The way he says my last name gives me chills. “I will be, Cormac.”
“Professor. Or Doctor.” He leans in. “Do not call me Cormac.”
“Yes, professor,” I say in a sex kitten voice.
Despite my heart hammering, this is a lot of fun.
That same blush spreads across his cheeks. “That will get you into the kind of trouble you can’t argue your way out of.”
Promise?
I hold the folder against my chest. “This is going to take me a while. You can go. I can get a cab when I’m done.”
“Do you need help moving?”
“You got a guy for everything, don’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
“No,” I say, putting distance between us. “I just have some clothes at my friend's place. Books and school stuff. She’ll help me.”
“Good.” He slides those tattooed hands into his pockets. “Don’t be late for class next time.”
“You were the one who was late,” I say, being a brat and sounding flirty.
“You like having the last word?”
“Usually.” I shrug.
He smiles, and I enjoy the soft blush that colors his cheeks. “See you Wednesday, Ford.”
I watch him walk out, get back into the SUV, and it slowly rolls away.
I sit and complete the paperwork, willing my hands to stop shaking. After I finish, I leave, keys in my hand, and a smile on my face.
I need a drink. Just one. Something to calm my pulse. Something to make the world quiet for five minutes. Something to make me feel like I’m not standing on the edge of a cliff with the wind trying to push me off.
I shove the thought away, and in its place, Dr. Cormac O’Rourke’s voice returns, echoing in my bones.
If you stay in that class, I’m going to want you.
I’m staying. So that means he will want me.
With my head in a whirl, I opt for the subway to head back to Regan’s apartment.
She’s home and studying a sushi menu. “Hey, how was your first day back?”
I collapse onto a kitchen chair. “I don’t even know where to start.”
My friend sits down across from me, and her jaw is on the table when I tell her how my professor is the man I slept with. How he was once a student of my father’s, and now my dad is his boss. And how he put down his own credit card so I could get the apartment I want. A place I need her help to move into.
Looking like I slapped her, Regan puts down the menu and says this calls for shots at the pub.
I run through my assignments, and figure I can squeeze out one more day of being irresponsible.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter 18