Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(55)

He raised his left eyebrow. Did he really not know what I was referring to? How dense was he? After the last student shared what they were passionate about, Professor Hunter dismissed the class.

"See you at Grotto's," Tyler said and walked off.

When the class had finally emptied, I got to my feet and walked toward his desk. My heart was pounding. I needed to be strong. He was a pig.

"Penny." Professor Hunter put his hand on my arm. I didn't want to melt under his touch. Would his effect on me ever go away?

"I'm sorry, Professor Hunter. We need to end this before we make it any worse." I took a step back from him, removing his hand from me.

"End this? Have your feelings for me changed?"

"Professor Hunter, everything's changed."

"You're right, I like you more than ever." He smiled at me, but the smile didn't go to his eyes. He looked upset.

I shook my head. "I know."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Professor Hunter, I know." I took a deep breath. "I know your secret."

I could see his body tense. I expected him to start talking right away, but he didn't begin explaining his side. He just stared at me, waiting for me to explain. Which gave me a terrible unsettling feeling. He didn't know what I was even referring to. He had more than one horrible secret. I probably hadn't even scratched the surface.

"The fact that you don't even know what I'm referring to is disgusting," I said. I could feel the tears beginning to well in my eyes.

He stepped toward me and put his hand on my arm again. "Penny, let's go to my office to talk about this."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." I took another step away from him.

"Whatever you think you know, you couldn't possibly understand. Just give me a chance to explain."

Why do I have an urge to console him right now? The hurt in his eyes was weighing on me. "No, I think I do understand. And I'm sorry that I let anything happen between us."

"Don't say that, Penny." He was getting mad. I didn't want to fight with him. And if cheating on his wife wasn't his only secret then I didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"You were right to hide what kind of man you are from me. You're not at all who I thought you were. Don't text me, Professor Hunter." I turned briskly and walked out of the room.

"Penny!"

As soon as I left the room I let the tears stream down my cheeks. I couldn't believe that he wouldn't even admit it. And what other horrible secrets was he hiding? I kept walking so that he couldn't come after me.





Chapter 39


Wednesday

"Hey, Penny," Tyler said. He was all smiles.

I took a deep breath and smiled back at him. It felt so good to smile. We walked into the restaurant together and the hostess showed us to a booth. I sat down across from Tyler. He was looking at me curiously.

"Are you okay, Penny?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine." I looked down at the table and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I was suddenly nervous to be around him. "So have you figured out what you're going to talk about in your next speech?"

"You know what, I think I have. But you'll have to wait and hear about it in class."

I laughed. "Why? Is it something that's going to embarrass me again?"

"You're so conceited. My speech has nothing to do with you. Geez, I do that one time and set a precedent." He laughed. "At the same time though, you get pretty easily embarrassed, so it's hard to tell."

I rolled my eyes at him. "So I really can't know? I don't get a special advanced screening of your speech?"

"No, it's a secret."

I bit my lip. Secrets.

Our waiter came over and Tyler ordered a cheese pizza for us. When he left, Tyler was staring at me again.

"Melissa's super excited about the Sigma Pi formal," I said as casually as I could muster. "It sounds like a lot of fun."

"Oh, did Josh ask her?"

"Yes." I waited a minute. I thought he might ask me, but he stayed silent.

"You look different," he finally said.

"How so?" Sad maybe? Upset? Emotionally drained?

"Tan," Tyler said and smiled. "What, did you go to the beach or something?"

I burst out crying. I wasn't sure if it was the reminder of my date with Professor Hunter, being rejected by Tyler, or just being with someone I felt so comfortable with. But I sat there crying in the middle of the restaurant.

"Penny?"

A moment later I felt his arms around me. He pulled me to his chest and rubbed my back. Why was I crying about Professor Hunter? Screw him! I took a few deep breaths to stop my tears from falling.

"I'm sorry, Penny," Tyler whispered. "You don't look tan at all, I swear."

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt so comfortable in Tyler's arms. Everything I had wanted had actually been right in front of me the whole time. I tilted my head back slightly. He was looking down at me, concern etched across his face. I didn't want him to be concerned for me. I wanted him to want me. I leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips. He hesitated for a second and then kissed me back. All that waiting. All that pent-up passion. He pushed my back against the side of the booth and leaned into me. I felt a warm heat course through my body as his kisses became more fierce. He did still like me. This felt so right. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him even closer to me.