Unwillingly Yours (Warning: Love Moderately) by Marian Tee, Lourdes Marcelo

breathed.
    You’re the classic case of a sub.
Marcy’s words echoed in her mind.
    And Derek, oh God, Derek wanted to be her Dom.
    They were graduating in months. Derek was poised to take over his family’s business while she had her future all mapped out, her admission to her dream law school a certainty. They shouldn’t be thinking about this, but oh God, her body craved his authority like it was an addiction it had from the very first day.
    Everything felt so twisted, but it felt oh so right, too, and the knowledge fucked with her mind.
    Their gazes met again, and this time Jaike’s courage totally deserted her. She looked away, unable to bear the possessive heat in his gaze. Taking a step back, she asked, “Do you want anything to drink?”
    “No.”
    She blurted out, “I do.”
    Dom. Sub.
The words overlapped each other in her mind, teasing and seducing her.
    She walked to the refrigerator and took out a can of beer, one of the dozen she had made sure to stock her fridge with for Angelo. The memory made her hand shake as she pulled the tab and drunk it in one gulp.
    Derek scowled when Jaike started choking. Walking to her, he took the empty can away and threw it to the trash. “No more.”
    She decided not to tell Derek that it didn’t matter if she only had one can of beer. It was more than enough, her tolerance level for alcohol so low that in a matter of minutes she would be completely out of her mind.  
    The tenderness with which he brushed her hair away from her face brought fresh tears to her eyes. It reminded her of the last time Angelo had touched her, just as it reminded her of all the times she had run away from Derek.
    Derek was still frowning, concern etched on his face as he asked, “Do you want me to call a doctor?”
    She would have laughed if she hadn’t known he was serious. “I’m fine.” Jaike hated the heavy tension in the air, making it hard for her to breathe. She looked up at Derek with a determinedly bright smile. “I bet you never imagined the two of us spending time in my place without sniping at each other, right?”
    His lips quirked. “You mean without you sniping at me, right?”
              She flushed at the truth of his words. “Sorry for being a bitch to you in the past.”
              Derek waved his hand languidly. “No need to apologize. I liked it.”
              Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
              “It meant no other guy would have an easy time hitting on you.”
              That was a good point, but only if it was reasonable to assume that so many guys wanted her she had to beat them off with a stick. And it wasn’t reasonable, wasn’t even possible.
              Not knowing what to say so that Derek would understand how misguided he was about her, Jaike awkwardly gestured to the sofa. “Please have a seat.”
              His lips formed a smile. “You’re sounding like a nun again.”
              She glanced at him in exasperation as she took the smaller couch across the sofa. “I just said ‘please’ and that makes me---” Jaike broke off when Derek sat next to her instead, the limited space forcing his thighs to brush against hers.
    “Enough with the small talk, baby.”
    She raised startled eyes to him.
    “You can talk to me about Valencia.”
    A strangled sob came out at the words she never expected to hear him say.
    “Don’t cry,” Derek said harshly as he pulled her into his arms.
    Jaike didn’t even bother struggling. “He didn’t love me,” she whispered dully. “Why did he go out with me for fifteen months if he hadn’t loved me at all?”
    “He was a fucking asshole.” It was the most diplomatic answer Derek could think of.
    The effects of her one can of beer were beginning to set in, tempting her to say words that would only cause pain to both of them. Angelo had been good to her, too good, which was probably why the way he had so coldly dumped her hurt too