Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(53)

I dried off, wrapped my towel around myself, and stepped out of the shower. Just don't think about him. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. Back in my room, I put on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket. My phone buzzed. I hesitated before pulling it out of the canvas beach bag. I swiped my finger across the screen and saw another text from Professor Hunter.

"Did you get back to your dorm okay? You left your clothes here..."

He could tell something was off. Good. I didn't have anything to say to him. He could figure it out on his own. Fuck him.





Chapter 37


Tuesday

My anger hadn't dissipated. If anything, having all day to think about it made me even angrier. I continued to stare at the roses on my desk. The cocky liar roses. I should have seen some kind of sign, but there hadn't been any. Professor Hunter had been so sweet. I took a deep breath. Screw him. I got up and lifted the vase off my desk. It was tempting to throw them in the trash, but they were so pretty. Instead, I put them into my closet and closed the door.

"Okay." Melissa held up the two bags and scrutinized the handwriting. "I think that says vegetable lo mein. This one must be yours." She handed me one of the bags and sat down on her bed.

I opened up the bag and pulled out the chopsticks and cute little cardboard container. Chinese takeout was my comfort food. And right now I needed it more than ever.

"So, are you going to tell me why you wanted Chinese food tonight?"

"What do you mean?" I ripped the paper off the chopsticks and snapped them apart. I could barely use chopsticks, but I refused to eat Chinese food without them. It was half the fun. I could feel Melissa's gaze on me.

"Penny, you only ever want Chinese takeout when you're upset."

"That's not true." I wished I was alone right now.

Melissa laughed. "Right. So, you're saying that nothing is wrong?"

"Yeah, everything's peachy."

"Okay, so two things real quick. First, no one uses the phrase peachy unless they are in fact not peachy. Plus, your roses are gone."

"People say peachy all the time. That's a thing. And my roses are still here, I just moved them."

Melissa looked around the room and then at the trash. "Where?"

"In the closet."

Melissa laughed. "And why are your roses in the closet?"

Because I hate Professor Hunter! "Allergies."

"Penny, you are not allergic to roses."

"I think I might be."

"Why?"

"I have the sniffles."

"You're being weird." Melissa took a bite of her food. "So you're really not going to tell me what's wrong?"

"No."

"So there is something wrong then?"

Crap! I didn't want to answer her question. Instead, I fumbled with my chopsticks and somehow got some lo mein into my mouth. My phone buzzed but I didn't look at it. It was probably Professor Hunter and I didn't want to know what he had to say.

"Did you and James have a fight?"

I tilted the cardboard container so that I could shovel some of the food into my mouth.

"I mean, you hid the roses. You're not all smiles anymore, even though you just spent all day and night with him yesterday. And you're ignoring his texts. So what did he do?"

She was good. "He didn't do anything. It's more what he didn't do." He forgot to tell me he was married. He left off the fact that he was a cheating pig.

Melissa ate quietly for a moment. She was definitely scrutinizing me. "And is that making you feel better?"

I had tilted the container again. I knew I was being barbaric, but my patience with the chopsticks had waned a while ago. "Yes," I said with my mouth still full.

Melissa laughed. "You know, if he doesn't even realize that you're fighting, he won't be able to fix whatever it was that he didn't do."

"I know."

"So maybe you should talk to him?"

"Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Yours, of course. But I also know how stubborn you can be. And maybe you shouldn't let go of a good thing just because it suddenly got tough."

It wasn't just hard. It was horrible, immoral, disgusting. I just wanted the conversation to end, so I nodded my head. "Maybe you're right."

Melissa smiled. She loved being right.

"How's Josh?"

"He's good." She bit her lip. I could tell she was holding something back.

"What?" I asked.

"He invited me to the Sigma Pi formal." She couldn't hold back her smile.

"That's awesome."

"Mhm. Penny, I really like him."

"I know. And I'm really happy for you guys." I was able to say it sincerely despite my dreadful mood.





Chapter 38


Wednesday

Professor Hunter lifted his shirt over his head and stared down at me. His tanned abs made desire explode through my body, all the tension between us gone. He leaned over me, his strong arms on either side of me. I wanted him. Why wasn't he kissing me? I ran my hand through his hair.

"Penny." He rubbed my cheek with the side of his hand. "I'm not yours to touch," he said seductively. "I told you it had to be a one-time thing."