The next morning …

Her back hurt. Hell, everything hurt. Her neck, her back … She giggled to herself as the R&B song played through her head.

And she had to face it. The words made her throb. Because her body didn't like her, her brain conjured up the memories of last night.

Zephyr with his hands in her hair, taking her off a cliff with that kiss. She was quick to strike down the shiver of need. But she couldn't do much about the flush of heat in her cheeks.

The man had made her orgasm from just a kiss. Dear lord. That shit was unfair. Hot. But to be honest, it had been a really long time since she'd been kissed and even longer since she’d had an orgasm. The sex drive sort of took a dive when she was worried about where the hell she'd sleep every night.

Cursing when she checked her watch again, she ran to the nearest kiosk and grabbed a bottle of water and energy bar.

It hadn't been her choice to sleep in the Sober Car. But with her bestie occupied, there were really no other options. Unfortunately, it also meant that she’d overslept because she was so exhausted, which meant she had exactly ten minutes to get to her entrepreneurship class.

Being late to the one class she'd been looking forward to all summer? Not a good look. The student with the best grade in entrepreneurship would get an internship at Tanashi Corp. next semester. A job like that meant she could afford a nice place. It meant only one job, and it meant that she could look after Eva properly. And she wouldn't need her aunt anymore. And God, what freedom that would be.

She checked her watch again. Five minutes. Without any other options, she pulled out the small tube of toothpaste and her folding toothbrush from the side pocket of her backpack. Then she unscrewed the bottle of water she carried with her even as she ran along the walkway toward her class. Who the hell had scheduled a class at eight o'clock in the morning?

Most students would still be sleeping at that time. No one even noticed as she quickly brushed her teeth. You can't keep living like this.

Well, she didn't really have any other options. She hastily brushed her tongue to make sure no stank-ass sleep breath lingered and then rinsed out with bottled water. Luckily, she'd managed to change her T-shirt in the car and "wash" her face with the moist towelettes she kept in her backpack. But that was about it.

If anyone found out that she had been using the Sober Car to sleep in at night sometimes, she was sure as hell bound to be fired. But no one was going to find out. Because she wasn’t going to tell anyone, and she was discreet. One of these days your luck is going to run out. Yeah, maybe. But today was not that day.

Her phone rang and she checked the time again. Three minutes. She picked up her pace, hauling off across campus, answering the phone as she went. "Hello?"

"Malia, we need to talk."

Shit. Malia tried to inject some levity in her voice. "Aunt Mabel, is Eva okay?"

"Oh she's fine. But she won't be if you keep feeding her nonsense about going to a special college prep school away from home. You need to stop. You can barely afford to keep her here with me. How are you going to afford a prep school?"

The flare of rage was instant and strong and made her want to strangle someone. But instead, she chose a cooler path. It wouldn't do to piss off her aunt. Especially not when she needed her. "You know Mom and Dad left money for school."

"Left money for college. They didn’t leave money for a fancy prep school. And as far as that college goes, you and I know full well she's going to have to get a part-time job. She'll go to community college like everyone else. She's not special and you need to stop telling her that she is."

Hate was a strong word. But in this case completely accurate. "She is special."

Her aunt was silent for just a moment. "Girl, are you talking back to me?"

Fuck. That would be a bad idea. "No. I just mean that Mom and Dad intended for her to go to a good school. And I'm going to find a way."

"Frankly, I'm shocked you can still afford to keep yourself in college. I thought you'd be home by now."

The hell she would be. She would resort to murder before she moved back in with her aunt. It just wasn't going to happen. "I'm making it work. I'll send you another check this weekend. I have class now."

She hung up, hoping that that didn't bring any repercussions to Eva.

Aunt Mabel had been great when she and Eva were little, before their parents died. Once, she came from her travels and adventures with cool gifts. But that all changed.

Because they died.

After her parents died in the car accident, Mabel had been the only living relative they had. And so Eva had been her responsibility. But given she was in school, her Aunt Mabel had been asked to step in. Her parents had some life insurance, but Mabel said that wasn’t nearly enough to look after Eva and demanded that Malia send money home. Her aunt subtly threatened to leave Eva to foster care if Malia didn’t send enough. So she worked her butt off to make sure that never happened.

Her parents had been smart with their money. They had built college funds for her and her sister. Unfortunately, college funds paid for tuition and books.

Those funds didn't pay for accommodation or food. And the little bit of life insurance they’d left was used to look after Eva. But there wasn’t enough.

She checked her watch again. Shitballs. 8:01 a.m. She was late.

By the time Malia opened the door to the medium-sized lecture hall, she was well aware that she was still partially in last night's clothing, and there was a faint scent of alcohol to her. She was also well aware that her curls were sticking up in every direction. And bonus, she was late.

The room had already separated into groups. Shit. They must've been told to break into their working groups as soon as they walked in. Which was hers?

Lucky for her someone called her name.

"Malia Adams?"

Malia glanced over then froze. Fuck a duck.

The most startling set of intense gray eyes met hers. And for a quick moment she couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't walk. All she could do was stare.

Zephyr.

His scowl was instant. As was his head to toe perusal of her body.

There were times in life when things just went right.

This was not one of those times.

* * *

Zephyr looked around at the students. He had the best team. He knew he did. As the Tanashi fellow, he got first pick.

His team was solid. He picked them specifically for their strengths and their weaknesses. If one fell short, the others would be extremely strong. Each had their own specialty.

He'd spent the last three months poring over their transcripts. He'd picked them because of how well they'd complement each other. And he had a team he thought would work well together.

Although he was missing one. Scanning the room again, he frowned. There were still students milling about, trying to find the right group. The groups had been posted up near the door, so there was the inevitable crowd packed around the screens trying to see what group they'd gotten. Each fellow was selected from the Carnegie graduate program or one of their partner schools. They were set up at one of five local companies and intended to mentor a new crop of entrepreneurs. The top student would receive an internship offered by one of the companies. This year the internship was sponsored by Tanashi Corp. He knew three of his group members. Or at least he was familiar with their work. There were only one or two unknowns.

One member of his group had been disappointed to see his name and trudged over with melancholy written all over his face. Yeah, not thrilled about you either buddy. The truth of the selection process was that it functioned like a draft. His first choice had been taken already. So he'd gone for his second string.

Scanning the room again, Zephyr looked for his final member. While he had the portfolios, he had no clue what she looked like. Of course, in today's world of Google, he could've just looked them all up. He'd been tempted, but he wanted to focus solely on their work. Not some idiotic thing they may have said or done on social media.

There were a few other girls still milling about, and he glanced at his watch again.

Three past.

Where was she? Given her class rank, past projects, and freelance work she'd already done, she was his number one pick. He hoped nothing bad had happened for her to fall out of the program or something. But the school year was just starting. When he'd checked, every single one of his students was enrolled and registered for class. So where was she?

A slither of unease shuffled down his spine. Students were still milling around looking for their groups, so he called out her name. "Malia Adams?"

Within his group, the only other girl groaned. "Of course she'd be in this group."

Zephyr frowned at her. Becky Williams. She was known to be difficult, but every professor said she was technically brilliant. Great marketing mind but not well-liked. Other professors said she didn't suffer fools and needed to work on her social EQ. Yeah well, there was always one. And he preferred not to work with someone like that. But, in this case, she was really good at marketing. Really, really good.

Her freshman year she'd taken the failing Pittsburgh Brewing Company and made them number one thanks to her marketing efforts. They had plans to start expanding to the neighboring states too. That was her work. So, while he might have a personal distaste for her, she was staying. That was his job. Make this project the best one it could be, despite the personalities.

With a sigh, he called out his first choice’s name again. “Malia Adams.”

Then he saw her. The girl from the bar. She was wearing a different shirt today, but the same shorts and boots she had on last night. Her hair was stuck in some wild pile of a messy bun, and she had bags under her eyes. She looked like a party girl who'd gone on a bender. How was this the same girl?

What a difference twelve hours could make. Last night, she had been hot and sexy as hell. He’d been up half the night thinking about her. But this morning, she looked like … a mess.

When she met his gaze they both froze. There was no way.

But oh no, she started walking toward him.

No. Not this one.

Why was the universe so fucking cruel? Not only was she technically late, but she looked sloppy. How was she top of the class? How had he made her explode from a kiss? And she'd said her name was Eva. Fuck.There was nothing in her portfolio about chronic lateness or excessive partying. According to professors, she was well-liked, worked hard, was excessively organized and a natural born leader. People wanted to follow her.

You made out with her. Your student. You know how her body shook when she rode the wave of pleasure. This was bad. He could try to get her placed on another team. No. She was good. He needed her.

His dick twitched, as if to say, “Yes, I am in total agreement with that.” No. Not going to happen. Personal issue or not, they were stuck with each other.

As she approached, he could smell a hint of stale beer. But somehow that didn't dampen his reaction to her at all. His completely inappropriate reaction.

He'd already broken a rule. Arguably the most important rule.

There was to be no fraternization between mentors and students. But even if she wasn’t his student, she was still a no-go. He'd sworn off the needy girls. He needed his focus. And he wasn't that much of a moron. He wasn't going to repeat his patterns.

Right now, Malia Adams was a problem. Her eyes met his, and a spark of electricity fired through him as he frowned. This was not what he wanted. This was not what he needed. This couldn’t happen.

She's just another student; pretend you don't even notice her. Sure. That was going to be easier said than done. Especially since she'd already melted like a sugary treat in his arms once.

She marched up to their group with a smile. "I'm Malia Adams." Her voice washed over him like melted hot fudge, and he wanted to lick every drop. This would be one of the longest six months of his life.