Campus Touch (An Edson College Romance)

By Kasey Moone

Henrietta “Rita” Evans has always been known as the quiet, black woman on campus, some folks even nicknaming her “Mute” in jest. And she doesn’t expect much out of her Winter Break at Edson College, but an equally quiet environment. Until a member of the white campus elite starts running behind her dormitory late at night. Starts warning her to stay away from him and the woods. Starts making her feel more alive than she’s felt in a very long time.

Something is happening to Sal Kellerton. Something he can’t control. Something threatening his last year of college and family’s werewolf heritage. And what’s worse, a quiet, mocha beauty can’t seem to mind her own business, tempting him at every turn. Who cares if she has the sweetest lips he’s ever seen? Who cares if her scent drives him mad? He has to keep her at a distance, for much more is at stake than the heat blazing between them.

And if he doesn’t put it out, they’ll both burn.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kasey Moone
• Release date: Mar 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310225154

Kasey Moone

Kasey is an All Romance and Phaze bestselling interracial romance author whose writing career began at twelve with the publication of the much beloved "Trouble in Rainbow Land". Her stories have been described as funny, erotic interracial romances with a lot of heart. She lives in the beautiful state of North Carolina, and enjoys critiquing movies, hiking, dancing, and daydreaming.Stay inform about new releases and free giveaways from Kasey by signing up for her mailing list at her website or by emailing her directly at [e-mail]. She loves hearing from readers.

Book preview

Campus Touch

An Edson College Romance

Book Two

By Kasey Moone

Other Titles by Kasey Moone

Campus Prowl {Edson College Series, Book 1}

Nighttime at Willow Bay

Watch Me, Watch You

Her Snowbound Knight

Overtime Play

The Wolf Who Loved Her

Bubble Bath Delight

Campus Touch {Edson College Series, Book 2}

Campus Kiss {Edson College Series, Book 3}

Coming soon

Campus Heat

All Rights Reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Any trademarks mentioned herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks used are specifically in a descriptive capacity.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Edited by Lea Ellen Borg

Cover by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers

Copyright© October 2014 Kasey Moone

Chapter One

Interesting. He was at it again. Henrietta Rita Evans peered outside her window at the courtyard that surrounded her dormitory, adjusting her glasses so that she could get a good look.

Like clockwork, the man, Sal Kellerton, appeared just behind her dorm building, dressed in sweatpants and a dark hoodie, ready for his nightly run. His hands wrapped around the light pole as he lunged into a deep stretch.

Rita stared, thankful that she was on the first floor because she had the perfect view of his backside. And what a backside…

Every night for the past week, the man ran through the heavily dense woods that surrounded Edson College, always in dark clothing, always around eleven at night. He usually returned around one in the morning, while Rita was still up, dealing with another bout of insomnia. She’d look outside just as he would re-emerge from the woods, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.

She wouldn’t have given his nightly jogs a second thought, except when he did return, his clothing was always different. Somewhat…shredded, for she could see everything due to the light pole fixture, which illuminated his body perfectly.

At first, she thought that he’d had an encounter with a wild animal. Plenty of stray dogs roamed the Detroit streets that surrounded the college, so the thought was plausible. But, if that was the case, why did he return to the same spot each night? Wouldn’t a crazed stray animal deter a runner from the forest path? Plus, there was plenty of room to work out in the twenty-four-hour Student Recreation Center. Why did the man prefer the dark woods over the Rec Center?

Rita sighed, frustrated by the growing puzzle. Last night he’d returned from the woods behaving strangely. Not only had his clothing looked even more tattered than usual, but his dark mood seemed to have risen. Typically, he’d just cut through the courtyard to head straight to the men’s dormitory across campus.

But last night he’d returned from the woods and walked restlessly in circles for several minutes, as though he was trying to calm something that was raging inside of him. It had to be something very disturbing, too, because a few times she’d caught him talking to himself, murmuring incomprehensible words. Then, with a steady breath, he took the path through the courtyard to his dormitory—as though nothing ever happened!

Intriguing. The entire scenario was intriguing, and for some insane reason she couldn’t let it go. Maybe it was because his agitation made her nervous. Maybe it was because she was bored and had nothing else to do. Whatever the reason, she was drawn to him, in more ways than one.

She had always felt grateful to Sal Kellerton for inadvertently helping her out in her freshman year. That year, they’d shared a freshman composition course together, and halfway in the semester, she’d been assigned to work in his peer review group, where she’d gotten the opportunity to read his narrative about his mother’s death. He’d described the pain of watching his mother die so vividly that she’d been moved to tears. After his mother’s death, he’d prowled the streets at night in search of trouble to cope with the pain, getting involved in a variety of petty crimes.

Upon hearing the details, Rita’s heart had went out to him because she understood the pain of losing a loved one; her childhood hadn’t been a walk in the park either. Hearing his story had reminded her of her own strength, and had made her stick with her studies when all she wanted to do was quit freshman year. She owed him a lot…

She sighed heavily, remembering the composition course as she looked at the courtyard. Perhaps that was what he was doing at night…getting into trouble again. Perhaps the memories of his mother’s death were resurfacing and he was looking for another way to escape. If so, she had to help him. He couldn’t jeopardize his last year in school by falling into the same petty crimes that had almost sent him to juvie so long ago. He was better than that. He’d come so far. Both of them had.

Rita looked at the courtyard, half-tempted to call out to him.

Some nights she thought he sensed her presence. Sure, he never actually called out to her, but every so often, his attention fixed in her direction, as though seeing her shadow behind the blinds. But that was crazy, she thought, straightening the crumpled blinds. She was incognito. How could he possibly know she was there? Almost everyone had gone home for the three-week Winter Break. The dorms were practically deserted.

Pulling herself from her musings, she laughed nervously, and stared at Sal’s silhouette. Jet-black hair flew to his shoulders in wild rivulets, covering wide muscular shoulders, and a strong upper back. His physique was the stuff of fantasies: long and lean, like most of the Kellerton men on campus, except Sal was a little leaner than the others in the middle and his legs were those of a rock climber’s: seriously chiseled. On top of that, he had one of the most gorgeous faces she’d ever seen. Dark, sensual chestnut eyes. A strong chin. High cheekbones. A wide mouth. Another feature that set him aside from his cousins was the quarter-sized scar that covered the side of his forehead, but Rita didn’t mind it all because it made him look ruggedly relatable. The man was handsome. No doubt about it.

There was something…so masculine about him, about all the Kellerton men who roamed the campus. During her four years of undergraduate studies, many of her friends had openly worshipped the tanned, dark-haired hunks that stalked the campus like they owned it. The Kellertons ruled the school, with their old money and gorgeous looks, and they bloody well knew it. Men aspired to be them, women aspired to be fucked by them, and professors gave them A’s. Rita mentally cursed. Must be nice.

Her friend, Keisha, had even started dating golden boy Rex Kellerton a week ago. Of course, she was happy for her girlfriend, but she didn’t understand why some folks—including the infamous campus blog—were making such a big deal about the interracial coupling. Would they make a big uproar if another black woman, like herself, started to date a white man on campus? Or was it just that Keisha was screwing a Kellerton? Who knew? All she knew was that she was tired of hearing about the nuances of interracial dating from the stupid little insipid blog.

Releasing her frustrations in a dramatic breath, she studied Sal for a little longer, thinking things over. She watched as he secured the drawstrings to his sweatpants, and stretched his arms high above his head. Then he reached down to his toes, stretched up, and blew out a big breath. After that, he jogged in place for a moment and then took off down the path—opposite of the courtyard—that led to the woods.

Rita moved away from the window and wrapped herself in a blanket. Well, whatever he was doing out there in the woods was none of her business. She had more important things to think about, like getting a good night’s rest and enjoying her break. Who cared if he liked going toe-to-toe with wild animals in the dead of the night? Who cared if he was getting into trouble again? All they shared was a brief peer review session many years ago; he didn’t even know her.

Stifling a huge yawn, she wrapped the cover tighter around her, and told herself to go to bed, but her feet moved to the window as if on their own volition. Concern marred her features. If something happened to him…well, she didn’t want to think about it.

She found a comfortable spot next to the window seal and decided to wait up for him again—just in case.

* * *

As a wolf, Sal held his breath for what seemed like an eternity, his lungs burning with strain, his heart beating fast.

He looked at the shining light in the darkness that was Edson College, one of the last private colleges in northern Detroit. The local counsel had almost closed it down years ago due to the economic depression, but thanks to generous donations and the historic landmark assignment, the small college had endured, and now it was rated as one of the top private colleges in the Midwest.

Sal gazed at the buildings. A light snow had started. Flakes clung to his fur and created a glimmering image of the college.

He was in his fourth year of school. He’d entered as a business major but had changed his focus to art management his sophomore year, which had suited his tastes just fine. Art interested him, and management was a breeze. All he needed was an entry level job at a museum or nonprofit organization by next fall to cement the deal. That was his goal at least.

Sal sighed deeply, pondering his future.

If he didn’t find a way to control his wolf, he wouldn’t have a fuckin’ future.

Snarling loudly, he turned and ran through the foliage, his large paws leaving indentions in the falling snow, his heartbeat pounding faster. He was desperate to run off every last bit of his wolf’s energy. It was the only thing that seemed