It had been five days since she’d heard from Tom, five days since she’d spoken with him and sensed how on edge this man was, yet she couldn’t help herself from pushing. It was exciting, and she’d expected him to call or text or something the next day.

He hadn’t.

In fact, she hadn’t heard from him at all, which, of course, now worried her. Maybe she’d pushed too hard or he was angry with her. Over the last five days, she’d had to fight the urge to call him, text him. The only saving grace had been her sanity, her sane reasoning brain that reminded her she wasn’t that kind of girl, and that stopped her from sinking into girlish desperation or being all stalkerish, considering it was best she didn’t see the man again. Her logical head kept her on the straight and narrow while her heart was in a funk, wishing he’d reach out. At the same time, her parents were expecting to meet the man who had taken her out. If they had any idea it was Dr. Tom Campbell from the ER, she would likely get an earful, likely because of how much older he was—and if they only knew what he’d expected of her? Yeah, that was not something that could ever happen, ever.

“Hey, earth to Becky.” Ian tapped her hand with his pen as she stared at the assignments she was doing her best to catch up on. They were at a corner table in a hopping coffee house in the center of town.

“Sorry,” she said, taking in Ian, her tutor, who was so different from Tom. There was no zing, no off-the-charts chemistry, and he wasn’t the same powerhouse of energy that was toying with her and doing his best to, what, control her? She hadn’t quite figured out what made Ian tick. She suspected there was a lot about him that he didn’t share for whatever reason, and as nice as he was, she’d picked up early enough that, geek or not, he wasn’t a pushover, not with his confidence. She really did like him. She liked being with him, talking with him, and she liked his overly smart brain, which was helping her ease through her course load.

“I’m wondering if I’m going to have to go through that whole formula again, or did you get it the first time?” He was staring at her with such determination, focus. He wore glasses, but they worked for him, and she realized the smart nerd thing he had going on had the opposite effect from what she’d expected. He was, in fact, damn attractive. Was he angry? She couldn’t tell.

“You have a girlfriend?” she asked, and the moment she did, she wanted to take it back.

He made a face after he glanced around as if she’d just said something off script. “No one serious.” Boy, he sounded coy. She wondered what he meant by that. “Why would you ask me?” He cocked his head, and his gaze didn’t waver. Wow!

Where was her quick-thinking mind? She blinked as she pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth. “Just want to know if a jealous girlfriend or wife will walk in and wonder why a good-looking dude like you is sitting with me,” she said. Lame! Seriously?

His eyes lit up, and for a minute she thought he was going to laugh at her. “Okay” was all he said, and it told her nothing. “What about you? Angry jealous boyfriend waiting in the wings?” he teased as he leaned back. His gaze was so intense, and she wondered what color his eyes were. They were dark, a brown that hinted blue, she thought. He had really nice dark hair, and he was the kind of guy her parents would have loved to meet.

She shrugged when the word no was on the tip of her tongue. “No one serious.”

He nodded and pressed his lips tight, fighting the smile. It was a rather sexy look. “Okay, so finish up those two sections…”

“Becky, who’s this?”

Her heart dropped, she thought, to her toes as she looked up to see Tom. He was standing beside the table, looking directly at Ian, who was shifting his questioning gaze from her to Tom with a look that told her he wanted to know what was going on.

“Tom, this is Ian, my tutor. Ian, this is…”

“Tom Campbell,” Tom said, interrupting, though she didn’t know how to finish anyways, and she watched the two shake hands.

“So you two are…” Ian gestured between them, and for the first time in her life, she wanted to crawl under the table, because there was no way she was answering that, considering she didn’t know what this was with Tom.

“Involved,” Tom said, standing where he was and then turning his full gaze on Becky, giving her everything. No smile, nothing to give her any idea of what he was doing here or what he wanted.

“Great,” Ian said. “You know what? I think we’re pretty much finished here, Becky. Again, finish those next chapters and we’ll meet up Monday, same time.” He stood up, leaving his empty mug on the table and pulling on the beige jacket he’d looped around the back of the chair. “Nice to meet you, Tom. Becky,” Ian said before he left.

She took in Tom, who was still standing where he was, watching Ian as he walked away. She didn’t have a clue what to think, what to do or say.

Then he reached for the coat hanging over the back of her chair and held it up. “Pack up your books,” he said, holding up the coat, and for a minute Becky just stared at him and his handsome unsmiling face. She was speechless, and for some insane reason she couldn’t explain, she felt everyone’s eyes on them, looking at her, though a quick glance around confirmed no one was.

“Excuse me…” she said, turning her head and seeing Ian lifting his hand to the guy behind the counter, then leaving without a glance back to her.

“Becky, now.”

The way Tom was standing, holding her coat, was as if he expected she’d stand up and do as he said. Then he touched the back of her chair, and she found herself standing up, putting her arms in her coat. He was so close to her as she took in the strength that was all of him. He was so damn dominant—and something else she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

As she closed up her books, he waited, saying nothing. She reached down for her backpack and tucked the binder inside along with her pens. Her purse was looped over the back of the chair, and she took her time again reaching for it and tucking her phone in.

He made a rude noise, and she thought he swore softly under his breath. She took her time before looking up to him, and then he gestured for her to go first.

“Where are we going, and why are you here?” she said. She had taken a step and then turned on him, looking up and seeing something in his face that was both tired and unreasonable.

“Not here,” he said as he looped an arm around her waist, his hand resting there, turning her out of the coffeeshop and on the street, walking, but her car was the other way.

“Wait, Tom, stop. This is ridiculous. You can’t just show up when I’m with my tutor and go all caveman on me, demanding that I just follow you anywhere. I don’t hear from you in a week, and you drag me out of the coffee house and expect me to go where with you?” She was standing, breathing as if she’d just run a mile.

His expression now changed as he glanced past her as if thinking heavy thoughts. “I told you I don’t want you seeing anyone else,” he said before flicking his gaze back to her.

She let out a sigh. “Ian is my tutor. I’m in college, and in order to get caught up after coming in so late in the year, Ian was hired.” By her uncle, but she wasn’t going to share that part, because it was insane that she had to explain anything to him.

His gaze was so deep, and she wondered whether he could see and hear what she was thinking. She trembled, but it wasn’t from fear. At the same time, she knew it was dangerous, him having any idea what she was thinking or feeling, but if anyone could, she thought he would. He nodded then and glanced away.

“So un-hire him,” he said before looking back to her, and it was there in his eyes, direct, driven, dangerous. Holy fuck!

“No,” she said, because it wasn’t just about Ian. There would be her uncle, her parents, the dean all wondering why she’d fire someone whose help she needed.

“I don’t want you around him. I saw the way he was looking at you. He wanted you, but he can’t have you,” Tom said, and Becky felt her jaw slacken at his boldness. Was Tom delusional or being serious?

“He doesn’t want me. I’m only going to say this once more, Tom…”

He slid his hand around her, pulling her against him so fast as he lowered his head, kissing her hard, deep, on the street, in the open, for everyone to see.