Forbidden Read Online Free Page B

not when it meant spending more time in his presence. She’d just have to be sure he didn’t think she’d…well, she’d worry about that when they got to her dorm.
    “You’re a student? How old are you?” Kat could’ve smacked herself for being so rude. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
    “I’m twenty-five.” He held the door open with one hand, and she had to slide past him to exit the bakery. A gust carrying fresh snow hit her face, and she braced against the frigid air. Her first instinct was to turn around and bury herself against Tristan. He was so warm, she remembered from kissing him at the bar. The way his body had enveloped hers with heat, and the way his hands had gripped her hips.
    “So what brings an American to Cambridge? Is this a semester of study abroad?” He walked alongside her as they went down the street, snow crunching beneath their feet. Kat stayed closer to Tristan than she would have normally, telling herself it was because she was afraid she’d slip on the ice. But the truth was that she wanted to be close to him, feel his warmth, smell that piney scent of his that made her senses come alive. She struggled to focus on their conversation, given how her thoughts kept drifting into dangerous territory.
    “I’m a full-time student. My father travels for work, and he’s living in London for the next couple of years.”
    Tristan made a little hum of interest. “And what does your father do?”
    “He’s an investment banker at Barclays. He’s at their London office, and I wanted to be close to him.” It was so easy to talk to Tristan. Maybe it was because she knew she’d likely never see him again after tonight. But it wasn’t just that. Something about talking to him just clicked.
    It reminded her of a day when she’d been a young girl, crawling through her parents’ attic searching for treasure maps and wardrobes that opened to snow-swept worlds lit by solitary lampposts. She’d come across a large, weather-beaten, locked trunk. After hours of digging through boxes, she’d found an ornate key in an antique lacquered jewelry box heavily covered with dust.
    Eyeing the lock and the key, she’d given it a chance. The satisfying click-click of the key in the lock had made her heart pound and her hands tremble as she’d opened the trunk. It had contained old books, the very best kind, of course. But she’d never forget the moment of fitting that key into place, and the feeling of connectedness it had made. Being near Tristan, talking to him, was like fitting that key into the lock all over again, and she couldn’t fathom why that was, only that it was true. It scared her a little, but she wasn’t the kind of woman to turn her back on something amazing just because it sent her nerves skittering inside her.
    “And your mother?” Tristan paused as they reached the main door to her college grounds. The massive, ten-foot-high door had a smaller door built into its frame that everyone used to enter the grounds. It was a bit like a scene from Alice in Wonderland .
    The smaller door to the college was unlocked, and Kat entered, Tristan following behind her. A cheery porter came out of his booth to greet them.
    Tristan caught her arm, halting her in the middle of the snowy courtyard so she had to face him. The hold was firm, and the subtle sign of power rippling through that touch made her shiver. She remembered how he’d grabbed her in the pub, kissing her, forcing her to enjoy his kiss without escaping. It was madness to desire that, to let him take control and allow her the freedom to just…feel. But that was the thing about this man she couldn’t get out of her head. If he could affect her in public, in a pub, what would it be like when they were completely alone?
    “You didn’t answer my question about your mother.” There was a gentle reprimand in his voice. Their warm breaths billowed out in soft, white clouds in the Magdalene courtyard.
    Those unique eyes of his