A Taste of Temptation (Love Spectrum Romance) (19 page)

“I left Tiffany at the park after seeing you here. I’d better tell her I’m calling it a night; you know, get some of that work done.”

“No, you have time. Go and enjoy your night out.”

She watched him walk towards the dorm rooms with a cloud of doom overshadowing his good looks. She wished that she could join him in his room and make life a little better for him, but knew he would never say yes to that.

CHAPTER 19

A refreshing shower always relaxed Tim. He dashed on Polo body splash; hoping, probably in vain, to stimulate his seemingly dead senses. He put on his jeans and a white shirt, leaving his underwear in a pile on the floor. He raked his hands through his still damp hair, and then turned to concentrate on the stack of papers waiting for him near the bed.

Before starting on the papers, he gazed through the picture window at the night sky. The festival was still going on in the park. Where was Brandi in that crowd? Probably dancing her delicious butt off somewhere. He had forgotten to give her the present he had bought, a silver heart pendant to put on the chain he had given her for Valentine’s Day.

His stomach began to churn; he hadn’t had dinner. Tim checked the local restaurant’s take-out menu and ordered a Ruben sandwich and a drink. His mind drifted back to his missing case files. He knew he couldn’t worry over that all night, he got busy on the stack of rough drafts.

A half-hour later, delivery was at the door. He opened up with a generous tip in hand and stared into Brandi’s face. She was holding his food order.

A smile hovered briefly on his lips, then faded. He should have known she would find his room. “I don’t know whether or not you deserve this tip.”

She gave him the bag and took the ten from his hand. “If anyone deserves this tip, it’s me. How do you like my new job?”

“How did you finagle this?”

“I was sitting at the bar in the restaurant when your call came in. I tipped the waiter a ten to let me bring the order to you. I told him you were my professor.”

“And he believed you?”

“Charm and a pretty smile can fool any man.”

“It sure fooled me. Keep the ten; you deserve it.” He sat the bag on the table. “You can’t stay here, Brandi.”

“Sure I can; no one saw me.” She took his drink from the foam bag and began sipping it. “This is great! What is it?”

“Something you have no business with; give me that. Now, you have to leave, Brandi.”

“No. I’m worried about you, Tim. That’s why I was at the restaurant. I wasn’t in the mood to party after seeing you so depressed. I had to find a way to see you again.”

“But not here.”

She moved into his arms, inhaling his aftershave. “Umm, you smell so damn good.”

“Brandi, you have to leave. We can’t make love here, and you know it. Besides, the walls are thin. Someone could hear us.”

She paid no attention and lay across his bed. “I’ll be quiet.”

“You’re never quiet.”

“Then you shouldn’t be such a good lover.”

“Please, Brandi.”

“No. I’m here to comfort you tonight. I don’t have to have sex with you to do that.”

“You know we end up doing that, anyway.” He leaned over her, barely inches from her lips. “I’m serious. You’ve got to get out of here.”

She unbuttoned her pink chiffon midriff and slipped out of her matching skirt. He sat on the bed next to her. “I am serious about this. We could get caught.”

She moved in behind him, whispering in his ear. “It’s just us in here, Tim.”

The feel of her thighs against his damp skin made him move closer to her. His muscles relaxed under her gentle massaging fingers. He put his drink aside. “Fine, I give up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You heard; I give up fighting you about this sleeping together thing on this campus. I have no more energy for it.”

“I’m not trying to fight you, Tim; I just want to love you.”

He stood, removing his pants and shirt. “I’ve been holding off for weeks now because my mind has been so occupied, but the fact is, I’ve missed you way more than imaginable.” He returned to the bed, wrapping her within his warmth. “I’ve really missed you, my angel.”

She squirmed in his arms, forcing her breasts deeper against him, forcing him to hunger for them. The moment his lips met her taut nipples, rockets shot off in her head. “Make love to me, Tim, please.”

He reached for his pants and took the condom from his wallet, handing it to her. “Do it, Brandi. I know how you love putting it on me.”

“It’s a bona fide gas doing this to you. I know that sounds so seventies, but that’s how I feel when I’m with you, like nothing is more important.”

“How did I get to be this lucky?”

She fit the elastic around his maleness and smiled into his face. “I don’t know; kismet maybe?”

He moved her to her side, swirling his tongue across every part of her, from her breasts to her navel. His fingers filled her core, rocking, pumping her slowly—the way she liked it. That wasn’t enough for him, though. He had to taste his angel, get his fill of her before taking them both to heaven. He took her from behind, kissing and stroking her tender folds, lapping his way into her body—draining her. He felt his own pressure becoming intolerable; he knew he couldn’t last much longer without being inside of her.

Knowing what he needed, she lay on her back, awaiting his pressure…his pleasure. He poked creamy wet folds, pushing harder with each stroke until he was deeply implanted in her. He heard her low screams and reveled in them. They were nourishment for his soul.

He collapsed on top of her, staring blankly at the red flashing numbers on his alarm clock. It was nearing 3:00. He smiled at Brandi resting in his arms. No woman had ever satisfied him both mentally and physically the way Brandi had.

For her, the only thing that mattered in the world was the man behind her. She was committed to spending the rest of her life making sure he was pleased in every possible way. She kissed his hand. “I love you so much, Timothy Edward. Thanks for giving me a life.”

He was awakened by phone hours later. “Yes, what is it?”

“I’m sorry to have to disturb you, Dr. Polaris, but I have a student down here, a Miss Tiffany Jackson. She’s concerned that one of her suite mates hasn’t returned from the festival. She wanted me to call you.”

He knew it was about Brandi. Not wanting to discuss anything with Tiffany, he roused Brandi. “Honey, wake up; I need you to talk to Tiffany.”

“What? What’s she doing calling here?” She took the receiver, waiting for the attendant to put Tiffany on. “Tiff, everything is okay.”

“Oops, sorry, but I didn’t know where you were.”

“Now you know, so go back to the room.”

“Are you having fun?”

“Tiff, I will talk to you later, okay? Not a word to anyone.”

“I swear.”

“You’d better.”

She handed him the phone. “I’m sorry, Tim.”

“Not as sorry as I am.” His head rested the pillow, his mind racing.
Now the whole damn world will know Brandi was with me.

Several students had already presented their papers on 18th-century authors. The heads of Niagara University were very impressed by how diligently the students had worked at the retreat. They had always been impressed with presentations from Madison and Columbia.

Brandi was set to present her paper on Thomas Paine in the next half-hour. However, when Tim looked in Brandi’s face, he knew something was wrong and took her behind the stage. “Brandi, what’s wrong? Why have you been crying?”

Her panicky voice rushed through. “Something is really wrong, Tim. My paper is gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Just gone! I didn’t want to tell you until I absolutely had to. I tried to access my files from the computer to print the paper again, but it wouldn’t give me access. The paper on my file at home is unedited. Nothing came up but the old paper that didn’t have an ending.”

“I thought you had the paper in your book bag. You carry that everywhere you go.”

“I went to buy a soda from the machine and left the bag on the table with the other student papers. When I came back, Dana told me somehow my paper was gone. I had her go back and get it for me while I swallowed the last of my drink. I checked again myself, and Dana was right. It was gone.”

“You will present, Brandi. I’ll get the converted disc from…”

“We looked for the disc, and that’s gone, too.”

“Miss Shang has one.”

“She doesn’t; we already asked. She said it was erased by mistake and that other class papers are now on it. She also looked on her hard drive; everyone did. The papers are just not around.”

Brandi was not able to present. The university could not extend the retreat for another day due to classes starting. Tim and Monica sat in the conference room discussing what had happened with the papers. They were glad at least that four students had been awarded the grants—two from each university, with Tiffany getting the highest grant amount. Tim felt bad for Brandi not having a chance to compete after he persuaded her to try for it, anyway. He felt that he had let her down and, no matter how Monica tried consoling him, he was sick about it.

Brandi walked in the minute Monica left. “Tim, are you okay? I know you took that pretty hard.”

“Am I okay? I should be asking you that.” He shut the conference room door and took her into his arms. “I’m so sorry about everything.”

“I feel better now. I really didn’t want to leave you and come all the way up here for school, anyway. I just didn’t want my chances taken away.”

He kissed her forehead. “You should be at the restaurant celebrating Tiffany’s and the other students’ accomplishments.”

“I couldn’t leave you in here alone when you were so worried.”

“After everything that’s happened to you, you still thought of me?”

“I can work on another grant another time, but I can’t get another Timothy Polaris. I saw you becoming unglued trying to explain everything to the judges. It hurt me to see you like that.”

“I love you for thinking about me, Brandi. I love everything about you.”

Brandi saw the faraway look in Tim’s eyes. “You think you know who did this, don’t you?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“It wasn’t Eric. He’s a snake in the grass, but he would want me to win. He would want me to be away from you.”

“You have a point. I guess that takes me back to square one.”

As Tim reached for his scotch glass, someone knocked on his door. He had left explicit instructions with the front desk that he needed alone time, at least for a couple of hours. They were leaving the next morning, and he had to work through his emotions before returning to Columbia to explain everything to his dean.

He opened the door to see Brandi smiling at him. “Are you feeling better? I was told you had a headache.”

“Who let you up here?”

“You know I sneak around, go anywhere I want to. Don’t worry, no one saw me come up here.”

She walked to the bed and sat, patting it for him to join her. “Come on, I’ve got something to make you feel better.”

“No way. We shouldn’t do that again until we’re back in New York.”

“I don’t mean that, Tim. I just want to give you a massage, work out those kinks, help you relax.”

“The scotch can do that.”

“I can do it better. Come on; it’s just a little massage. Take your shirt off and lie on your stomach.”

He removed the shirt and did as instructed. He loved how her fingers slowly massaged his upper chest, squeezing, stroking his pecs. He tried not to enjoy the massage but, she was working magic on him. He loosened up and all thoughts of the missing papers disappeared, at least temporarily.

He turned over, facing her as she made him feel like a new man. Her hands moved to the ripples on his stomach and sides, gliding across them vigorously, working him into a gentle moan. “Feels great, huh?”

“Fantastic.”

Brandi gave him a kiss that was hard to break. Their lips parted and she looked down on a man she loved to the ends of the earth; not a perfect man, far from it. That was what she loved about him. He wasn’t common, or easy to figure out, but he had a solid heart. He saw her as a person, a loving young woman, not a color. She needed that.

As for Tim, he didn’t see the perfection others claimed to see when he looked in the mirror, just a bunch of mixed-up nerves in a tired body with many insecurities. He knew Brandi loved him, and that was all he needed to get him through any and all things, including how society viewed them as a couple.

Before long, he was breathing unevenly against his pillow. She watched him sleep, thinking how he looked like a big baby lying there so helpless. Awake, he was a force to be reckoned with, a man who would fight tooth and nail with no thought of being defeated—except by his family. She thought about that envelope with Gregory Polaris’s name on it, wondering what he looked like, wondering what kind of a man would avoid his brother. No answers, and Tim wasn’t ready to provide any.

She pulled the covers over him and walked out.

The trip back to New York was terrible; no buzz about how great the trip had been, no laughs and hand-slaps from instructors congratulating one another for being masters of the universe. But it hadn’t been a total wash; several of the students were all set with grants. Theirs were the only voices heard on the plane.

It was hard for Brandi to be excited, even though her best friend’s paper had won the top grant. Tiffany tried making her feel better. After a while, though, even Tiffany ran out of words of encouragement. She watched as Brandi sat there fumbling with the silver heart pendant Tim bought her at Niagara Falls.

“When did Tim give you that?”

“This morning before we boarded the plane; he forgot to last night what with all the confusion.”

“Is he okay?”

“Not really. Someone took the discs, and he feels responsible; all the professors feel that there must have been something they could have done.”

“Like what?”

“Who knows? Tim thinks he’s Superman and can see everything in the nick of time. He can’t, though. He’s only human, and I wish he’d remember that.”

“He will; give him time.”

They landed in LaGuardia Airport an hour later. Brandi and Tim stole a few minutes in a corner to say good-bye without having to endure snickers or comments from students or her father. Although her father and Tim were on much better terms, he still couldn’t accept the idea that Brandi was going to date whomever she wanted to, whatever his race. She was too tired and too upset to hear Mr. Miles’ views on her relationship.