Page 323 of The Winslow Brothers

Mentally, I feel like I’ve been knocked down a peg or two from where I started my seduction scene in this lecture.

“All right, settle down, guys. And let’s give Ms. Rose a round of applause for fearlessly volunteering.” The class claps and a few rogue students let out some piercing whistles, and I throw up a hand from my spot in my chair in recognition.

Yeah, yeah, thanks. Let’s move on now.

Ty smirks in my direction when he notes my cardigan is back on, silently basking in his successful diversion of my attention, and my eyes narrow in response.

Look who has the upper hand now,my mind whispers.

Son of a bitch. I wish I could let it go, but there is just something inside me that can’t let him get away with robbing the power from me. Iwon’t.I came into this class with the advantage, and I’m going to leave with it too, so help me God.

“For homework, I want you to go back toAnna Kareninaand pick out some other vocabulary Tolstoy used. Focus in particular on terms that might seem out of place in modern literature. We’ll go over it first thing on Thursday, and I’ll have a new bag of candy. You’ll want to impress me.”

The class laughs once again, and he waves a dramatic hand in dismissal.

I monitor their exit carefully, waiting patiently for the opportunity to talk to Ty privately, after they’ve all left. It takes them a little longer than I want, but I somehow manage to make it look like I’m busy packing up my belongings the whole time, scooting toward Ty’s desk just as the last student heads out the door.

I swing my bag up onto my shoulder, my sweater still on but left open with a large percentage of my bust on display. His eyes flick to the showing on my approach but divert relatively quickly as he goes back to putting papers in his briefcase.

“Sorry for the tardiness today, Professor,” I say smartly, raising just one eyebrow in a way that I know he’ll understand.

He chuckles briefly before remarking, “That’s okay. I’d say we’re even now.”

“Oh yeah. We are,” I agree easily. “Interesting use of props for today’s Tolstoy discussion.”

“Definitely was interesting,” he says, and his smile deepens. But it’s more than just a smile; it’s a nonverbal cue. It’s his way of telling me he thinks he’s won our little game.

That smile gets in my craw and turns my focus laser sharp. Instead of simply accepting the situation for what it is, there’s nothing more important to me in this moment than leaving with me on top again.

I step forward then, pushing my body into the side of his arm and placing my lips to his ear. He shivers at the unexpected contact, his eyes widening slightly.

“There’s just one thing no one managed to catch on to when they were describing me today,” I whisper, grabbing Ty’s chin and turning it so he’ll face me. He swallows hard, and I grin.

“And w-what’s that?”

“Hot for teacher.” I wink and push myself up on my tippy-toes to just barely brush my lips over his.

He jumps at the contact, and my stomach flips over on itself.

With one last bout of eye contact, I finally turn on my heel and head for the door without looking back.

Have I mentioned that I’ll do anything to win?

Take that, Professor. Who’s in charge now?

Saturday, February 2nd

Ty

I tuck my shirt into my jeans and roll up the sleeves to my forearms before grabbing my phone from its spot on the nightstand and checking for messages from my family.

There are a couple from my sister Winnie, primarily reminding me not to forget to show up for Daisy’s baby shower today—as if I would flake out on something that important—and one from my mom, asking that I not mention the fact that she’s trying out online dating to the rest of the family.

Don’t worry, Wendy, that’s exactly the last conversation I want to get into with Flynn, one of the most aggressively protective assholes alive, while I’m supposed to be celebrating Daisy’s twins.

I mentioned it to Remy already, but honestly, he seemed more interested in blowing a banana than talking about our mom’s love life. I don’t think she has anything to worry about.

I shoot her a text back, promising to keep her sexual reawakening on the down-low, and then bop over to my contacts to scroll through my list of eligible women. After spending far too much time out of sorts, I’m ready to get back on my game.Obviously, I need a reminder of exactly who Ty Winslow is, and I’m going to give it to him—me…whatever.

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