A Lesson in Temptation

by Audra North

  This can’t be more than one night.

  Strange, when he’d said that—she’d felt a sense of regret and they hadn’t even done anything yet, really. Hadn’t she wanted a fling in the first place? When class had started just a week ago, that’s what she’d been thinking about. But hearing Adam confirm that a fling was all this was…

  It didn’t feel right.

  But then she’d looked at him, at the way his expression was worried and hopeful at the same time, and she’d realized that when it came to him, she wasn’t going to turn down any opportunity. She’d thought about him for years. Wanted him for years. And she’d promised herself long ago that she wasn’t going to waste her life. She was going to enjoy everything it had to offer.

  Even if it was one night at a time.

  Adam propped himself up with one hand and reached the other between them to grab the condom before pulling out. She winced as it pulled her sensitive tissues, feeling how swollen and tender she was even without looking. He settled alongside her, propped up on one elbow.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rough.”

  She lifted a finger to his lips and smiled. “That was amazing.”

  He didn’t say anything, but she could tell he was pleased. His shoulders pulled back, and he reached out a hand to squeeze her hip, then trailed his fingers along her body before sliding over her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

  “I’ve got to take care of the condom. I’ll be right back.”

  Julie nodded, and Adam rose from the bed and disappeared into the hall. She stretched on his bed, taking in her surroundings. They’d been so frantic when they’d first come in that she hadn’t had a chance to see where he lived.

  The bedroom was sparsely furnished, just the bed and a small table along one wall, and a highboy dresser along the other. Books were stacked nearly two feet high on the floor in several places, and she could make out a few titles that she’d used in college. She grinned. He even took his work into the room where he slept. Why was that not surprising? The man was driven.

  And given what he’d told her about his background, it made sense. It must be hard to let go of that driving determination that had pulled him out of poverty, even after he’d clearly succeeded. In fact, she imagined he would always carry with him the fear of slipping back into that life. She had come to terms already with the knowledge that she would never fully leave behind what the bullying in high school had made her feel. The fear of not being seen as a person, but rather as a means to an end.

  Maybe that’s what drew her to him. He looked at her with so much intensity, made love to her with it, too, that she couldn’t help but feel like she was someone who mattered.

  But while she’d made the effort to combat her worries, he didn’t seem like someone who even could do that.

  That’s probably why only one night was for the best.

  Even though, right now, it didn’t feel like it.

  She heard his footsteps in the hallway, and Julie lifted herself up on her elbows, watching him as he walked through the door. She hummed in appreciation, and he stopped before the bed, staring down at her.

  “What was that for?”

  He looked so stern, like he often had back when he was assisting in lectures, but without any clothes to cover his broad shoulders and muscled stomach, she had no trouble imagining what it would be like if she were to show up in his office one day to play professor and co-ed.

  She shook the fantasy away. Adam didn’t seem the type to go for spontaneous, illicit sex on campus. Besides, he’d made his intentions clear.

  This can’t be more than one night.

  She wondered if she’d even ever see him again. But instead of rolling over and burying her face in the pillow like she wanted to, she grinned. “You have a great body.”

  He didn’t answer, just gave her a half smile and sank down on the bed, stretching alongside her and pulling her close. Did the man never receive compliments? Even from his parents?

  She frowned.

  “What’s that look for?” His finger traced the notch that had appeared between her brows.

  “I was just wondering, how did a farm boy from North Dakota get interested in finance?”

  A strange look skittered over his face, but he didn’t turn away. Still, his next words were chilling in their detachment. “When I was growing up, the farm was actually doing well enough that we could have afforded to live a decent life. Nothing fancy, but at least there would be food on the table and warm clothes in the winters.”

  She could only imagine. “But?”

  He lay back, pulling her with him so that she nestled against his chest, her hand skimming over his side. It felt so good to lie here with him, as though they’d been doing it for years. She tried to commit every last second to memory. Tomorrow, when she was alone with no promise of being with him again, she’d want to remember.

  “My dad had dreams of grandeur. Every year, there was a new scheme, a promise of some big return on a too-large investment. We ended up barely scraping by. Year after year. And there were some bad harvests that made things even worse. Watching that—well, let’s just say that I knew I could do better.”

  “So you decided to learn about managing money.”

  It wasn’t a question, but he nodded. “It was a good decision. My dad died a couple of years ago and left my mom and sisters with nothing. Having a job like mine meant I could help support them.” He let out a small laugh, his mouth turning up and his eyes crinkling attractively. “Funny. I’ve never told anyone except Naomi why I got into finance. I guess no one has ever asked.”

  That made Julie frown again. How could he have lived this way and not be starved for simple friendship? Or did he prefer not to get involved with people, and she was just a way to pass the time between work projects? The back of her neck tightened at the thought. It was one thing to agree to only one night together with the knowledge that she’d wanted him for so long and would finally have her desires fulfilled. It was another to feel like he wouldn’t have cared who she was, as long as she was in the right place at the right time.

  She pushed the thought away. Focus on the positive. Enjoy what you have now.

  “You have a great smile, you know.” She traced a finger over his lips, and his mouth relaxed, but his eyes were still bright with amusement.

  “That’s definitely something no one has ever said to me.”

  “Really? Because it’s pretty damn sexy.” She hummed when his tongue darted out and licked her fingertip. “You should show it off more often. Maybe even in your classes from time to time. You never used to smile when I was in your section.”

  “Now you’re exaggerating.”

  “I’m not! You had a reputation for being the most serious TA.”

  He frowned a bit at that, but nipped playfully at her finger before grabbing her hand and moving it to his chest, holding it there. “What about you—didn’t you major in economics?” He shook his head. “I don’t even know what you do now.”

  Let it go. She was letting her past color her view. He was asking about her as though he really wanted to know her, after all. Surely that was a sign that he actually cared about who she was and not just what was between her legs. She took a deep breath.

  “I work at Carter Allen.” The prestigious investment banking firm was well-known for only hiring the best.

  His chest fell with his hard laugh. “I won’t make the mistake again of saying that I’m surprised. But I am certainly impressed.”

  She smiled and tipped her head back to kiss him. “Speaking of work, I should probably get going since I have to get up early tomorrow.”

  She could feel his breath catch, but after a moment, he nodded. “Sure. Okay. I understand. I have an eight a.m. lecture, too.”

  That made her laugh. “God, I remember that. That was the class that I took that you were the TA for, and the only morning class I was excited to get out of bed for.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Oh,
really? You thought it was that interesting?”

  Was he being obtuse on purpose? She blushed. “I thought it was obvious what I found interesting. Especially after that afternoon I came to your office hours and—”

  “I remember. But I didn’t think it meant anything to you.” His voice was low.

  For a moment, she was stunned. “I thought I’d done something terrible so I avoided you. But I thought about you a lot since then. How could you think it didn’t mean anything?” She gulped. “I never stopped wanting you.”

  Under her palm, she could feel his heartbeat speeding up, and she wondered whether she’d said too much. But in the next moment, he pulled her to him. “You were always so easygoing. So happy. I thought I was just a passing attraction. But I thought about you, too,” he murmured against her lips, and she shivered with pleasure at the words. He nibbled a trail along her jaw and stroked her back, massaging his way downward until she was straining against him.

  She arched and gasped. She wanted to tell him that being easygoing wasn’t as easy as it looked. That she had to make a choice to get out and have a good time. But the way he was touching her was making her thoughts break apart. “You weren’t just a passing attraction.”

  He brought her legs over his and she felt his cock against her body, hard again, hot and ready. “I wanted you then. And I want you now.”

  She sighed and pushed against him, making him groan and squeeze her hips. One night. One night. Make it count. Live it, completely. Fully.

  “I guess I could stay a little while longer,” she whispered, and those were the last words they spoke for quite some time.

  Chapter Eight

  “Did you solve all the world’s financial problems or something?”

  Adam shut his laptop on the lectern as Naomi walked toward him. The room was almost empty now, the few students who had stopped to ask him questions after class having just shuffled out.

  “What do you mean?” he asked innocently, but he already knew. He hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d dragged himself awake at six o’clock this morning. Julie’s ‘a little while longer” had turned into several hours of the hottest sex he’d had in his life. Around 3:00 a.m., they were finally exhausted and she was practically falling asleep on top of him. He’d told her that she could stay, but she’d insisted on going home.

  Neither of them had wanted to say good-bye, though. Despite his earlier protest that it would be just one night, he’d had a hard time walking her out the door. Just before she’d climbed into the cab, she had given him a lingering kiss and asked, “Will I see you at our class next Thursday?”

  He’d seen so much hope in her eyes, and even though his brain had protested, he’d already known there was no way he was going to skip class next week.

  “I’ll be there,” he’d told her, before kissing her good-bye.

  He was in so much trouble.

  “You’re wearing the sloppiest grin I’ve ever seen.” Naomi laughed, and he immediately snapped out of his musings over the way her body had felt under his, the way she had panted and shouted when he pulled her atop him and bucked up into her hot, clinging heat—

  “Earth to Adam!”

  Shit. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on Naomi, who was smirking at him in an I-know-what-you’ve-been-up-to kind of way.

  “I take it that you had a nice evening yesterday?”

  He shrugged, trying to contain the frenetic energy he felt whenever he thought about Julie. “Yes, it was quite pleasant.”

  Naomi gave a loud laugh. “Quite pleasant,” she mimicked him in a British accent. “Well, whatever you did, it certainly shows. Your class today was practically inspired. I only caught the last ten minutes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen your students this engaged.”

  At that, he frowned. “It’s the same material as always.”

  She tsked at him. “I know. But you’re putting a different energy into it. Just because your students are young doesn’t mean they can’t pick up on it. It’s attractive.” She waved her hand. “I say that from a purely observational point of view, mind you.”

  He was feeling pretty good, like nothing could go wrong today. He’d realized this morning, on his commute to campus, that his desire for Julie had certainly not gone away after he’d slept with her. If anything, it had gotten stronger. Not to mention that her suggestion to him last night, about smiling more, had been at the forefront of his mind all during class this morning, and he’d found himself doing just that.

  But he hadn’t made any promises beyond going to the next dance class. Julie hadn’t pushed him on it, either. In fact, before she’d left this morning, she’d said she was looking forward to doing this with him again. It seemed pretty clear she wanted a no-strings-attached kind of relationship, and he realized that sex with her once a week might be exactly what he needed. The benefits were already showing up in his work, apparently, and when he returned to his office now, he expected he’d be able to churn out a whole section of edits.

  It was the perfect arrangement.

  “I guess I’m just feeling inspired today,” he offered. That was the truth, after all. He’d certainly been inspired last night to try a lot of things with Julie that he’d never done before.

  “So? Who is she? And do I get to meet her?”

  There was no use hiding from Naomi. He had to at least admit he was seeing someone. “It’s nothing serious. Just a girl I met in the tango class.”

  Naomi rubbed her hands together, following him as he carried his laptop to a nearby table and slid the computer inside his bag.

  “A girl, eh? So that’s what you meant last week when you said she wasn’t a woman? And you’re avoiding a direct answer again. I do love a good mystery.”

  Damn it, Naomi was perceptive. He turned and shook his head at her. “You’re a sick woman. Who would have guessed that a top econ professor would be so interested in my sex life?”

  She practically cackled at that. “Ha! So, it’s just sex?”

  “You’re impossible. And it’s not like that.” He didn’t like hearing that about Julie from someone else, even if Julie herself had said more or less the same thing this morning.

  “But you said it wasn’t serious.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “Only because it can’t be!” Damn, he had just shouted.

  Naomi stopped laughing at him and was looking at him warily. “I’m sorry, Adam, I didn’t realize.”

  He dropped his shoulders, feeling deflated. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. It’s just that, I have my career to focus on. I can’t afford anything serious right now…”

  Naomi furrowed her brow. “Then I hope you’ve told her that you’re not looking for a commitment.”

  “Actually, Julie’s the one who brought it up first.”

  “Her name is Julie?”

  Crap. He hadn’t intended to say her name. Given that Julie had been in Naomi’s class, Naomi might even remember her. At the same time, it felt good to be able to talk to someone about this…he glanced at her sideways. “Yeah. Julie Stanton. Does that name ring a bell?”

  Naomi’s jaw dropped.

  Looks like it does.

  “Julie Stanton? You just said you can’t afford anything serious, but that girl is the definition of serious, Adam. Either she has drastically changed her personality since she took my course, or something else is off.”

  He paused. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you even know anything about her?” She looked shocked. “This isn’t like you at all, Adam. You’re usually really meticulous about everything…” She stopped and whistled. “I think you’re fooling yourself, my friend.”

  “Again, I ask, what do you mean?”

  She looked up as a few students entered the lecture hall for the next class. “Come on, let’s move to your office.”

  They headed into the corridor.

  “I mean I would caution you to tread lightly when it comes to messing around
with her.”

  “Why, does she have ties to the mob or something? Come on, don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”

  They went up the stairs to his office above the classrooms. Naomi entered first, but she didn’t sit down. Instead, she crossed her arms and leaned against his bookshelf, looking down at him with disapproval.

  What the hell?

  “She made an A in my class. There are so few students who manage to do that that I remember every single one of them. She comes across as all happy-go-lucky, but she is laser focused when it comes to work. She was actively pursued by Carter Allen, did you know that? She even authored a couple of papers with Cole Ryan her senior year.”

  “What?” He was shouting again. Ryan was an NYU economics professor with whom Naomi shared a friendly rivalry—and Ryan also happened to be not much older than Adam, though not as good-looking. Or maybe it was jealousy that made him think so.

  She nodded. “I introduced them because Julie told me she wanted more real-world experience. She spent most of her senior year working on market research with Ryan. They published two articles and were invited to present their work at several conferences. It seems off that a girl who could be that mature in her academic life would want just a fling.”

  “Look, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t think it’s like that. As you’ve already realized, Julie hasn’t told me these things herself. Besides, maybe she is driven when it comes to her work life, but she made it pretty clear that she didn’t want anything serious when it came to—” He stopped, not liking the feeling he got when he thought about how his involvement with Julie was coming across. This might be casual, but it was more than a one-night stand. He shrugged. “I think you’re getting professional and personal confused.”