GAGE

CHAPTER TEN

I seethe at the endearment. While butterflies had erupted in my stomach at the word before, now all I saw was red.

I scowl at him and stay seated.

"Lose the attitude, Kiera." Gage's tone is deathly calm, his eyes warning me to heed the demand.

Well if this was his version of the calm before the storm, he better be prepared for whirlwinds, tornados and tycoons from my side too.

I get up from my seat and stand in the clearing in between the seats, facing him head on. "It's Ms. Carter, Mr. Royal." I say hotly, placing my hands on my hips for extra effect.

His cold gaze rattles my confidence, but I forge on, before I lose all of my confidence.

"Did you have a good laugh fooling me? Was it fun?"

"I remember telling you clearly not to cover up the hickey." Gage says in an eerie tone, completely ignoring my rant.

I gape at him, not comprehending his lack of seriousness to the matter. "You're unbelievable!"

Gage sighs sounding exasperated, "Don't make me repeat myself once more, love. Come here."

Okay, I was wrong all along. I'm not the one who's insane. He is.

"You know what? This is clearly not going anywhere. I'm leaving." No sooner did I turn towards my seat to fetch my bag, than I found my back against the wall and my front against a very ticked off Gage.

How did he move so fast? Is he Fate City's Bolt?

I slam my arms against his chest and try to push him back. He doesn't budge an inch. Growing tired of my futile attempts, he captures both my wrists in his hands and forces them over my head, clutching them against the wall with his firm grip.

"Let me go, professor Royal." I huff furiously.

"Stop calling me that." Gage doesn't raise his voice to get the desired effect, his frosty baritone speaks volumes about his displeasure.

"Why? You're my professor after all and I'm your student. You've had your twisted fun. What more could you possibly want?" My fiery temper matches his dark fiery eyes.

"I want you." His eyes lock on lips and I lick them unconsciously, my own eyes dropping to his soft lips.

No, Kiera. Not soft lips, deceiving lips.

Snapping my eyes up to his ravenous eyes, I exclaim, "You're sick!"

He bestows upon me a lopsided grin, desire palpable in his dark gaze. "Your anger is driving me crazy to make you submit to me, love."

Butterflies erupt in tummy and it takes me several seconds to recover from his sexy grin, smouldering eyes and lustful words.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're my professor, Gage?" My voice though starts out steady, cracks at the end, showing the wound of his keeping the truth from me.

"Because I wasn't, love." Gage closes his eyes and nuzzles his nose against mine. My eyes close involuntarily, relishing the tingles buzzing on my skin from the contact.

"Huh?" I breathe, captivated by his touch, heat and scent.

"I joined yesterday, love." Gage mutters, transferring my wrists in one of his hands and trailing the other hand down my arm before cupping the side of my face.

I snap my eyes open, not believing a single word. How stupid does he think I am?

"You liar!" I yell at his placid face.

"I'm not lying, love. I'm telling you the truth. I could never lie to you, Kiera." Gage moves his hand to the side of my shirt collar and pulls it asides, revealing the love bite to his inspection.

"So you're saying you came aboard yesterday and had no clue about joining before and that they just let you have the job?" I'm panting in frustration by the time I finish raving.

Gage merely nods. His ticking jaw and tightly wound body showing signs of cracks in his cool facade.

"You're sick! Stop bluffing! I know you're lying and if you don't want to tell me why the hell you didn't put an end to whatever was happening between us when you found out that I'm enrolled in Phoenix, don't. Just get away from me." I declare, glaring daggers of fire into his dark eyes.

A humourless laugh cuts through the room, prickling goosebumps from their hollow note. Gage's eyes are orbs of dark blue flames, piercing my soul and stealing my breath. "I don't think you can even begin to fathom what you mean to me, love. I saw insecurities in your eyes about your predominance in my life the past hour and I didn't like it one bit. The hatred in your eyes, Kiera, that singed me like nothing ever has in my long life. You demanding that I should have put an end to what was happening between us is the last straw. I know you don't know who I am but I'll not have you talking about our bond like that."

My eyes widen in disbelief. I knew that I was an open book but how is it possible for him to read all the emotions swirling through my mind? He has know me for hardly two days! And what bond is he talking about?

"Bond? What bond, Gage? We've known each other for a day!" I frown at him, trying to decipher the meaning behind his words. “You know what, forget it. Let's just move on. I won't tell a soul about that night and neither should you.”

Gage's eyes narrow to sharp slits as he places his hand on the wall beside my head and whispers coldly, “Move on?”

“Yes.”

His hand on the wall clenches, turning his knuckles white.

Dragging my eyes away from it, I conclude, "You can get away from me now, Gage."

He closes the few inches between us, his hard body burning like an inferno and his face a breadth away from mine.

"Why are you so angry? What have you got to be angry about?" I whisper, the waves of fire emanating from him thickening the air around us.

"I don't like you speaking to me this way, Kiera. I like it better when you're under me, screaming my name." Gage mutters smugly.

"You jerk! How dare-"

"No, you've said enough, Kiera. Now it's time for you to listen and listen good, love. I joined as the honours professor yesterday after meeting you. Before you start with the bluffing theory again, let me save you the time, like I said before, I'm not lying. It's not wired in me to ever utter a lie to you." He says cutting me off midway through my jibe.

My stomach flips over on itself, stunned by his revelations.

"What?" I rasp out.

Gage continues, the fire in his eyes blazing brighter than earlier. "I didn't tell you about my plans of being your professor, because if I had, you would have packed your bags and run back to Moonrock. And I know you're going to try to get away from me every chance you get, but let me tell you something, Kiera, you can try all you want but you won't be succeeding. Though you may not realise it yet, you belong to me, love."

"I don't belong to you or anyone, Gage." I remark, pissed off by his possessive caveman claims. But a shudder of wariness runs throughout my body, awakening caution and red-alert radars towards the words of the handsome caveman in front of me.

He's right though. I would have run for the hills had he revealed his plans of stalking me and going to the extent of joining as a professor in the college I study in.

"The sooner you come to terms with it and accept it, the better, love. We don't have much time on our hands." Gage speaks grimly, his lips flattening to thin lines from his eminent displeasure.

My heart works overdrive. Who is Gage and what does he want with me? I'm not rich, so if it's money, he lucked out. If it's about wanting a sub, no way am I going down that road again. And what did he mean by not having enough time?

"Why did you become my professor?" I voice my confusion.

"To protect what's mine, love."

"And what's yours Gage?" A shudder works its way up my spine, my mind already knowing his answer but wanting him to confirm it to drive the reality of it home. The reality of him being crazy.

"You." Conviction coats his word.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I frown at him, flabbergasted by his declaration. I never thought men could be so confusing. Isn't that supposed to be the girls quota? Then a thought hits me and I gasp, "You're on drugs, aren't you?"

His nostrils flare, and his jaw clench as he grinds out, "No, I'm not on drugs."

"It's okay. We'll get you help Gage, you'll be alright." I say calmly, using the tone a mother would use on her child.

"Kiera, I'm here for a purpose and that's you. I saw the passion in your eyes for this field, so try to concentrate from tomorrow and don't get distracted by me, love, no matter how difficult it is." Gage grins cockily, triumph in his eyes.

"You don't distract me! I have better things to think about." I spit out ragging mad and narrow my eyes at his cockiness.

"And what did I tell you about lying to me, Kiera?" Gage mutters, his body emanating waves of scorching heat.

Damn him and his lie detector!

"Gage, we've known each other for two days. Yes, we got intimate but that was just a one night thing. You need to let it go." I try to talk some sense into him.

Poor Gage, he has everything going for him- good looks, killer charm and kind heart; but, unfortunately, he's a psycho.

I feel a twinge of pain for him. This incredible man is going through a dark road of drugs, illness and instability. Had he not stumbled upon such practices, he would have had a bright future ahead of him.

"Kiera," Gage growls menacingly, bringing his palm to the side of my neck and curling firmly; his thumb moving over the rocketing pulse at the base of my throat. "You better understand, love, that I will not be letting go of you and that rendezvous, as you so lightly put it about our time together is certainly not a one time thing." His voice is sharp like shards of glass, cutting through my delusion of talking some sense into him and out of this situation.

"Gage you're being absurd. Just because I spent one night with you doesn't mean that there's an us." I try to stay calm but my voice rises with each word.

"There was an us from the moment you stepped foot in my room and life, Kiera." Gage's deathly calm tone belies the rage radiating off his body.

"There. Is. No. Us. Get it through your thick skull, Gage." My words are fired like bullets and seeing the surge of anger in his eyes, they hit their target.

I have poked the beast and it has come alive with guns blazing.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I see how frustrating this would be." Gage grinds out, his fiery eyes holding me captive. "I'm not on drugs, nor am I insane, Kiera. I'm here for a purpose and that's you. I protect and keep what's mine, love. That's all you need to know right now."

A knock on the door freezes my next words. The thundering of my heart beats loudly in ears, almost drowning out the noise of the world, while Gage merely glances at the door nonchalantly.

"Kiera? You in there?" Ava's voice resonates from outside the door.

Swallowing hard, I respond, "Yeah, give me a minute."

I look back at Gage and find him already gazing down at me, possession and rage twirling dangerously in his dark blues. "I'll see you tomorrow, love." After slowly gliding his knuckles down my cheek he lets go of my arms and steps aside.

Not wasting another second, I fetch my bag and hightail it out of the class. All the while feeling pleasant tingles buzzing on my skin and a pair of intense eyes on me, making it impossible for me to leave the strange encounter behind and forget about the even stranger alpha male.

Never did I imagine my life plummeting to uncharted territory when I stepped foot on Fate City.