Read Vengeful Heart: Fighting Heart Erotic Bad Boy Romance Series Book 3 for Free Online

want to spy on me, she just has to. She needs to get free from him as well.”
    Tom Ridgley’s eyes glazed with thought and he nodded. Then he looked at me again, his face serious, but full of compassion. The look in his beautiful brown eyes had me swooning inside. He shifted in his seat, and I couldn’t help notice he’d moved nearer to me. His knee gently grazed mine. I could smell his cologne - lemons and bergamot - and see the firm line of his jaw and the muscles in his neck.
    “I can’t believe what you’ve been through. I really can’t. Not here at this college. Not with what we stand for. I just can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”
    He shifted again. I noticed he was struggling, hesitating, grappling with a dilemma inside. I wondered if I knew what it was. I hoped that I did.
    “It’s just so good to hear someone being nice to me. If I hadn’t been able to talk to someone like you, I just don’t know…”
    He laid his hand on my shoulder. Five minutes had turned into ten, and they were creeping towards fifteen. I hoped Amanda would never come back. I let my eyes linger on his and smiled, not refusing his hand on me but still careful not to welcome it. He squeezed my shoulder softly.
    “Here, please,” he finally broke his taboo and leaned across and squeezed me in a hug.
    “No one should go through that, Ashley. No one.” I let him hug me and I eagerly pressed myself against him, pushing my breasts upon his chest. I wondered if he could feel my heart racing, and if he enjoyed the sensation of my bosom against his firm chest. His hands were tense, his arms not all embracing. Finally he relented, and his arms slid all the way around my back, and I felt them run up and down my spine, and over my bra strap. I couldn’t help but emit the slightest sigh as he stroked my back. A moment later and he seemed to remember himself. He pulled away, quickly and politely. He looked at me and scratched his head, his voice suddenly different. “I’m sorry, Ashley. I just feel you have been through something terrible… I didn’t mean to…”
    “Mr Ridgley. I haven’t been hugged like that in a long time. Thanks for showing me some concern.”
    He smiled and I saw him blush. “Of course I’ll do whatever I can to help you. In fact, I won’t be happy until your situation has been resolved.”
    I was pirouetting inside. I was dancing, my body tingling from the joy of unexpected bliss. I had feelings for Cody, but they had been rejected. Here another amazing man had shown me a glimpse of his deeper feelings.
    “I need to meet with you, Ashley. I think we should discuss this properly and plan how to deal with it.”
    He wanted to meet me again. The rest didn’t matter. My internal thermometer was climbing sky high. I felt myself getting carried away, and I hope Ridgley might do the carrying.
    “Yes, that would be great. If I can, that is…”
    Ridgley caught my meaning. “Oh, I’ll see to the details. Don’t you worry. And how are you dealing with Cody Barnes situation?”
    Cody Barnes situation? To me Cody had always been a person, not a situation. I’d shared a little about our love affair, but not in depth as I didn’t know what he meant.
    “Sorry, what situation?”
    “I heard Cody is going to get married.”
    My mouth tried to find words, but my lips just made empty shapes. I saw Joanna Laws face in my mind. It felt like someone had just kicked me in the gut. I was spinning. Ridgley didn’t get an answer.
    The lecture theatre door slammed against the wall. I saw Ridgley’s body launch into the air, he shifted the other way. But when he landed his knee was still against mine and on balance, he looked guilty as hell. We both looked at the door. Amanda stood there, with her mouth open, blushing, clearly sensing the dynamic between us. After three seconds she spoke. “It’s Brandon. He’s coming right now.”
    “Oh…” I said. Ridgley stood too and looked tense.
    “This can’t go