Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(51)
"How many more?"
"Penny, I don't want you to think poorly of me."
"More than five?"
He sighed again.
"More than ten?"
"I spent a large portion of my college years fairly drunk."
"More than fifteen?"
"We should probably stop playing this game."
"Professor Hunter, you're a slut!"
He laughed. "You seem to enjoy all my experience."
I cringed. I didn't like to picture him with other women.
"And what about your one, Penny?"
"What about him?" I didn't want to talk about Austin. Not at all, ever. But especially not here in Professor Hunter's bed. I slid off of him onto my side and rested my head in my hand.
"One is rather intimate. Is he someone I should be worried about?"
I laughed. "No."
"So you no longer speak to him?"
Did he somehow know that I had seen him this semester? "No. I doubt that I'll ever talk to him again. He's an immature asshole."
"And why is that?"
"Why do you want to know?" I didn't want to be talking about this.
"Because I don't want to make the same mistakes with you that he did."
I sighed. I wanted this conversation to be over. "There isn't much to tell. We dated last semester. He didn't speak to me all summer. He made me feel worthless."
"So you broke up with him?"
"You can't really break up with someone who you never officially went out with."
He took my hand in his. "Penny Taylor, I promise not to make you feel worthless. And I'll try not to act like an asshole." He smiled. His fingers intertwined with mine.
"I don't know, Professor Hunter. From what I've found out about you, it seems like I'm just going to end up as another notch on your bedpost."
He laughed. "That's not who I am anymore."
"I thought it was impossible for people to change?"
"I came here for a change. And I think I'm better off because of it." He pulled me toward him so that my head was resting on his chest again. I let my leg cross over him.
I felt so safe in his arms. I knew why I had gotten so upset tonight. Because I wasn't just fucking my professor. I was in deep. I loved him. I'm in love with my Comm professor. I breathed in his sweet scent. This moment could last forever and it wouldn't be long enough.
***
I reached out my hand, expecting to feel his chiseled abs, but all I felt was soft, silky sheets. I opened my eyes. The bed was empty. The sound of the shower must have woken me. I rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was 7 a.m. I needed to get back to my dorm room so I could change before my first class. I slowly slid out of bed, lifted my arms above my head, and yawned.
The shirt I had borrowed from him was nowhere in sight. I walked into his closet and turned on the light. I ran my fingers along the row of his dress shirts. If I didn't have to get to class, I'd put one of those on and tempt him to seduce me. I smiled to myself. He had made love to me last night. This was real. He wasn't going to disappear. His intoxicating smell was all around me. I pulled open the drawer that I had borrowed a shirt from last night. There were a few different colors. I grabbed a blue one off the bottom. As I pulled it over my head I heard a clink on the ground.
When I looked down I didn't see anything. I got down on my hands and knees and looked under the bureau. Something shiny glinted from the corner. I grabbed the item and pulled it out from under the dresser. It was a gold ring. It can't be. There were words inscribed along the inner band. I took a deep breath as I drew the ring closer to my face in order to read the inscription.
"James & Isabella. 4-30-13."
No. It felt like my heart stopped beating. The tears began to well in my eyes. He's married? I gulped. He's married?! I was having a hard time processing the words. How could he do this to me? I put my face in my hands and shook my head. How could he do this to her? The water turned off in the other room. Shit. I quickly wiped my eyes and got up off the floor. I had to get out of there. I threw the ring back in the drawer and ran out of Professor Hunter's bedroom.
PART 3
Chapter 36
Tuesday
I was blinded by my tears. How could I be so naive? He was the predator and I was the prey. And I had willingly fallen into his trap. His perfect physique and his suggestive words had worn down all my inhibitions. I tripped over my own feet and fell onto his kitchen floor. Every inch of me wanted to stay down. I felt so weak. The weight of what I had done was heavy on my shoulders. I was a mistress.
"Fuck," I murmured out loud. I wiped my eyes again and stood up. I had to get out of there. I didn't want to hear his explanations. The guilt would always weigh on me. It didn't matter that I hadn't known it at the time. Either way, I had slept with a married man. I had tried to ask him questions, but he had skirted around the answers flawlessly. He was a manipulative asshole. I ran over to the elevator and looked for the button. I pressed the glowing circle.
"Shit, come on!" I hit the button with my fist. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I stepped onto it. I pressed the first button I saw inside the elevator. My heart was racing. The doors slowly closed. Thank God.