Page 33 of Reckless Temptation

I exhaled a long breath and acknowledged her praise with a nod of my own. “Thank you.”

“Andthat”—she pointed at me—“is the passion we should exude in our pursuit of interpreting the law.” As she rounded thedesk to begin her lecture, she glanced back up at me. “It’s also how any of you can hope to achieve a strong letter of recommendation for the summer internship.”

Oh, my God!I bit my cheek to keep from grinning. High on her praise, I relished the satisfaction of sticking up for myself. Elise would be so proud.Iwas proud. I was so damn proud of myself for turning a bad experience into a learning moment, into something good.

“What she say?” Maxim whispered as Professor Angus launched into her lecture.

I gave in to a smile now and slid my notebook over a little more so he could copy my notes.

The high I felt from Professor Angus’s praise didn’t last forever, though. As soon as class was over, I hurried to find Elise out on the campus square. Unfortunately, Tiffany and Rachel blocked me at the door to reach the sunshine outdoors.

“You aresucha pathetic slut,” Rachel sneered.

I didn’t react, keeping my lips shut and merely glancing at them.

“Yeah. A trashy slut,” Tiffany added, glancing around in case anyone would overhear her badmouthing me. “Mark my words, whore.” She narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t matter what bullshit you said back there. Everyone on campus will make sure youneverlive this down.”

They stalked away with the last word, and as I watched them get smaller in the distance, I tried not to let their cruel words hit me harder.

Everything online lived forever. No one would forget this incident. All I could hope for was for the excitement about itto die down and fade soon. Once that Daniela handle posted something else by another artist, the hype about Nick’s painting would fade. Just like it had when Nick suggested I’d been in a wet T-shirt contest, this would become old news.

It had to.

Yet, as I felt the familiar burn of his stare on my back, I turned to see him hanging around in the hallway and watching me.

Always following me.

Is it worth it?

I had no clue how to decipher his interest in making my life hell. I didn’t want to let him have an ounce of power over me, making me feel so vulnerable and exposed like this.

If I remained here in this program and stayed in the fight, would he ever back off?

What do you want from me, Nick?

What are you trying to do to me?

Did he pull that painting stunt to get back at me for slapping him?

I hung my head as I turned around to go outside. Pushing the door open, I waited for the sunshine to warm me up and soothe my frayed nerves. It’d been a roller coaster of emotions since the moment I got up.

I couldn’t begin to guess what Nick wanted from me. All I could cling to was the fledgling determination to not let him get to me—ever.

12

NICK

Iwanted Sabrina to yell at me.

I craved her anger. A reaction. Something.

This aloof distance that Sabrina put between us gnawed at me, making me more restless than ever before.

I lingered in the hallway outside her classroom this morning. I’d been waiting for her to get off the bus—that committed to stalking her and knowing her routine—but when it didn’t show, I hurried to her first class. I had to see how she was taking the news of the painting I’d let Daniela share.

When that asshole in her class suggested he would use my painting as something to jerk off to, I saw red.

I hadn’t put it up for him to fucking appreciate it. Not like that.

---