Is this really happening? I take a deep breath, hoping I’m in the middle of a vivid dream…or nightmare. I lean over the tabletop and flip through the syllabus in my folder. Dr. Richards Administrative Law stands out in bold letters across the top of the page. I raise my eyes and scan the dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes who drove my body to the brink of insanity just last week. Did he come up with an alias too? He sets down a black leather briefcase on his desk, adjusting his thin rimmed glasses. Those eyes, brand new, but oddly familiar. There’s no way Nick O’Halloran can hide behind a pair of lenses.

The severity of the situation hits me like a freight train. Shit! Great way to make a name for yourself in the legal world, Jessie. Our hot night together plays through my mind like a broken record. Stunts like that won’t help break my father out of federal prison and clear his name. Well, the way the world works today, maybe I’m wrong, but I sure as hell don’t want to make a name for myself by sleeping to the top, especially with my professor.

I raise my eyes for a split second and catch his gaze. We’re drawn to each other like magnets, polar opposites who slam together like glue when flipped. He crinkles his forehead, his lips upturning to a soft smile. Then reality hits. He jerks his head back and runs a hand along the back of his neck. God Dammit, why did I have to play miss eager beaver and sit in the front row?

He walks up to me, his gait slow but intense, like the way a cop greets you at the driver’s side window when you’ve been pulled over for speeding. Of course, I’m caught…in more ways than one.

“Angie Bianchi, so you are real.” He slides his hands in his pockets and stares at my face like he’s about to pry a confession from my lips. “I was beginning to think I imagined it all.”

I squirm in my seat. Disappearing without a trace can make your mind play tricks on you and fucking the hot guy at the benefit has more consequences than a guilty conscience. How the hell did a one night stand clear across the country come back to haunt me?

Well, I’ve made my bed so to speak. Time to put on my big girl panties and own up to it. I sit tall in my chair and flip open my laptop.

“You’ve got a wicked imagination.” I raise my eyebrows and nibble on my pen. What am I doing? Every word coming out of my mouth drives me deeper into the pit of fire. “And it’s Jessie Russo.”

His face turns ashen, like he’s just seen a ghost. “Wait…what?”

I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. “Angie, my friend, had the ticket to the benefit and couldn’t make it so I was her for a few hours.” Complete lie, but it’s not like I could tell him I was scoping out the Santucci family. He’d probably have the feds here to question me.

“Dr. Richards…,” a short blonde interrupts.

He clears his throat and shakes his head. “No…I’m filling in for the semester. Dr. Richards is conducting research.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Dr. Halloran.” His hand trembles.

She gives a quick shake. “Sherry Ford. Can I get your opinion on a trial going on in my town? I think it follows precedent, but our local lawyer doesn’t agree.” She flashes a million-dollar smile.

“Sure. Stop by my office during regular hours and I’ll take a look.” A bead of sweat forming on his hairline glistens under the fluorescent lights.

She nods and scurries away, sitting one seat away from me in the front row. Great, little miss kiss ass wants to be my friend. Hate to break it to her, but I’m not here to make friends or fuck buddies. I need to focus without any distractions. First order of business, straighten this out with Nick.

I lean forward so only Nick can hear. “Wait for me after class. We should talk.” He nods.

Nick’s voice commands the room, causing images of our night of passion to flow through my brain like molten lava. God, everything about this is wrong, but now that I know he’s off limits, I want him to shove his huge cock deep inside me more than ever.

Jesus Christ, what am I thinking? All I want is someone to drive me wild in the bedroom and quote Shakespeare when we’re dressed. I sigh. I guess that’s too much to ask. A quick two-minute conversation after class, a clean break and everything’s back to normal. I lift my eyes to the projection screen in front of me and try to clear the image from my brain of Nick hovering above me. No such luck. He might as well be teaching the lecture in Swahili. I guess I better play nice with little miss kiss ass so I can see her notes. Of course, playing dirty is much more fun.

Nick gazes around the jam-packed room. “Any questions?”

I shift my focus to the clock. Seriously, an hour’s gone by already? Felt more like a few seconds. Okay, time to lay things on the line.

I pack my laptop up in its vinyl case and sling my purse around my shoulder. Nick gathers up his papers, keeping tabs on me from the corner of his eye. Everyone files out of the room, except for me and the teacher’s pet. The thought of that term rips through me like a steel dagger.

“Dr. Halloran…when are office hours again?” Sherry looks up at him with a goofy grin.

“Uh, Tuesdays, one to three p.m.,” he answers without even raising his eyes.

“See you then.” She turns toward me and then walks toward the steps, looking back over her shoulder as she moves away.

What the hell? Are they both keeping tabs on me now? It’s going to be a hell of a long semester.

He waits until the last footsteps exit and the doors click shut. Silence screams through the mammoth room. He takes off his glasses and sets them down on the desk.

His concerned gaze twists my insides into oblivion. Okay, so we both fucked up…and down, in just about every room in the exquisite house. Dammit Jessie, don’t let the thrill of his touch send my mind into an inferno of wicked desire. Stay focused. If this continues we’re both fucked, literally.

I let out the deep breath I’d been holding. “Listen. We both had no idea we’d be here right now.”

“I never expected to see Angie again, not that I didn’t want to. This game you’re playing, though…it needs to stop before you get expelled and I get fired.” He places his hands on the desk palms down and leans forward, shooting his most intimidating look.

Hate to break it to him, but after he fucked me into next week, fear isn’t even one of the top five emotions flowing through me when his heavy gaze scans my body.

“Really, you seemed to like playing with me the other night.” I fold my arms across my chest.

He blows air out of puffed cheeks and moves around to the front of his desk, inches away from me. “None of that matters right now.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Jessie, we need to stop, for both our sakes. Everything that went down in California needs to stay in our memories, nowhere else.”

He’s right, even though it sounds as if he’s trying to keep me as his dirty little secret. I guess that was my plan all along, to keep Nick as a notch on my proverbial bedpost. “Agreed. What happens in California stays in California.” I wink.

He holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jessie Russo.” It rolls off his tongue like he’s said it a million times.

I give his hand a quick shake. “Looking forward to the class.” At least I’m looking forward to seeing him every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He’s hot as hell and even though I can’t eat off the menu, there’s nothing wrong with looking at it.

I walk the steps to the back of the room and pull open the door, catching Nick’s reflection in the glass. His stare glues to my ass like the world will end if he takes his eyes off. Thirty seconds and his stare burns through me. Does he seriously think he can resist me all semester? No fucking way.

* * *

Rain pelts down against my soaked skin turning my peach halter blouse into saran wrap against my body. What a day to forget my umbrella and wear a shirt that requires me to go braless. I stand at the corner waiting for the bus to stop. Public transportation certainly has its downfalls, but keeping a car on campus is near impossible. With parking issues and traffic, it would probably take me less time to walk the six blocks to my apartment. I make a visor with my hand, trying to scope out the bus. A black BMW pulls up alongside me, idling the engine. What does this jerk want?

The tinted window lowers at a snail’s pace. My eyes glue to the dark glass until a face comes into focus. I concentrate on the contours of Nick’s perfectly chiseled face. Is he unaware of the meaning of clean break?

“Come on…I’ll take you home.” He leans over to the passenger side and clicks the door handle.

Going home with Nick complicates everything, even if it is just to avoid the torrential downpour. We’re not to mesh in academia. Anyone who saw the multitude of teacher/student lifetime movies knows it never ends happily. The rumor mill could run rampant if someone sees me getting into Nick’s car and I certainly don’t need any extra attention. I’ve got to take my chances with the bus. What’s the difference? I’m already drenched.

I lean over close to the window to tell Nick no thanks. I blink, clearing the stray raindrops from my eyes. Goosebumps erect from my skin, not weather related in the least bit. Nick’s warm stare cuts through me, rendering my mind blank.

“Thanks,” I mutter through my auto-piloted lips. Dammit, I forgot the whole no portion of that sentence.

He pushes the door, sending it swinging open. I plop inside and close the door, sliding on the soft leather as he pulls away.

“Where are we headed?” He looks over at me for a split second then focuses on the road.

There’s the milliondollar question. As far away from each other as possible is the most appropriate answer. If he wasn’t such a damn gentleman, he could’ve passed right by me and avoided this unnecessary contact.

“Washington and Vine. I’m renting a condo in the Top Towers building.” My heart races as Nick stops at a red light and focuses his eyes on my might-as-well-be-my-skin blouse.

“Whoa, you must’ve pulled some major strings to get a place there.” He turns the corner and pulls into the Top Towers parking garage. “Are you some secret sorceress when you’re not Jessie…or Angie.”

Smart ass. “Yeah, Esmerelda. Watch your back or I’ll turn you into something that scares the hell out of you.” I smirk.

“I think you met that challenge.” He pulls into a parking spot and turns off the engine.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is he seriously trying to pin this all on me? Try as he might, the last thing I came all the way out here to do is bang my professor. Maybe he should take a good look at the other person sitting in this Beemer. I pull open the door and step outside.

He follows suit, keeping pace with me as we walk toward the elevator. “After you, gorgeous.” He gestures toward the elevator doors. They slowly open.

“You don’t have to walk me to my door. I’ll be fine.” I step to the back of the elevator and push the button for floor twelve.

“Yeah, I know you’ll be fine. You’re not about to enter the witness protection program. I want to walk you to your door. You never know what lurks in the darkness.”

Chills sweep through my body. The bell chimes and the elevator doors open. I scurry out of the small space, Nick right on my heels. My breathing rate increases three-fold, to the point where I’m almost losing my breath. “Thanks for the ride. I’m late.” Truth be told, I have nothing planned other than getting away from Nick as fast as I can. I slide my key in the door and open it with one swift move.

“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” Nick slides his hands in his pockets and stares at me with that drop-your-panties smile.

I stop dead in my tracks. “What did you say?”

He flashes a sexy half smile. “Shakespeare.”

All rational thought drains from my body, breaking the barrier from my brain to the rest of my body. I lunge at Nick, lips first, slamming my completely soaked body against him. He wraps his arms around me and guides me through the doorway, his impressive length growing against me. I kick the door shut as soon as our bodies clear the threshold.

He pulls away, breathing so heavy he’s just about panting. “Jes…” He locks eyes with me, passion burns through our cores. “Fuck it.” He grabs my hips and hikes my skirt up to the top of my black lace panties, dragging his fingers along my skin.

The sensation sends shockwaves skyrocketing through my core. Why did I think a one-night stand with Nick would suffice? I slam my lips into his and pull at his suit pants, desperate for the pleasure only he can provide. Finally, they give. I shove my hand down and take hold of everything I desire. Nick hooks a finger onto each side of my panties and eases them down, grazing my clit with his thumb on the way. I tremble, electric shocks flowing through my core.

He wraps his arms around my thighs and lifts me up. I grab hold of his neck, balancing myself as he shoves his cock inside me. Groans of pleasure fill the small apartment. He backs me against the wall and thrusts hard. I wrap my legs around him, taking him in deep. His cock fills me completely, warm juices flowing.

My heart thrashes against my chest. He holds me up with one hand and places his other palm against the wall, thrusting harder inside me. The passion builds inside, about to explode. I weave my fingers through his hair, moaning loud enough for the rest of the world to hear. A rush of pleasure hits my core and I yell out something unrecognizable. He lets out a loud moan and we both release our pleasure in unison.

I rest my head on his shoulder, catching my breath. “I thought you weren’t an up-against-the-door kind of guy.” I release my legs from his waist.

“I didn’t say anything about walls.” He slowly eases out of me, flinching as the friction sends more sparks through our sensitive cores. He sets me on my feet.

I adjust my skirt, but leave my panties on the floor. Blood flows from my loins back to the rest of my body. The reality of the situation hits me like a speeding bus. Dammit, we didn’t use a condom. Okay, so I’m on the pill, but there’s more to worry about. For starters, why do I become so irresponsible when I’m with Nick?

“Nick…”

“Yeah, I know.” He buttons his pants and runs a hand through his perfectly messy hair.

“What now?” I finally find a guy I want to spend more than an hour with, who’s just about everything I’m looking for, and I can’t have him? Maybe the curse of the Kennedys moved to my family.

He presses his forehead against mine. “I can’t stay away from you.” He brushes his lips over mine. “And there’s no way in hell I can teach while you’re sitting in the front row, nibbling on that pen, knowing you’re not mine.”

I let out a deep breath. “Nick, it’s too dangerous for both of us.”

“I don’t care, you’re worth it.” He presses his lips against mine, putting all the passion he feels into this one amazing kiss.

My mind was made up the second I got into his car. I want him, no matter what happens. “No one could ever find out.”

He holds my cheeks with both hands and kisses me soft. “No one will.” He feathers his fingers down and slowly unties my halter blouse.

Time for round two.

* * *

The complications keep on finding their way to me. The universe realizes what I’m doing is wrong and tries to give me a subtle hint to end it. Not going to happen. I’m not the kind of girl that just gives up. If I want something, I go for it. End of story. Finding out the Dean is my new advisor since Dr. Richards is out is the icing on the cake. I trek down the hallway to Dean Chapman’s office, which just happens to be two doors down from Nick’s.

Heavy footsteps sound behind me, gaining in intensity with every second. A chill sweeps through me. The noise gets louder, like someone’s right on my tail. I move to the side of the hallway to allow whomever it is to pass me and continue on their journey.

A man sweeps by, not even giving me a second glance. I scan the familiar figure, dark wavy hair, chiseled jawline, athletic build. I suck in a deep breath and freeze in the hallway. What is Michael Santucci doing in Philadelphia?