Page 124 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10
"Unfortunately, you'll need another of me for my thoughts,” she said and quickly sat back down.
"Weird," some girl scoffed near the front of the class. A few other people around her snickered.
Fuck off.That had been the most interesting answer I had ever heard during one of these exercises. I hoped my smile reassured her. "A penny for your thoughts. Well I guess I'll have to bring my piggy bank with me on Friday.” I forced my eyes away from her. “Mia Thompson?"
But the clanging sound of metal made me snap my eyes back to her. The boy sitting next to her had just tossed a penny onto her desk. He leaned over and whispered something to her.
My pulse slowed as I watched their exchange. I was tempted to yell at them for talking during my class. But that wasn’t why I was upset. I wanted that boy to stay away from her. What was his name? I scanned the list.Tyler Stevens.
“Class dismissed,” I said as soon as the last person went. But that didn’t shut Tyler Stevens up. He talked to her for a few more moments before winking at her and leaving the room.
As soon as he was gone, my eyes landed back on Penny. Her face flushed and she looked down at the ground as she walked toward the door. There was a small, tense smile on her face as she passed by my desk without looking at me.
I stood up from my chair and reached out for her before my brain could tell me to stop. My fingers grazed down her forearm.
I saw her shiver from my touch.
It was almost like I had the opposite reaction. It felt like she had shocked me. And that feeling of being able to breathe easier returned. "Miss Taylor, I'm sorry again about your shirt."
She folded her arms across her chest. "Oh, no, I'm sorry."
I tried not to laugh. "Why are you sorry? I was the one that hit you with the door."
"I just meant, about taking your sweater. I'll bring it back."
"No rush. I have quite a few," I gestured to the one I was wearing. It was identical to the one I had given her, except it was a different color. I had put it on because I had been thinking of her this morning. And all last night. And all day yesterday.
She looked up into my eyes. My fantasies from the previous night wanted to escape. My eyes wandered to her lips. Her perfectly kissable lips. It was like they were begging for my attention.
"I didn't realize you were a professor," she said.
I smiled and forced myself to stop staring at her lips. Maybe I was right about why she looked shocked to see me walk into the classroom. Her flushed cheeks. The way she was staring at me.She wants me.She wishes I wasn’t a professor.The thought was numbing. It didn’t matter if she did. She was my student for Christ’s sake. "It's more fun when students think of me as their peer. I believe it fosters better learning." It was the most professional answer I could think of.
She didn’t say anything. She just stared at me and then suddenly looked embarrassed. "Well I should probably go. I'll see you Friday, Professor Hunter."
I was used to my students calling me that. I had been a professor for a while now. But there was something about the wayshesaid it that affected me. I could just imagine her moaning it when I was on top of her.Stop.I nodded to her as she walked away. "Miss Taylor."
After she exited the room, I realized that I hadn’t even handed out a syllabus. So much for setting the tone for the semester.
Obsessed - Chapter 3
Wednesday
Breathe in. Breathe out.I tried to slow my breath and focus on it like my therapist had instructed.A deep breath in. A slower breath out.But there was a reason why I was running instead of meditating. Or doing the yoga Dr. Clark suggested. One thing I liked about the life I left behind in New York City was the fast pace. It was hard to just switch that off because I was in a new state. And I tended to like to do things fast.
I ran on the brick path around the green and tried to focus straight ahead, even though my eyes wanted to wander. Normally I liked to run where the students weren’t. During the day meant a run on Main Street because the restaurants weren’t frequented as much until nighttime. After dinner meant a run on the green because students were done walking to classes for the day. I avoided the free access to the University gym altogether. I’d only made that mistake once. And I usually skipped the one in my building too, because it was a little easier to breathe slowly when I was outside. That was one great thing about leaving NYC. The air was cleaner. So Main Street and the green were my main options, at the designated time to avoid students.
But today I was spicing things up. A run on the green as soon as my classes were done. Which meant there were still tons of students walking around. But I was only focused on finding one.
My eyes wandered to the students sitting in the grass studying and playing frisbee and… I narrowed my eyes. I was pretty sure there was a group of them doing yoga. Dr. Clark would have been thrilled if I told him at my next appointment that I did yoga onthe green with some of my students. I shook away the thought. Honestly that was probably the last thing he’d want to hear. I was supposed to be focusing on myself. That was why I’d moved here in the first place. A fresh start.
And yet, I was scouring the green, not breathing slowly like instructed, hoping to find a flash of red hair. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Penny since class. Well, really since she first ran into me yesterday in the coffee shop. If I was supposed to focus on breathing slowly, it felt like I needed to be around her. She made breathing feel a little easier. I just didn’t realize that I had been suffocating before I ran into her.
Breathe in. Breathe out.It was even easier to breathe just thinking about her. The way she’d looked at me with her big blue eyes after class."I didn't realize you were a professor.”Her words had caught me off guard. I didn’t want to be her fucking professor. I wanted to bend her over my desk and…Breathe.
I pushed my fingers through my sweaty hair, removing it from my forehead. What the fuck was I doing out here? I didn’t know Penny’s schedule. Maybe she had a class right now. Or maybe she liked to go to the library to study. Or did she prefer to stay in her dorm? Or maybe she lived off-campus, which made this run even more pointless. Well, not exactly pointless. Because exercise helped distract me. Specifically running helped.
I turned the corner and headed back toward Main Street. There were things that probably helped distract me more than running. Sex for one. I was pretty sure that would be the best distraction.
