[///ON HOLD///] Animal House (Rendezvous #2)

Chapter 17

Declan knew Nora was watching for his reaction, so he schooled his features to remain exactly the same as before her confession. But she saw it—just the slightest widening of his eyes, just the tiniest tightening of his lips.

"I just started veterinary school," Nora continued. "I didn't have as much time to spend with Ace and Dane, and they were getting into their rebellious phase. The money our parents left us after they passed away was depleting, so I had to pick up more shifts at work just to pay rent and put food on the table. Everything was taking a turn for the worse. I was barely surviving in all my other classes, but then it happened. I overslept and missed a clinical.

"Homework and tests could be made up, but a clinical? There was a zero-tolerance policy set in place. A missed clinical meant an immediate fail for the whole course. I knew I would have to talk to my professor. I also knew about the rumors that he favored beautiful women."

According to the rumors, the professor, Mr. Rickmoore, played favorites with girls, especially those who were young and attractive. Nora never cared for the rumors and thought them to be simply that—rumors. Part of her believed they were started out of spite since it seemed a lot of women found the professor attractive, but their advances were never reciprocated.

"So I went to meet with him, asking if I could somehow make it up or have it be excused. I told him of my circumstances, how I didn't have parents, how I had a full-time job to provide for not only myself, but two younger brothers. He said he took pity on me, but all he could do was put in a good word for me to the other administrators of the program when they discussed it. The way he said it, full of dismissal, like I was wasting my time, made me know I was done for.

"It was out of desperation that I betted my whole future on those rumors. I shut his office door. I let my hair down. I took off my glasses. I slipped off my sweater." A bitter smile crossed her face. "Very much the same way I seduced you that night. And that was exactly what I did. I seduced him. I know the effect I have on men. In a professional setting, they mocked my baby-face and deemed me immature. But in private, when they thought no one else was looking, they stared at me with the eyes of a hungry animal. The very same expression I made my professor wear when he saw my naked face."

It hadn't been the first time she used her looks to get what she wanted after all. A little cleavage got her to pass an interview and a flirty wink earned her some free drinks at the bar. Some actions garnered more guilt than others, but the guilt never really faded with time.

"It worked," Nora said. Declan still tried to wear a face of calm, but she could see something swirling in his eyes. "He said he could guarantee I stayed in the program."

She couldn't bear looking at Declan any longer and finally closed her eyes.

"We kissed for the first time." She remembered not even feeling disgust. Though Mr. Rickmoore was over fifteen years older than her, he was still a fairly attractive man. At the time, she saw it as a plus. "But it wouldn't be the last. And it wouldn't be the worst thing I did with him either."

Declan stood from the couch in one swift, loud movement. Nora opened her eyes and watched his back as he strode to the patio window. She could see he was breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with his every breath.

The sight scared her. She was losing him. And yet, she had to finish what she started.

"In class, I was a normal student with no significant looks. But when we met alone, I made sure his eyes were all for me. I dressed the way he liked. I did my hair the way he liked. I even wore my makeup the way he liked. But sometimes, my bare face would be all it took to please him. The part of me he loved the most was my face, after all. He found my contrasting appearances scandalous."