CHAPTER 3

Elena

I sat down at the table and looked around again, feeling nervous as I searched for faces that looked familiar. There were none, and I looked down at the backpack that I’d set on the ground since I was considering getting some work done here today.

Someone was sliding into the seat across from me, and I glanced up to see Liam smiling at me, his smile so charming that I lost my breath for a moment. “Good afternoon, Miss Carter.” His voice was low and husky as I blushed and looked at the table. “How are you?”

“Good.” I sounded breathy, and I closed my eyes for a moment. “How is your day?”

“It just got better,” he replied as I stared at him and turned my cup on the table.

“Mr. Forsberg…is this okay for us to do?” I asked in a whisper as he licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. “I mean…there are rules.”

“Right now, we’re just sharing coffee and some pastry. We’re discussing class, Elena. Nothing more,” he assured me softly as I finally took a sip of my coffee. It felt like more to me and judging from the heat in his eyes, it was the same way for him.

Luckily, the shop was loud, and we could have a conversation without anyone noticing. We talked about the class and how I seemed to be doing, and Liam told me about his own years at school. He was thirty-eight years old and lived in Seattle in a condominium, making me feel so young as I thought about my small studio apartment. I wasn’t accomplished at all, just finishing school, and working several hours a week on my computer.

Liam asked about me once we fell silent for a little while, and I chewed on my bite of the bread before I answered. “Well, I will be graduating in a year and a half or so, and I am an Art History major.”

“I thought so. You have that look about you,” Liam mused as I smiled again. The guys that I met on campus were fumbling and never impressed me, but Liam had an ease about him that came with maturity and age. “Do you do anything else other than school? You look tired some days to me.”

“I do some freelance writing at night to pay some bills. I got a partial scholarship, but the extra money helps me eat and have a little bit of a life, though I am a homebody by nature.” I smiled as he nodded. “I have a best friend here. Ginger. She is into the parties and knows the entire world. She always wants me to come with her, but I just feel awkward. I feel like I’m not good enough for them or something.”

“Elena, don’t say that. College is tough and making friends is difficult, but you have Ginger. You’ll meet other people along the way.” I stared at him across the table.

“I’m a Junior, Mr…Liam. I’ll be out of here soon enough, and it won’t matter.”

“Are you dating anyone?” He asked me as I swallowed slowly and shook my head.

“Dating is a hundred times harder than making friends,” I told him with a small smile as he took in my face with a slow sweep of his eyes.

“I don’t know why. You’re beautiful.” I shook my head, looking down at the table to try and clear my thoughts.

“You can’t think that,” I argued lightly as he cocked an eyebrow at me.

“Why not?”

“I meant that you shouldn’t think that. You’re my…teacher,” I barely said the last word as a chill raced down my spine and I gazed at him. “Liam, we can’t go there.”

“I just want to get to know you,” Liam told me as I frowned. I never took risks in my life. Everything was planned to benefit my future, and I never strayed from my path.

The weeks leading up to this encounter with Liam, I’d noticed a lot about him. Of course, he was gorgeous, but there were things about him that I memorized along the way. I loved the passion on his face during a lecture, when his enthusiasm filled the room. I didn’t share that for the subject at hand, but I appreciated that he did. I liked the way that his hands moved while he spoke, so large and manly as I wondered what it would be like to have him touching me sometimes.

I saw the way that his eyes passed over me during class, feeling the short points of heat that washed over my body every time that we made eye contact. I knew that something was building between us and as much as it scared me, it also excited me. His eyes were so beautiful, and when he wore a certain blue button up shirt to class, they seemed to burst with color.

He was wearing that shirt today under his jacket, and I took in the buttons that nearly went up to his neck, revealing his skin as I licked my lips. His skin looked soft, and I wondered what it would be like to press my lips against him as I blushed deeply.

We had talked for another hour before I excused myself, knowing that I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to go home with him and let him touch me the way that I’d been dreaming about for the past month. My need for him was strong, and I ducked outside into the cool air as I bit my lip in frustration. I wanted to go back to him and beg to go somewhere we could be alone, together.

I was just turning to go when the door opened beside me, and I smelled him. I’d never been close enough before tonight, but now I knew that he smelled like the outdoors and a hint of mint. There was a cologne as well, but it was subtle under the other two scents, something woodsy. I looked up at him as he stepped close to me and touched my arms as he leaned down over me. “What are you doing?” I realized that this was the second time I’d unconsciously waited for him as he stroked my arms through the thick jacket that I wore.

“Come home with me,” Liam whispered as I stared up at him in shock. “I need you, Elena. I fucking need you.”

All the looks we’d exchanged in the class played through my head as I felt my desire for him bubbling to the surface. I had never wanted anyone the way that I did him and right or wrong blurred before me as he begged me with his intense gaze. “Liam,” I groaned as I struggled with my moral core. “God, we shouldn’t do this.”

“You don’t think I know that? You don’t think that I fight this every damn second that I see you?” His voice was low and sent shivers down my spine as someone brushed by us, bringing us both back to reality. “I am going home, Elena. What are you going to do?”

I reached out my hand once I was loose from his grip, telling him that I wanted his phone. He handed it to me with a curious gaze, and I sent myself a text before sliding it back to him. “Send me your address, Liam.”

I turned to walk away as my heart pounded in my chest, terrified of what I was considering doing.

Liam was my teacher. Liam was taboo. Liam was wrong for me.

I fucking wanted him anyway.