His Needs:Billionaire(8)

"Do you really want to know?" He licked at his lips as someone sighed close by.

Bethany turned to try and discern who it was, but Kendal tapped the table between them, pulling her back.

"What? Yes, of course I want to know. I asked."

He chuckled. "Most people ask lots of things they don't really want the  answer to. It's prudent to ask, but it takes courage to receive the  response."

"Wow. That's a lot of mental mumbo-jumbo you got going on there this morning, Dr. Tarrington."

"Right? I do my best thinking first thing in the morning. It's  disturbing." He cleared his throat. "It's too soon for something as big  as an engagement. You guys have loads of hurdles to climb over, and you  both know it. The note asking you not to wear the ring shows that Damon  is starting to consider some of them."

"The hurdles?"

"Yes." He lifted his hand. "That doesn't mean that he doesn't think he's  in love with you, or that he doesn't want a future, but you guys aren't  a normal couple."

Heat brushed up the center of her chest. "And who has the right to judge what normal is?"

"Exactly." He let out a soft sigh. "Her name was Ana, and she was so  beautiful. Sweet and kind and only four years younger than me, but none  of that mattered. Our situation wasn't at all what you might call  normal. She was my student, my best student, and the university, my  friends, her parents, fuck... everyone threw stones at our budding  relationship. You don't get to define normal, Bethany. They do." He  pointed to the restaurant and waved his hand about as his words deflated  her.

He was right. They had far too much stacked up against them to simply  walk into the office and announce their engagement, but something about  hiding it felt wrong too. The worry that Damon wasn't proud that she  belonged to him tried to creep in, but she pushed it back. It was  stupid. He'd told their families, the people that mattered most that  they could all take a hike if they didn't want to support their budding  relationship.

He wasn't ashamed of her.

"That sucks." She glanced around and wrapped her free arm around herself as she nursed her coffee. "It's unfair. Not right."

"Agreed, but it is what it is." He shrugged.

"What happened to Ana?"

"She transferred to A&M in College Station and is probably the head  of some big four firm right now. She honestly was one of the most  brilliant accounting minds I'd seen at the time, or since. She made me  think." He chuckled before letting out a soft grunt. "I would say that I  miss her, but it's been six years, and after making the decision to  walk away, I didn't turn back."

"And the university just popped you on the hand and let you go?"

"Sort of. They knew how close our ages were and that the relationship was consensual."

"I thought you said that the girl finally pulled back the charges. What charges?"

"That wasn't Ana. Another girl in my second year of teaching stayed  after for tutorials late one night and came on to me. I told her no. She  got pissed and filed a claim with the university that I'd raped her in  the fucking classroom." He pinched the bridge of his nose between his  fingers and shook his head. "I kept thinking that I should just leave  this place, that nothing was worth all of this shit."

"But after being in school for six years for your doctorate, you decided differently?"

"Exactly. I fought hard as hell to get it. I had them check the cameras  and they did, and counseled the girl to pull back the charges, but word  had already gotten out on campus. They asked for my resignation and I  refused. I threatened to sue them, and that shut them up. I've had a TA  or two ever since, and all of my rooms are monitored with cameras,  including my office. I'm not sure what they think they're going to find,  but they're full of shit. I never touched that girl, or anyone else  since Ana. She was my one and only mistake." He lifted his eyes and  pressed her with a hard stare. "I'll never, ever make the same mistake  again."         

     



 

"Can't say that I blame you." Bethany nodded toward the folder. "Let's  go over your syllabus for this week since classes start in an hour. We  can finish up this lovely conversation another time, if you're up for  it."

"Good plan. I like a girl with focus." He smiled and pushed the papers  across the table. "Tell me what you worked on yesterday and we'll go  from there."

"One more thing." Bethany let out a soft exhale. "Matt mentioned to  Damon while we were on vacation that he needed to be careful in throwing  around the idea that he was in "love". I guess he told Christa that he  loved her too-"

"Yeah, on the third date. We still give him shit over that, though we  really shouldn't. The poor guy hasn't dated much due to some family  stuff he's still dealing with, but I'll let him tell you about that when  he's ready." Kendal shrugged. "I would assume he means what he says,  Bethany, but like any of us, he's looking for a relationship that  probably doesn't exist. How nice would it be to find someone where you  don't have to think about anything but them, but it just doesn't work  that way. Not in this world."

"Well, this has been thoroughly depressing." She snorted as he laughed.

"I'm sorry. Ignore me. I'm going through my own shit right now."

"Why? The semester just started."

"I know, and I saw a girl yesterday in the Dean's office that I would  sell my soul to take to dinner. It took all I had to turn and walk  away." He shook his head and glanced down toward his hands.

Her heart contracted in her chest as he fiddled with his fingers.

"You can't date someone in the master's program either?"

"No." He glanced up. "No one from the university. Period."

"No other professors?"

"Nope. No one." He shrugged and pulled the papers back toward him. "All  right so let's talk about this thing so you can get on with your life."

She nodded, but let the question she wanted to ask die on her tongue.  What about his life? How did he 'get on with it' when he was stuck in  the past? Regret and sorrow sitting on him so comfortably that he looked  five years older than he was?

It was beyond unfair. So much so, that she couldn't help but try and  work through a way to help him overcome it. Something had to give... it  just had to.





Chapter 7

Damon





The alarm clock had gone off too early the next morning, and not having  gotten in from work until three that morning left him grumpy and hating  the world. It was a fair assessment of most of his mornings, but this  one seemed worse.

Why hadn't Beth stopped by during the day? There was no fucking way she  was completely good with the note he left her. It wasn't like her at all  not to swing by and light into his ass over it. It would have been a  great time to close the door and press her hot little body against the  wall, grinding into her and bleeding out his aggression all over her.

Every muscle in his body protested as he moved into the shower and  worked quickly to create a thick lather of soap across his chest. How  badly he wanted her there with him to enjoy the warmth of the thick mist  all around him, the slippery wetness of his skin against hers.

"You're killing me, baby." He slid his hand down his thick erection and  stroked his sack a few times. "I need you here, and yet you're off  saving the world. Probably pissed and hurting. Why didn't you come find  me?"

He could have taken the time to find her, but it seemed like the ball  was in her court. He had too much shit on his shoulders to stop and  track her down to apologize for something he wasn't at all sorry about.  Their engagement was exciting and something to be proud of, but he had  to make sure to lay the foundation with everyone around him to accept  it. Their families being so supportive was almost expected.

After washing himself off, he got out of the shower, his body hard and  ready for a good hour or two of fucking and yet... no woman to fuck. She  should have been there, and he didn't give a shit about how greedy or  needy it was. It was a fact.

He changed into a pair of black slacks and a light blue button down  before working a tie around his neck and pulling his jacket on. With a  few meetings with clients later that day, he was stuck having to  completely look the part.

"This is what it's going to be like soon. Dad retired and me working  myself into an early grave." He adjusted his tie and checked himself in  the mirror one last time. "Yep, still me."

Traffic was heavy as he made his way into the office, but it gave him  plenty of time to get over the mixture of angst and melancholy that  wrestled inside of him. The loud booming of his metal music somehow  offered a reprieve from his thoughts, which was greatly needed as well.  He and Bethany needed to talk things through.