“Chiara, are you okay?” Robbie asks.
My cheeks burst into flames. “Yes, I’m fine.”
Fuck. I’d better get my act together.
It turns out I can’t concentrate at all during class, and when Alistair asks me a question, I make a complete fool of myself and answer, “Present,” instead. People laugh. Usually I wouldn’t mind it so much, but I hate that it happened in his class. I sink in my seat, trying to make myself even smaller than I already am.
Why couldn’t he pretend I’m invisible?
Once the two-hour class is finally over, I can’t wait to get the hell out of there. On my way to the door, I avoid looking in Alistair’s direction. But five minutes later, he texts me asking if I can drop by his office. He must have memorized my schedule to know I have study hall after this class.
“I have time before my next class. Do you want to grab a drink at the cafeteria?” Robbie asks.
“Uh, rain check on that? I need to use the restroom.”
“I can wait.”
Come on, Robbie. Why are you being such a pain today?
“It’s a number two situation,” I reply through clenched teeth.
It’s a lie, but my embarrassment is real. My face is hot, meaning it must be redder than a tomato.
Robbie’s eyebrows arch. “Oh. Then go. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I hurry to the restroom and hide inside a stall until I’m alone. Then I apply a damp paper towel to my cheeks to try to get rid of the redness. The few minutes alone with my thoughts only work against me though. My asshole brain starts to conjure up the worst possible scenarios to why Alistair wants to see me. Maybe he changed his mind. After the way I reacted in his class, he probably realized I’m a liability he doesn’t need.
Depressed, I head to his office, trying my best to look innocent. There’s nothing wrong with a student going to see her teacher in his office. I hope my face isn’t showing the mess of emotions that’s making my heart beat faster when I knock on his door.
“Come in,” Alistair says.
He’s not at his desk but standing in front of a bookshelf, looking for something. He turns once I close the door with a soft click.
“You wanted to see me, Mr. Walsh?”
He raises an eyebrow and smirks at me. “Is it terrible that I love when you call me that?”
Okay, he’s definitely not breaking up with me, not with the way his eyes are devouring every inch of my body.
His gaze makes me feel powerful and beautiful, and I’m taken over by recklessness. I don’t know why Alistair wanted to see me, but I do know what I want to do to him now that I’m here.
Looking over my shoulder, I find the door’s dead bolt. Perfect. I lock it before moving closer.
His eyes narrow.
“Hmm, it depends,” I say.
“On what?”
“On whether you’re planning to do something about it.” I stop in front of him, as close as I can get without our bodies actually touching.
I’m teasing, but I don’t expect him to take the bait, not here in his office anyway.
To my surprise, he pushes me against the bookshelf and kisses me with a passion that I’m beginning to realize only Alistair can summon. I’m taken over by lust-induced madness when I maniacally work his fly. He seems to be caught on the same crazy train. His hands find their way under my skirt before he lifts me off the floor. I wrap my legs around his hips, and before I know it, my panties are pushed out of the way and he’s inside me.
Holy shit, this is the hottest thing I’ve ever done.
His mouth devours mine without mercy while his thrusts become more relentless. The bookshelf starts to shake behind me, and a few books fall to the floor. Neither of us cares.
To avoid crying out when the most intense orgasm hits me, I bite his shoulder. Alistair comes soon after amid his muffled grunts of pleasure.
Another minute goes by before I unlatch myself from him. The reality of what we did hits me hard when the evidence of Alistair’s release drips down my legs.
Fuck. We totally forgot a condom.
Clarity returns to his eyes, and guilt sneaks in them as well. “Chiara, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
I place a finger over his lips. “Shhh. It’s okay. I’m on the pill and one-hundred-percent healthy.”
He touches my face affectionately. “It’s not only that. I didn’t ask you to come here so I could ravish you. I just wanted to ask if you were okay. You spaced out in my class today.”
“That’s only because I was remembering your visit yesterday.”
“Oh.” He sounds genuinely surprised.
Shoving my insecurities aside, I say, “I think we need to talk, don’t you?”
He walks to his desk, returning a second later with a Kleenex in hand. “Yes, we do.”
