“I won’t,” she said. “I won’t forget what we’ve got, and I’ve got no interest in another man.”
She pushed her hair out of the way, looking behind her, and her troubled gaze landed on him.
Nodding his head, he stroked her back, feeling like a total bastard but at the same time, pleased he’d said his piece.
Pulling out of her tight heat, he disposed of the condom. At the same time, Elizabeth stood, and he watched her, once again, walk away without looking back. She headed toward the bathroom, and he didn’t understand why it bothered him that she wasn’t fawning over him, begging him for more.
Chapter Five
Three days later
Lizzie: You made me ache in all the right places. You know exactly what you’re doing, and how good it always is.
Elizabeth sat inside the coffee shop, cramming in some much-needed study time. Since spending her Saturday night leading into Sunday with Daniel, she’d not gotten the chance to finish her essay, and as she typed away, she ignored everything around her. If she could get this one paper finished and written up before her shift, she’d be one happy student.
Her arrangement with Daniel shouldn’t be affecting her study time, and yet within the first week, she was already behind. She’d scheduled for this to be completed on Sunday, and she gritted her teeth, thinking about how long she’d spent with him on Sunday.
Waking up in the same bed had been … interesting.
She’d never slept with anyone at all, especially not going through the night, and they didn’t speak about it. Being the early riser that she was, she’d woken first, and gotten out of there.
Elizabeth had no intention of lying there and lingering over how hot and sexy he was lying beside her. He didn’t want love, and she had no intention of falling in love. Reading through so many romances during her high school years, and the first year of college, she’d found certain scenarios dangerous.
Waking up beside the man in her life, and seeing how messy his hair was so that you just wanted to stroke that hair out of the way—yep, she’d seen that, so she’d gotten out of there.
After sex, the stroking, the goofy way they looked at each other, and the contentment that always followed sex with a couple that loved each other—she wasn’t going to allow herself that kind of luxury, so she got out of there, heading to the bathroom whenever he was gone to clean up, keeping that distance between them.
If she thought about how nice he looked, or what she enjoyed about being with him, she’d cut the thought down by remembering that he paid her to be there, even though she enjoyed it and his company.
He didn’t want anyone to fall in love with him, or make demands, so she never texted him first, or called him.
She spent more time focusing on other things rather than her arrangement with him.
“Wow, you’re typing away like a machine.”
Elizabeth glanced up to see Billy pulling out the other chair opposite her. Daniel’s possessive words returned to her, but she didn’t panic.
She had no interest in talking to Billy. With him being one of the popular guys on campus, neither of them had anything in common, especially as his parents were as wealthy as they come.
“I’ve not seen you around this weekend. Don’t you ever go to any parties?” he asked.
“I was studying.” She stared at her laptop, seeing the words as Billy started to talk, and she tried to ignore him.
“Studying. Everyone does that. I was at the library the other day cramming in the books, but you see, you’ve also got to live a little. To have some fun once in a while, otherwise you’ll wake up in fifty years’ time and wonder what the hell you did with all your life. That’s right, you studied, then you worked hard.”
She sighed, and stopped typing. “I really want to finish this assignment. I have no interest in partying, and if I make it to fifty, I’ll see what regrets I can rectify. Last time I checked, older people could have fun and party as well.”
Before Billy could say anything, someone else interrupted them.
“That’s my seat.”
Glancing up, she saw that Daniel held two coffees in his hands, and was glaring at Billy like he was the scum of the earth.
Biting her lip, she glanced from Daniel to Billy then back again. The last thing she wanted was to have any trouble.
“Is he your dad or something?” Billy asked.
“None of your business. Move.” Daniel didn’t argue. The sound of his voice, along with the look, had Billy standing to his feet.
She wondered if that was the voice he used in court when a witness was being difficult.
“See you around, Lizzie.”
Billy used the name that only friends who knew her called her. She’d not corrected Daniel as to her, it was another barrier in helping her keep any emotion out of her relationship with Daniel.