Page 30 of The Teacher and the Virgin

Oh. My. God.

He knew. God, he knew I was a virgin. He must have heard me talking to Tori earlier.

It wasn't nerves that made my hands shake, it was embarrassment. Embarrassment over what we'd done, the pseudo walk-of-shame when we'd walked out of the bathroom to the knowing and amused looks from the waiting women.

“Come home with me.”He'd said the words I'd dreamed about, longed for, since the first day on the job. And now, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. Obviously, the orgasm he'd given me had short-circuited my brain.

I'd let Carter Buchanan, the man I'd been secretly lusting after all year, finger fuck me in the bathroom. I'd lost my mind. Begged him not to stop.

He was good. Really, really good and that had just been his hand.

I turned my head to track his movements and saw someone from work grab his arm, stopping him for a chat. Thank God. Not up for small talk, I kept on walking, right out the front entrance. When the cool evening air hit my cheeks, the last of my orgasm faded and reality set in. Shaking as I pulled my cell from my bra, I tried to focus on the positive. At least Carter hadn’t run for the hills like Jim from accounting. Maybe being a unicorn wasn’t the single woman’s kiss of death for dating.

Carter wanted me. Or, at the very least, he was willing to take my virginity. Pop my cherry.

In the year I'd worked at Buchanan Industries, he'd never once let on that he was interested in me. Not once. Not a heated stare, not an inappropriate comment, not even an accidental brush of his arm against mine. Nothing.

Of course there were sexual harassment laws that would have shut him down if he did anything at the office, but nope. Nada. Not even one lingering stare. Absolutely zero interest.

The same could not be said about me. I’d been the idiot, lusting after him the moment I laid eyes on him. But I was a middle-class, suburban girl from Denver. He was ten years older, worldly, well-traveled and experienced with women…and everything else.

On day one, when Ford had introduced me to his brother, the other admins couldn’t wait to get me alone. The moment that office door closed on the sexy, single Buchanan brothers, they’d surrounded me with their wild tales. I'd learned that if I slept with Carter, I’d be just another pussy in a long line of conquests he’d taken to bed. And, even knowing that, I'd still wanted him. God, did I.

“You’re hopeless.” I waived my hand in an unsuccessful attempt to flag down a taxi. As the yellow and black car whizzed past I sent Tori a quick text.

I’m going home.

Her response was immediate.CB is chasing you. Get caught.

I had to blink twice, slowly, and reread the words just to make sure I wasn’t losing it.Get caught.

That was so not happening.He’s my boss.

For a week. And you already quit. Doesn’t count. Live a little, unicorn girl. What do you have to lose?

What did I have to lose? My virginity, but I didn’t care to keep that. My mind? I squelched a burst of laughter at that thought. Too late. All logic and basis in reality had been lost up against the wall in the bathroom. Worse than that, I could lose my heart.

I could sleep with a stranger and keep my feelings out of it. But with Carter, that might be impossible. Robotic, unemotional fucking was not what I imagined when Carter came to mind. No, more like mind-blowing, never get over him, sex.

Slowly, so slowly, I breathed deep, trying to cool off and think. The night air was refreshing after the stuffy club. The pulsing music was muted once the door shut behind me. There was a small line of people waiting to get inside at the front and a bouncer checking ID's. I wasn't alone on the street, but I felt that way.

Teetering on my high heels, I started down the block to flag a taxi. I'd embarrassed myself enough for one night. Swallowing down tears that sprang to my eyes from nowhere, I lifted my arm when a taxi came down the street, dropped it when it cruised right on by. Damn it. What the hell?

I sighed. My shoulders drooped.

“What are you doing? You shouldn't be out here by yourself.”

I spun on my ridiculously high heels at Carter's voice.

He was so handsome. I couldn't be mad at him for that. His gorgeousness wasn't his fault; he'd been born that way. I couldn't really even be mad for, well, anything, because he'd given me just what I'd wanted. Well, almost. Iwasat the club tonight with one goal, just one, to get laid. He was willing.

I lifted my phone, then glanced down, let my thumbs fly over the screen, sending one more quick note to my friend. “Texting Tori. I told her I’m going home.”

“We're not done, Emma.” His words stilled my fingers. When he stepped closer, he stilled my breathing.

I heard a car coming down the street. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw it was another taxi and hailed it.

Carter came up beside me and when the taxi pulled to the curb, waved off the driver who flipped him off and kept going.

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