Getting Schooled (Craving #9) Page 22

  “I think we set the fire alarm off,” Hunter yelled jokingly. Laughing, I shook my head and placed my hands on his chest, pushing him off of me. We needed to leave before someone walked in. It wouldn’t be good for either of us if someone walked into the classroom and saw me spread on his desk.

  Sliding off, I straightened my shirt, once again concealing the hickeys Hunter gave me. I opened my mouth, ready to yell that we leave when the alarms stopped. With ears ringing, I glanced around, surprised it went off that fast.

  “Must have been a false alarm.” Hunter’s voice now sounded loud in the quiet room.

  Silently glad for the alarm, I headed to grab my bag. If it hadn’t been for the alarm, I would have let Hunter take me right here in this classroom, regardless of who could walk in at any moment.

  “Now let’s get back to what…where do you think you are going?” I felt Hunter watching me as I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I turned to face him once more.

  “I have class in fifteen minutes. And I’m pretty sure you have other classes as well.”

  “I can just put a sign up on the door.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. Rolling my eyes, I started for the door.

  “Yeah, no.”

  “Tera, wait.” Once again, he grabbed my wrist to stop me. Hunter moved around to stand in front of me, his brow scrunched up. I actually found it quite cute. “You can’t tell me you didn’t feel what I felt just a second ago.”

  I knew what he was referencing, but it was wrong.

  “Hunter, we can’t. You could lose your job, and I’m only one semester away from graduating.” I shook my head, softly pulling my wrist out of his grasp.

  “Who says I’ll lose my job?”

  “Because everyone knows it isn’t allowed and a past professor of mine got fired for the same thing.”

  I didn’t know why, but standing here telling him no was making my chest hurt. I barely knew the guy. Hell, I just found out his last name not even an hour ago. There was absolutely no way I could have feelings for the guy. No.

  “Look, I have to go. I’m going to be late for my class.” I stepped toward the door, but he blocked my path. “Hunter.”

  “Just give me one chance, Tera. One chance to convince you that this could be something great.” Staring at him and the adorable little pout he had, I felt my resolve fading. “That sneaking around makes it that much more fun.”

  Despite having only known Hunter a couple days, and the fact we could both be severely punished for what we were going to do, I found myself nodding.

  “Fine.”

  “Meet me here around three?” My last class got out around two forty-five, so that would work. Once again, I nodded. “See you around three.” Hunter kissed my lips, lingering longer than necessary before stepping to the side.

  I walked out of the classroom in a daze, not really sure what I just agreed to.

  Chapter 8

  The rest of my classes were a foggy haze. I remembered getting to the classrooms and writing down notes, but I had no clue what was said at each one. My mind was entirely consumed with Hunter. It wasn’t smart for the first day of new classes to be distracted, but nothing I did could get my mind away from him. If I was this consumed after one day, what was it going to be like later on?

  Every part of me knew this was wrong, yet a part of me I didn’t know I had was turned on by the taboo feel of this whole thing, knowing that if I engaged in anything with Hunter I could get caught. Every time the word “Forbidden” flashed in my mind, I felt my core tighten, and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

  I wasn’t sure what was up with me. This was not like me at all. I didn’t sleep with someone after barely meeting them. I didn’t get turned on by the fact that I had slept with my teacher. And nor did I want to do it again.

  I had no clue if any of that was a good or bad thing.

  After every class, I told myself I wasn’t going to meet Hunter at three. Nope. I was going to get in my car and drive back to my apartment and forget this ever happened. But here I was at three o’clock, heading toward his classroom.

  With every step, my heartbeat got faster, and I felt a little light-headed. Regardless of how nervous I suddenly was, I knew I wanted to do this. I’d always been careful and did everything for others.

  When my father got sick, I put aside my future and spent every second I could helping him. And when he passed away a few years ago, I threw myself into school, barely letting myself have fun. The few boyfriends I had didn’t last long because I felt like I had to have them. Everyone around me had someone to spend time with, and I thought I had to too. And even in those relationships, I put them first, not me.

  Well, now I was going to do something I wanted, even though it was slightly scary. For some reason I couldn’t even fathom, I wanted Hunter and he wanted me. So while it may be wrong and nerve-wracking, I was ready to dive in.

  Taking one last deep breath, I pushed open Hunter’s classroom and stepped inside. My eyes immediately landed on him by his desk, but he wasn’t alone. For a split second, I felt jealousy run through me at the sight of the shoulder-length hair, but when the person turned around, I felt myself relax. It was just a guy with long hair.

  Mentally, I slapped myself for being so stupid and automatically getting jealous. Following the guy’s gaze, Hunter looked at me, the corner of his lip twitching into a smile.

  “Ah, Ms. Gillian, I’ll be with you in one moment.” The way he said my last name in that husky voice and with such authority made me gulp as my knees wobbled.

  While Hunter turned back to the conversation with the other guy, I made my way to a seat near the door. Not wanting to interrupt their talk, I absentmindedly scrolled through my social media. I glanced up a few times as I caught little pieces of their conversation. Every time I looked over at them, I found Hunter looking right at me, leaning casually against his desk, looking beyond sexy.

  After the third time being caught staring at him, I forced my eyes on my phone and willed myself not to look up again. Time seemed to slow as they continued talking. Their conversation didn’t seem to be overly important, but it kept dragging on. I could have sworn the last time I looked over at Hunter, he was smirking and purposely dragging this on, further torturing me.

  Finally after a good fifteen minutes, the guy with the long hair left. Not a word was spoken even after the door was firmly shut. Hunter stayed on his desk, and I stayed in my seat. The tension between us rose, and what happened earlier before the fire alarm was starting to build again.

  The silence was starting to get to me, but seconds before I blew, Hunter said, “You showed.”

  “I did.”

  “Come here.” The way he said it left no room for discussion. I found my legs moving in his direction before I even realized what I was doing. He already had such power over me.

  I came to a stop about a foot away. Unconsciously, my hands fidgeted in front of me, and my teeth were gnawing on my bottom lip. Hunter’s eyes were so intense as he stared at me. My skin heated up under his gaze.

  “Tera.” The surprising softness of his voice made me blink and look at him more clearly. “If you don’t want to do this, then you may leave.” For a split second, I was worried that he didn’t want me anymore, making me dip my chin down. “But do know if you don’t walk out, I am not letting you go.” Strong fingers grasped my chin and tilted my head back up.

  Hunter now stood inches away from me, his fingers softly gripping my chin. His intense green eyes were filled with lust.

  “Tera, whatever you decide to do, I will respect.” I already knew my answer before he was finished. Even after hearing how respectful he’d be, I knew what I wanted to do.

  “I’m going to stay.”

  Chapter 9

  “So what made you get into teaching Calculus?” I asked Hunter, shoving a few fries in my mouth.

  The two of us were currently sitting in a booth at a cute little diner that was about twenty minutes away fro
m campus. Neither of us wanted to eat at the diner closer to school in case someone saw.

  “I’ve always loved math. I didn’t know I wanted to teach it until my sophomore year of college when my Algebra II teacher got me into it. She loved her job and taught it in a way even kids who hated math aced the class. I became her PA, and after teaching a few lower level classes, I got the job here,” Hunter explained, munching on his own fries. “It helped schools need Calculus teachers,” he added.

  After my stomach had growled very embarrassingly in the classroom soon after I told Hunter I’d stay, he grabbed my hand and dragged me toward his car. He was already a keeper by not being horrified at the sound my stomach made and now as I stuffed my face with food.

  “Being a college professor is pretty insane.”

  “This is only my second year, but I already enjoy it.” I smiled at the way he talked about his job. Although I paid little attention today in class, I did see how passionate he was about his career.

  “You never told me what you want to do once you graduate,” he said, looking at me curiously.

  “I want to be an astronomer.” I grinned.

  “What made you pick that?” Hunter asked curiously.

  “I’ve always loved space. I used to sit on my roof late into the night with my telescope looking at the stars and the moon. By time I was in seventh grade, I knew almost all the constellations and galaxies. It’s been a huge fascination of mine.”

  Realizing I was rambling, I shoved three fries in my mouth to shut me up. Hunter laughed.

  “You are cute when you ramble.”

  “You’re just saying that to get in my pants,” I teased.

  “I already did, kitten.” The naughty smirk on his face and the nickname made me squeeze my thighs together.

  “No, you don’t.” My voice came out all high and squeaky. “None of that. I want to get to know you first.” I wiggled my finger at him. I didn’t need him to get me all hot and bothered when I was trying to learn more about him.

  “Okay, fine.” Hunter put his hands up and winked at me. “Ask away.”

  We spent the next little bit getting to know one another. I learned that Hunter was originally from Seattle and moved here two years ago when he got the job to be a professor. He had an older sister who still lived in Seattle and had two kids. His parents were still happily married and retired.

  Hunter told me funny stories of his childhood as well as college stories. I found out he loved seafood but hated sushi. His favorite color was green, which made me point out his gorgeous eye color. He was a huge animal lover, which just made me like him even more.

  “Enough about me. What about you?” Hunter leaned forward, waiting patiently for my answer. Our food was long gone, and the diner was getting slightly louder as it got closer to dinner time.

  “There’s not much to tell.” I shrugged, playing with my straw in my water.

  “Not buying that.” Seeing as he answered all my questions, I knew he deserved the same. With a sigh, I leaned back in the booth.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “You’re twenty-three, right? Shouldn’t you have already graduated? No offense, of course.”

  “None taken.” He was right. I should have graduated before now, but with two years on hold, I had a lot of catching up to do.

  “Right after high school, my dad got really sick.” I stopped looking at Hunter and instead stared at my hands. A small lump started to form in my throat. Even after three years, it was hard to talk about my dad.

  “I decided to not go to school and stayed home to take care of him. I didn’t have time or the money to go to school, so I didn’t. Right before he passed away, he made me promise I’d go. So for the next three years, I took extra classes to graduate a year early.”

  I quickly blinked away tears as I thought of my dad. I missed his smile and his deep laugh whenever he found something funny. And, most of all, his big bear hugs. Those were always the best.

  My dad was my only family, or at least the only family I knew. He always told me his parents died after he graduated college and he had no other siblings. My mom left shortly after I was born, claiming she didn’t want the responsibility of a child at twenty-three. So it had always just been us two.

  A warm hand squeezing mine on the table brought me out of my thoughts. I glanced up with watery eyes at Hunter.

  “I am so sorry, Tera.” The sincerity in his voice made my eyes water even more. I always hated the fake sorries I’d gotten over the years, but Hunter’s wasn’t that way. I could actually see the hurt in his eyes.

  “Thanks.” I squeezed his hand back. Clearing my throat and wiping my eyes, I laughed awkwardly. “Wow, I sure know how to bring the mood down, don’t I?”

  It was our first “date,” and here I was crying. Great, he definitely wouldn’t want to see me again.

  “It’s okay. Plus you look cute when you cry.” At that, I laughed loudly.

  “Now you really are sprouting bullshit.”

  “Made you laugh, though, didn’t I?”

  I took that moment to fully look at him. When he smiled, the left corner of his lip tilted up more than the right. Looking full on, his nose looked like it may have been broken once and didn’t heal perfectly straight.

  Being this close to him, I could see just how green his eyes really were, but they also had little flecks of gold in them. If the light hit them just right, I bet they would pop out even more. I’d never really noticed how beautiful green eyes were; my own brown eyes paled in comparison.

  Hunter was beyond handsome. I had a feeling he had plenty of girls hanging off his arms. He had a defined jaw that had a very sexy beard along it—a girl’s weakness—and wide shoulders that went into a narrow waist that only came from working out.

  I had absolutely no clue how a guy like him was with me. There were plenty of girls that night in the club who were far prettier than I was, but somehow he came up to me and came home with me. An immature part of me was smirking at the fact that I managed to nab the sexiest professor I had ever seen.

  “Are you done checking me out?” Hunter asked, jerking me out of my thoughts. “You’ve already seen what’s underneath.”

  “Wasn’t that spectacular,” I scoffed, flat-out lying. By the growing smirk on his face, he knew I was too.

  “Oh, really?” He cocked an eyebrow, his head tilting to the side a little bit.

  “Yep. I’ve seen better.” I glanced out the window, knowing that if I looked him in the eyes again, I’d give in to the very dirty thoughts I was having. On the way here, I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t sleep with Hunter again until I got to know him a bit more and that I knew this could be more than a “friends-with-benefits” thing.

  “Have you now?” Turning back to him, I made a show of looking him up and down and scrunching my nose up.

  “Definitely.”

  Hunter suddenly let out a booming laugh. He threw his head back, and one of his hands came up to clench his chest. It was such a deep laugh I could have sworn I felt it vibrate through my whole body. I was instantly hit with nostalgia of my father’s laugh.

  As I watched him laugh, I found my own lips stretching into a smile. My chest expanded as I stared, and I realized that I could see myself falling hard for Hunter.

  Chapter 10

  Despite how much I wanted to spend more time with Hunter and take him back to my place, I knew it was best I didn’t. I had homework to do, and I also needed to get my head straight. If I stayed around Hunter much longer, I’d forget the deal I made with myself.

  Thankfully, Hunter understood and kindly drove me back to campus to get my car. When we got to my car, I didn’t want to leave. Just the mere presence of Hunter made me feel…good. However, I forced myself to grab my bag and unbuckle my seat belt.

  “Tera, wait.” Instantly, my hand stopped inches from opening the door. “You didn’t give me your number.”

  “How do I know you won’t booty call m
e at two in the morning?” I raised an eyebrow at him, but my hand reached for my phone.

  “You won’t…I’ll just ask for nudes.” He grinned. Rolling my eyes, I handed him my phone. Like I was really going to say no to having his number. When he handed me my phone back, I noticed he’d texted himself.

  “Thank you for dinner, Hunter.”

  “Anytime.” The sun was starting to set, making it hard for me to see his face clearly, but I could see the lust gathering in his eyes. Before either of us could do something stupid, I opened my door.

  “Goodnight, Hunter.” With a smile, I got out and shut the door. As I backed away, the window rolled down, Hunter leaned forward to see me.

  “Goodnight, Tera.”

  Feeling like a giddy high school girl, I walked over to my car and slid into the driver’s seat. Hunter still sat there in his car waiting for me. Such a gentleman, I thought. With one last wave, I backed out and headed toward home.

  The entire car ride I had a stupid grin on my face. Hunter’s face was front and center in my mind, and I knew it wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. Not that I minded.

  Thankfully, when I got back to my apartment, Thalia wasn’t there yet. It was only six o’clock, so she’d be a while longer, probably busy with her new boy toy. Placing my bag on my bed, I heard my phone go off. Scrambling for my pocket, I pulled it out, and instantly a smile lit up my face.

  Hunter: Had a great time. I’ll be looking forward to our next date, kitten. ;)

  He was going to make it hard to stay away and not sleep with him.

  The next day, I didn’t have Hunter’s class. I only had two classes on Tuesday, and I had work today. Surprisingly, I felt a little down about not seeing Hunter today, but I knew tomorrow and Friday I’d see him.

  With Calculus II only being one semester, I had it three times a week, because there was so much information to go over in just a few months. Before, I was a little peeved about having it three times a week, but now that Hunter was my professor, I didn’t mind at all.