Page 47 of The Professor's Possession (Crystal River Billionaire Brothers)

“You must know that,” she says. “You must know everyone talks about you. You are the biggest topic of gossip at the university.”

“Do you think I warrant that level of interest?” I ask her slowly.

Olivia shrugs. “Yeah. Maybe.”

“Are you interested in me, Miss Weldon?”

“I amintrigued,” she replies.

“Intrigued?”

“Yes.”

Yep, I really, really like that.

I pause.

“Okay. You can ask me whatever you want,” I say. “And if it is a reasonable question, I will answer.”

Olivia scrunches up her pretty face, surprised by my uncharacteristic openness. And, truth be told, so am I. Interviews aren’t my thing at all. But I am liking this flirty flow between Miss Weldon and me. She’s keeping me on my toes. I want to keep her around.

You could say I amintriguedabout her.

“Tell me about yourself,” she splutters out. “You’re from Crystal River, right? You went to Harvard? I’ve tried to find out other stuff, but you’re like a ghost. There’s nothing online about you.”

They are the usual expected questions that are typically thrown my way. But, coming from Olivia, this means one thing.

I raise a curious eyebrow. “You’ve tried to find out other stuff? So you have beenstalkingme? That is beyond intrigued, Miss Weldon.”

Her cheeks go red again. “No... I haven’t... I didn’t mean...”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” I whisper. Olivia looks up, shocked by my words. Before she has a chance to respond, I continue. “I must admit, I am a ghost on purpose - I don’t want people finding out more about me than I want them to. It is a necessity when your father is one of the most famous and richest and most powerful media moguls on the planet.”

“Okay,” Olivia mumbles, clearly a bit embarrassed by my unraveling of her stalker hobby. “That sounds perfectly reasonable. I think that’s all I need to know. I really don’t mean to pry, I just thought I’d take the chance now that I am sitting here, in your house. Please don’t think of me as some stalker.”

“Truthfully, that is the last thing that crosses my mind when I think of you,” I reply.

Olivia blushes yet again.

“I just don’t want you to have that opinion of me,” she says. “I’m not a stalker. I’m not obsessed or fangirling out or anything.”

“You are a smart girl, Miss Weldon,” I reply. “The last thing you need to be is distracted by your professor shrouded in mystery. Focus on your work.”

She nods. “Yep. Will do.”

“I hope I’ve reassured you that I am no ghost,” I whisper. “I hope you can see that I am flesh and blood like any other man. I just like my privacy.”

“Let’s go back to the essay,” she says, obviously eager to move on quickly. “And let’s completely forget about my silly awkwardness and my rambling.”

“Sure,” I reply.

And I take her through her work without any reference to her questioning. We get nice and close to each other as I guide her down the notes I’ve made. As we work, our hands accidentally touch another time, and then another, and then another. It’s all too much and so exciting. The tension between us can be cut with a knife.

She is a smart girl. And beautiful. And alluring. And I would love to progress things further...

But I understand the necessity of proceeding with patience when it comes to this girl. Olivia is a treasure that demands a gentle touch. The purity of her soul is something exceptional, and that’s what draws me to her. The acquisition of someone like her is a prize that requires meticulous timing.

She is not like other girls I have dealt with.

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