Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

9. Teegan

Chapter nine

Teegan

“ T eegan, I’m sorry! I got caught up in the moment and completely forgot about you. I promise it won’t ever happen again. Please forgive me,” Beverly said, pleading beside me as I studied in the library.

My next rotation in the hospital was going to be OB/GYN, and I would start in a few days’ time. I had to brush up on my terminology as I spent the last few days studying for my shelf exams while also dedicating some alone time to Grayson and my couch.

I hadn’t spoken to Beverly lately, and she’d spotted me in the library and came over. I was a bit angry at her for kinda abandoning me at Alec’s party, not to mention he was all touchy-feely, making me feel grossed out for the entire time there.

How can you forget a person that you literally forced to get up, dressed, and come to a party that they didn’t even want to go to in the first place?

…Is what I want to say.

“It’s fine, Bevs. No harm done,” I muttered and felt slightly defeated. Nonetheless, she was one of my closest friends; I shouldn’t have to lose her over a small mistake. Right?

She hugged my arm happily and pulled away after a few moments. I was looking forward to her possibly pulling out her own homework so we could study in silence, but I groaned internally as she spoke again, pulling me from my reading.

“...So, Alec tells me you’ve been ignoring him,” she remarked.

I bit my lip as I played with the end of my knit sweater. “I have nothing to say to him. Not after he was trying to make a desperate move on me at the party…” I said and felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I went to grab it.

“I get it. But he’s been trying to go out with you for the last year…” she said, and I shrugged my shoulders. Beverly wasn’t really trying to make me go out with him, was she?

“Even if he was, Bevs, I don’t really like him that much,” I said as I looked at the clock to check the time. Alec was nice at times, but he was also vulgar, arrogant, and sometimes scary. The fact that his father basically bought his place in the school didn’t make it any better.

“Hmm. So, who do you like?” she asked suggestively, and I blushed as I shrugged my shoulders, closing my laptop. “Oh, come on. There’s got to be someone other than Grayson that you’ve given at least a second glance.”

I contemplated as I thought about who I truly liked when he spoke for himself.

“Tesoro.”

My spine immediately straightened as I looked over at him. My blush grew on my face as I gazed over to see him looking as gorgeous as ever. My gosh, he’s so pretty.

His attire, consisting of a black fitted t-shirt, black jeans, and black Chelsea boots, truly did him justice. I stood up happily as he approached the table, and I engulfed him in a hug, to which he simply ran a hand up and down my back soothingly.

“I texted you, telling you I was coming to pick you up from the library. It seems you’ve been busy…” he muttered, looking over my working space, and I nodded as I looked up at him, his eyes captivating me.

He smelled so good.

He twirled a piece of my hair gently as he asked me a question. “Did you eat this afternoon?”

I bit my lip, feeling guilty as he’d told me a few days ago to take breaks and make sure to eat something. It totally slipped my mind today as I was trying to get all of my work done.

“I’m sorry. I-I was just trying to finish all my work,” I said softly.

He caressed the side of my face with his hand. “Pack up. We’re leaving to get you something to eat and then rest.”

I nodded, pulling away, but froze when I realized Beverly was still there, silently watching our interaction. How embarrassing…

“Oh, sorry. Um, Bevs, this is Mr. Amante, and Mr. Amante, this is my friend Beverly.”

“I thought I was your friend…” he said, placing a hand on the small of my back, and I nodded as I turned to look at him. He seemed a bit agitated at the mention of me having another friend. It was cute.

“You are. Sorry, Bevs, this is my friend, Mr. Amante,” I said, smiling, and he nodded.

“I’ll be waiting outside.”

I nodded as I began to pack my belongings as he walked away.

“Teegan,” Beverly muttered, and I looked up to see she was in utter shock. “H-how did you meet him?” she asked softly.

I shrugged. “He was a patient in the emergency room, and he was helping my neighbor move.”

Beverly nodded as she stood up as well and grabbed her things before we walked to the door. “He seems nice… to you .”

“He is… I’ll text you later.” I waved, and Beverly waved back silently, her eyes lingering on Levi leaning back against his car for a moment before she walked away.

Levi opened the door for me. “What do you want to eat, Tesoro?”

I shrugged, putting on my seatbelt as he stood at the door. “Anything is fine.”

He leaned down for a moment and tilted his head.

“What do you want to eat?” he said much more sincerely, and I bit my lip as he was only a few inches away.

“Pizza, please…” I whispered, and he nodded, closing the door and going to his side of the car.

After we’d finished eating at my apartment, I put Grayson down for bed in my room as he’d fallen asleep on the couch. I walked back over to the living room and noticed Levi leaning over on the couch as he spoke into the phone. His shoulders were tense, and he seemed very angry. Maybe this wasn’t a good time to ask him to help me study my flashcards.

Walking over to him slowly, I kneeled on the ground, to which he simply gazed over at me and took a deep breath before ending the call.

“Why is it that you like to be on the ground so much, Tesoro? Is it because you’re trying to be a little tease? ” he asked, annoyingly switching to Italian to keep me out of the loop. I simply shrugged my shoulders, scooting closer to him as I sat on my legs.

“I wanted to ask if you could help me study.”

He sighed, looking at his watch. “It’s getting late, baby. I need to get going, and you have to be up early tomorrow.”

“But it’ll only take a few minutes,” I said, as I didn’t want him to leave yet.

He looked down at me for a moment before speaking.

“If I stay, what’s in it for me, Tesoro?”

I shrugged once again. “Whatever you want.” I just didn’t want him to leave so soon.

“Hmmm... well, I think we should make your studying into a reward system,” he began, and I listened intently. “For every correct answer… you get a kiss, and for every wrong one, you get some taken away. Before I leave, you get to tell me how many kisses you want now and how many you want to save for later, hmm?”

I loved it. But he couldn’t know that. Then he’d know how much power he truly had over me and how much I wanted him to stay.

“Who says I want that as a reward? What if I want something different?”

He leaned in closer as I bit my lip, and I jumped as he placed his hand on my chin and pulled my lip from my teeth. He smoothed it over softly with his thumb, gazing into my eyes.

“I say… that this is precisely what you want, Tesoro. Otherwise your eyes wouldn’t be begging me to stay just a little longer, your face wouldn’t be as flushed, and your lips wouldn’t be craving to have just another taste of mine.”

I huffed, and a small smile came to his face, causing me to melt internally.

“Fine, you win. I don’t want you to go, and maybe I do want a kiss or two,” I said, mumbling the last part, and he chuckled as he grabbed the flashcards.

“The glucocorticoid of choice for antenatal therapy is?”

Thinking about it for a moment, I answered, “Betamethasone.”

“Good girl… that’s one kiss,” he muttered, and I smiled as he read the next few questions.

Soon, I’d gotten six in a row, to which he seemed very impressed until…

“Trisomy... eighteen. No. It’s thirteen,” I replied, and Levi tilted his head.

“Final answer?” he asked, and I thought for a moment again before shaking my head.

“I change my mind. It’s eighteen.” He nodded, and I got excited before he turned the card, only for it to read Trisomy 13 for Patau syndrome.

“Incorrect. That’s minus one kiss, baby.”

I scoffed. “No fair, you tricked me!”

“It’s called reverse psychology, Tesoro… you should know that one,” he remarked, leaning back, and I huffed. “Also, minus one kiss for questioning yourself and minus another one for questioning my game-playing.”

I gasped in horror, standing up as he placed the card on the table nonchalantly.

“No fair! Why do you get to make all of the rules of the game?”

He chuckled, placing the remaining cards on the coffee table before he pulled me down onto his lap.

“Because I made the game, so I’m in charge... Now, are you going to pout and whine, or are you going to give me a kiss like the good girl I know you are?” he asked me.

I bit my lip as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I wasn’t a fan of his sly game-playing, but boy, was I a sucker for those Italian lips.

“Kiss, please,” I whispered, and he chuckled darkly as he claimed my lips, pulling me closer to his chest.