In the years since Joshua passed away, I had spent the vast majority of my time alone. After the trial, my family quickly became a thing of the past. Matt held on for a while, but he couldn’t deal with the aftermath either, and my friends weren’t able to cope. I’d managed to hold on to my job the remainder of that year and through the next, but after I was convicted, the school had not renewed my contract due to the negative publicity it brought. I’d worked odd jobs trying to get back into teaching, but my image was shot in Texas. There wasn’t a soul around who didn’t recognize my face or know my story. I did what I had to do to get by, but after a year without success, I started applying to colleges and universities outside of Texas.

It was an adjustment having someone around regularly, but Dan was religious in his pursuit. Relentless. I tried to keep him at arm’s length, for his safety more than my own, but there was never a day he didn’t call or send sweet text messages. If I gave in, I would see him every day. As it was, he’d managed to worm his way into five or six face to face visits a week. And he’d stopped asking because I kept turning him down. Now he just showed up with dinner and a movie or stopped by for lunch between classes. The man had to have been keeping close tabs on me to have figured out my class schedule, but nevertheless, he wouldn’t let me push him away. I loved spending time with him but was terrified of what would happen when he found out the reality of who I was. I didn’t want to fall for someone who would leave when they learned I’d killed another human being. That was a truth I faced daily.

“Hey, Lissa. You feel like grabbing lunch?” Rob had stepped up his game, vying for my time in a way he never had prior to finding out I had a dinner date.

Had Rob asked me out before Dan, I definitely would have seen the potential. The attraction existed, but I couldn’t let go of the fact it took another man entering the picture for him to grab the bull by the horns. I hadn’t led him on, but I didn’t have any friends here, so I didn’t turn him down either. I’d just been completely honest about seeing someone else.

“Sure. Let me grab my stuff, and I’ll meet you downstairs.” I didn’t bother to lock my office. There was nothing personal in it for anyone to steal, and the computer had so many passwords to get in to anything of importance, a hacker would still be working on it by the time we returned.

Rob and I made our way to the cafeteria, chatting about nonsense as we went—classes, students. I’d managed to find my way in with the student body and had become one of the favored teachers. It felt good to have people excited to be in my classes, asking me to join activities around campus, stopping me to say hello in the Commons. For the first time in a few years, I felt like I was living—even if it was a lie. The beat of my heart brought life, I felt the sunshine again, and the sounds of the campus brought music to my ears.

“Hey, Dr. Jackson!” A group of girls from my theory class waved their hello as Rob and I proceeded into the dining hall.

“I hear great things from the students, Lissa. They’re enamored with you.”

“They’re great kids.” I wasn’t much older than most of them which made it easier to relate to me, but their love of music was what brought us all together.

I went to the salad bar while Rob braved the hot menu items before we settled at a table near the windows looking out at the pond. Every time I came near the water on campus, I’d stare at the bell tower and think about the lives it had taken—it may have been urban legend, but those stories helped me connect in some weird way. It stood isolated from the rest of the campus, people loved to look at it, but far too many had succumbed to its deadly beauty. There had been couples married in front of it, the lake around it protected it, but in the end—it stood alone, weathered by time and closed off to protect the students from further harm.

“Have you ever been up in the tower?”

Startled, I turned to face my lunch companion. “No. I thought it was closed off.”

“There are ways around everything.” He took a bite of the burger he’d bought off the line. “The view is breathtaking and serene. We’ll have to go up sometime.”

I nodded my agreement as I stared across Swan Lake.

“You’re awfully distracted today. Anything on your mind?” Before I could answer, he spoke again. “Oh, I almost forgot. Ya-sang Min is coming to the Peace Center. The school got a handful of tickets. Would you like to go?”

Staring at him, I blinked hard contemplating his question. “Like a date? Or take students?” Eloquence was not my forte.

He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his gaze. The bottom of his tooth peeked out to snag a bit of his lip in hesitation. “I guess I thought we could go together.”

Rob wasn’t a shy man, but his indecision, or sheer inability to simply ask me out on a date, left me knowing it was good he never had. Men who hesitate are lost. I’d kill to see Ya-sang Min, but I wasn’t willing to risk the only friend I had on campus when things didn’t go the way he was leaning.

“I’m flattered Rob, but you know I’m seeing someone.”

His head bobbed, and he cast his eyes toward his food. “You’re going to pass up seeing the cello prodigy?”

The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. “Rob, I wouldn’t do anything to risk our friendship. You’re the only person I’m friends with, not just on campus, but in Greenville as a whole. Even Ya-sang Min isn’t worth sacrificing that.” I touched his hand with mine before he finally met my eyes.

“He’s a lucky guy, Liss.”

“It’s not that serious. I just can’t do more than one man at a time. It’s exhausting.” My eyes rolled in an overly exasperated expression to make him laugh.

“You about done? I need to get back to my office to finish grading papers I promised I’d give back in my next lecture.”

I stared at my half-eaten salad knowing I wouldn’t eat anymore. Things had gotten awkward, and it was best just to head back. “Yeah.”

We threw away what remained before trekking back across campus. I waved at the same group of girls I’d seen coming in. Just as we arrived at the music hall, I heard what I assumed was my name called out.

“Penny.” It was the voice I recognized more than the name.

I turned while Rob stood holding the door open. Dan came jogging up to us and reached out to cup my jaw before planting a kiss on my opposite cheekbone. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Hoping I could catch you for a late lunch.”

I pointed toward Rob, who was now gawking instead of just staring. “We just got back.” I cleared my throat. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dan Hadley this is Rob McKetry, the Dean of the Music Department.”

Rob eyed Dan with suspicion before extending his hand. “Nice to meet you, Dan. Lissa has told me a lot about you.” He turned to me. “I’m going up. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Seems like a nice guy.” The way the words came out of his mouth teetered on jealousy, but I couldn’t imagine Dan having a green bone in his body. Hell, he wouldn’t need to. I saw how women looked at him when we went out, and I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he didn’t have a cell phone full of others who’d gladly meet up with him. “Since you just had lunch, does that mean you have a class soon?”

I glanced at my watch. “I have about thirty minutes before I need to leave for my next lecture. Are you off the rest of the afternoon?”

“Actually, I am. Brett’s covering the DC. I had hoped I’d get to see you for lunch and convince you to have dinner with me tonight.”

I giggled as I stared up into the sweetest olive-colored eyes. “You took an afternoon off to try to con me into hanging out with you?”

“Absolutely, plus if you said no, by default I got the time I spent trying to convince you. So it was a win-win for me. But it would be even better if you said yes.”

He escorted me to my office as we continued to talk. “What did you have in mind?” There had to be more to his request. He hadn’t bothered asking me to do anything in ages; he’d just shown up much like he had today.

Dan closed the door behind him after entering my office. And then locked it. My heart started to race in anticipation of what might happen. He’d been patient, far more so than any other man I’d ever dated. But the heated look in his eye said his patience was waning. His stocky build backed me against my desk. My bottom hovered just above it until he managed to situate himself between my thighs. The billowing skirt I had on allowed room for him to intrude into my space. My center burned for attention, my chest heaved in anticipation, and my eyes never left his.

Large hands stroked my outer thighs slowly raising my skirt with each pass up to my hips. He knew what he was doing, baring my legs for his touch. My skin pebbled once he had my skirt sitting in my lap. The feel of his hands on my sensitive skin kept me wanting, desperate for more, but unable to ask for it. My breath hitched as he slid his grip to my behind and tugged me as close as possible to where he stood in front of me—pressing us together. I prayed he couldn’t feel the heat radiating from underneath the fabric. I’m sure it was obvious how desperate I was for him, but I hoped I could retain a little dignity and not have an orgasm sitting in front of him.

He leaned down to find my waiting lips—taking them with his own, Dan delivered the most erotic kiss I’d ever received. My panties were wet—the thin fabric did nothing to protect him from my essence. With my eyes closed, my hands roamed under his shirt, my legs wrapped around his hips, and my feet instinctively dug into his ass. From his back to his front, my fingers danced on his skin. The tiny peaks of his nipples indicated his arousal matched my own.

I broke from the kiss remembering where I was. “Dan.” His name came out a breathy moan begging for him to continue but cautioning him against it.

His head dipped next to mine, his mouth hovering so near my ear I could sense the warmth of his breath on my neck. It tickled in the most delicious of ways. And then he growled. The way his chest rumbled as he said my name ignited my fire, but I had to stop.

“I have a class soon.”

“I want you all to myself tonight, Penny.”

I loved the nickname—that my hair reminded him of a shiny piece of copper. Or maybe it was just the way he said it or that it came from his mouth. Either way, it was mine, something he gave me, something he shared with no one else.

Forcing him back with my palms still on his chest and under his shirt, I gazed up at him with lazy, lust-filled eyes. “Okay.” I would have given him access to my bank accounts at that moment.

“My house. The moment you get out of class.” He shifted backward, casually dropping my skirt back to my ankles as he went.

The flush I felt on my face was a dead giveaway for how aroused I remained. He stroked my warmed cheeks with his thumbs before he kissed the tip of my nose. “And we will pick up where we left off. Just to be clear.”

“You can stay if you’d like.” I’d never invited anyone to sit in on one of my classes before, but I didn’t want him to leave. The comfort his presence brought me was one I’d never felt, and I was afraid if he left that feeling would as well.

“For your class?”

I nodded still hanging on to the lazy smile he’d put on my face.

“It’s actually a strings ensemble, so you wouldn’t be bored by a lecture.”

“I’d love to, but I don’t want to get you in trouble. Rob seems to have an affinity for you.”

I dropped my hands to my lap and let out a huff. “He asked me out today at lunch.”

Dan’s brow furrowed. “On a date?”

I shrugged. “I guess. The school got tickets to see Ya-sang Min at the Peace Center, and he dangled them in front of me.”

“What’s a yasangmin?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. This was the area of my life no man ever shared with me. I’d yet to find anyone, other than another teacher, who enjoyed classical music. My eyes would have filled with little cartoon hearts if it were possible. Instead, they glazed over with love for the once child prodigy who would grace the downtown stage. “He’s a brilliant cellist. I’m sure tickets were outrageously expensive, but in the music world, it’s the equivalent of meeting the greatest president ever to live.”

“Do you want to go?” He eyed me with weary caution.

“Oh, wow, I’d give my right arm to go. But not with Rob.” I pushed off the desk and lifted to my toes to plant a kiss on his supple lips.

“You need to tell Rob you’re not available.”

I cocked my head to the side wondering if I’d really just heard Dan right. I stifled a laugh. He was serious but clearly had no idea I was head over heels for him, not Rob. “Oh, do I?”

He snaked an arm around my lower back, pressing me firmly to his chest. Eye to eye we glared playfully. “Yeah, you do. He needs to know you’re spoken for, and dates to the symphony won’t happen with anyone other than me.”

“You don’t want to go to the symphony. Plus, Ya-sang Min is a soloist.”

“I don’t care if Ya-sang Min plays at the Grand Ole Opry. You won’t be going with Rob.” He swatted my butt playfully. “Now, let’s get to class. We can talk about the ya-ya guy later.”

I rolled my eyes, but I was anything but irritated. Dan just staked his claim, and now my panties were uncomfortably damp.