Page 45 of Private Tutoring
Grinning, she swung her legs out of my grasp and stood. Her perfect ass tempted me to bend her over the desk for a second round, but the sound of students racing across the stage drove me to yank my pants on and smooth Harmony’s hair. Her lips were puffy from my kisses, and she wore her pleasure in a glow that radiated from her eyes. I couldn’t do anything about that except help her get out the back door without anyone spotting her.
I clasped her fingers, bringing them up to my lips and kissing her knuckles. “I’ll see you later.”
She kissed the corner of my mouth. “Definitely. Every single inch.” Her eyebrows arched in a playful manner she’d begun showing this week.
Tapping the end of her nose, I matched her smile. “Can’t wait.”
The noise from the stage intensified, and I heard someone shout my name.
Harmony turned me around and pushed my back. “Go. I know my way out.” She opened the door and nudged me out into the hall, then ducked the opposite way, leaving the theater through the one emergency door that didn’t blare an alarm.
My earlier worry fell away as I watched her go. She wasn’t growing tired of us. The cathartic release of her company put a lightness in my steps that carried me out from behind the curtain with a smile on my face. I clapped. “All right. Let’s get started.”
I’d worried no woman would ever want to stay with me. Harmony proved me wrong.
22
STEPHEN
This was getting ridiculous. I couldn’t stop thinking about Harmony. In class. Out of class. Even after having sex with her multiple times, my emotions refused to calm down. I found myself pacing back and forth in my classroom, becoming short with a few of my students, and even searching for Harmony in classes she didn’t attend.
I had to do better. Why couldn’t I get her out of my head? Or my heart? Every day that passed and I continued to want her—body and soul—led me deeper into the threat of love.
I’d expected to spend a few nights with her and have it out of my system, nothing more than a passing flirtation that left as quickly as it had hit.
No such luck. I ran my hands through my hair as the last class for the day ended. “Don’t forget your study guides. You’ll need them for the test next week.”
Papers shuffled. Students talked among themselves. I turned my attention to the board, working a little too hard at erasing the equations I’d spent the last hour explaining. The constant motion gave me too much time to think. I had more than enough of that already.
“Hey, Professor?” A feminine voice sounded from my left.
I turned to face the brunette who’d started wearing short skirts and sitting in the front row last month. She took things to the next level yesterday when she spread her legs, attempting to give me a view of her panties. Withholding the sigh threatening to escape, I resumed cleaning the board. “Yes, Miss Argyle?”
“I was wondering.” She took a step closer and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “I mean, could you tutor me?”
“No.” Somehow, I managed to keep my tone pleasant even as I denied her. “I’m afraid my schedule doesn’t allow me to take on more tutoring sessions. You could speak with Lee.” I snapped my fingers and pointed. “Hey, Lee, could you help Miss Argyle with her math?”
“Sure.” Lee Thompson, the lanky senior who currently had the highest score in any of my classes, beamed at the girl shooting daggers in my direction. “What are you having the most trouble with.” Lee scurried over and stepped between me and the girl.
Her sudden understanding of the problem came as no surprise to me. Lee didn’t take the hint but helped the girl carry her books from the room.
I released a pent-up breath, finished cleaning the boards, and retreated to my office. I had a tutoring session with Harmony in a few minutes, and I needed to figure out how to regain some of my composure before her arrival.
The things we’d done in the penthouse were not supposed to interfere with my day-to-day life. I wasn’t supposed to think about her every second of every day. She wasn’t supposed to help me heal from my grief.
I rubbed my thumb over my empty ring finger. I’d worn my wedding ring the first three years but had finally removed it and stored it in a small jewelry box on my dresser. I missed theweight of the gold ring. Missed my wife with the kind of ache that stole my breath and made me wish for death.
Until Harmony.
Her signature three-tap knock on my door announced her arrival while I was still in the middle of gathering my thoughts.
I turned to face her, hands deep in my pockets. “You’re early.”
The light smile that played with her lips and made me want to kiss her fell a bit. “My last class ended early.” She cleared her throat. “Want me to wait outside?”
“No. It’s fine.” If I couldn’t handle her showing up twenty minutes early, I didn’t have any right to be her tutor or a professor. “Let’s see how you did on your homework.” I held out my hand, and she slid the sheets of paper across my palm. “Have a seat.” I pointed the papers at the small desk beside the door. We should move to the main classroom, but I preferred the cozy intimacy of my office.
She sat and knotted her hands together on the smooth top. “The last test seemed easier. I worried I’d forget everything you taught me, but I didn’t.” Her smile returned, bigger and brighter than before. “Did I get them right?”
