He hated to admit it, but he was relieved when his time with Kristen was almost up.

“Anything else I can help with?”

“No, thank you.” She almost sounded sad as she gathered her books and once again clutched them to her perfect set of tits She walked over by his desk. “Goodbye, professor.”

Professor.

Fuck, the way she added emphasis on the word. He desperately hoped she would leave, but instead, she lingered. He could tell by the way she hovered she wanted to say more, but she didn’t appear to have the courage to do it.

Hoping to speed her along, Grant steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on the table as he looked at her, waiting for her to spit out whatever it was.

“I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I’ve been struggling a lot.” She gave him a nervous nod as she spoke.

She was clearly finding any reason to stay there a little longer, and her nerves were getting the best of her.

“Wasn’t a problem. I enjoy having you in class and would hate to see you drop.”

Her eyes lit up the second he told her he enjoyed having her in class. Why’d he do that? He shouldn’t be sending out signals he knew she might misinterpret. Except for one little fact—he wanted her to interpret them the exact way she had.

“Are you sure? There are times when I wonder—” She bit her lip.

His cock rose in his slacks. She needed to stop doing that before he did it for her.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way. But—”

More lip biting.

Fuck, he wanted to groan. His cock stiffened to the point it was painful the way he was sitting.

“You’re a very good-looking man, and I’m glad I took this class.”

Jesus.

She was practically begging for him to bend her over the desk and fuck an orgasm out of her.

She rocked back and forth nervously on her heels, as if waiting for a response.

“Thank you for the compliment.” He couldn’t even look up at her. If he did, he might not be able to control himself, and she’d definitely see his cock tenting his pants.

He made the mistake of glancing up and caught her biting her lip once more. What was her deal? Did she get off on teasing men who shouldn’t touch her? Was that her little game?

Tease and tease, with little compliments and gestures, like spreading her legs open while wearing a skirt for him to see. He stared at her plump lip, held captive between her teeth. If she went much further, he’d have to punish her. Grab her by the back of her hair and shove his cock between those lips. Ram it so deep tears would form in her eyes as she swallowed him in the back of her throat and tried not to gag. He’d have to bend her over, make her beg for him to fuck her, and ask permission before she came.

Pull yourself together.

“You’re welcome, sir.”

The little bitch. Goading him on by saying sir that way. It was almost enough to make him leap from the chair and order her to bend over his desk.

He tried to slow his breathing. He couldn’t give off even a hint of how he felt. It was a bad idea, unprofessional, and ethically wrong.

“Like I said, no problem.” Somehow, he managed to remain calm and collected. He stared down at the desk, ignoring her clingy sweater and the tights she wore under her skirt.

She started to walk away and then turned back with a smile. “You really enjoy having me?”

He hadn’t thought she would be so forward as to compliment him on his looks earlier. He wasn’t prepared for that, especially with the way she would usually duck out of the class as soon as he dismissed them. She would always flirt just enough to get his attention, then leave before she had to deal with any consequences for her actions. He’d told himself it was something she was doing because she was so young and innocent. He hadn’t dreamed she might work up the courage to be so straightforward.

He could lie to himself about what he might do when he admired her from a distance—but fuck, her standing right in front of him, practically demanding he repeat he enjoyed her in his class. He couldn’t help but be truthful. He had to be strong and set the tone.

“Of course, Miss Monroe. I enjoy having you as a student.”

Maybe the last sentence would get her out of the room so he could get his wits back about him. He had to be forceful and clear, didn’t want to stumble over his words. He had to appear confident, and he knew if he was going to get his point across, now was the time to do it.

But this was one of the toughest things he’d ever done. His stomach twisted when she looked like he’d just crushed her. Like she’d taken it as a rejection. He didn’t want to hurt her. He cared about her feelings more than he’d realized. Sure, he wanted to fuck her, but it seemed more than just sexual attraction. He wanted her happy and doing what she loved. He couldn’t help but think he was making things worse.

He glanced up at her fingers on her book. They practically trembled against it. “Well, umm—” She took a deep breath. “That’s the thing—”

Jesus, this girl. Was she really going to push him over the edge?

“I just, umm, it seems like maybe you think of me as more than just a student. You’ve been doing things differently since I came to class.” Her voice trembled as she spoke. Her eyes were glassy and looked like they might fill with tears.

She sniffed and smiled, though it was clear she was hiding pain or doing her best to hide it anyway.

It wasn’t the first time he’d had to let a student down easy, but it was definitely the hardest.

She looked so innocent, even standing there in her tight outfit with her perfectly toned body.

But what did she expect? He was her professor. He had to be responsible, and it was the right thing to do. He’d tried to scare her off by being cold and distant. She hadn’t taken the hint.

No matter how bad he wanted to fuck a smile onto her face, he couldn’t.

“Listen, I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and I’m doing everything I can to help you. But nothing can happen between us. It’s got nothing to do with you.” He sighed, trying to find the right words to say. The more he talked, the worse he seemed to make it.

“I’m not in high school. W-we c-could make something work.”

Jesus. She still wouldn’t let it go. If there was a God, He was definitely trolling the professor. A beautiful young woman practically begging for him, and he had to say no. One he liked, even. Surely, she could understand his point of view.

He did his best to search for words that wouldn’t hurt her feelings more than he already had. The last thing he wanted to do was see her in pain, and he could tell his words were driving a dagger through her heart.

He looked down at the ground, and then off at the wall. Anything to relieve him of her intensity. “Not going to happen. It’s not ethical. I’m a teacher, and you’re my student.” His eyes moved back to hers. If he could show her how bad it would be for her, maybe he could get through and make her understand. “You have your entire life ahead of you. It would complicate everything for you. It’s against university policy, and I don’t want to see you get in trouble.” He could see by the look in her eyes she didn’t care if she got into trouble. She was willing to risk everything just to be with him.

“If that’s how you feel, why do you dress the way you do? Why do you look at me the way you do? I’m not an idiot. I see what you’re doing. You can’t just flirt with me until you get bored, and then move on.” Her jaw tensed as she spoke.

God, is this woman psychotic?

But if he was honest with himself, the crazier she sounded, the more he wanted her. He secretly loved how much she craved him, even though he couldn’t act on it. The power that came with that was almost too much to keep him restrained. When her jaw tensed, and the anger filled her tone, his cock stiffened more.

Compose yourself.

“It wasn’t my intention to lead you on. I apologize if you took it that way. I try to look nice because I take my job seriously. If I expect my students to take things seriously, I have to set an example.” He knew it was bullshit. He’d dressed up for her. She was spot-on with her assumptions.

Part of him loved the fact he was heating her up even more. Frustrating her. He didn’t like that about himself, but what else could he say?

She was about to respond when the door suddenly opened, and one of the other students walked in. Grant recognized the kid from one of his other classes, but he didn’t know his name.

“Sorry, professor. Am I interrupting?” His eyes roamed from Grant to Kristen.

“What’s up, Jordan?” She turned to face him.

Grant didn’t like the look in her eyes when she did it, as if she had some devious plan.

“We’re busy, if you don’t mind.” Grant’s words came out harsher than intended.

Kristen stared over at the professor and shook her head. “No, that’s okay. We were just wrapping up. It’s no big deal.”

Grant’s stare hardened at her, as if to say what the hell are you doing?

Kristen turned to Jordan. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, I just left something in the room earlier. Gonna see if it’s still here.” He ran over to a table and reached down and picked up something off the floor. “Sorry, professor. My lucky pen.” He held it up at them.

“Lucky pen?” Grant asked.

“Yeah, I aced all my finals with it last year, so I keep it for test days. Thought it was gone.”

“Okay then.” Grant nodded to the door.

Kristen had taken a few steps toward the exit as well while Grant had been talking to Jordan.

Jordan looked Kristen up and down in her outfit, definitely checking her out. Grant’s hands balled into fists at his sides, and he caught himself glaring at Jordan.

“You can walk me out, if you don’t mind.” She stared back at Grant when she said it and added a little sway in her hips. She stopped next to Jordan and hooked her arm in his.

Jordan’s eyes lit up like a horny teenager. “There’s a few people going bar-hopping downtown tonight. Wanna go? Might get a little crazy.”

Kristen glanced back at Grant, as if challenging him to stop her, and then back to Jordan. “Sounds awesome.”

Heat rushed into Grant’s face, and he didn’t appreciate the way he was affected by this. He was a professor for fuck’s sake, and she was a college student. He should be encouraging her to go and have fun, yet all he could think about was ramming Jordan’s face through the wall for touching her. When he was finished, he’d tell him to stay the fuck away from what was his.

The more his mind wandered, the worse it got. She’d practically accepted a date right in front of him. And if they were going bar hopping, it meant she’d be drinking, most likely heavy drinking. He knew how the college boys were. They’d get women drunk and do anything in their power to take advantage of them.

No. He couldn’t let her make a mistake like that. The thought of her fucking some little frat boy like Jordan sent flames rushing through his body. His chest constricted, and every muscle tightened.

He had to do something, but what? He couldn’t tell her to stop acting like a fucking idiot in front of Jordan. He couldn’t make a scene. “You have a test coming up, Miss Monroe. You’d better get a good score, or college, and the bar hopping, might end early for you.” His face had to be bright red, and he needed a cold shower to cool himself off.

She looked at him with a wry smile. “Thank you so much, professor. Seriously, you were such a huge help to me today. I’ve got it down now. Think I’ll celebrate with a little fun.” She turned to Jordan. “Want to pick me up?”

Jordan practically drooled in front of her but tried to do one of those frat boy head nods to play it cool. He stared down at Kristen’s ass while she was turned toward the professor. “Definitely. Text me your room number. I’ll pick you up when you’re ready. We were thinking about heading out around seven.”

“Here’s my phone. Put your number in it, and I’ll send you a text when I get back to the dorms.”

She grinned at Grant while Jordan typed his number in the phone.

Grant glared at her, trying to let her know how displeased he was with nothing but his eyes.

It was a mistake. He should act like he didn’t care. He knew that was the way to win this little game of hers, but his frustration wouldn’t allow it.

Jordan handed the phone back.

“Goodnight, professor.” Kristen didn’t even bother to look back after she turned and followed Jordan through the door.

Fucking bitch.

Maybe it was for the best. Maybe once she was gone things would improve. He’d calm down and go back to grading papers. All he could do was worry about her though. His feelings morphed from angry to concerned.

The worst part was he knew if he really wanted, he could be fucking an orgasm out of her right now, on his bed and pretty much anywhere else he wanted. She would’ve followed him blindly and did whatever he told her to do.

Fuck.

He was almost sure she had a fake ID. Every damn freshman on the campus seemed to have one, and if they didn’t, someone else would buy the shit for them. He’d pissed her off. She’d probably get wasted now to take her mind off him. He knew she drank heavily. The girl was hungover and smelled of alcohol on the first day of school.

What if she got drunk and something happened? She could end up drugged or raped. Would it be his fault? Not legally, but he could’ve prevented it if he hadn’t run her off. He’d be up all night worried about what he’d done.

Right then, he realized he had to stop sending her signals, flirting with her. This was the exact reason he never should’ve done it in the first place.

He’d led her on. Rejected her. And now she was going to go make a stupid decision because of him. It had to stop. All of it. He needed to cut the shit off, stop sending her mixed signals, and be clear and concise the next time he saw her.

He had to let her know nothing would ever happen between them.