Bad Judgment (28 page)

I nod, because I couldn’t have said it better. I hated that this happened to him. “I’ll dig through everything and see if anything stands out. When can I talk to someone in the criminal law group?”

“I’ll set that up for later this week. Now, get out of here.”

I’m heading down the stairs, my bag over my shoulder, when my phone vibrates in my hand.

R
YKER
: I’m outside. I’m taking you to dinner.

My mouth tugs wide with a smile as I tap out my reply.

J
USTINE
: I’m not going to argue with that.

R
YKER:
Then get your sweet ass down here.

J
USTINE:
On my way.

Everything else fades away as I head out of the building and see him waiting for me at the curb.

Justine

Later that night, I’m in Ryker’s bed, his hard body curled around me.

“I need to go home. I can’t stay tonight again.” There’s nothing I want to do less than leave, but I know I need to keep some separation.

He curls a hand around my breast, and a zing of heat starts in my nipples and goes straight to my clit.

“You definitely need to stay because I’m not done with you yet. We’ve still got at least one more round before I’m letting you out of this bed.”

I roll to face him. “Is that right?”

“Hell yes, that’s right. You’re not getting away from me yet.”

“I can’t just crash here every night.” Getting this comfortable scares me when I’m clueless about what he’s feeling.

“Is there some reason you have to really go home, or are you just freaking out about spending too much time here?”

Apparently Ryker can read me more easily than I thought, or maybe I’m completely transparent.

“We’re going to class together, you’re taking me to work, we study together. You’re going to get sick of me.”

Ryker’s blue gaze sears me. “You think after two years of trying to get you here, I’m going to let you leave my bed because you’re worried about something that ridiculous? Not happening. I’ll keep you here as long as I can. Hell, if I knew you wouldn’t lose your shit, I’d just move you in.”

“Uh, we’re not— I mean. What?” My words come out a stammering mess.

“I hate that you live in crap student housing, Justine. I worry about you every night you spend there. Have the break-ins actually stopped, or has Campus Safety just stopped reporting them?”

As I gather the sheet to my chest, my teeth pinch down on my bottom lip at the concern etched on his features. I release it before replying. “They’ve stopped. I think. I mean, my place is fine.”

I can’t bring myself to admit that the nights I’ve spent in his bed have been the most restful sleep I’ve gotten since the night of the break-in, because at home, I spend too much time worrying away the hours I should be sleeping.

“You’re staying tonight. I’m not asking. I’m telling you.” His tone dares me to protest, and I know I should. I should tell him he can’t order me to stay. But my protest would be halfhearted at best and completely bullshit at worst.

So instead, I cave. “Fine. I’ll stay. Tonight. But tomorrow night I’m going home. I’m paying rent, so I need to sleep there.”

“You can stop paying rent if you just—”

Oh no. That conversation isn’t happening.
I press a finger to his lips to stop him.
Because you’re afraid you’ll want to say yes?

I shut down the inconvenient inner voice. I’m not considering it. This is too new, too untried. No matter how I feel, I’m not ready to jump off a cliff with no parachute or safety net. The last thing I want to do is move in, get comfortable, and then haul my stuff out again if something goes wrong. I’ve spent most of my life bouncing from place to place, never having a chance to put down roots. What if I put them down here and they get torn out?

“I’ll stay tonight. Leave it at that, okay?”

Something about the tone of my voice keeps him from pushing. Instead, Ryker says nothing in response, probably because he’s not going to make promises he won’t keep, and I have a feeling this conversation isn’t truly over. I know one foolproof way for him to leave the situation alone . . . I slide my hand between us and wrap it around his shaft.

Ryker groans as he hardens against my hand. “You don’t play fair.”

“Who says I’m playing at all? I take this very, very seriously.”

Ryker

I’ve avoided Kristy Horner and the
International Law Journal
office as much as possible this semester, but I can’t any longer. Today is a full editorial board meeting to discuss our next issue going to print, and if I miss it, she’ll have leverage to get me booted off the journal.

Before, the prospect didn’t bother me, but now I’ve got something to prove. The only thing getting me through the meeting is knowing that I’m meeting Brandon at the bar for a beer later, and hopefully talking Justine into staying the night at my place. One day at a time.

When I walk into the office, I’m the last to arrive. Kristy is at the head of the table, with the rest of the editorial board filling up each side. I slide into the seat at the end.

“Thanks for joining us.” Kristy’s tone is snotty and annoyed, but I don’t care.

I check my watch as the hands land on two o’clock. “Right on time.”

She rolls her eyes, and no one in the room can miss the tension between us.

Kristy talks for forty minutes, giving a rundown on each of the pieces for submission, and debates the merits with herself without allowing anyone else to get a word in.

There’s only one piece in the stack that I don’t think should be included, and it’s Kristy’s. It’s basically a regurgitation of the last note she published, with a slightly different spin so she can pad her résumé. I’ve got two choices—bring it up now, in front of the group, or take it up with her privately. As much as I want to call her out, I opt for the latter.

When the rest of the editorial staff leaves—after rubber-stamping everything Kristy chose for publication—I stay seated, leaning my elbows on the table.

“We need to talk.”

Her blond eyebrow arches. “About what?”

“Your note. We’re not publishing it.”

“The hell we’re not. I’m the editor-in-chief; I can do whatever I want.”

“And ninety-five percent of it is a duplication of the shit you published last semester. Everyone in the room knew it, but no one has the balls to say anything.”

Her laugh comes out as a huff. “You’re going to challenge my work product? Really? After we published your half-assed piece last year?”

“I didn’t make the call to publish mine, but you’re making the call to publish yours. You’re using the journal to pad your résumé, and I’m calling bullshit.”

Her expression hardens. “My decision is final. Call it whatever you want.”

“You need me to bring this up with Professor Tate? Because I will.” Our faculty advisor is the only chance I have to knock Kristy down a peg. Last year, I would have kept out of it, but the way she’s been taking swipes at Justine has pushed me past my limit.

Her mouth pinches into a scowl. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Then I guess you don’t know me as well as you thought.”

She taps a fingernail on the table, as though considering what she’s going to say next. “Maybe I don’t, but you’re still not going to do it. As a matter of fact, what you’re going to do is leave this alone and get me a letter of recommendation from your dad for my clerkship application with the Sixth Circuit.”

What the fuck?
“Did you run out and find some crack before the meeting? There’s no way in hell he’s going to write you a letter of recommendation. I won’t let him.”

Her scowl twists into something nasty. “Yes, you are. And you know why? Because if you don’t, I’m going to tell everyone all about how your dad is paying your new girlfriend’s tuition, and that’s why she finally spread her legs for you.” She nods her head. “I guess it’s lucky for you she lost that scholarship, or you would’ve never gotten a shot at her.”

My expression stays neutral as her words tear through me, unleashing waves of rage.
What the fuck?

Kristy’s waiting for my reaction, but I refuse to give her the one she’s expecting.

I stand, gripping the edge of the table so hard it creaks. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re talking about, but I don’t want to hear Justine’s name come out of your mouth ever again.”

A harsh laugh tinged with something evil escapes. “You could’ve had me—someone your social equal—but no, you wanted that charity case. Apparently she’s a hell of a lot smarter than you, because she found a way to get a free ride for fucking you. The student paper would
love
that story.”

“Stop right the fuck now. You’re full of shit.” I want to reach across the table and shut her up myself, but I’ll never put my hands on a woman like that.

“I bet you wish I was, but this isn’t something I can make up. You know my mom works in the registrar’s office, right? She’s been drafted to help keep tabs on the payments coming in from the scholarship kids who lost their free rides. She told me that the last payment for Justine’s tuition came from your dad—and it wasn’t the first time. I thought that was pretty freaking interesting.”

“And your mom is going to be out of a job tomorrow for sharing confidential information with you if you don’t shut the fuck up.”

My harsh tone isn’t as effective as I expected, because Kristy laughs again and lowers herself back into her seat. “You’re so blind, you don’t even see it, do you?” She crosses her arms, rests them on the table, and leans toward me. “How many times did she shoot you down before she lost her scholarship? Don’t you think it’s odd that she didn’t put up much of a fight after? Think about it, Ryker.”

“Enough.” The word comes out like a Doberman’s bark.

Kristy shakes her head slowly. “She wouldn’t give you the time of day for years, and then all of a sudden she’s your new study
and
fuck buddy? You don’t think those two things have anything in common? You’re not usually this much of an idiot.”

Anger vibrates through every cell of my body, and my fists clench against my sides. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, and if you say another word about this to me or anyone else, I will rain down hell on you and your mom.”

Kristy’s triumphant expression morphs into something ugly and cruel.
Why did I ever think she was attractive?

“I guess we’ll see what the dean has to say about it. Little Miss Perfect 4.0 might find herself out of school anyway. There’s got to be some violation of the student code of conduct.”

I meet her gaze with a glare. “You say anything to the dean, and I’ll make sure my dad blackballs you from every job worth having after graduation.”

Finally, a flash of uncertainty crosses her features. “He wouldn’t dare.”

“I swear to God, I won’t stop until he does.”

Kristy sputters, searching for something to say in response, but I’m not waiting around. I need some answers right the fuck now.

Justine

I’ve spent two weeks working at the firm, with the majority of my time taken up by the first project Vito assigned me, which we finally wrapped up yesterday when he filed the brief.