HIRAM’S POV:
Juniper canceled on me the previous night. When I saw her text saying she won’t meet with me, I wanted to go to her, but I couldn’t. It was the last night of the full moon, and I knew I couldn’t risk being out of my house. This is a part of her I don’t like. Concealing her pain and doing something drastic the next day.
As I make my way to her classroom this morning, all I can think of is the tricks she has up her sleeves, and I hope I survive it.
“Good morning, class,” I say as I walk into the class.
My heart races as I try not to look at her, but I can’t help it. I’m drawn to her like a magnet, so my eyes involuntarily search for her in the crowd.
She’s sitting in the middle row in front, leaning slightly forward with her arms crossed on her desk, and her eyes solely on me with a smirk hanging on her lips. Then I see it-what she’s wearing. A thin, snug-fitting top that clings to her in all the wrong ways. No, scratch that-all the right ways, but not for anyone else to see. The fabric clings to her like a second skin, and the faint outline of her nipples pressing against the material is impossible to ignore.
I feel my jaw tighten. What the hell is she thinking? Does she realize the kind of attention this will draw from the others? My gaze flicks toward the male students around her, and I catch more than one glance in her direction. Of course she does, and she is doing this on purpose.
A sharp heat burns in my chest-jealousy, irrational and all-consuming. She’s mine. The thought is immediate. But here, in this room, I can’t claim her, or punish her for acting this way.
Forcefully, I look away, trying to focus on my lecture notes. As I stare at the notes, the words become a blur, as all I can think of is her in that shirt.
My grip on the notes tightens as I fight the urge to look up again. But the harder I resist, the more my mind drifts.
“Professor?” she calls out in a small voice, which sounds more sexual than professional.
I try to fight the urge to look up, but I can’t. My eyes betray me once more, and when I look at her, I see she has a jacket over the shirt as though it can erase the image from my mind, or erase the fact that the only thing burning through my mind at the moment is her naked body on my bed.
I take deep breaths, trying to distract myself with the fact that my girlfriend’s breasts are no longer open to the view of everyone. For about half an hour, I focus on the note in front of me, saying the words I’ve written in them without caring if they make sense. My goal is to survive this class without bending Juniper over in front of her course mates.
Against my better judgment, I glance her way. She shifts in her seat, one leg crossed over the other, and the hem of her skirt riding higher than it should. Her fingers trail idly along her knee, her nails gliding over her smooth skin. I watch as her teeth come into contact with her bottom lip. She is silent, but her moans echo in my ears vividly. Slowly, she parts her legs, allowing me to catch a view of her pussy. Raw in its beauty, with nothing covering it. Fuck!
I try to redirect my focus, moving to the whiteboard and scrawling out something that I’m not even sure makes sense. The marker squeaks against the surface, but it does nothing to drown out the sound of my pulse thundering in my ears.
My voice wavers as I continue the lecture, trying to avoid her. But I feel her, and I know she’s doing something. The energy in the room shifts, and when I finally steal a glance, it’s like air is stolen from my lungs. My grip tightens around the marker, and I nearly snap it in half.
What the hell is she trying to do? My gaze flicks at the rest of the class, but no one else seems to see what’s happening. They’re oblivious, scribbling notes or staring blankly at the board. Only I see her-the way her fingers inch higher into her inner thighs.
She’s staring right at me, daring me to react, and I’m powerless to stop watching. My throat dries as she leans back in her seat, and her lips curling into a smug smile that she hides behind another bite of her lip.
I clear my throat again, trying to force my voice into something resembling normalcy.
“As I was saying…” I trail off, forgetting what point I was even making. The words blur together in my mind, overshadowed by the way her shoulders rise and fall with each slow breath she takes.
As her hands go deeper into her core, every intimate moment we’ve had burns raw in my mind. Her ragged breath when I am inside her. The way she tastes. The way she moans my name with that little mouth of hers, and the warmth of her core. Fuck! I am getting hard in class.
My breathing intensifies, and everything blurs out except her. And goddamn, the slow, agonizing tick of that clock. I need to get out of here.
“That’s enough!” When the word leaves my mind, it’s like the haze clears and I watch the students stare at me like I am crazy. “I’ll see you on Thursday,” I say to them, then I gather my lecture notes, making my way out of the class, giving her one last glance.
As I walk back to my office, all I feel is anger. She has no right to do that, no matter what I must have done. The torture is getting out of hand, and I need something to ground me.
I take out my phone and text her.
“My office now!”
Sliding my phone into my pocket, I hasten my steps to my office. As I reach for the handle of the door, I hear someone call out to me, and I turn to see Lola.
“Professor Hiram!” I pause momentarily. “I tried to ask questions in class today, but you weren’t looking my way,” she says, twirling a finger around her hair while I give her an angry stare.
“You can send your questions to my email, and I will answer them, or go through the class rep,” I say to her, then she opens her mouth to speak. “I am not in the mood, Lola. Leave!”
With this, I walk into my office and slam the door. I loosen my tie to get some air to breathe, then I toss my briefcase on the desk. At that moment, Juniper knocks and walks into my office.
“What the fuck was that?” My voice comes out harsh the moment she shuts the door. She contorts her face and crosses her arms.
“The fact I wore what I wanted, or the fact you lied about being away for the weekend, just so you could be on the streets with Lola Baker?” My brows relax when she says this. “You see, the thing is I don’t think this is very much a closed relationship, so maybe we should…”
“Stop, please.” I cut her off before she can finish.