This isn’t precisely true… but that doesn’t really matter, now does it?
When he doesn’t immediately move out of my way, I decide to push right past him.
“Hold on and I’ll walk out with you.” He quickly stuffs his computer into his backpack before taking off after me. As soon as we’re out of the social sciences building, I spin around towards him. I’m pretty sure there’s fire, and maybe even a little bit of fear, glowing in my eyes. “You know I’m one step away from taking out a restraining order for harassment, right?”
Instead of getting annoyed like I expect, like I want, he merely grins. Those damnable dimples of his flash temptingly, making his entire face even more adorably handsome than before. As indifferent as I want to be… I’m not. And that scares me. A lot. For God’s sake, I only met this guy last night and he triggered an anxiety attack.
That’s bad news.
I want to laugh… or cry because I had actually thought they were getting better. I had transitioned almost seamlessly to Western this fall. And there is no way in hell I’m going to allow myself to back pedal. Cole sparks something unwanted within me. Something I find myself irresistibly drawn to all the while making me feel distinctly out of control and frightened.
And that’s one hell of a lethal combination.
For me anyway.
I need to run him off now before everything becomes even more complicated.
“Good, then at least I’ll be able to figure out your name.”
Hmm… I don’t really have a snappy come back for that one. Nor can I help from shaking my head before snorting. This guy is impossible.
Impossibly good looking.
Impossibly persistent.
Just plain impossible!
It kind of makes me wish I had met him before… well, before my life had imploded.
Quickly I shove that thought aside. The fact of the matter is that I didn’t. Cole is in the here and now and I am… broken… to say the very least. The sooner he realizes that, the better off we’ll both be.
“Holy crap,” his large hand flies to his mouth as his golden eyes widen with over the top exaggeration, “I think that was a chuckle.” Rather disturbingly, his gaze roves over every inch of my face and I’m sorry to say that it only makes the edges of my lips twitch upwards even more. He really is impossible. Being the smartass he apparently is (I think we’re on strike five now), he gasps in mock astonishment. “And a smile! An honest to goodness smile!”
I roll my eyes all the while trying to get my damn facial muscles under control. It’s not working.
“See, you like me.” He winks before adding with just a hint of arrogance, “You want to date me.”
My brows snap together. “Oh, that reminds me, please refrain from telling people that I’m your girlfriend.” There. The smile has been completely wiped away.
“You will be.” He looks smug and way too self-confident about his prediction. It’s perplexing and… oddly attractive.
Damn, damn, damn…
Feeling seriously disconcerted by how this conversation is unraveling, I shake my head back and forth. “No, sorry, I don’t date.”
“Well, that’s good because I don’t want my girlfriend dating other guys. It sets a bad precedent.”
I take a very deep and hopefully cleansing breath before stating slowly, “I am not your girlfriend. And I have absolutely no intention of becoming your girlfriend.” I have no intention of becoming anyone’s girlfriend. And then it hits me. “Oh, I get it. You think this is a game and that I’m playing hard to get. Let me disabuse you of that notion once and for all.”
Why is it always this way?
Why can’t anyone just be straightforward?
Whatever Cole thinks is going on between us needs to end because it’s getting out of control. I’m not interested. Okay… maybe I’m a little interested, but that’s beside the point. I’m not here to find a man. “I think I know how to solve this.”
Before he can throw out any questions, I step into his space until I’m all but leaning into his big body. Little tingles of awareness dance across my flesh as I press my breasts against the solid wall of his… oh my… powerfully built chest.
Mmmm, that chest… I almost lose focus as my breath hitches.
Gazing up into those tawny colored eyes, I pour all the hunger I can’t allow myself to feel into that one long lustful look. Nor can I resist the opportunity to stroke my hands over his broad muscular chest until they are sliding up and over those spectacularly defined shoulders. Christ, this guy is hard all over. I gulp as that thought rings hollowly throughout my head. Tingles of awareness shoot down to my core in response.
But I’m not the only one affected here. Sucking in a ragged breath, he doesn’t say a word as we silently hold each other’s eyes. Heat and hunger fill his gaze as my legs nearly buckle.
“I love you,” I finally whisper, “let’s move in together. I just want to quit college, marry you, and have lots and lots of babies. At least four. Maybe even five. How does that sound?” I trail my fingers over his broad chest, enjoying the play of hard sinewy muscle.
Not even a moment later, his arms snake around me, hauling me even closer. My nipples pebble against him and I start to feel just a little bit hazy from the intimate contact. My eyes widen because his chest isn’t the only hard part of him I’m feeling…
Oh my…
“I think that sounds pretty damn fantastic. Let’s do it.” He murmurs the words quietly just before his mouth crashes down upon mine. I expect the slide of his lips to feel forceful, almost punishing but they’re not. At the very last moment, he changes it and the caress becomes soft and-
Before it can go any further, I quickly jerk away from him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Feeling surprisingly knotted up inside, I practically shriek the words. Heads turn in our direction but I don’t care. My heart is racing, my skin prickling with awareness. And my lower regions…
Oh yeah, they’ve snapped to attention as well.
Crap.
His lips quirk up at the corners. His eyes crinkling with humor. “Um, I was kissing the girl I’m going to marry. Why? What did it feel like I was doing?” He’s way too cool and collected.
And I am so not…
This is the part where I act like a complete child by screeching in annoyance before turning and stomping away. “We are not dating and we are certainly not getting married!” Guess that one backfired… all over me. My breasts are still tingling and now feel decidedly achy from being pressed up against all that hardness. And that kiss… Holy hell.
My fingers fly to my lips until I hear him chuckling… the bastard.
“I’ll be seeing you around!” He shouts the words rather cheerfully as I vacate the area as fast as humanly possible.
Not bothering to glance back, I flip him the bird. This has definitely not been one of my finest hours. As I continue stalking away, embarrassment slides painfully through me. Why does this guy have such a knack for bringing out the worst in me?
And what the hell am I going to do about it?
Because I have the sinking feeling that avoiding him is all but an impossibility now.
I think that kiss has somehow sealed our fate.
Chapter Five
“Cassidy, your four o’clock is here.”
With my nose buried deep in a calculus book, I murmur, “Great Lisa, send him on back.”
Lisa, who is our sort-of-receptionist, hovers in the doorway for a few more minutes until I’m forced to glance up and meet her wide gaze. Only then does she mouth the words, “He is soooo hot.” As if to add dramatic emphasis, she rolls her eyes.
I roll mine before shaking my head. Also for dramatic emphasis. Lisa thinks most guys are soooo hot. And sometimes she’s right… and sometimes she is wrong.
Very, very wrong.
But I suppose beauty is in the beer goggles of the beholder... or something like that. Not that Lisa usually drinks on the job�
� but sometimes I have to seriously wonder…
Plastering a smile across my lips, I wait for my next appointment so I can see just how far off the mark she is today. Instead the smile falls clean off my face as Cole strolls into the room. As soon as he sees me, he stops, obviously just as surprised as I am. But that doesn’t stop the wide smile from settling across his handsome face.
There’s that shit luck again.
I seem to be all but stepping in it where he’s concerned.
My eyebrows lower as I glare. “You just keep turning up like a bad penny.” These words are grumbled because that kiss we shared the other day is, at this very moment, rolling inexplicably through my head.
Arghhh. I can’t make it stop.
Brooklyn’s probably right… I need to get laid if I can’t stop thinking about one tiny little insignificant kiss that shouldn’t even be on my radar.
But yeah… it is so on my radar.
Cole steps into the small room we use for math tutoring before lowering himself down across from me. Somehow his large, muscular body makes the room shrink around us. His golden gaze never once releases mine. Which only heightens my awareness of him along with my discomfort. My nerves instantly start to hum.
“Really? Because I was thinking this is more serendipitous than anything else.”
That has me snorting. Serendipitous my ass…
But I can’t actually say those words to him. This is my place of employment. Even if it is just a few hours a week. I have to maintain a professional manner here. Well, I have to at least try to maintain a professional manner here. Eyeing him, I realize that it’s going to be all but impossible for me to do that. I almost wonder if a potential firing looms in the near future. But I need the small amount of money this job brings in.
It’s the thought of actually being fired that has me saying, “Maybe it would be best for you to work with a different tutor.”
His thick brows slide together. He looks genuinely confused. As if he doesn’t remember the stalker accusations I have oh-so-recently hurtled in his direction. Or that I flipped him the bird at our last parting. “Why would I want to do that? Don’t you know calc II?”
“Of course I do,” I immediately shoot back before thinking better of it, “I took it in high school.”
Slowly he raises a brow. “You seriously took calc II in high school? Wow. I’m impressed. You’re obviously some kind of math genius. I only made it through pre-calc. And I pretty much wanted to shoot myself the entire year.”
I shrug not liking how this conversation has suddenly backfired.
When I don’t respond, he asks instead, “So, what year are you?”
I bite down on my lower lip. “Freshman.”
Which is technically true. I just don’t bother mentioning that I really should be a sophomore. Because he doesn’t need to know that.
“So you’re a freshman taking calc III?”
His question has me fidgeting in my hard plastic seat as he eyes me rather speculatively before a slow grin turns up the corners of his lips. Those damnable dimples flash and wink at me from across the small table separating us. Which then sets off a little flurry of excitement within the confines of my belly.
“Yes.” I grit out the word as I fight all the butterflies that have just been released within me before giving him my best I’m-trying-to-make-you-uncomfortable-so-that-you-leave-me-alone-and-never-come-back stare.
He whistles, apparently oblivious to all my glowering and glaring. “And you understand calculus II?”
Is he for real?
Of course I understand calc II.
I could probably do calc II in my sleep.
“I passed with a solid A.”
“In high school?” His eyebrows shoot up as he presses me for an answer.
“Yes,” I ground out uncomfortably. Leaving, unfortunately, does not seem to be uppermost in his mind at the moment.
He grins then. “Well, after careful consideration and the interviewing of several potential candidates, I believe you are the best tutor for me.”
His words have me biting down almost savagely on my lower lip. Apparently I’m not very much of a genius after all. Giving in, I finally grumble, “Fine, then let’s just get started.” So that we can get this over with as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
“Great.” That damnable smile of his stretches its ridiculously cute way across his lips as he takes out his calculus book and a notepad. My belly hollows out yet again. You would honestly think I’d be getting used to that feeling, but I’m not. It throws me off every single time it happens.
“So, your name is Cassidy, huh?” He asks this question rather slyly. And since we both know that it is, I don’t even bother dignifying it with a response.
Instead I say, “Why don’t you show me what you’re having problems with.” I need to get this show on the road and him out the door and out of my life. Although I’m seriously questioning if that’s even a possibility anymore.
Unconsciously my eyes fall to his lips as that kiss tumbles its way through my head for probably the hundredth time. And it takes just about everything I have inside to force it away.
Seemingly unaware of my discomfort, he flips open his book, thumbing through a few pages before turning it around so I’m able to see the problems. After a few moments, he gets up and settles himself in the chair next to me so we can both study the page together. “I’m having trouble understanding the unit on parametric equations.”
Distracted by his nearness, which seems to be a growing problem, I nod trying to focus on the concepts. Which is actually quite challenging because he smells damn near delicious. Again, kind of like the ocean and well… just very masculine. It’s unfortunately intoxicating. Even though it takes a few attempts on my part, I finally forget about how yummy he smells and slip into my tutor mode as I do my best to re-explain parametric equations in a way that makes sense. By the time sixty minutes has slipped by, Cole has plowed through four challenging problems.
What this hour has taught me about Cole is that he is smart and focused and grasps complicated concepts easily when they are properly explained. Crap. Like I need anything else to like about him…
We both sit back in our hard plastic chairs before stretching our cramped muscles.
Tiredly he rubs the back of his neck. “Thanks. That actually makes so much more sense now. I wish Professor Ling could have explained it like that.”
Neither one of us comment on the fact that Professor Ling can barely speak passable English. Apparently Cole has him for calc II this semester and I have him for calc III. Luckily for me, math has always come easily, so I don’t struggle with it. I really don’t even need to attend the lecture to understand the concepts. I could easily get through the book on my own. But most people don’t grasp mathematics like that.
Which is exactly why tutoring, as a job on campus, works out so well for me. I can pretty much set my own schedule and in the two weeks I’ve been working here, there have been no shortage of students to help.
With his golden brown eyes holding mine, Cole asks, “So are you done for the day now?”
“Yeah,” I roll my aching shoulders trying to work out all the kinks. I’ve been tutoring for three straight hours this afternoon. Not only am I tired, but I have my own studies to get through. His jean clad leg brushes against mine and my thoughts arrow right back to him. And thoughts of Cole make the butterflies in my belly wing their way to life once more. Which leaves me feeling both uncomfortable and slightly shaken. No guy has ever affected me this way. It’s disconcerting.
Then he makes everything worse by leaning into my space. Now I’m able to see the ridiculous amount of gold churning within his whiskey colored depths. Nope. I definitely don’t like the effect he has on me. “Want to grab something to eat? All this calculus has really worked up my appetite. I’m starving.”
My stomach takes that opportunity to embarrass me by rumbling obnoxiously.
One side of
his mouth curves up into a knowing grin. “Shall I take that as a yes?” He looks like he’s already gotten his way which irks me.
Quickly I shake my head. All the fragile comradery we’ve just forged over the previous hour instantly dissolves as I once again draw my protective armor around myself. “Sorry, can’t. I have a protein bar in my backpack. I need to head over to the library and study for a few hours.”
“Come on, Cassidy,” he cajoles softly. Those dimples of his pop, almost as if they are trying to break down my resistance all on their own.
Damn dimples.
And I would be totally lying if I didn’t admit, at least privately to myself, that the sound of my name rolling off those sexy lips of his do strange things to my insides. But as far as I’m concerned, that’s just one more reason to stay as far away from Cole as I can get.
The word danger keeps flashing like a bright neon sign in my brain. And I’m smart enough not to ignore a warning when I see one.
Shaking my head, I finally say, “Yeah, I don’t think that would be such a good idea.” Spending more time alone with Cole… definitely not a good idea. My fight or flight instinct is kicking in. Too bad it kicked in a year too late.
“Give me one good reason why it isn’t a fantastic idea.” He sits back, crossing his bulging arms over his wide chest, as if this is a challenge. Which it’s not. I have absolutely nothing to prove to this guy. My eyes momentarily drop to those well-defined pecs. Even through a tight fitting t-shirt, I can see the covered contour of them. Realizing that I’m blatantly staring, I yank my eyes back up to his. Of course there’s just a bit of a knowing smirk covering his way too handsome face.
Thankfully he abstains from commenting on my drooling.
I clear my suddenly dry throat needing a distraction from the sight before me. “Well, we now have a working relationship. I shouldn’t be hanging out with someone I’m tutoring.” I wave my hand in the air. “I’m sure there are rules or something about it.”
“So there are actually policies written down that state this? Because if there are, I’d really like to see them.” When I remain stubbornly silent, he quite naturally presses on. “I’m curious, did they make you take some kind of tutoring oath when you started working here regarding your fraternization with the students?”
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