Page 12 of Her Professor's Valentine

I sank onto the bed, stunned.

“Are you okay?” He walked over and sat next to me.

“I’m not the one who got slapped.” I stared at the empty doorway. Her threats echoed in my ears, and my heart sank with each beat.

He put his arm around me. “Don’t worry.”

I turned to stare up at him. “Have you lost your mind? She could ruin me! Everything I’ve worked for. All the hours spent at the library, the endless studying.” I dropped my head into my hands.

“Stop.” He pulled me into his lap, the comforter falling to my waist as he hugged me to his chest. “She thinks she has the upper hand. Trust me when I tell you she doesn’t.”

I leaned back and studied his sober eyes. “How?” Why was he so confident and calm when our careers were on the line?

“Because I have something of hers. Something she wouldn’t want to get out.”

“What?”

“Just trust me.” He stood and helped me to my feet, the blanket falling away. “We need to get moving. I have class in an hour and so do you.”

“How do you know I have a class?” My stomach churned as I realized I’d have to face Professor Irvine again. “Oh shit. It’s herclass.”

He pulled me toward the bathroom. “I’m a professor. I have access to your entire schedule. I told you not to worry. Now let’s shower and then I’ll take you to your apartment.”

“I can’t face her.” I shook my head.

“I also know you don’t miss class. Ever.”

I eyed the expanse of his broad back, the muscles along his shoulders. He was a stranger, more or less, but seemed to know more about me than I did.

“All this stuff you know about me … Doesn’t that seem, I don’t know, sort of creepy?” I draped one arm across my breasts.

He turned and backed me against the marble vanity. Heat snaked through my body and landed between my thighs.

Gripping my wrist, he pulled my arm away from my breasts. “Never cover yourself in front of me. You’re beautiful, all of you.” He leaned closer, his lips a whisper away from mine. “I know your schedule, where you live, who your friends are, that you stay late at the library every night, that four is your favorite number, that you take shifts at your mother’s restaurant, you scored 178 on your LSAT, and your birthday is July 20. If you find any of that creepy, I don’t blame you.”

“Why me?” I trembled as he ran his fingers through a lock of my hair. His touch was reverent.

“Because I knew, the first moment I saw you. I’ve had so many women, more than I care to say. But you’re different. It was like something sparked between us. I can’t explain it; I just knew it when I saw it. I intended to wait until you were no longer my student, but circumstances dictated otherwise. And now—” He cupped the back of my neck, sending tension coiling in my core “—you’re mine.”

His kiss was sudden and consuming. I melted against his onslaught, his tongue masterfully working mine as he overwhelmed my body and my senses.

He was overbearing and, if I were being honest with myself, a bit of a stalker. But I knew a thing or two about obsession, so I didn’t judge. Instead, I let myself go, let my heart rule my head. I wanted him.

His cock pressed into my stomach. I reached down and slid my palm down his smooth length, but he pulled back.

“Not now.” He kissed my forehead, my nose, and each of my cheeks—four. “Class first. But tonight—” He gripped my ass and lifted me, carrying me to the shower “—all bets are off.”

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