Once inside the Aquarium, I was instantly engulfed in marine life of all different sizes, colors, and shapes. Ever since I was a little girl I had been obsessed with the ocean. Sharks were one of my favorite animals on the planet and I knew for a fact that I could best most people with my in depth knowledge of the graceful and terribly misunderstood animals.

I tugged Nathan from tank to tank and unloaded my wealth of aquatic knowledge on him. He just smiled and nodded along, seemingly taking in every moment of this day with a mental video recorder. He was listening intently but I wasn't sure if he was taking in the information or just enjoying the sounds of my voice and the energy I put off when I was this excited.

We rounded a corner on our way to visit the dolphin exhibit and show when I spotted him. I felt all of the blood drain from my face and a large knot of nerves combined to from a pit of dread in my stomach. I stopped my movements on the spot, causing Nathan to run into the back of me. He wrapped his arms around my waist to steady himself and I brushed off his hold as though it was fire, burning me with his touch.

I spun on my heel and faced Nathans extremely confused and slightly hurt expression. Without really thinking it through, I pushed Nathan through the crowded hall and back around the corner.

"Alex, whats wrong?" Nathan asked once he had found his footing again, a mildly annoyed look planted in his sapphire eyes.

"The Dean."

Nathans eyes turned in confusion and he titled his head to the side. "I don't...-"

"The Dean is here and he's around that corner." I cut him off.

Nathans eyes widened and fear settled in where the confusion once was.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the next.

"I'm almost 100% positive."

Nathan sighed and cursed under his breath. He then made his way over to the corner cautiously. I watched as he daringly peered around the corner and jolted his head back around to the safety of our side of the wall.

Fear gnawed at my stomach as I knew the look that Nathan sported meant that my own eyes had not deceived me.

My Dean; Nathans boss, was in the building.

This should be interesting.

My mind began to race with all of the consequences that getting caught had in store. My reputation would be ruined, Nathan would be fired, my parents would be so disappointed for lying to them...

I felt my body temperature rise. My face was flushed a crimson red as my emotions started taking a hold of me. I couldn't be responsible for ruining someone elses life.

A calloused hand grasped at my face as Nathans worried expression met my own.

"We have to get out of here," He spoke, his words laced with an urgency that I fully comprehended.

I nodded my head in agreement and released an elongated breath as my head swarmed with ways to avoid being seen by the Dean. My brain felt like an overloaded pile of mush and frenzy. I shifted my weight onto my left foot to peer slightly around the corner to see where the Dean had gone.

Oh, shit!

My widened eyes latched onto Nathans.

"He's coming our way!" I whisper yelled at him.

"Fuck!" Nathan swore under his breath as my body pumped with a new found adrenaline and determination.

I wrapped my hand around Nathans and tugged him in the opposite direction of the Dean. A child of 5 or 6 happened to be in my way when I spun around and my foot caught the child's as I took him down and he crashed to the floor, erupting into tears.

Guilt sprung through my body but I knew I didn't have time to stop and help the poor boy that I had toppled to the ground.

"Sorry!" I yelled out to the mother who was currently letting out a strew of extremely vulgar, colorful words, directed towards Nathan and I, killing us over and over again in her mind as she helped her crying boy up.

Wimp.

My head whipped from side to side attempting to find a place for us to hide. I happened to catch a glimpse of the Dean heading our way to inspect the dramatic scene that I had unintentionally caused.

Oh God. We are so busted.

"Here!" I heard just moments before being forcefully tugged in another direction entirely, my ankle bursting in a fit of pain as I tripped over my own feet trying to keep up with Nathans quick movements.

Before I knew what was happening, Nathan had pushed his way through a small crowd, towing me behind him, drew open a door that I had never noticed before and pushed me inside first, shutting the door behind him with a definite bang.

Silence encased the small space. The only sounds that could be heard were the sharp breaths coming from Nathan and the joyful murmur of conversations on the other side of the door. The room was dark and cramped. My hands trailed across the concrete, spackled walls that surrounded us until my fingers drifted across a switch. Light illuminated the room and my eyes were drawn immediately to Nathan.

He still had his back to me, his arms above his head resting on the door as if at any moment it would come flying open and he would be there to hold it in place. I took this opportunity to inspect him from behind. His broad shoulders were tensing periodically, showing off the ample amount of muscle and strength that he held in his back. His breath was deep and anything but shallow as his entire frame moved with each breath. He was on alert. He was no doubt rolling in anger at the thought of almost getting caught.

He looked like a predator, readying for an attack.

An awkward tension settled in the air around us.

"So...that was close," I said, not being able to conceal the level of discomfort I felt with my words.

Slowly, Nathans body turned to face me, his eyes refusing to meet mine. They scanned the floor of our hiding space and the walls that were cluttered with different aquatic instruments and buckets and buckets of what I assume to be different kinds of animal food.

"Yeah, you could say that again" His words trailed off as he became lost in his own thoughts again. And me being me, had to try and lighten the mood.

"That was close" I repeated just as he rhetorically instructed.

The corner of his lips quirked up just the slightest bit as he shook his head at my poor attempt at a joke.

That little movement settled the wild beating of my heart just enough to start developing some rational thoughts.

"Are we being stupid?" I asked against the will of ever fiber of my being that was chastising me for putting such a thought out there. A tightening in my throat began to form as he mulled the question over in his mind for a moment.

"I was just asking myself the same thing."

Ouch. That's not exactly what I had in mind for him to say at this moment.

"And? What did you come up with?" I prompted even though I had no desire to know what his answer was going to be. He sighed audibly and hung his head down as he leaned his weight back against the door.

"It is stupid," He said matter of factually. A freezing sensation sliced through my heart and I willed myself not to show how his words effected me. This is only our first date after all. I begged my heart to become numb once again so that anymore of his harsh words and final sayings would merely bounce to the back of my mind for me to harbor on and deal with whenever I was ready. Which would be never.

"But what's even more stupid is that fact that I know how stupid it is," He spoke in a dumbfounded tone as his eyes finally found mine after minutes of being isolated from their sapphire beauty. A familiar spark formed in his eyes as he gazed at me.

"And I just don't care."

My eyebrows popped up in surprise as an unexplainable joy coursed through my veins. My entire body hummed with a euphoric feeling that I had never quite experienced before.

"What?" I laughed and he pushed himself off of the door and closed the small space between us, grasping my hands in his large ones. His eyes bored into mine.

"Yeah. I don't know how you did it or when it happened but somehow, Ms Merrick, you have carved your way into my life, no questions asked and stole your way into my heart, sarcastic comments and all," His hand came up to cup the side of my face. An adorning smile graced his tauntingly handsome face as he inched in closer. "Like I said earlier, now that I've got you, I don't ever plan on letting you go."

And then his lips were on mine.

The press of his soft lips against mine rendered any other thought or worry in my mind speechless. All I knew in that moment was the feel of his lips pulling at mine in the sweetest most intoxicating manner. The way his hand that was still resting on my cheek, caressed it so tenderly I thought I might melt on the spot.

My arms wrapped themselves around his neck and pulled him into me, cutting off any distance between us. This kiss was polar opposite compared to our first one in his classroom.

That kiss was full of undiluted desire and mounds of frustration that had been building up over the course of time until we both finally snapped. That kiss was needy and stirred up all sorts of pleasurable sensations in my lower regions. This kiss, on the other hand, was full of so much emotion I was afraid I might pass out on the spot. What Nathan was giving me now was more raw and passionate than anything I had ever experienced. This kiss stirred up all sorts of dizzying, exciting, and terrifying feelings in my chest.

After a moment or two, Nathan pulled back from my lips and rested his forehead on mine, leaving me breathless and wanting for more.

"I've wanted to do that since I picked you up," he said, still a little winded from our kiss. His eyes held a happiness that I'm sure reflected my own. There was also an unmistakable tint of hunger embedded deep within his ocean blue eyes.

"So then why'd you stop?" I asked, my voice dropping a level, my own hunger for him coming to the surface.

Like a switch, Nathans eyes darkened considerably and his lips crashed down on mine again. Yet, this time there was a fiery heat pushing the kiss forward. Nathan pushed us until my back connected with the wall and the force of our bodies knocked a few random things off of the wall making a decently loud noise that neither of us were able to notice.

His lips worked against mine expertly. His tongue slipped out and grazed my bottom lip before invading my mouth with his sweet taste. My hands wrapped themselves through his thick hair and tugged and clawed down his chiseled back relentlessly until a deep growl reverberated through his chest and his lips detached from my own and found their way to my neck.

It wasn't even conceivable to my own brain how turned on I was. Just a moment ago we were wrapped in each others sweet embrace. Now, like animals, we're panting and pulling like we've been starved of each others bodies for centuries.

A sinfully pleasurable pain shot through my body when Nathans teeth grazed and bit down on the soft flesh of my neck. He began to suck on the sweet spot of my neck, directly between my shoulder blades and the end of my nape, biting down periodically.

I knew he was making his mark.

And I was glad.

Something about being labeled as his had my panties dampening with each passing second. I wanted him to claim me, body, mind, and soul.

I felt the warmth of his hands leave my waist and slide down the fabric of my dress until he was touching bare skin. His hands waited on my thighs, giving me enough time to stop his movements if I wanted.

I didn't want to.

A pathetic whimper escaped through my lips as I thrust my hips closer to his, letting him know how needy I was for him to touch me. His lips abandoned their art work on my neck and his head came up to face me. His lust filled eyes were trained on mine the entire time, making sure I wanted this as much as he did.

Slowly, almost painfully so, his fingers began to skim up the path of my thighs, tracing their way to the spot where I so desperately wanted to feel them. His eyes never wavered from mine.

As his hands were sliding up my dress, I was climbing higher and higher just in the anticipation for him to finally touch me. My breathing was intensified and had to bite my lip in order to keep quiet.

His fingers finally reached the band of my white lace thong and he pulled at the sides, snapping the fabric back against my skin. The sting was delightful. One of his hands trailed back and rested on the upper part of my backside as his other made it's way to the front of my underwear.

A sharp gasp erupted through my throat when his long awaited fingers grazed my dampened center.

Nathan groaned, closing his eyes, as he pushed his hips forward into mine, grinding his hardened member into my hip bone.

"You so damn wet already," he exclaimed in a strained whisper.

"Only for you," I panted and locked my eyes back onto his to show him the sincerity I knew was gleaming in my lust-laden eyes.

Something lovely flickered through his eyes in that moment, just before he molded our lips back together in a passionate, loving kiss.

His hand glided up and down the center of my heat ever so slowly before he applied just the slightest bit of pressure to that overly sensitive bud that all woman possessed.

"Nathan!" I gasped, flinging my head backwards against the wall at the sudden pleasure that shot through my body. His fingers worked in a slow circle, still over my panties, making sure he was taking as much time as he could with my pleasure. It wasn't going to be long before he brought me to the brink. I felt it building up inside of me. Nathan whispered my name over and over again in my ear, his voice mixed with pleasure and awe.

A strangled gasp escaped my lips when I felt Nathans teeth nip at the ear he was whisper into. I was so close-

"Hey! Whose in there?" A voice boomed from the other side of the door.

Nathan and I froze. Keys could be heard on the other side of the door. The taunting jingle of being caught echoed through our small room as I pulled my dress back down and Nathan adjusted himself in his pants.

Just as I finished straightening out my dress the door flew open and an extremely disgruntled, middle-aged, bald man who I assumed to be an employee of the Aquarium, due to his blue and gray uniform, stood there, arms crossed across his chest, resting on his over sized beer belly.

"Alright kids, fun's over," the man sighed begrudgingly and held the door open for us, signaling us to leave. "Now get out before I have to call the manager on you guys." His tone was full of finality.

Let's just say that Nathan and I got out of that Aquarium faster than you would of thought humanly possible. Luckily without a run in with the Dean.

The car ride home was buzzing with laughter and thankfulness that we didn't get caught by anyone of importance. By the time Nathan pulled up to my apartment building, my stomach was sore from laughter and I was ready for bed.

"So I guess you were right," I stated as I gathered my purse up from his car floor. "My mind was kind of blown by this date."

A shit eating grin raised up onto his face and I couldn't help but chuckle as I placed my hand on the door handle of his car to leave.

"So I'll see you tomorrow in class, Mr. McCoy?" I said teasingly as he smirked at the use of his professional name, hand resting on the steering wheel.

"You certainly will. And if you're really good in class, I think the teacher might give you another detention. He's heard how much you like those." He threw a devilish wink my way.

"But that means no talking to Ben, no laughing with Ben, no passing notes with Ben-"

"Hey!" I cut him off and playfully slapped his arm. "Stop being jealous of Ben. Plus we don't even pass notes!" I exclaimed and laughed with Nathan until a thought occurred to me.

"Oh, and now that you've, ya know, 'got me' as you put it," I put the finger quotation marks in there for effect; which he laughed at. "You can stop leaving me those notes on my car. They were lovely. A bit creepy but lovely none the less." I finished with a smile.

Nathan's smile faltered as confusion swarmed in his eyes.

"I didn't leave you any notes, Alex," He said, shaking his head.

Now it was my turn to drop my smile.

"The poems? You didn't leave any poems on my car at the University or my parents house?" I asked, a familiar churning of my stomach began as he slowly shook his head again.

Fear began to creep up inside of my body, threatening to burst through my throat in a petrified scream.

This couldn't be happening again.

"Is everything alright? Alex?" Nathan called my name and distracted me from the down-spiral of my sanity. I plastered a fake smile on my face and turned towards him.

"Yeah. Everything's fine," I said a bit too enthusiastically but my internal mental breakdown was forcing me not to care if he believed me or not.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked and without waiting for an answer, leaned over my seat and placed a quick, rigid kiss on his cheek and fled from the car.

Once I knew I was safely out of sight in Rachel and I's apartment, I pulled out my phone and went to the number in my contacts list that I prayed I would never have to use again.

With a numb finger, I pressed Call.

"Hello, Tampa Bay Mental Health Hospital and Psych Ward, how may I help you?" A perky woman answered on the other end of the phone.

"Hi, my name is Alexandria Merrick. I was just calling to inquire about one of your patients there."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we aren't allowed to give out information about our patients."

I paced around our apartment and into the living room where I found Rachel sitting watching a movie. Her face lite up when she saw me, no doubt wanting to know how my date went.

"That's fine. I just need to know if they are still in your facility."

Rachel's head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Okay, ma'am, what's the patients name?"

I paused for a brief second, my eyes finding Rachel's.

"Greg Slater"

Rachel's eyes widened as she jumped off the couch and rushed over to me.

"Let me see for you. Just a minute-Wait ma'am, what did you say your name was?"

"Alexandria Merrick."

I heard a deep sigh from the other end of the phone that had my stomach twisting painfully. I latched onto Rachel's hand and held it tightly for support. She held on just as tightly.

"Alexandria, I'm so sorry. You were supposed to be notified by someone. It's even right here in his file," She said sounding slightly upset, loosing all of her perkiness from before.

"What are you talking about?" I asked the woman a bit too harshly, gnawing on my lip until I knew I had drawn blood.

"Alexandria, Greg Slater was released from our facility over two months ago."

Cliffhanger! :O I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing this one! PLEASE do comment and leave your thoughts please! I missed it thoroughly on the last chapter and really love to hear what you all are thinking as the story is going on :) So PLEASE comment and vote if you enjoyed!

You all are, as I say it every time, phenomenal. Thank you so much! Until next time ;)