“Good morning,” he says, his voice deep, smooth, and precise. “My name is Dr. Cormac O’Rourke. I’ll be teaching Pharmacology and Clinical Therapeutics for thisterm.”
Ohshit.
My heart is beating so hard it hurts.Dr. Cormac O’Rourke.His full name lands hot and heavy in my chest. But it feels intimate, personal. Wrong.
Why ishehere?
He sets a folder on the podium and looks up. As luck would have it, his green eyes land directly on me. In retrospect, the hat and shades were probably more of a magnet. Making me stand out.
Cormac’s body jolts, and his jaw ticks enough for me to see it. His expression shifts from neutral professionalism to something dark and furious.
I swallow hard, throat closing as my whole body trembles. I did everything I could these past few weeks to forget about this man. And here he is. Teaching a class I can’t drop.
He looks down abruptly, jaw grinding, lips mouthing curses. “Just give me a minute to get my bearings.”
My presence is throwing him off. Oh, he’ll make me pay for that. Maybe with his belt across my bare ass. Maybe if he hadn’t rushed out of the hotel room so soon, we could have explored more.
God, I can’t think like that.
Murmurs ripple through the classroom. Several female students are already whispering.
“That is truly the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen,” one says.
“O’Rourke. The other professor’s brother?” another asks.
“Twinbrother,” the first female emphasizes, like that makes Cormac hotter.
“I call dibs. I’m so getting him to fuck me.”
A collective swivel of heads lands on Vienna Farrington, Hamilton’s resident bombshell. The womanwho, if the rumors are true, flirts with nearly every professor on campus. But they’re all married. In fact, I can’t think of a single one who isn’t.
Except…
I glance down at Cormac. No ring. He’s single. Which means Vienna will go at him hard. Thinking of her near Cormac has fire raging through my veins.
Sleeping with a professor, married or not, for better grades or a trophy wouldn’t go over well with our class. We’re all competitive, but we’re also a mob. And will call out anyone using sketchy means to get ahead.
Cormac ignores the chatter and seems to have collected his thoughts.
“This course will be demanding, it has to be,” he finally begins. “Pharmacology provides hope to the hopeless. Saves lives, but it can also end them if you’re careless or too lazy to do your research.”
The room goes deadly silent at that one, while my pulse is a wildfire in my neck.
He continues, flipping open his folder. “You will get an overview of the study of drug interactions on every possible level. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the drug business, there has been a massive overhaul in the education of pharmaceuticals. I hate to tell all you third years this, if you cannot commit to understanding and embracing these values, and having respect for what drugs can do, you shouldn’t become a doctor.”
Mic Drop.
His eyes find me again. But his gaze flicks away fast, like he can’t stand to look at me. That stings harder than it should.
I grip my Stanley and slouch in my seat.
He flips through a notebook on the podium. “Before we go over the syllabus, I’ll take attendance.”
Of course he will.
He’ll find out my last nameandthat I’m the dean’s daughter. He’ll be even angrier. Because this day isn’t done torturing me.
Cormac starts reading names alphabetically, putting my heartbeat on a countdown.