between us, I ate in every detail.
And I was starving.
When I reached his face again, I noted he had been scanning me also.
His jaw ticked and he moved closer, leisurely, but with a clear goal in mind.
Me.
He stopped right in front of me, his head tilted so his eyes looked down at me. “You smell like fresh air.”
His voice was gravelly and low and it went straight to my core. He angered me, but he made my body pulse simply with a look, a twitch of his full mouth or a move of his lithe, dangerous body.
I ran a few fingers through my damp hair, playing with the ends. “I went for a run on the beach.”
His eyes narrowed. “To calm your nerves?”
I pinched the inside of my palm, hating how easily he read me. Just like in our debates. The arrogant asshole.
“Yes,” I bit out, figuring there was no point in lying.
“Pity.” His vivid eyes darkened, a corner of his mouth quirking ever so softly no one would have been able to detect it. But I had. Because I had spent the last three years analyzing his every move, his every word as we competed. “I like you rattled.”
Anger boiled inside of me and it took all of my energy not to snap back at him.
Because that was what he wanted.
“Afraid you won’t be able to keep up? To handle me?”
My pulse jumped and I glared up at him, ignoring his full mouth smirking at me.
Sex wasn’t something that could be learned from books. It had to be an experience and I was sure he had more than me. But I wouldn’t falter. I wouldn’t let him scare me away or make me feel like I wasn’t good enough.
“Stop talking,” I said, lowly, staring up at him through my lashes.
His smirk faded and his jaw muscles flexed.
His fingers spread along my cheek and settled on the edge of my jaw. Slowly, he tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to him. I visibly swallowed and the longer he stared, the more I knew he could see my pulse jump under my skin. He was dissecting me, slowly, carefully—in a way no man had ever done.
Exposed wasn’t the right word for how I felt.
Naked.
Vulnerable.
To my enemy.
His finger pressed into my jaw and I shifted, clenching my legs together as my center throbbed in need.
His thumb touched the edge of my bottom lip and I watched as his eyes grew dark and hard. “I’ve always loved imagining this smart, elegant mouth wrapped around my cock.”
My spine straightened, even as the trembles took over. I breathed out, hating how heavy my chest felt.
“On your knees,” he whispered, his eyes flicking to mine. When I stayed stiff before him, a challenge burnt in them.
I wanted to snap back, I wanted to curse him, but I couldn’t help the excitement building in my core. Flutters filled my stomach.
Instead of just fury, I felt aroused by his tone, by his commanding voice and touch.
Months ago, hell, hours ago, I would have slapped myself for admitting that.
But before him, trapped in his gaze, I couldn’t deny it.
I had fixated on Nathaniel Radcliffe as my enemy. He became a force that pushed me further, made a powerful energy thrive inside of me to meet him for every challenge.
I’d never thought of him as a… lover.
“You’re a conceited son of a bitch, Nathaniel Radcliffe,” I hissed out as I lowered myself, the skin of my knees meeting the cool marble slabs.
“I know.” He gave me an amiable smile, standing in front of me, his crotch level with my face, hands stuffed into his pockets in a relaxed posture. One I was accustomed to. “A prick. An asshole. But you like that about me.”
I gritted my teeth, meeting his eyes so far above me but shaking under his gaze. I knew he could see down my blouse, see the tops of my breasts heave under my harsh, quick breaths.
“I don’t like anything about you,” I said, wanting to sound cold, but I only sounded breathless.
A corner of his mouth twitched. The beginning of a rare smile. “Yet here you are, on your knees in front of me, for an entirely different reason than last time, Juliette. Didn’t you say it would never happen again?”
My eyes narrowed as I shut my mouth. I couldn’t argue with that.
“People are malleable, sweetheart. Predictable,” he said, his gaze scanning my features. His eyes narrowed as he paused. Like he was searching for something, something he knew I’d willingly give to him. “But you surprise me.”
I stayed perfectly still, but I couldn’t help the little bit of pride filling me. I also doubted it. With every word Nathaniel spoke, he had a hidden agenda, a hidden meaning that only he knew and again, I felt left in the dark as he laughed at me.
“Stand up and lean against the couch. Facing away from me,” he ordered and I frowned but stood. Had he just wanted to see me on my knees again?
Son of a—
I walked to the upholstered white leather couch, too perfect to even touch, and gripped the back of it.
“Bend over, Juliette.” His husky voice echoed in the room. “Experto crede.”
Trust the expert.