with you. Teach them a lesson.”
I took the scrap of paper from him. Professor Adler had given me his phone number.
Why did I want to jump up and down and scream in delight?
“And don’t take too long to text me. Because until you do, I won’t have your number.”
He wanted my number? He wanted my number!
But wait a minute. Maybe he did this with all the undergrads he could butter up with flattery.
“Thank you. Good night, Professor—”
But before I could jump out of his car, he put his hand on mine.
And then leaned closer until his lips were on mine.
Holy shit. Professor Adler had just kissed me.
Chapter 17
PROFESSOR BENJAMIN ADLER
Dammit. After that kiss, all I could think of was the lovely Senna.
And every woman I saw on campus with chin-length black hair looked like her from a distance, too.
I was a fucking idiot. I knew better than to fall for a student.
Sure, over the years, I’d been attracted to any number of beautiful, young women. The university was full of them, and sometimes it was torture, not being able to act on my strongest instincts. While it wasn’t against university rules, getting involved with students was advised against. And my personal belief was that it would invite nothing but a shit ton of problems. The balance of power was too out of whack for it to work out well for anyone.
Then why Senna? I barely knew her.
But I did know I admired her.
I put my head down and plowed through the campus’s morning crowds, late as usual for my eight a.m. Not only was I not a morning person, but I was shit at being on time.
I looked up as I neared Hobart Hall, and damned if I didn’t really see Senna this time, just a few yards away from me.
I resisted the urge to jog and catch up to her. Nothing good could come of us becoming involved, or even becoming friends for that matter. I knew I could never keep it platonic. And I kind of hated myself for it.
It was actually interesting, watching Senna make her way across campus toward class, hustling so she herself would get there on time. She wore her usual skinny jeans, accented by some wild-looking red cowboy boots, and had her short hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail. She wove in and out of all the other students rushing to class, minding her own business, lost in thought.
But the other students weren’t as lost in thought, particularly the guys she passed on her way.
I spent time around young college men all day, and I knew their biggest weakness was their inability to control themselves around a beautiful woman. The kind of discretion they needed would elude most of them until they got a little older. But I’d never seen heads turn the way I was now, in Senna’s direction.
Jesus. They were like fucking dogs in heat.
And being the no-nonsense person I knew her to be, it probably bugged the shit out of her.
As I drew closer, one young man even went as far as to stop her. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I didn’t need to. It was the same thing any ballsy guy said when trying to get to know a pretty girl. And the same thing I would have said at his age.
But when I got closer, close enough to hear the two of them, I could make out that she was turning him down.
Way to go…
And instead of going away graciously, he turned on her.
“Fine. You’re not that hot, anyway.” He turned on his heel, leaving her dumbfounded at his overreaction, when he turned back to her for one last comment. “Fucking bitch,” he said loudly.
Uh-oh.
Dude had just made two serious mistakes. First, he’d called Senna a name. Second, he’d said it in front of me.
As she stood there, her mouth gaping as he walked away, I stepped into his path.
“Excuse me,” he said, trying to get around me.
“No,” I said firmly.
He looked at me in surprise and tried to step around me again.
And again, I blocked him.
“I heard you. Apologize to that woman,” I said.
His head snapped back, and he puffed up to his full size, which was still considerably shorter than I. “Fuck off, man,” he said, stepping to the side.
But I moved so I was in front of him again. He wasn’t passing until he did as he was told.
“Apologize. You heard me,” I said, gripping his arm.
He looked momentarily panicked, obviously