The plan was to meet near the parking lot. She hadn’t wanted me to pick her up. She arrived on time wearing tight jeans and a dark top that plunged low, but not low enough. I was slack-jawed. The jacket she wore hid the rest. It was a smart move with the weather heading away from the spring like temps back to true winter.

“Hi,” she said shyly, biting her lip.

Focusing on her blues eyes, I answered, “Hey.” I gave her another once-over before I asked, “You ready?”

She nodded. I had to wonder if she’d purposefully hidden herself under layers of clothes, so I wouldn’t have access. She was making this hard, and fuck me, I was hard. Her jeans gave me a great view of her curves. Little did she know that just because she wasn’t wearing a dress didn’t mean I couldn’t get under her skin.

“My car is over here.” I held out a hand to indicate the direction and let it fall to the small of her back when she moved that way.

She didn’t bat an eye when I opened the door to my Ghibli Maserati. She sank into the red leather seat and damn if she didn’t look good there. I wondered how she would feel if she realized she was the first girl from school to ride in my car.

I pulled out onto the road and turned on a satellite radio station to play in the background.

Though I did have something I wanted to know. “Can you tell me why brunette dumped my friend?”

From my periphery, fiery eyes turned in my direction though I kept mine on the road. “The brunette has a name. It’s Megan.”

My ploy worked. I just needed her to tell me her name. “Megan,” I repeated. “Why did she dump Gavin?”

“Who said she did the dumping?”

Had I come to the wrong conclusion? Gavin looked ruined, but he wasn’t talking.

“Biscuit,” I said again, hoping to get a rise out of her.

She held up a hand. “This question probably should have come sooner, but why me?”

It was like I was caught with my pants down; embarrassment colored my face. I opened my mouth to speak, but the cotton white of her eyes held a note of disapproval, preventing me from interrupting her. I focused back on the road.

“I’m not a one-night stand walking. Is it simply because I’m the one girl unwilling to give you the time of day?”

Properly chastised, I still felt slightly smug.

“You’re like Odysseus’s siren.” What I didn’t say was that she’d made an impression the first time I’d noticed her. She invaded my thoughts ever since.

Her laugh was dry. “Nice line by the way. Original. Are you an English major?”

“No, I’m not. And…that wasn’t a line,” I snapped, realizing too late that somewhere along the way it had become important what she thought of me.

Something else struck me. I didn’t think that compliments would break her impenetrable shell. Honesty was the key with a girl like her.

“It’s been you since that night at the bar. I can’t keep my eyes off of you.”

I’d already said too much, giving my hand away. Yet I found myself lost on an island of need, peering through a telescope, searching for that one blinking light to let me know when a ship was approaching. She was that ship destined to save me…or wreck me. I could feel fate sinking in her claws. No woman had ever made me want the way she did. I had to admit that I longed to know her in a way that was painful and bone deep. I hoped by the end, I could walk away unscathed.

Her hand lifted to her mouth then dropped back to her lap. I had an unobstructed view of her lovely face. I snapped my attention back to the road before I killed us both, because I wanted to know her taste with an aching need.

She glanced down, allowing her hair to create a wall between us. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know you keep one side of your hair tucked behind your ear to reveal a tiny hoop earring pierced halfway down the curve of your ear. The piercing is most likely an act of defiance against your traditionally minded parents. You reveal it to show you’re your own person. But it’s the other side of your hair that hangs loose to hide your face that’s so telling. There is a part of you that’s a rebel but doesn’t want to be seen at the same time.”

While she sat dumbstruck, I reached out with my hand and allowed myself the touch of her cheek before brushing the hair to secure it behind the other naked ear.

“You shouldn’t hide a face as pretty as yours.”

She bit her lip and I dropped my hand to take the wheel again. The light changed and I pulled onto a main road. There wouldn’t be any more touching until we made it to the theatre.

Her voice came out hesitant and nervous. “My name is Reagan. Though some call me Rae.”

And there it was. I’d won this round, yet I didn’t gloat with victory. “Can I call you Rae?” I asked.

I missed her expression because a guy on a Harley came rumbling up next to my car, weaving some, drawing my attention. I slowed, letting him pass.

Her voice was stronger when she spoke. “Maybe.”

A quick glance in her direction let me catch her odd expression. She wanted to trust me.

“I’m taking you to the movies,” I announced a little late. “I hope you don’t mind.”

There was a pause and I thought I caught a hint of a smile.

“That’s cool. It feels like forever since I’ve left campus.” She laughed a little. “Except for the bar and…” She didn’t need to mention the drunken night at the underground fight.

When we arrived, surprisingly, Reagan admitted that she hadn’t been to a movie in a while and wanted me to pick. After careful consideration, I chose a franchise movie with lots of comical and action-type moments.

With limited restaurant options afterwards, we sat in a popular food chain, eating mediocre food, but talked about everything and nothing. Her smile was infectious and I did my best to make her laugh.

“You look surprised,” she commented.

“I am. I wasn’t expecting much, but it tastes better than I thought.” I indicated the half of a steak left on my plate.

“It is good.” She’d ordered steak as well.

“I’m more surprised you really liked the movie.”

“What’s wrong with X-Men?”

“Nothing,” I replied.

“Oh, I see. You thought I’d prefer a chick flick.”

I shrugged, unable to deny that.

Her eyes were full of mischief but I let my gaze fall to her lips as she spoke. “I’m not that selfish. I don’t have a need to show my feminine power by daring you to go to a movie you wouldn’t enjoy. Besides, I enjoyed it. It was a lot funnier than I expected.”

Little did she know the feminine power she wielded over me. I wanted her with a quiet desperation. I managed to keep the conversation on track.

“What’s not to love about action heroes? But I don’t have a problem with romantic comedies.”

“Really?”

I cut into the steak as I spoke. “Yeah. For example I liked Bridesmaids. In fact, I thought it was a hell of a lot funnier than The Hangover.”

We watched a lot of Netflix while living in the dorms.

“That movie was hilarious.” She paused. “Can I ask you a question?”

By her tone, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to. I nodded.

“You have a slight British accent, yet your mannerisms and certain things you say are all American.”

In the past, I would have deflected the question, not wanting to reveal myself. With her, I wanted to share.

“I was born here and attended school here until secondary. That’s when I moved to England with my parents near where my mom grew up.”

I watched her expression, caring for the first time what someone outside of my family thought of me.

“Wow, I bet that was different.”

It was. Only she was different from any woman I’d hung out with. I tried not to focus on her red-stained lips. They had my cock throbbing. I did a gut check because for once I wanted to know the woman, not just possess her.

I threw the ball into her court. “How about you?”

“I grew up here, of course, with my parents. Not very interesting.”

Something told me she was more interesting than she thought. I hadn’t yet scratched the surface of what I wanted to know about her life. But I had my own secrets about my family that I wasn’t ready to reveal. I didn’t press her for more information.

After dinner, I purposely parked in the lot attached to the townhouses. I steered her past my door and headed in the direction of her dorms. I wasn’t ready to let her go, so I added the walk for more time.

When we arrived, she turned unfathomable eyes on me. She leaned against the frame with the door gaping open. A wealth of warm air blew out, shaking off the chill that reminded us it was still winter.

“I had a good night.” She glanced down, her shyness returning.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, fearing what they might do on their own. I wasn’t going there, no matter what my dick wanted.

“Goodnight,” I offered as I began walking backward.

“I’m surprised.”

“What?” I paused.

“You’re not going to try, are you?”

I shrugged. “Maybe this is me making my move.” I felt the smirk return, liking that I’d puzzled her.

“I don’t know if I should be offended you didn’t at least try to kiss me.”

Just when I thought I’d pegged her, she surprised me. I wasn’t sure if that was a dare in her expression as she stood waiting for my response.

I took a chance and moved forward, taking my hands out of my front pockets and shoving them in my back. If she tasted as good as she looked, I might use them.

Her eyes flashed, as she pressed a hand to my chest. “That wasn’t an invitation.”

I leaned down, reminded of how tiny she really was. My hair, which had grown too long, fell in front of my eyes, but I kept my hands in place when I pressed my lips to hers. They were warm, and she hadn’t pulled back, despite her protest. More than wanting her between my sheets, I wanted to know her taste. I snaked out my tongue and got a burst of sweetness, like wild strawberries, and my dick strained against my zipper. I pulled back, not trusting myself, and took tentative steps backward.

“Come sailing with me tomorrow.”

“Sailing?” Panic spoiled her mystified expression. “I don’t really like the water.”

I lifted a brow. “You do know our school sits right by the water.”

Her smile was weak. “Yes. But—”

“And our school is number two in the country in sailing.” I’d surprised her again. “Don’t answer now. Meet me at the dock at seven tomorrow morning.”

She frowned.

“Seven,” I said again. “Otherwise I’ll know this didn’t work out for you and I’ll leave you alone.”

I strode away, pretty sure she’d show up.