Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(49)

"And why is that?"

Now I was the one who felt uncomfortable. "I don't know. I feel like some of the best things about college are just things you don't really talk about with your parents."

"You mean like me?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "I mean, I can't exactly tell them about you. I don't even like to imagine how upset they'd be with me."

"So you're ashamed that you're fucking your Comm professor?"

It wasn't just the words that he used, but the way that he said it that made me uncomfortable. "That's not really the way that I think about it. I'm definitely not ashamed. I really like you, Professor Hunter."

His expression stayed the same. What the hell was his problem?

"If that's the way that you think of me, then I guess you've gotten all that you want from me." I felt hurt. He made me think it was more. I wished I wasn't wearing just his t-shirt. I folded my arms across my chest and looked down at the table.

"I knew I wanted you since I first ran into you in that coffee shop. But I wasn't going to pursue you because you're a student. When you showed up in my class it complicated things, though. Every time I saw you, every answer you gave for the daily assignments, and every time we spoke made it impossible for me to get you out of my head. I knew I wanted you. I thought if I let myself give in to the temptation I could move on."

I felt so cheap. He just wanted me for my body. He was just like Austin. No, he was worse. I stood up. I had to get away from him. I didn't want him to see me cry.

"Penny, sit down."

I didn't move.

"Sit down, or I'll make you sit down."

I gulped. His words had such a power over me. What the hell was happening to me? I sat back down in my chair and looked at him.

"I don't understand why you're upset. We've already talked about all of this. Everything is different now. I couldn't move on. I don't want to move on. You’re all that I think about." He rubbed his face in his hands. "Geez, you have this way of crawling under my skin."

"Why, because I want to know more about you? That's what people that are dating do! I don't know why you always get upset when we try to talk."

"Because I don't want you to know what kind of man I am."

"I think that you're exactly the kind of man that I want." I swallowed hard. I grabbed my glass and took another sip of champagne. "Can you please just try to answer a few more questions without exploding?"

"I'm sorry." He took a deep breath.

"Are your parents wealthy?" I didn't want to antagonize him, but I needed him to answer my questions.

He sighed. "Yes. But everything I have is because of the choices I've made. I don't want a cent from them."

I could tell he was trying hard to stay calm, but there was such anger in his voice.

"Penny, do you enjoy pushing all my buttons?"

"You're always so in control. It's a little fun to see you squirm."

He raised his left eyebrow at me.

"I just feel like you're hiding something from me. And I don't understand why. I told you that I trusted you. Don't you trust me?" My stomach churned when I said it. He shouldn't trust me. I was lying to him about my age. I was being a hypocrite.

He didn't answer right away. I could feel his eyes boring into my soul. Does he know I'm hiding something too?

"I do trust you," he finally said.

"So what happened with your parents? Why are you so mad at them?"

"It's complicated."

"Well, you're a professor. You should be good at explaining things. Make me understand."

He sighed. "My whole life they put so much pressure on me. To the point where I felt like I didn't get to make any of my own choices. It took me far too long to realize. And when I finally did, my life was no longer mine at all. I felt like I was drowning. Becoming a professor was the first thing that I decided for myself in a long time."

I could see how vulnerable he was. The strength and control he possessed were gone for a second. He looked up at me.

"So screw them," I said.

He laughed. "Penny, being here, with you...I finally feel like I can breathe again."

"I feel the same way. You make me feel alive."

"Come with me." He got up, put his hand out for me, and pulled me to my feet. I followed him to his bedroom. My heart was racing. He pulled his shirt off, then his jeans, then his boxers.

"Professor Hunter. I'm a little sore."

"Penny, you'd be surprised to find out how many times you can orgasm in a day. Your body can take it. And I want to show you that this is more than just fucking for me too. So I promise to be gentle."

More than fucking? What is he going to do to me? I really did trust him. I lifted my shirt off over my head so that I was standing naked in his pristine bedroom. Now I was the one feeling vulnerable.

He lifted me into his arms and placed me down on his bed. He kissed the inside of my ankle and traced kisses up the inside of my leg. I felt him lightly nip my inner thigh and then he moved to my other ankle and repeated the process. When he nipped my inner thigh this time, I groaned. My whole body tingled with desire. It didn't matter that I was sore. I wanted him. I needed him inside of me, filling me, claiming my body. I could feel that my clit was swollen when he slowly circled his tongue around it. But it didn't matter. I had never wanted him more. My hips rose to meet him.