“You eat hot dogs?”
“They’re Tofurky dogs. Totally meatless, but just as good.”
I picked up a pale, tube shaped substance. It was hard to imagine anything looking like that tasting good. But I was so hungry I’d eat just about anything at that point.
“So how was your first day of college life?”
“Fine.” I was such a liar and apparently a really bad one because Rainbow arched an eyebrow at my answer.
“Your aura tells me otherwise.”
“My aura?”
“Yes, it’s a bit of a muddy blue today. It’s as if you’re afraid of something.”
“It’s nothing bad, really. My chemistry professor and I got off on the wrong foot. He kind of acted like a . . . well, uh, like an arrogant asshole.” There was no other way to put it.
“They usually are.”
I laughed. “To be fair, I kind of ruined his shirt and made him late for his class. I tried to apologize to Professor Cooper, but that just made things worse.”
A bowl slipped out of her hands, shattering on the floor. Her face paled.
“Are you okay?” I bent down picking up the pieces around her bare feet.
“Did you say Cooper? Jackson Cooper?”
“Yeah, do you know him?”
She blinked, opening and closing her mouth as if I’d caught her off guard.
“Sure. A lot of people do. He’s one of the leading researchers in his field.” She grabbed a broom and busied herself sweeping the spotless floor. “Interesting that a renowned biochemist would teach a freshman chemistry class. So, he was cranky?”
“That’s the understatement of the decade.”
“I’m sure things will settle down once everyone is over the first week of the semester crazies. How about your other classes?”
She was trying to change the subject. That just made me even more curious. She didn’t seem like the type of person to avoid things. That was more my parents’ MO.
After we set the table and placed the Tofurky dogs on a platter, I sat down, ready to dig into the salad. At least that looked reasonably normal. That’s when I heard a yelp and saw Greg’s head dash across the kitchen window.
“Greg?”
There was a loud squawking followed by a high-pitch screech and he zoomed past the window again.
The front door slammed, and he rushed into the kitchen, yelling, “Make it go away! It’s attacking me!”
“What’s after you?” I asked as I watched Greg run around the table, his arms flailing.
He quickly hopped on one of the kitchen chairs and snatched a knife. “That . . . that thing.”
He jabbed the knife at something beneath his feet.
“Look at its beady eyes. It wants to kill me.”
I looked around the floor and saw a flash of feathers as something scurried past my feet. Yelping, I jumped up onto my seat. “What the hell is that?”
“Penny, what did I say about you coming into the house?” Rainbow scolded as she bent down and scooped up the creature. She ran a palm across its tiny head. “You naughty girl.”
“Is that a . . .?” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “What is that?”
“Pass me the barbecue sauce and that’s dinner,” Greg said.
The chicken squawked.
Whoa! A pet chicken. Was that a Texas thing or Rainbow thing?
“Now, now, Penny, he didn’t mean that. He was just joking,” Rainbow crooned.
“No, I’m not,” he mouthed.
Penny’s beady eyes glared at him, keeping an eye on the knife.
“I didn’t know you had any pets,” I said.
“Penny belongs to my life partner, Meadow. She’s backpacking through Tibet. You’ll meet her in a few weeks when she gets back. Greg, you can put the knife down. Penny won’t peck at you. Right, Penny?”
Greg narrowed his eyes watching Penny as Rainbow carried her back outside. “I’ll be watching you.”
“You do realize you were threatening a chicken with a butter knife, don’t you?”
Reaching over the table, he grabbed a faux-hot dog and slapped it into a bun. “And I’ll do it again if I have too. You didn’t see her, Nicole. I was minding my own business and this brown bullet darted right at me. It was like she smelled the chicken teriyaki I had for lunch. And that beak hurts. Now, I have little red dots all over my ankles. I was planning to lay out by the river tomorrow after class.”
“You big baby. And don’t you know too much tanning is bad for you?”
“For you maybe, Ms. Red Lobster.” He tapped my cheek and grinned. It wasn’t fair that he had that nice golden tan that made him look even more handsome. All I had to look forward to was peeling. Eww.
“Hey, this actually looks good.” He heaped a scoop of sweet relish onto his hot dog. “So I need to tell you about what happened with Travis. I was getting some intel, for you of course, because it’s been a while since you’ve been on a real date and—”
He stopped abruptly, his face turning almost as green as my salad. He spat out the hot dog onto his plate.
“Gross! Greg!”
“What the hell did I just eat?”
“Oh, you’ve tried the Tofurky,” Rainbow said, walking back into the kitchen. “It takes a little getting used to—”
“A little?” He made a face as he searched the table, his tongue hanging out. Spotting a napkin, he swiped it repeatedly over his tongue, gagging.
“It tastes much better with tofu chili. Want me to whip you both up some?”
“No!” we cried.
Rainbow took out a pitcher and poured yellow liquid into his glass. “Drink this, you’ll like it.”
He looked down at the glass skeptically. “What is it?”
“Lemonade.”
“Oh.” He took a swig. “Ah, much better.”
She ruffled his hair. “I’ll make a vegetarian out of you yet. Oh that reminds me.”
She reached into the pocket of her dress and handed me a slip of paper.
“My friend, Lou, owns the coffee shop across from campus, Jitters. He said he could use some help. He’s in Tucson taking care of family business, but will be back in a couple of weeks. You can talk to him then.”
I looked down at paper. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”
“Not a problem. Now Lou can be a little off, and he tends to forget things sometimes. But he’s a sweet man. You’ll like him.”
Like him or not, I was desperate for a job. I stabbed my fork into the salad, feeling much better now that the job situation was settled. Now all I had to do was survive Cooper’s class.
Chapter Seven
“Ms. Ashford!”
I blinked, shocked that Professor Cooper was calling on me. It’d been weeks and not once had he even looked at me.
“Wake up, Nicole,” Greg hissed.
“Uh, aluminum fluoride.”
Several students chuckled.
“Sweet,” Travis muttered under his breath, laughing. Even when he was laughing, he looked like the perfect golden boy and was annoyingly handsome. Even more annoying was the way Greg looked up to him. His face all enamored with Travis. He laughed even harder, elbowing Travis, joining him.
I scowled, and he choked back a laugh.
Yeah, he knew better than to get on my bad side.
“I’m sorry, you were saying?” I turned back to face Cooper and took a really good look at him for the first time since the beginning of the semester.
Big mistake.
He stood in front of the lectern, thick arms folded across his massive chest. My eyes slowly crawled up, taking in every inch of his muscular body, the square jawline thick with scruff until they reached fiery gemstone blue eyes.
Good God. Why couldn’t he look like a normal guy? And why did he have to be so annoyingly sexy? I twisted in my seat uncomfortably.
“I, uh, you asked a question?”
Yeah, there was a reason why I’d kept my head down during class. One look and already
my brain was in stupid mode. I quickly averted my eyes to the back of Gianna’s head.
“If you can manage to utilize the functions of your frontal lobe, Ms. Ashford, I asked to have a word with you after class.”
I had no idea why he’d want to see me. I hadn’t made a peep since the beginning of the semester. Knowing my luck, he was probably going to give me a bill for his dry cleaning.
Gianna turned, gazing at me briefly. She leaned over to Red and whispered something in her ear and giggled.
I clenched my hand into a fist. I was tired of being used as Cooper’s punching bag. The man needed to get over the little coffee incident. He wanted to see me after class? Fine. I wanted to see him too—to give him a piece of my mind.
“Yes, sir.”
“Ooh, you’re in trouble,” Greg said in a sing-song voice when Cooper released the class.
“Knock it off.” I slowly gathered my things.
After most of the class left, I stood a couple of feet from Cooper, waiting as he talked to a few students who had questions about the class assignment.
“Excuse me.” Gianna sauntered past me as she went to him.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m learning so much. The extra tutoring you’re giving me has been so helpful.” She placed a possessive hand on his muscular arm then threw me a hateful side-glance.
What was her problem? She was acting like we were in competition or something. It wasn’t like Cooper liked me. If anything, he’d probably be relieved if I dropped out of the class.
Oh, crap! That was it. He was kicking me out of class.
“And I love this color on you.” Gianna’s manicured fingers slid seductively over his black pinstripe shirt.
I zoomed in on her hand. From out of nowhere, I had the urge to rip her arm off. I stiffened in surprised by my intense and totally irrational reaction. What did I care if she wanted to boink Cooper? It wasn’t any of my business.
“I have some questions about today’s lecture.” Her hand slowly drifted down his arm before wrapping it around her book. Stroking the text, she continued. “Maybe I can come by your office again?”
He studied her for a moment. “I’m not available today. Send me an email and we can schedule a time to meet next week. Ms. Ashford.”
He turned to me, holding out his hand, directing me to the back door of the auditorium.
Biting my lip, I held back a smug smile. Man, oh man. The shocked expression on her face was so photo worthy. If only I could whip out my cellphone to take a picture.
As he guided me down the hall, I felt a light pressure on the small of my back. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at his touch.
An image flashed. I groaned. The freaky-deaky daydreams were happening again. Permed hair and mullets, bright neon-colored leggings, and headbands flashed through my mind.
I clenched my fists, straining to keep the strange visions out of my head as I stepped into his office. I tiptoed around the piles of books and knee-high stacks of papers on the floor. The walls were lined with shelves of more books and dozens of awards. A large desk littered with papers and a computer sat against a large window.
I placed myself in front of his desk, the only clutter-free spot in the room. I caught a glimpse of a stack of graded papers marked with so much red you’d think the paper was bleeding. I’d never seen so many thirties and forties.
I heard a familiar laugh and glanced out the window. Greg and Travis were walking across the quad. Travis was checking out a group of girls. Greg didn’t seem to care; he just kept on talking.
I sighed. When Greg had a man crush, nothing could convince him that the guy he’d set his sights on didn’t play for his team. He would just have to find out the hard way later, and I’d be there to pick up the pieces like always. It was hard sometimes. He deserved to find someone who loved him for the sweet, quirky guy he was, even if he was annoying some times.
I looked down at the desk again and saw his name scribbled on one of the papers. Next to it was a ninety-nine.
I rolled my eyes. He was going to do his happy dance and flaunt that grade the entire semester.
The door slammed shut and I froze.
Even with my back to him, Professor Cooper’s presence overwhelmed me. I could feel his eyes boring into my back. I took a shaky breath trying to calm myself. I moaned when I smelled a seductive scent of leather and musk. That was so not helping.
I licked my dry lips nervously. I might as well cut to the chase and speak first before I lost my courage to tell him off. Keeping my eyes glued to the window, I said, “I know why you called me in here.”
Waiting for his response, my heart thrummed against my chest so hard I swore he could hear it in the silent room.
Minutes passed. Nothing. I shifted uncomfortably. Why wasn’t he saying anything?
Taking a bracing breath, I turned to face him.
My breath hitched at the expression on his face. It was like he was another person. The stern expression he had in class was gone. His eyes were soft pools of blue that I could drown myself in forever. They were so beautiful. It was like seeing sunshine for the first time.
I stepped forward, feeling that pull to him again. His lips parted as he sucked in a breath. Then he stiffened and shrunk back as I closed in the space between us.
His eyes hardened, warning me to keep my distance. Crossing his arms across his chest, he said, “Are you saying you can read my mind, Ms. Ashford, a mind that has garnered millions in NIH grant funding? Or maybe after one psychology course you now consider yourself expert in the human psyche?”
Yeah, that was the Cooper I was used to. A sexy arrogant ass who liked to torture me, but was nice to students like Gianna, who would throw her panties at him in class if she thought she could get away with it.
“How do you know I’m taking psychology?”
He blinked, looking like he’d gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar. “Just an assumption. Most freshman take that course for an easy ‘A.’ Though I’m puzzled why you’re taking my course.”
“You don’t think I have what it takes to pass chemistry?”
“Not according to your last assignment grade.”
“I’m not going to quit.” I jerked my chin up, ready for a fight.
“I’m not asking you to drop the class. Although it would be in your best interest.”
“Why, because you’re going to fail me?”
“No, Ms. Ashford. Because I won’t fall for your plan to ace the course.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I took another step forward, ready to take him on. I was already about to get kicked out. I had nothing to lose.
He sucked in a breath and gritted his teeth. “Stop that.”
My eyes widened at his reaction. “Stop what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His shoulders tensed as his eyes roamed over my body. “You’re not the first student to try to seduce a professor for a better grade.”
Was the man insane? I looked down at what I was wearing. It wasn’t even remotely sexy. I had on a light blue tank top with one of Greg’s oxford shirts thrown over it and a pair of knee length shorts.
Yeah, Birkenstock sandals just screamed, “Do me!”
“I would never do that,” I snapped. “I admit I’m struggling a bit with the class, and it’d be nice to actually get some help, but I’d never do what you’re insinuating.”
“Oh really, Ms. Ashford.” He took a step forward. I gulped at how big he was. His shoulders were so broad. “I suppose you accidentally managed to run into me and press your body against mine suggestively earlier this semester.”
“That was an accident. Besides, I didn’t even know you were my professor.”
“I’m sure. And I’m also sure it was an accident that you watch me with those wide eyes of yours, playing with your hair, crossing and uncrossing your bare legs in class.”
He was pissing me off. He made me sound like I was Gianna. I placed my hands on
my hips. “You’re mixing me up with someone else. You may have other girls in the class panting after you, but I’m not one of them.”
In three quick strides he jerked me to him, and I slammed into his muscled chest. I sucked in a breath as lightning surged through me, awakening parts of me that had been sleeping for a long time. He lowered his head, stopping right before his lips touched mine. Simmering eyes dropped to my mouth. “This is what you want, isn’t it, Ms. Ashford.”
Yes.
“No.”
He smirked. “You’re playing with fire, little girl.”
“I told you I wasn’t—”
Savage lips attacked mine, and my body ignited into fire. My hands flew up, gliding over his rock-hard biceps and around his neck. I clutch him closer, deepening the kiss.
His stubble rubbed against my tender skin as his tongue devoured my mouth. Searing lips traveled down my throat. His rough chin grazed the tops of my breast. I moaned, arching my hips into his lower body.
My mind warred back and forth with what was happening, how turned on I was, and how much I wanted him to take me right there in his office, on his desk.
I shouldn’t be doing this.
Oh god yes, don’t stop.
This is wrong. He’s my professor.
Yes, more. I need more.
No.
Yes!
“Do you want me to continue?” His deep voice rumbled, making me quiver even more as I leaned against his hard body.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. His tongue flicked the top of my breast and I gasped.
“Yes!” I moaned.
His lips hungrily devoured mine. Then he reached down, and in one swoop he hitched me up and my legs were immediately around his waist as he placed me on top of the desk. My core throbbed as he pressed himself against me, grinding against the thin covering of my shorts.
Something overcame me at that moment. It was raw, carnal. It was like the animal in me had come to life, and I didn’t even know who I was. All I knew was that I was desperate to feel his skin against mine.
Pushing him back, I ripped his shirt open. Buttons flew, scattering onto the floor. He was magnificent. Every inch of him was pure muscle.
I pressed my lips on his chest, letting my tongue work its way over every single muscled crevice. When I flicked his hardened nipple, he hissed and his hands speared into my hair. I craved every inch of him. He was right. I wanted him just as much as every other woman in his class.
Your Gravity: Part One Page 4