Desires of a Full Moon (7 page)

He frowned at her plate “Is that all you’re going to eat?”

She glanced down at her half-eaten toast. “Yeah.”

Jayden shook his head. “Get your stuff. We’ll go grab a real breakfast.”

“But I need to look over my notes.”

“Bring them. You’ll have time to look over them after you eat a real meal. You’ve lost weight and you need a good breakfast before your test.”

She stared at him. How did he know that she had lost weight? After the notes arrived she’d lost her appetite. When she did manage to eat, it wasn’t much.

She walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed, tucking her textbooks into her backpack.

She grabbed her cell phone and tucked it in her jeans pocket and headed for the door. The mirror on the wall caught her attention and she jerked to a stop, looking at her appearance.

She had chosen the silky peach top that dipped slightly between her breasts and jeans that weren’t so baggy. They weren’t tight-fitting, but they still hung lower on her hips and hugged her curves better than the bigger jeans she usually wore.

She had even put on some eye shadow and lip gloss. The shadows under her eyes were still there, but lighter thanks to a good night’s sleep. She felt lighter too.

Was it because of Jayden?

“You ready?” Jayden called out from the kitchen.

She grinned at her reflection. Was she ready?

Hell, yeah.

#

Jayden leaned back in the booth of the busy little café and studied Haley over his coffee as she read over her notes before their breakfast arrived.

He nearly had a coronary when he walked into the kitchen and saw her in those low rise jeans and peach shirt that flowed over her breasts.

She was a natural beauty with her full lips and a complexion that didn’t need any makeup. Her full lips shone with that cherry lip gloss she’d put on. He knew it was cherry because he could smell it.

And he wanted to lick it off.

She had been trying to hide herself behind those baggy clothes. But today she wasn’t. She was even walking with her head up, instead of watching the ground.

It was enough to make him smile.

Haley looked up from her notes. A slow grin spread across her face and Jayden almost choked on his coffee as he felt his body respond.

“What are you smiling at?” She cocked her head. “Do I have something on my face?”

“What? No.” He cleared his throat as he shifted his weight in the booth. His jeans were growing tighter by the second “I was just noticing the change in your wardrobe.”

She chuckled. “I didn’t think it was such a big change. I wore jeans yesterday.”

“Jeans that are much too big. Plus the ugly sweatshirt.”

“Hey! No making fun of the university. That will get your ass kicked.” She grinned.

“Whatever.” Jayden grinned and looked away, both shocked and pleased at how good it felt to sit with her and share a meal. Made him feel almost alive again.

“So what’s up with your wardrobe?” She pointed the end of her pencil at his shirt.

He jerked his head towards her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve noticed all you ever wear are T-shirts.”

“So?”

“From that store in the mall.” She arched her brow.

Jayden crossed his arms and frowned. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Is that the official uniform for being a Guardian?”

“No.” He glanced down at his bright blue shirt. “It’s just what I wear when I’m not working. Plus I thought I was blending into the college crowd.”

Haley bit her lip and nodded before looking back down at her textbook.

“Are you trying to tell me I need to get some different clothes? Are you sure you’re not trying to turn me into your guinea pig for some class project for your fashion course?”

She rolled her eyes. “Look, you’ve got a great body. You need to dress it accordingly.”

He fought a grin, pleased way too much that she liked his body. “Tell me, how would you dress me?”

He watched her cock her head and study him. It made him feel a little like a piece of meat.

“You need more button-up shirts that are tailored to fit you. Your jeans fit fine, but you should go with a darker wash with some whiskering effect on the front. If it were winter I’d tell you to wear scarves and layer them into your wardrobe. But we are going into spring, which will quickly turn into summer, so you could wear more shirts with patterns versus solid colors. And if you do go with a solid, you need to do softer colors. Not bright-colored T-shirts.”

She crossed her arms and smiled, waiting for his rebuttal.

“Button-up shirts are too dressy and scarves are for girls. I don’t wear patterned shirts because they remind me of Granny’s muumuus,” he snarled.

“Okay.” Haley shrugged, took a sip of coffee and went back to studying.

He fidgeted in his seat until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you trying to insinuate that I don’t look good in my clothes?” He’d never had a woman complain before. Hell, they were always trying to take his clothes off, not put clothes on him.

Haley set her coffee down. “Jayden, would you dress a lingerie model in granny panties and an oversized bra?” She shook her head. “No, you’d dress her in the hottest lingerie that would best show off her body.”

He didn’t know if he should be offended or complimented. He cocked his head, trying to figure her out.

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. Her breath hitched ever so slightly in her slender throat and he could see the pulse jumping at the base of her neck. Her pupils dilated. Pleasure streaked through his body hard and fast at her obvious arousal.

He let his lips curve into a slow grin. “Okay, Haley. I’m willing to be your little experiment. I’ll let you strip me down and dress me however you want.”

Her eyelids drifted over her eyes as her lips parted. He loved seeing that reaction.

“How about we make a deal?”

“What kind of deal?” Her raspy voice made his dick throb.

“I’ll let you take me shopping for clothes and let you change my wardrobe however you like.” He shrugged. “I’ll even pay for everything.”

“What do you want in return?”

“In return, you’ve got to do something for me.” He let his gaze dip down to that pulse in her neck that seemed to pick up speed at his proposal.

“What do you want me to do?”

That was a loaded question. There was a lot he wanted her to do and it all involved her being naked.

“I want you to let me give you the college experience that you’ve been missing. Everything that you’ve missed out on, everything that you’ve been warned not to do. I want you to agree to do whatever I say.”

Haley stared at him for a few beats, as if considering his proposal.

Any other woman would have been putty in his hands.

But not Haley.

She was different. She had a mind of her own.

Haley eased back in her seat and met his gaze. “Okay, on one condition. You can’t refuse what I pick out for you. You have to buy it and wear it.”

“Okay.” He shrugged and gave her an easy grin.

She stuck out her hand and smiled. He took her hand in his and shook, holding on to her hand a second too long.

He leaned closer.

“Remember, Haley, a deal’s a deal. There’s no going back now.”

#

Jayden walked Haley to each one of her classes and stood watch just outside the door. He managed to pass the time researching stalkers on his cell phone. He discovered that all stalkers were not the same. There were actually different types. Haley’s stalker resembled what they called a rejected suitor. One person fit that description.

The ex-boyfriend.

He lifted his head as the doors to the classroom swung opened and students poured out into the hallway like ants. He ignored the flirty looks the girls were shooting him and instead kept his gaze on Haley as she headed toward him, her head high and a smile on her lips. A girl walking beside her touched her arm and Haley turned. She said something and they both laughed.

His heart tugged in his chest and he couldn’t tear his eyes off her.

Neither could the other males in the hallway.

Jayden frowned, watching a guy slide up beside her and ask her a question. His gut burned. Jayden started moving closer to her.

Haley replied to whatever the dude has said to her and shook her head before looking back at Jayden and smiling.

He wasted no time wading through the throng of people to get to her.

“How was class?” he asked, sticking his hands in his jeans pockets. He realized he was standing close, but he couldn’t seem to make himself step back.

“It was good.” Haley smiled and slung her backpack across her shoulders.

“I got it.” He took her backpack and slung it across his shoulder. “Is that your last class for the day?” He slowed his pace adjusting to her stride as they walked out of the building and toward the direction of his car.

“Yep. She stuck her hands in the back pocket of her jeans. Her breasts strained against the thin material of her shirt. A couple of guys passed by, their gaze zeroed in on Haley’s chest. Jayden let out a growl. The guys hurried away.

“So what did you do all day?” She looked up at him. “I’m sure you were bored to death.”

“Actually I was looking up Fayetteville’s upcoming activities.” He grinned. No need for her to know about his stalker research. “For your college experience.”

“Oh yeah. How could I forget?” She laughed.

“Haley!”

Jayden followed Haley’s gaze to her roommate, Dana, who was running across campus toward them. He’d seen Dana around Little Rock and knew she had a penchant for trying to catch a sneak peek of the Guardians while they were working out or trying to get dressed. Truth be told, she was going to get herself in a whole lot of trouble with that kind of behavior.

“Hey.” Dana frowned at Haley and then gave Jayden a surprised look.

“Hi, Dana.” Haley frowned and shifted her weight. “I’m sorry I moved out in such a hurry…”

Dana crossed her arms and gave her a scowl. “You didn’t even wait until I got back to the dorm. You could have at least told me face-to-face.” She looked over at Jayden and then back at Haley.

“Yeah, I know. It all happened very quickly and well…”

Jayden pulled Haley into his arms.

“Sorry, Dana. It’s my fault. I realized I couldn’t be away from Haley another day.” Jayden looked down into Haley’s surprised expression and covered her lips in a blazing hot kiss.

Jayden’s warm lips covered hers and she opened her mouth, welcoming him to taste her. He took the invitation and slipped his hot tongue inside her willing mouth. Her fingertips gripped his narrow waist, momentarily forgetting Dana was standing there. She pressed closer, wanting to crawl inside him until they were one.

Slowly he pulled away, leaving her breathless and startled at her own quick reaction. His blue eyes bored into hers, searing her with a look of lust that made her shiver despite the warmth of the spring day.

“Wow. I had no idea you guys were dating.” Dana grinned.

Still dizzy from Jayden’s kiss, Haley glanced at her friend and murmured, “Yeah, me either.” Her nerve endings tingled from the contact of the kiss.

She tried to step back to clear her head, but Jayden didn’t release his hold. He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her in front of him, pressing her back into his chest. He nuzzled her neck. She had to fight to keep her eyes from fluttering shut.

“You sure know how to keep a secret, Haley. I should be mad that you didn’t at least tell me.” A streak of pain flashed in Dana’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dana. I didn’t mean to keep anything from you.” She hated that she’d betrayed her friend. Dana had been a good friend to her since she moved here and she would never intentionally hurt her. But most of all she hated lying to Dana.

“It’s my fault, actually.” Jayden cleared his throat. “I didn’t really want anyone to know how involved we were. It might cause some unwanted talk about the difference in our ages”

Dana’s eyes narrowed as she looked between them. “Surely you can’t be that much older than Haley? What are you, twenty five?”

Haley snorted.

Jayden squeezed her tight. “Something like that.”

“You guys look so cute together.” Dana’s expression softened as she looked between them.

“Really?” Haley looked up at Jayden.

“Yeah, like Ken and Barbie,” Dana said brightly

“I don’t look like Ken,” Jayden groused.

“Well, like a surfer Ken, you know, with all your bright-colored T-shirts.”

Haley bit the inside of her cheek. She didn’t have to look at Jayden’s face to see he was glaring.

“Well, I’m heading to the library to study. I’m supposed to have dinner with my sweetie tonight. You two should come.”

Haley shook her head. “I don’t think Mark would appreciate us busting in on his romantic dinner for two. Besides, it sounds like he is trying to make you and your relationship a priority.”

Dana shot them a sheepish look. “Or it might have something to do with him catching me flirting with a certain professor of his.”

“Dana!” Haley’s mouth dropped open.

Dana frowned. “What? I was trying to see if Mark would even notice. He’s been so busy with his classes lately.”

“And did he notice?”

“Dana grinned. “Oh, yeah. Not only is he taking me out to dinner, he is insisting that I spend the night at his apartment. Which has never happened.”

“You’ve never spent the night at your boyfriend’s apartment?” Jayden asked over Haley’s shoulder.

“No.” Dana pouted. “He’s always telling me that he has to study and that when I’m over there he can’t concentrate because I distract him too much.”

“Sounds like a nice problem for a guy to have.” Jayden laughed.

“I guess you would know since you two are living together.” Dana glanced down at her cell phone in her hand. “I need to go if I’m going to study before I get ready for my date. Maybe we can all do something together this weekend?”

Haley shivered as she forced a smile to her lips. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to be out in public with someone still stalking her.

“Let me see what we have planned and we’ll get back with you,” Jayden answered for her.