Rand’s hand covers my chilled fingers, calling me back to him.
“You’re safe with me,” he promises.
“I know.”
I feel it deep in my bones. He’s proving to me that he cares about my safety, and I don’t doubt that he’s strong enough to do what’s necessary to fend off my stalker.
One of the bar staff enters the room, and I jerk my hand away from his.
The woman doesn’t seem to notice. She’s too intent on her work, which apparently includes lighting a fire. The pub is a bit chilly now that we’re getting deeper into September. I don’t particularly like fires after escaping the blaze at the stables, but I can bear a lit hearth across the room from me.
I look back at Rand, pulling my focus from the small flame.
He’s fixated on it. His jaw is tight, and his blocky brow shines with a hint of sweat.
“Are you too warm in here?” I ask. “We can go outside.”
He doesn’t answer me.
I tentatively brush my fingers over his. He jolts away.
My gut tightens at his sudden distance. I don’t like that he’s recoiling from me.
He blinks and quickly removes his glasses to rub his eyes.
“Are you okay?” I’m not sure if I’ve done something to upset him.
“I need to go,” he says, standing abruptly.
He shoves the book and papers into his satchel and hands my phone back to me.
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you.”
He jerks his head to the side, clearly irritated. “I’ll call a car for you.”
He’s not offering to walk me home. My heart sinks.
And that’s entirely unreasonable. It’s better this way. I can’t have my professor walking me through town all the time. If it’s occasional, I could easily explain it away; as his MA student, it’s okay to seek him out for academic study. But too often would be foolish.
“It’s a black sedan,” he says in clipped tones. “They should be pulling up now.”
He walks towards the exit, and I trail in his wake.
I have no idea what’s shifted between us in the last few minutes, but he seems eager to be rid of me.
I duck past him out of the pub.
I’m not going to beg for his attention. He’s done enough already to protect me from my stalker.
“I’ll see you soon,” he says gruffly as I cross the sidewalk to get to the car.
“Okay,” I agree, unsure how to respond.
“Lena.” He takes a deep breath and seems to collect himself. “I really do need to leave. But I’ll be around if you need me.”
I take a moment to study him. His brow still shines with sweat, but his jaw isn’t shadowed with tension anymore.
When I don’t respond right away, he closes the distance between us under the pretense of opening my car door. His body is too close to mine, and I’m suddenly all too aware of his muscular frame surrounding me.