She pressed her cheek to my chest and let out a contented sigh. She encircled me and pressed close, as if she simply couldn't bear to be apart from me.

I was familiar with that sensation. I snuggled up to her, breathing in her sweet, floral scent.

As her leg curved over my hip, my cock throbbed. With clenched teeth, I resisted the urge to get closer to her.

"I have to go," I could feel the pain in my throat with each syllable.

There was a pall over her usually bright blue eyes as bewilderment and a little hurt clouded her vision.

"Oh. Are we going to hang out sometime soon? " Some of her shyness returned, softening her tone to little more than a whisper.

"Of course," I heard myself say before I could stop the promise from leaving my lips. When she looked at me like that-needy and achingly vulnerable-I couldn't refuse her. I couldn't bring myself to hurt her.

And truthfully, I didn't want to bear the pain of leaving her.

I pressed a kiss against her forehead. If I couldn't do the honorable thing and leave her alone, I'd at least treat her like she deserved. "I'll take you out to dinner. I'll pick you up tonight."

After a few more lingering kisses, I managed to pry myself away from her so she could get ready for class.

Nicola

To be anticipated, the bar was dead by late afternoon. I don't understand why the management decided to open so early in the evening. Students started showing around about that time.

No customers in sight, I spent the last four hours giving everything a good scrub. After I ditched my previous night's cleaning duties to spend time with Emily, my coworker Alice didn't perform a very good job.

I didn't really have any grounds to blame her. Since I had abandoned her without so much as an explanation, I felt terrible about how I had treated her.

Though I was on the fence about making Emily a permanent fixture in my life, I forced myself to put in the hours cleaning the bar as a distraction.

Before I left for Havard, I had never done something as menial as scrub my own countertops. A group of six people were in charge of cleaning up the residence.

In contrast to how I formerly felt, I now like going to work every day. If it meant I could get away from my history and my family, I would mop floors in a tenement for the rest of my life if it meant I could get out.

As soon as my little duty ended, Alice arrived to take over. Though she ignored me after I broke up with her, she didn't rip me a new one. After I finished explaining, she nodded firmly in agreement and brushed me off with a dismissive gesture. Because she seemed anxious to forget about it, I didn't bother trying to apologize again before leaving the bar.

Alice made it seem like she'd prefer not see me today. Good thing she hadn't complained to the manager about my being disruptive. Doing this job meant I could afford to remain in town.

Right as I stepped out of the bar into the twilight, my senses went into high gear. Even though just my Audi and Alice's Buick were parked in the empty lot, we were most certainly not alone. I had spent years following people around in an effort to scare them if I ever got the chance. The feeling of being stalked or chased was one I was used to.

I couldn't risk my family or their opponents finding me, so I had to leave town and stay away from Emily

But I could not leave her without complete assurance.

I decided to take a risk on her since she represented a promising possibility.

I took out the inexpensive burner phone I'd bought before coming to Havard and showed it to him. I would just have a short talk with them before hanging up.

I just keyed in the number since it was one I was familiar with. A familiar, brief voice answered the phone after three rings.

It's likely that someone is wondering, "Who the hell is this? "

Asked if they were on board with me. Before wasting any more time on the phone, I made sure to ask.

A moment of stunned silence followed. "Nicola?"

I had to ask something, so I growled at Mathew and asked him a question. If questioned, "Do you have people looking for me, and are you with me"

"There's no doubt that I've had people searching for you. "

"Where the f*ck are you?"

I hung up the phone while swearing. That Mathew would tell me a fib is something I know for sure. I wasn't surprised to hear that my best friend had a search party for me; it only meant I had a watcher if he hadn't already discovered me. Those people have nothing to do with my family tree. Although I hoped no one would find me, I think any friendly company would have been preferable than the alternative.

I just tossed the phone on the floor without thinking. It shattered under my boot, and I finished up by kicking the fragments about. I can't keep track of that many things. Plus, I phoned Mathew and told him he didn't need to come.

"If I had that phone, I'd smash it too. "

As I whirled around, I saw Stun advancing on me with two of his preppy-boy lackeys on each side of him.

Fuck. What kind of a moron would lead me to risk revealing my covert location only to spite him?

Despite my still-clenched hands, I felt a flood of relief wash over me. Since Stun made the choice to get in touch with Mathew, my safety has been compromised.

I blanked out, but it was clear why they'd shown up.

They had every intention of bashing me senseless. Stun couldn't get over the fact that I'd made him seem horrible in front of his whole class. I understood his wish to avoid public humiliation, but I had no interest in joining in on the ribbing.

Given that I had previously seen more bloodshed than I could handle in one lifetime, I refrained from kicking him in the teeth. In the end, he learnt his lesson from yesterday, when I publicly humiliated him for groping Emily.

Stun rolled his eyes and said, "I want to kick your t ass. "

"Fine." I threw off my leather coat and shrugged. This would be unnecessary and distracting

". The two of us. "Proceed with haste. I made a snide remark to wound his ego.

"Are you a coward who needs his cronies to protect him?" If I had to, I could easily kill all three of them, but I didn't want to.

Stun took a deep breath and leaned back slightly, but his features soon stiffened with resolve. He nervously gave his jacket to a buddy.

"Okay. You and I,. "

No one would have spoken to me like that back home. The insult did Stunng a bit, I had to admit. I wish I could have lived the life of a typical college Stundent, but that opportunity was taken away from me.

But I certainly wasn't going to give this jerk any indication that I was weak.

I just stood there and gave him the cold shoulder, waiting for him to approach me.

He was obviously startled by my cool approach, as he paused. I could see he was unfamiliar with combat. No, not like I was.

Fighting was ingrained in me; it was in my DNA.

I had been running away from the constant violence in my life, but if this jerk threatened me, I would have to resort to my more vicious defense strategies. Even still, he deserved to have his as kicked. Emily had felt his hand on her. That pushed me over the edge and I became angry.

Stun swung wildly and clumsily at me. I sidestepped the blow and stepped in to punch him in the stomach. With a wheeze, he collapsed to one knee.

His pals wouldn't let me kill him alone, however. One of Stun's lackeys punched me in the jaw before I could inquire whether I had taken enough.

Fuck. I should have been more careful. After being away from my routine for so long, I had become rusty and soft.

I stumbled backward, and before I could recover, another blow jarred my sternum.

In fact, the pain helped me concentrate more intently, so I was able to execute each motion with laser-like accuracy. Stun remained squatting on the ground. The larger of the two guys still assaulting me, I swung around to face him. He was so young that he could scarcely be considered an adult. Nearly regretting breaking his nose, I almost felt awful.

His face hit the ground and he landed with a thud, moaning. I looked back at my last foe, but he had already fled across the parking lot.

I winced at the touch and touched my sore jaw. There was a good chance of bruising from that, and I had a rendezvous with Emily in a few hours. I thought about kicking Stun for that, but I wouldn't hurt someone who was already in pain.

I shan't have any more of this cretin's blood on my hands. No way would Emily let those people touch her. No way am I going to let anything stain her innocence.

"Are we finished here?" A chilly question came from me.

Stun nodded without looking at me because he was too stunned to speak. On the floor next to him, his companion continued to cry out in pain.

'I don't want to see your face again,' I told him.

Another nod from him and I was content with his loss. I could have made my point without resorting to greater violence. Less than five minutes had passed since the beginning of the "battle." I was quite certain in my conviction that they realized they couldn't mess with me.

Taking my coat in hand, I strolled nonchalantly to my vehicle. When I left the parking lot, both Stun and his buddy were still lying on the ground.

I blocked them out and decided to ignore the throbbing in my jaw and side. And I've dealt with far worse.

The fact that I had a date with Emily to look forward to helped me forget about the pain.