The Teacher's Pet

Chapter Nineteen

Kat Claire:
The entire car ride James hasn't said a word. Not a single explanation to why he left me for 9 days, why he put me through this hell, why I cried so much over him. All I want is answers, and he hasn't said a word. The tension between us is thick, he can't get over the fact I would kiss someone like Liam, and I get it. If I saw him kiss a girl like that, I would be raging mad, but I would at least talk about it. He hasn't said a word. He doesn't even tell me where we are going. The only words he said were 'don't worry about it darling, you're going to be safe, forever, protected, personally.' I don't know if that reassures me or scares me even more.
"James?" I ask again for the millionth and first time. As expected all I get is silence. "Please, I need an explanation."
This time, I don't get a answer in words, just the reassurance of his hand resting on my thigh. This calms most of my thoughts, his touch is like magic piercing through me, it calms me so much I could fall asleep, right here, in his Mercedes.
"Is it far?" I yawn. He just grins, a half grin, it looks beautiful on his perfectly symmetrical face. The dark brown eyes are eyes that I have never seen before, I fall in love more and more the longer that I stare at them, one minute of staring at them longer and I might drown.
He grins even wider when he sees me staring.
My eyes move from his eyes, over his sharp nose, tracing his sharp jawline, to finally his lips. The perfectly well taken care of soft lips that I crave, that I want to feel on mine until I can't breathe anymore.
"Your thoughts are very loud." Is the first thing he says since we got into the car. My cheeks flush bright red, would he actually be able to read my thoughts all this time? That would be straight-up embarrassing because not all the thoughts I've been having are as brave. This makes me blush even more.
"We're here." With screeching tires, he pulls up to the club we first met.
"The club we met?" I ask, hoping to get more information out of him, but all I get is another beautiful grin on that gorgeous face of his. I wish I could take a picture of this and keep it in my memories forever, I never want to forget this memory.
"Keep drowning in your thoughts like that and I might never get you back." I laugh, actually laugh, James makes me laugh, after 9 days I haven't laughed. Nothing and no one makes me laugh like James does, not even my love for dogs.
"James?" I ask as we're walking toward the club, he stops in his tracks to turn around and face me. The light of the evening sun lights up his beautiful face, making me forget completely what I was going to say.
"Yes, Katherine?"
I smile in an attempt to hide the bright blush on my face. "You know," I shuffle my feet over the stones right underneath. "You're the only one who calls me Katherine."
"I know darling."
God, if he calls me another nickname, I am going to pass out, right here, on this gravel, face first forward. He makes a smile appear on my face, the smile that I also had as a little girl, it makes me feel small again. He makes me feel like the little girl I once was.
"Are you coming?" Only then I realize my feet have been frozen into the ground, and I had just been standing there, a wave of embarrassment washes over me. James takes my hand and leads me inside to the familiar club I once met him.
The exact chair he sat in is still sitting there, the booth where me and my friends were sitting. The smile hasn't faltered away, these are the memories that I will cherish forever.
"Where it all began."
"Yep." There is a smile on his face too, the first time that I am seeing him smile. It's the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. The smile makes his face light up brightly, he seems like a completely different person. With his left hand, he swipes a piece of hair out of his air, his face is becoming more visible now, and I can't help but only stare at his face. Even though it's pretty dark in the club and I can hardly see anything.
"I brought you here because I want to show you something." My curiosity grows. I like surprises a lot, especially surprises from James.
"What is it?"
"We're going underground."
Never have I liked small underground spaces, but I trust James and deep inside I'm way too curious to say no. So even with shaking hands, I follow him down the narrow steps. The steps are so narrow I have to squeeze my shoulders together, cobwebs are hanging in my face. Do I even want to know how many years ago someone last came here?
"It stinks."
James just laughs. At the end of the stairs there is an old rusty door that squeaks as it opens. Behind the door bright lights shine. This place is definitely a lot newer than these old cranky stairs.
I enter through the narrow door, the hallway is endlessly long. This is not a narrow space at all, it was just the stairs. These halls are endlessly, a million doors. What is this place.
"This is where I spent most of my time?" The old dirty smell from the stairs have been replaced with a fresh Jasmine smell, it's delicious, a smell I could stay in forever.
"This is your house?" He laughs again, the third time tonight, it echoes all the way down the hall. A intimidating low laugh.
"I wish this was my house princess, but no. It's my... Friends get together club." James doesn't sound sure at all when he says it. This is definitely more. "Let me show you around, if you see anyone, do not say a word." The smile turns into a serious expression. "This is where you will stay safe, where no one will harm you, this until I can get rid of Liam okay? Follow me." Before I could give a reply, he pulls me through the large hallway.
It's beautiful, I can't believe this is all underground. So this is the reason why the club is so far away from everything else, the property is larger than you think, most of it is just underground.
James knocks on the first door I see. No one answers so he opens the door.
"This is the living room, if you ever want to relax, come here, do not talk to anyone, no matter what they ask you." The living room looks beautiful, a room that comes straight out of a castle. Golden poles holding up the ceiling, a beautiful large TV. If you're more into art, there are more than enough paintings. The cough is golden just like the poles, astonishing.
Room in room out, James shows me most of the rooms of this underground basement. It seems as no one lives here even though he warned me not to speak to anyone, maybe everyone is asleep, it got pretty late at night.
Every room we passed today, has it's own theme. The living room has a palace and golden theme, the golden has a white and island theme. There is a inside garden for simple plants, tv room, bathrooms, multiple. Lastly, he wanted to personally escort me to his bedroom where we both would be staying the night. Our first night together.
It's far apart from the entertainment rooms, much farther than I could think. James even told me that this basement has multiple levels, you can even go deeper than this. But if I did, I would get lost, so he warned me not to, just not on my own. He already knows how curious I can get. It brings me to laugh each time, we haven't known each other for that long, just a couple of months, and he already knows me pretty well. Made for each other you would think.
"This... this is the door to my bedroom." His hand holds the door knob, he seems nervous, which is understandable. Your bedroom is something so personal, so private, you only let people in that you truly trust. I hope he truly trusts me.
He twists the door knob and the door opens. My heart stops beating for a second when my eyes lang on the amazing bed in the middle of the room. James is one lucky guy to have a bed like this. The mattress is so unbelievable thick, he would sleep like a king on it every night.
Also this room is full of paintings, that's the first thing I noticed about this basement there are paintings everywhere.
"Why all the paintings?"
"I like paintings in my room, they go well together with my walls." He isn't lying, the paintings match the broken white walls perfectly.
"Did you put the paintings up in the rest of this basement too?"
"No that was Dante." His eyes widen and he gasps. "Shit." He mutters, as if he didn't mean to mention his name. It doesn't matter that he did, I have no idea who this Dante could possible be.
"Is Dante the owner of this basement."
"Yes, yes I am, who the hell are you?" A shallow voice from behind me speaks, scaring the crap out of me. I softly scream and jump behind James instantly, as if he is going to protect me against this mystery Dante.
"Really Dante? You had to scare her the first time you see her?"
Dante's eyes widen and he inspects me more, looking at every inch of my face, every inch of my body, it feels intimidating. Suddenly, I feel how gross my body actually is, his eyes on it are just proving that.
"So this is she, the girl that got my boy head over heels." A blush forms itself on my face, the fact he talks about me with his friend? Dad? Boss? Whatever he is. Probably not his friend, he looks begin sixties. "Hi there." Dante says to me as if I am a little girl.
James told me not to say anything to anyone, so that's exactly what I'm doing. Keeping my mouth shut, just looking up at James, waiting for his orders that I could obey like a brave puppy.
"Why did you bring her here?" Dante starts talking to James like I'm not even there. Not that I mind, this gives me time to look for the fastest way out. Not that there actually is one, the only exit is the door where Dante is standing in front of.
"Liam is alive, I want to keep her safe."
"What? Liam is... What?" He sounds more shocked than me and James both together.
"He wants her Dante, Liam kissed Kat, and he wants so much more, I could smell it off him." James takes a step forward and starts pacing the room, leaving me open and exposed. I just take a seat on his bed, feeling as invisible as I am. "I will kill him myself, until then, she has to stay here, there is no other option."
"You haven't thought this through Levine."
"What else was I supposed to do? Sallow is pissed! The first best chance he can get, he will take her, hurt her, force himself on her or worse."
I suck in a deep breath, hoping this would give me the courage to speak up to these 2 grown men.
"Liam would never do that." My voice stays quiet, almost as invisible as I am.
"What was that princess?" James says, facing me as he stops pacing over the red carpet laying over the wooden floor.
"Liam, he wouldn't do something like that." He sighs and kneels down in front of me to look in my eyes, since I refuse to look up. Afraid to see the intimidating look Dante is giving me.
"Listen," He takes both of my hands in his. "Liam isn't the person you think he is, and you couldn't possibly have known that when you asked him out. But I am telling you now Kat, stay away from him, he is dangerous." The sweet tone in which he brings is makes it sound a lot less scary, but the fact is, my life is on the line here. He makes that clear. "Got it love?" Words are taken from my lungs, all I'm able to do is nod, nod until my head hurts. Tears form in my eyes, but I quickly wipe them away, I'm not that weak.
"Fascinating." The other voice in the room says, filling the empty void. "Let me tell you this Katherine, I have never seen our James like this, so soft, so gentle, it's a first. Call yourself a lucky girl."
Before Dante could say anymore, he gets a push right at his shoulder forcing him out of the room. But it's already too late, the blush on my cheeks is out of control already.
"I'll see you around Kat! It was nice meeting you!" Dante yells as he is being pushed away. James closes the door with a loud smack and leans his forehead against it. Even from so far away, I feel his embarrassment through my bones, somewhere I feel bad for him.
Silently I make my way over to him. I'm pretty sure he does hear me, no matter how quiet I am.
Very gently, I lay both of my hands on his shoulders. His muscles tense under my touch, my touch has the same effect on him as his touch does.
My fingers make a circling massaging pattern over his shoulders. He sighs very deeply, a lot of stress and tension drops off of him right there at that moment. I keep massaging until I'm sure he's fully relaxed. Than slowly I bring my hands down his back to his waist, and wrap my arms around his waist. Now I get to be close to him, I take a step forward, and press myself into his back fully. His heart is pounding almost as fast as mine.
"Princess..."
"Shh," I reassure him. Right now he doesn't have to say anything, right now is our moment. The moment of simple touch, the moment of silence.
No words have to be said to know that we are madly in love with each other.
"I can't." I let go of him and he turns around facing me. His expression full of something I can't lay a finger on.
"You can't what?" There is a slight pain in my voice, mixed with fear. Afraid that he will say, he can't be with me, the pain is what follows.
"I can't stay away from you anymore Katherine. You are all I need." A lump forms itself in my throat, blocking my airway, blocking my entire throat from speaking.
After a deadly silence he says, "For you I would break my own legs, for you I would cross the world, and for you... I would bleed myself dry." A breath finishes his sentence.
No one has ever said words so precious to me, words so special, words that will stay imprinted on my mind. And in this moment, I realize, that I want this forever, I want him forever.
"Be mine baby, please be mine." He says it before I even get the chance.
"Yes," I say under my breath. "Yes, God yes."
The worried face disappears into the most beautiful smile. He pulls me in by the waist, picks me up and spins me around until we're both dizzy, and then... he kisses me. Not just a kiss, an explosion of emotions between us. I could cry, I could scream, I could laugh, I could smile, or maybe even all four. I got what I wanted. James, forever.