* * *
Dani's head was starting to spin as she gyrated next to the handsome young man who'd asked her to dance. 'Young' being the operative word, she thought as her glazed eyes skimmed his cute features and spiky hair.
She knew that she had drunk too much and eaten too little, but Dani hadn’t realized how quickly the booze had gotten to her. It was all she could do to keep up with the young man, and she was relieved when the next song slowed things down.
The blond smiled down at her and pulled her closer. Although he wasn't exactly her type, right now she didn't mind being held in the arms of a handsome stranger, since the arms she really wanted to hold her were the ones she couldn't allow to.
Suddenly the arms around her pulled back, and Dani looked over the man's shoulder in confusion. She was greeted by the face she'd spent the last few weeks avoiding all over campus.
"May I cut in?" his nasal voice asked, "We're close friends, you see."
The blond man bowed out, and Dani was left in the hands of Dean Fischer. Could tonight get any worse? she asked herself. What was the opposite of a Christmas miracle? A Christmas tragedy? That's what tonight's party was.
"Dean Fischer," she said, her tone cold, "I didn't expect to see you here."
The dean smiled his oily smile. "Jeffrey, please. And why wouldn't you expect to see me at the social event of the season?"
Dani almost rolled her eyes and barely restrained herself. The liquor in her blood made her want to come back with some sharp retort, but she held herself back. If she could just make it through this dance, she could go back to the bar and just ignore all men from now on. They were too much trouble. "I didn't know that you were acquainted with Brice Masterson."
"Sure," Jeffrey answered casually. "Now I'm glad I came since it means I get to see you in that incredible dress." She felt his grip tighten around her waist as he pulled her closer. "You smell fantastic," he said as he bent down to nuzzle her neck.
Dani pulled back, and a look of disappointment crossed the dean's studied features. "Shy, all of a sudden?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You certainly weren't shy that night we spent together."
Dani barked out a harsh laugh. "And how do you know?" she said, unable to hold back her anger anymore. "You were passed out."
"But I sure woke up happy."
Dani frowned and stopped dancing. "What is it?" he asked with a worried frown.
"We need to talk. Now."
"Okay," he said, his expression puzzled. "I assume you'd like to go somewhere more private than the dance floor?"
When she nodded, he smiled, obviously misinterpreting her request. He took her hand and led her across the floor and toward the door to the wide balcony outside. Stepping out, he propelled her with a hand on the small of her bare back, across to the railing that looked out over the wide expanse of decorated lawn.
He didn't release her hand but instead pulled it in close to his chest, wrapping both his hands around hers. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked. The term of endearment made her want to puke.
"Dean Fischer -- Jeffrey -- I think you've got the wrong impression about what happened that night."
"Really?" He pulled her hand up to gently kiss it, his brows rising in confusion. "And what, pray tell, did happen?"
"Nothing. You passed out."
Jeffrey chuckled. "If you insist."
"I'm serious. You passed out. We did not have sex. Not even close." Dani didn't like the look that came into his eyes at her revelation.
"Then how do you explain my state of undress the morning after? And I distinctly remember a game of strip poker..."
"We did play poker, yes, but you passed out before the game had run its course. And I undressed you, to uh...make you more comfortable." Dani's face belied her deception, as did the slight uptick in her tone.
Jeffrey stared down at her, his disbelief evident. She couldn't convince him with the lie, so she tried the truth. "All right, I took off your pants so you would think that something happened. I figured if you thought that, you might leave me alone."
The dean's face could have been carved from stone. His look was furious. "You conniving little bitch," he whispered furiously. "What in the hell did you think you were doing? Ensuring your tenure?"
"How dare you talk to me like that!"
Dani yanked her hand out of his grip and took a step backward. "What was I supposed to do? You had me trapped, and you didn't want to take no for an answer. What choice did I have?"
"And now you're trying to blame me, to cover your own grasping ambition?"
"What?" Dani's anger almost overwhelmed her, and she had to dig her nails into the palms of her hands to stop from hitting him. "You're the one who--"
Jeffrey interrupted her, grabbing her by the shoulders, his grip biting into her flesh. "What advantages did you think sleeping with the dean would bring you? Faster promotions? A lighter course load? You had no qualms against using me, against using your body to further your career."
His fury was surprising in its fierceness. He squeezed her, shaking her to accentuate his words.
"You wanted to use me!" Dani said, cringing when his grip tightened. "You're the one who's been pestering me to go out to lunch, out to dinner, to spend the night in a hotel room with you! You kept hinting that your positive evaluation of my professional performance hinged on my acceptance of your advances."
Another squeeze. Dani's breath hitched. "Let go of me! You're hurting me!"
"You heard the woman."
Dani almost melted when she recognized Caleb's voice. "Let her go. Now."
Jeffrey turned a cruel snarl on his lips. "Stay out of this, Ranger."
In the blink of an eye, Caleb pulled Dani behind him and out of the dean's hands. The ranger stared down at the smaller man, his posture rigid.
Dani was frightened, suddenly. She knew what he was capable of. And Jeffrey didn't.
"Jeffrey," she said softly, moving around the ranger's bulk to face him again. "Let's just take a deep breath for a moment. It's apparent we have a few things to get straightened out, but perhaps this party isn't the correct environment for such an important discussion."
Dani marveled that she was able to use such elevated language without wrapping her tongue in knots. She still felt the liquor distorting her perception, but the seriousness of the situation was quickly pushing her toward sobriety.
Dean Fischer sneered at her. "You insolent little slut! Don't want him to know how willing you are to seduce your way to a better position? And why is that? Are you screwing him too?"
Dani held her arms out to either side and stood firm when she felt Caleb about to rush forward behind her. She realized that Jeffrey wasn't going to back down. His words would force Caleb to take action. And once that got started, Dani knew she wouldn't be able to stop him. He wouldn't be able to stop himself.
She had to act.
"What's the matter?" the dean asked her, his tone mocking. "Is your boyfriend the jealous type? Or the boy scout who can't wait to come to the distressed damsel's rescue?"
Dean Fischer had just reached his limit, or her limit, she supposed. "I can rescue myself," she said with quiet intensity, and then she punched him.
Her fist connected with his nose and it immediately began to bleed.
"Owww!" Jeffrey screamed, his hands covering his nose.
"Get out of here," she snarled at him, giving him a shove toward the door. "And maybe now you get the picture. I don't like you. I'll never like you. And I have never, and will never, sleep with you."
Dean Fischer rushed out the door to find a cloth to staunch the bleeding, leaving Dani and Caleb alone on the balcony. She stared out into the distance, breathing deeply, trying to let go of her anger.
The wind had picked up, making the stars that hung between the trees sway heavily in the night sky. Dani felt empty, worn out. Exhausted. She didn't even want to begin thinking about the repercussions of that last encounter. It wouldn't be pretty. She rubbed her hands along her arms to bring them some warmth.
She felt the ranger move behind her, and soon she was draped in his suit jacket. Her skin absorbed his residual heat as she inhaled, pulling in his special scent.
"Thanks," she mumbled, not turning around. Although she'd just confronted her boss about his harassment, that confrontation seemed a hundred times easier than a talk with Caleb did now.
He just stood there, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. She could feel him breathing behind her, his warm breath stirring the small hairs on her neck. She wanted so badly to lean back into his warmth, to rest against his gentle strength.
But in his own way, he was just as deceptive as the dean. What was he doing here? Why was he touching her now, when for weeks she'd done nothing but long for his touch and been denied.
Dani turned, her eyes blazing with misery and frustration. "What do you want, Caleb? Why are you here?"
"I saw you come out here with Fischer and I figured you might need a little help." He spoke softly, not meeting her eyes but instead staring over the expanse of dark lawn.
"I don't need you to protect me," she snarled. "A man's in a coma because of your misguided attempts at protection."
She saw the hurt in his eyes at her words, but she couldn't stop them from spilling out of her. "Besides, how can you protect me when you don't even see me for weeks? When you don't call, don't visit? I could have been killed a hundred times over, and you'd never know."
"Shh," he whispered, raising a hand to cup her cheek and sliding a thumb across it.
"Calm down, Dani."
"Calm down?" she shouted, his words pushing her to a new level of rage. "Stop trying to control my emotions! First, you want me to want you, and we make love, then you push me away. In the caves, you tell those men that you love me, but then you avoid me. Now, this. Do you want me to love you or hate you? Right now, I just want to beat the shit out of you!"
Dani couldn't restrain herself. She pummeled him with her fists, and he stood there, taking it. She was becoming hysterical, she knew that, but she didn't care. Tears spilled down her cheeks, mixing with the light rain that was starting to fall.
She continued to beat at his immovable chest, and he put his arms on her shoulders loosely, allowing her to exhaust herself against him without saying a word. Finally, she dropped her fists and took several deep breaths. This was going nowhere quick.
All of a sudden she didn't want to fight anymore. Her anger left her in a rush, leaving behind only resignation. She realized abruptly that it had begun raining, misting really, and tiny droplets were falling all around him. Dani looked up into the ranger's face. The droplets landed on his long eyelashes, his hair, the stubble on his chin.
"Take me home," she said softly and thrilled at the surprised joy she saw in his eyes.