A lady
Professor Cal wove his hand around her, and pulled her back.
They were standing side to side, their faces close but facing opposite walls.
Even now, she felt the tremor running through his forearm that he had woven around her waist. The pressure of the tremor was strong, like water going through a garden hose.
The man inhaled, “You’re a lady.” He said gently.
“What?” Her eyes moved up to meet him now, and his eyes looked sad. “What do you mean?”
“I would not make love to you in a dingy hall because you are a lady.” His left hand moved up to gently caress her curls away from her face. “I did not mean to touch you here either.”
She tried to move away, but his arm tightened around her, pinning her to himself.
He brought his face close to her, and she could feel his breath just by her ear.
“I want to explore your body, Myra.” He whispered softly, and her body shook at the suddenness of such brazen dirty talk.
“I want to feel your body buck just like that,” he said.
She inhaled, suddenly scared that he would hear her labored breathing.
“I don’t know what this is between us, but I will not fight it anymore.” His deep voice was so calm and soothing despite the words he was saying, that she closed her eyes momentarily.
“I want to explore it with you.” His lips were so close to her ear it felt like he was speaking right in her head.
“But not in some dimly lit hall, or the vacation home of one of my friends. You are a proper lady, and I’ll only treat you as such.”
She stood still, barely breathing, the muscles in her body painfully taut as a war began in her mind.
She was not sure of anything anymore.
Did this man not really do what he was accused of, or was he simply a gentleman till the end, even when doing despicable things.
He still thought she was his student, and here they were.
“I’ll have someone pick you up from your apartment at four,” he said, and she finally turned to look at him.
His eyes no longer looked sad.
He seemed quiet, relaxed and suddenly at peace.
“Where?”
“A proper place to bed a lady.” He smiled a little.
As she watched him speak she was reminded again of their generational gap.
Despite the fact that his face did not betray his age, and with that body he had on, he might as well have been an older brother to Aiden, Greg, or even Atlas, they were still nowhere close in age.
His eyes were wise, and he still held on tightly to the old school pattern of treating women like delicate dishware.
He brought his face close and her heart was already thumping at the thought of him kissing her again.
If he did, they would be unable to fight going all the way, and he would fck her, or, like he said, bed her in his friend’s house.
But he did not kiss her, he only leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
Fatigue suddenly settled fully on her, and she staggered, but he was holding her up.
She closed her eyes, their foreheads touching and, for the first time since she walked into Aiden, she felt at peace.
It was so sudden and complete that it brought her close to tears.
Why? Was it because one of her selfish goals was to hurt Aiden by possibly fcking the man he believed was his father?
Was that why she suddenly felt this sudden quiet inside her?
All the thoughts and voices that troubled her were suddenly silent, and she did not feel much like a stranger in her body anymore.
It was like she had been running since that night, non-stop, running away from the memory and the disgust and wretchedness she felt within herself, and now she finally came to a halt.
She stood still as time seemed to stop, the realization hitting her that she was now on the wrong side of the law, right beside Callaghan Dankworth, the man she was supposed to be handing over to the law.
It would all go downhill from here for both of them.
There was no retracting her steps.
But why did she feel peace instead of turmoil?
Professor Cal finally moved away, and he seemed reluctant to let her go, as she was to see him leave.
He tilted his chin up and pressed his lips to her forehead in a kiss for several seconds.
Then he squeezed her hand, and walked out the door without looking back.
Myra stood watching, suddenly feeling bereft as she watched the door close behind him.
When she stepped out of the bathroom minutes later, she sank to the bed in exhaustion, and stared at her phone.
She had come here to call Greg, but she could not bring herself to do so now.
He would know. He was already suspicious, and would know as soon as he heard her voice.
It would not be difficult for him to find out Professor Cal was in this house, and then he would be certain something had happened between them.
She took the bullet out of her pocket, and stared at it, but somehow she did not feel as distressed about it as she had, barely an hour ago.
It still puzzled her what had happened out there, but it was not the top worry on her mind anymore.
She stood up, and walked out the door.
She had to leave now if she was going to make it back to Ciaran in time to get ready before four.
As she walked down the stairs, she thought of her colleagues.
She did not doubt they were positioned all around this house, although they would be unable to come in.
She did not feel guilty keeping them in the dark, or them having to explain to the police chief why they had little to no knowledge of her activity.
All of them didn't really care to help her even when they knew what her father planned for her at the end of the mission.
It was really her against them now.
Even though Greg would have been willing to side with her, she could not pull him in her mess.
She was now a law offender.