Zephyr played with a strand of Malia’s hair, the soft silky curls coiling around his fingers. She instantly turned toward his fingers, and he couldn't help but smile. You are in so much trouble.

He knew it. He'd fallen in love with her. The girl he wasn't supposed to have. Normally, he was a by-the-book kinda guy. His relationships with people were his cornerstone. He knew that this would cost him.

Malia yawned. Whole body stretching from toes to fingertips, she elongated every muscle in her body. Zephyr couldn't help it. All he wanted to do was kiss along her neck and slide into her deep.

Yeah. Of course you do. Because ever since he'd met her, he could think about nothing else. Unable to concentrate on anything other than getting inside this woman. So yeah, not exactly the healthiest thing in the world. But it didn't matter. Because all he wanted was to be with her. "Wake up sleepy head. We need to get to class."

Malia stretched and frowned. "What? What time is it?"

He kissed her nose. "It's eight."

She bolted up, nearly knocking him in the head. "Oh God. I'm going to be late."

"Relax. We can take a shower then walk over together."

She stared at him. "You're kidding me right?” She slid out of bed and tugged on his T-shirt from last night.

He swallowed the disappointment. He would rather watch her walk around naked. Her tits were a thing of beauty. "What's the problem?" You know what the problem is.

"The problem? The problem is that you and I can't walk to class together. You are my mentor remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. But come on. We could have easily bumped into each other and just walked in the same direction. We could be using the time as a meeting. I won't hold your hand or kiss you. God forbid I do that."

She narrowed her gaze. “While you can be all blasé about the rules, I can't afford to be. If it were to be discovered, it's me who will lose everything.”

When she scowled at him, all he wanted to do was kiss her. And then he realized what she was saying. He was having a hard time keeping Tanashi's words out of his head. But he shoved them aside. “I don't see why you're so tense. We've made it this far. Nothing bad has happened.”

"Zephyr. You're being deliberately obtuse. Yeah, sure we can explain away this time. What about the next time or the time after that? I mean it’s already risky with the impromptu presentation. Which, I’m still convinced they know about us. Maybe you get reprimanded. But I lose my opportunity. You think I like living like this?"

A knot of unease tightened in his gut. "I already told you. You don't have to live like that anymore. I can look after you until you get yourself sorted. We’ve been together for months." How could she not see that?

"Oh my God, you can't take care of me."

Zephyr frowned and stood, nonchalantly walking over to the dresser to grab boxers. "Why the hell not?” You're mine after all. Shit. "Look, all I'm saying is you have a place to stay. For as long as you want or need it. And we have something good. It must be all those orgasms last night that have your thinking all blurry."

A flush crept up her neck. But she wasn't deterred. "This can't happen in public. And I'm an idiot to let it happen in the first place. Yes, you are really, really good with your tongue, but this is real life. One wrong step, and I lose everything and I'm back on the street. I'm so close to getting what I need and I'm not going to screw myself so you can have the satisfaction of walking me to class. It's not even like this is a real thing."

Zephyr narrowed his gaze. "Oh, is that so? You didn't feel that way last night. How do you feel every goddamn time I touch you?" His words were a clipped growl. He understood where she was coming from, but fuck he was in love with her and she wanted to pretend this wasn't real?

She ran her hands through her hair. "You know what I mean. I don't know. Why are you pushing me? I don't know what to do or say. And you want to act like everything is fine. This is not my life. I know this is temporary."

Fuck.

And that was it. Even though he'd been busy falling in love with her, she was making plans to run. The hell she would. If he was falling in love, he shouldn't be the only one suffering from that affliction. He had two options: make her admit what she felt, or cut her loose. And cutting her loose wasn't an option. Because right now, he was a fucking addict.

See, this is why you don't sleep with your mentee.

This wasn’t a temporary situation. Not for him. He'd never said a word about wanting to be with her. And, it only just—

"I don't know what to say or do in this situation I'm—" She shook her head. "You haven't said anything about wanting to be with me."

Zephyr squared his shoulders and crossed his arms. "Are you kidding me? I got in a car and I drove to Philly. If I didn't give a shit, would I have done that?"

"You were being nice. You do stuff like that all the time. You think I don't know you bring Trevor here because the kid isn't getting enough food to eat at home? You think I don't notice when you contact his school to pay for his hot lunches? Or the school supplies in the Target bag on the table? Come on. That's who you are. You take care of people. You envelope them all and bring them into your cocoon.

“So I don't know if I'm special. I don't know if you see me or just someone else to help or fix." She rapidly blinked away the tears. She was not going to cry in front of him. No way no how. That was not how this worked. She couldn't stand here half-naked and have this conversation, and she would not do it with tears in her eyes.

“Malia, damn it. You are—”

There was a knock at the door. She threw up her hands. "See? We can't even have a conversation without interruptions. I'm getting a shower."

Zephyr shook his head. "We are not done!"

”Yes. We are.” There was another knock at the door, this one louder.

"I'll get that. You go get a shower. I'll see you in class."

Shit. "Zephyr. Don't be like that."

"Like what? Like I'm falling for a girl and to her I'm nothing but a temporary way station?"

"You know it's complicated."

"There's that word again.”

Another knock. He had no choice. If he kept arguing she'd be late for class, and that wasn't an option.