I took a deep breath and bravely flicked my eyes toward him. He was staring at his computer, his glasses now on. Good. I could work in peace.
Type. Type. Type. The tapping of keys filled the room with an oddly melodic sound. The quick succession of letters, the harder knock of the space bar, and the frustrated hit on the backspace as several typos were made in a row. Every single one seemed to meld together. It was relaxing.
Kind of like whale songs… But for nerds.
Every few moments, I felt the distinctive heat of Professor Keaton’s eyes on me once again. I was just as bad—when he wasn’t looking at me, I was looking at him. It was a reflexive action I wanted to stop immediately.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.
Eleven hundred words into my essay, I checked my e-mail. I shouldn’t have.#p#分页标题#e#
To:
[email protected]
From:
[email protected]
Subject: No excuses for lateness.
Darcy,
Open your legs.
J
My eyebrows shot up. Open my legs? What the—he was insane. He had to be. Right there in class? Jesus. Still, I scanned the room and saw everyone with their heads down, focusing on what they were doing.
Oh hell—I was considering his request.
What was wrong with me?
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and inhaled deeply through my nose. Fine. I’d do it. I was no stranger to a little exhibition, after all. Slowly, I eased my legs open, and under the pretense of scratching my thigh, I lifted my dress up a little higher so I was sure he’d get a glimpse.
To:
[email protected]
From:
[email protected]
Subject: Your wish is my command.
Dear Professor,
Consider me your own personal genie.
Xoxo, Darcy
My eyes lingered on him as I sent the message. It happened like a flash of lightning. He looked up so quickly that shock stuttered my heart, and he looked exactly there… Like he’d been waiting for me to do it.
He must have been.
To:
[email protected]
From:
[email protected]
Subject: (empty)
See me after class.
“Are you coming?” Jake zipped his bag.
“I’ll see you later. He wants to see me about the letter.” I nodded toward Professor Keaton. “He e-mailed during class.”
Jake’s dark eyes darted between me and the man still sitting behind his desk after he’d dismissed us. “Good luck.”
I needed it—but not in the way he thought I did. I smiled wanly and waited until the whole class had filtered out of the room before finally zipping my own bag. The door shut, and the sound of the bang reverberated through the air.
“Come here.”
Two words. Not a request. A demand.
I picked my bag up and did as he’d said. Each step got heavier, and uncertainty took control of my body. My hand trembled as I ran it through my hair and tugged on the side of my dress at the same time. I needed to touch something—do something with my hands. Anything. I didn’t care whether I was painting or doing shadow puppets. I needed to be occupied by something else.
I paused once I’d reached his desk and rested my fingertips on the edge of it. “What’s up?” I tried for light and airy, but it came out shaky and breathless.
He shut the computer down. Then he reached up and scratched between his eyes. Slowly, his fingers closed over the arm of his glasses and pulled them off. He set them on top of the laptop and, starting at my hips, dragged his gaze up the length of my body. I swallowed hard as I imagined him imagining undressing me.
He had my full attention for the longest moment. It was the moment where his eyes collided with mine. That split second where there was nothing but the brightest, most electrifying blue.
“I’m not sure your dress is appropriate. It’s rather…distracting.”
The gravelly tone of his voice made my skin tingle.
“Then I apologize for my oversight when I dressed this morning. It won’t happen again.”
He pushed back to standing. Every step he took toward me was slow, easy, and calculated. He was stalking me yet again.
“On the contrary,” he said in a low voice as he approached me. “Please ensure it does.” He touched his fingertips to my lower back.#p#分页标题#e#
I sucked in a breath as they fell downward over the curve of my butt. He took a step closer to me, but I was frozen.
My body flooded with warmth as his hand moved ever lower. Each touch was like a lightning bolt across my skin, burning with desire. The air thickened as he placed his hand over mine on the desk. His breath fluttered hotly across my collarbone, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
I was a match in the moment before it lit. And, as he ran out of fabric and his fingers grazed my thigh, he knew it too.