Thank God, I only had to teach Gabe three days a week. On Wednesday, I slipped away before Gabe made his way to the lectern again. I hightailed it out of there so fast; I left a whirlwind in my wake.

But today, I wasn’t so lucky. Stupid Brock with his stupid questions. He kept me delayed by asking about the syllabus of all things. Normally, I’d be more than happy to explain anything, but I couldn’t get caught alone with Gabe. Not when I kept replaying that morning on the soccer field. But Jesus, he was cute. Why the fuck does he have to be so damn cute? And to make things worse, the asshole planted himself in the front. He made some poor scrawny freshman move to the back row. I had to force myself to not stare at him.

I did my best to keep a stoic face as Gabe worked his way toward me. Brock caught sight of him, and I swore he gave Gabe a slight nod.

“Thanks again, Professor Young. If I have any more questions, I’ll ask.” Brock did an about-face and skedaddled away.

I pursed my lips and shot Gabe a glare, trying to stave off the rising panic. “Did you intentionally use him to stall me?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” He stood with his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow.

“If he finds out—”

“Stop worrying. I told him I was horrible at Anthropology and needed him to stall you so I could ask questions after everyone left.”

“As if I had a chance to leave. You’re sitting in the front row.”

He suppressed a grin and stared at me with a piercing look. I blew out a heavy breath.

“What do you want, Gabe?”

“Meet me at the soccer field Sunday morning.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he bridged the gap between us. His fresh scent wafted over me, and the memory of his firm pecs, his gentle caress and his forceful tongue shimmied through me. My breath came in short pants as he leaned down, his voice tickling my ear.

“Be there Sunday.” He spun and strutted away while I stared after him; my mind still hazy. I hadn’t agreed to meet him, but the thought of it consumed me. No. I couldn’t do it. Could I? Absolutely not. But I couldn’t remember the last time I’d wanted something so much.

* * *

Laughter filled the expanse of my parent’s garden, and I swallowed back my scream. I shouldn’t have come. I grabbed a can of beer and tucked myself in the back corner, away from everyone, biding time until I could leave.

“You’re brooding, sis.”

“Sorry,” I lowered my head in guilt and sighed. It wasn’t his fault I was in a shitty mood after a shitty week. No, no one was to blame but me. On Monday, Gabe moved to the back row; the poor freshman was more confused than ever. To make things worse, Gabe refused to look at me the entire time. Could I blame him? My no-show act on Sunday was enough to upset him, but the fact I’d blocked his phone number pissed him off royally. I did the right thing. I had to do the right thing. Shaking loose those thoughts, I added, “You know these functions aren’t my thing.”

“You should’ve brought Amelia. I have a teammate coming to keep me occupied.”

“Oh boy, just what we need, another rugby player.” I shook my head in mock disgust. “Amelia had to work. Plus, I wouldn’t subject to her to these people.”

Mom and Dad’s friends were nice for the most part, but they could be a little pretentious. High levels of education and wealth had a strange way of shaping people. I never bought into their whole ‘elite status’ thing.

“I’ll introduce you to my friend as soon as he gets here. Maybe we can escape later.”

“Don’t look now, but isn’t that Raquel that just walked through the gate?” I nudged my chin toward the tall brunette. Brett turned toward her and groaned, which caused me to chuckle. Raquel had been trying to chase down my brother since she filled out her training bra.

“I’ll sic her on my friend. He never has trouble turning down offers.”

My fingers gripped the beer can as the rugby player in question stalked in behind Raquel.

“Hey, there’s Gabe now.”

I ducked behind the Japanese Boxwood while Brett sprinted across the lawn to greet his guest. I couldn’t win. Not only did Gabe’s student status make him off limits, but he was a freaking rugby player. They were practically royalty at the school. And besides, he was Brett’s friend.

Fuckity. Fuck. Fuck.

I glanced to my right where my boss stood. I was so fucked. I calculated one solution—escape. I cut through the yard, my pace increasing the closer I got to the back patio doors. Refuge was within ten feet before the dean stepped in front of me.

“Addy, how’s the first couple of weeks going?”

“It’s everything I thought it would be.” Plus more, I thought as I turned to eye Brett. By his arm movements, it was obvious he was introducing Raquel to Gabe.

“I hope you find our school…”

Raquel flipped her long hair to the side and placed her hand on Gabe’s shoulder, her laugh drowning out my boss’s voice. My jaw clenched when Gabe smiled back. He totally fell for her fucking seductive act. The bitch. I needed out of here.

I forced myself to pay attention to my boss. My boss … the one who could fire me for insubordination.

“I-I’m sure I'm going to love working there. I’m so grateful for the opportunity.” I tried not to choke on the bullshit spewing from my mouth. I hoped it sounded genuine. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

I stepped toward the patio sliders, but Brett’s voice sounded behind me.

“Addy, wait up.”

Fuck!

I closed my eyes momentarily and took a deep breath before turning around to face Gabe. The tall, muscular framed body looked rather sexy in his low-slung jeans and a crew-necked tee as he stared back at me with saucer-sized eyes.

“Ah, another one of our star players. How’s everything going, Gabe?” the dean asked.

Gabe blinked away his astonishment and shifted focus to my boss. “I think we have a good chance at going to the championship this year.”

The tiny hairs on my neck raised as his rich voice slid over me.

“That’s what I like to hear,” my boss said, patting Gabe on the back.

We watched the dean slip into the crowd before Gabe turned his attention back to me.

“You’re Brett’s sister?” Gabe asked, unable to hide his surprise.

“Yes.” I bit my lip, trying like hell to appear casual.

“You two already know each other?” Brett asked, his gaze shifting between Gabe and me.

Gabe cleared his throat. “Yeah, this is Professor Young.” His dazed look wasn’t quite masked, but to my relief, Brett started laughing.

“Yeah, that’s right. You have to take the scrubby freshman classes.” I glared at Brett, and his laughter stopped immediately. “We’re actually half-brother/sister. We have different fathers.”

“Ah, that explains the different last names.”

Speaking of my father, well, technically “step,” he waltzed up to us. Couldn’t I catch a freaking break?

“Gabe, I see you met my daughter, Addy.”

“She’s my Anthropology professor,” Gabe said as his gaze connected with mine. My insides warmed from his intense stare, and I shifted my stance to hide my response.

“Yes, I told her it was a stupid subject to study, but she’s stubborn. Biology or chemistry would’ve been more suited—”

“Dad,” Brett warned.

“What? I was right. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have found a job.”

My jaw clamped down as my stoic face slipped into place, and I tried not to glare at the man who raised me since I was three. Not once had he ever respected my field. Heat flamed in my cheeks with the weight of Gabe’s stare, but I was too embarrassed to look at him.

“Dad, did you need something?” Brett asked, salvaging the conversation. He was always saving me.

“Ah, yes. I needed help with the grill. I don’t understand why your mother refused to hire a caterer.”

Gabe stayed behind as Brett followed Dad. A moment passed, and I turned to Gabe, nudging my chin for him to follow. I slipped past the sliding glass doors with Gabe not far behind, and we wormed our way to my old bedroom. Luckily, the house was empty, but by that point, my anger had boiled to the point that I no longer cared if we got caught.

When we pushed through my bedroom door, I turned to Gabe to apologize for Dad’s behavior, but my words were cut off with a searing kiss. His lips were warm and soft, and I barely heard the click of the door shutting behind us. His growl rumbling in his throat had me surrendering to my desire. His fingers weaved through my hair, deepening his kiss.

We broke for air, and I grabbed hold of Gabe’s hand, leading him to my bed. I sunk into the mattress with Gabe by my side. He squeezed my hand and brought it up to his lips. His eyes beamed from the hint of moonlight shining through the window as he stared at me. If I only knew his true intentions.

“What do you want from me, Gabe?”

“What do you mean?” His brows furrowed as his stare deepened.

“I just meant, you should be chasing someone like Raquel. She’s your age, and Brett said you’d hit it off.”

“Your brother needs to know when to keep his mouth shut.”

“He said you’re a player.”

His eyes closed, and he shook his head. The low, guilt-ridden groan didn’t sound promising, and I wished I could retract the statement.

“Why didn’t you tell me about playing rugby?”

“Because of girls like Raquel.” He reopened his eyes, and the hard lines crowning his face softened. “I’ve had my fill of them wanting me for my looks or my status. I had fun, real fun, playing on the soccer field with you.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to suppress a smile. “Your good looks may have helped some.”

“Oh, they did, did they?”

I yelped as he rolled me onto my back. “Some, I said ‘some’.” I laughed, but his mouth cut me off again. God, I loved kissing him.

He shifted and kissed my chin then planted small pecks along my neck down to my chest. His hand slid up my side and stopped at the underside of my breast. With a slight squeeze, his mouth shoved the V-neck to the side and his thumb pushed the bra far enough to expose my tightened bud. I gasped when his teeth grazed the nipple, my body heating areas I’d prefer to remain cold. At least for tonight.

His other hand moved lower until his deft fingers splayed across my abdomen, my body soaking every sensation as if it was starved. He slid his hand to my hip as he continued to savor my breast.

“We can’t do this,” I panted.

“We so can.” He inched my skirt up and grazed a thumb across my underwear. A current of want charged through my body, eliciting a moan.

“I can’t have sex while there’s a party outside.”

“I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”

He slid further on top and rejoined his mouth with mine. His kiss deepened as he positioned his groin right against my highly sensitized area, and he began moving back and forth in a slow motion. This felt good, so right. I couldn’t imagine how it’d feel if we were naked. His hands found mine, and he wove our fingers together, raising them above my head. His hips continued their movements, groin swirling against my clit. Pleasure kept slowly building until I couldn’t take much more. He rubbed faster against me until a ripple of pleasure exploded through my body. He swallowed my moan as I rode out the sensations overcoming my body. I came down from my release and moved my hips toward him for one more feel.

“Oh, shit,” he said through gritted teeth. He thrust his hips against me as he pumped out his own release. With one last thrust, he collapsed on top of me, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Jesus, I don’t think I’ve come in my pants since junior high.”

He rolled off of me and pulled me in his arms. We laid there, spooning, and I never felt so content.

“I probably need to rejoin the party, not that they’d miss me,” I said after a few minutes.

“I’d miss you.” He squeezed me tighter and planted a small kiss on my shoulder before raising up. “I need to clean up if we’re going to go back out there.”

“The bathroom is down the hall.” By the warmth flooding my face, I was grateful for the darkness.

Gabe stood to leave, but kissed me warmly before walking to the door. When his hand wrapped around the doorknob, he glanced back at me. “Just so you know, I have every intention of collecting my winnings.” Then he grinned wickedly and winked. “Unblock my number because we’re going out tomorrow.”

He exited with me staring slack-jawed at the door. Jesus, what we did was wrong, so wrong. And so was this sudden anticipation racing through my veins. But I’d be a fool to not know this also changed everything.