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My heart leapt right into my throat. Holy cow. This man was gorgeous—uncomfortably so. He was not exactly what I’d seen in the papers—online and print. He was tall, striding with thick legs to the podium, his perfectly sculpted chin up, and his shiny black hair gleaming under the crappy lighting.
A hot breath blew between my lips, and for a moment I thought I actually moaned. I bit my lip, waiting for him to face the class, just like everyone else was waiting too. And when he finally did, my stomach rippled, because his glowing hazel-green eyes latched onto mine and held them. How I could see the exact color of his iris was beyond me—I was too far away.
I wanted to pass out from not breathing. And my face was so hot, I thought I’d explode at any moment. What the actual hell? I had never in my life responded to a man like this before. Never. But he had a power around him, an energy that commanded attention. He was a magnet. And I was drawn as if my own free will was null and void.
And in a moment, he turned his electric gaze away from me, and I was completely abandoned, deflated. He took my life force in those few moments. Scary. I hoped this was just a one-off. Because if I couldn’t even breathe around my professor, how would I pass the course?
Damn. I dropped my gaze to my notebook, opened to a blank page, and took in a breath.
“Sorry for the delay. I don’t appreciate tardiness in others as well as myself.” His voice was deep, booming over the auditorium. He didn’t even have a microphone. “But some person who either doesn’t have manners or know how to read took my assigned parking spot.”
I gasped, snapping my eyes to him again. But he no longer looked at me. No, he was rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, each to his elbows.
“Anyone here drive a white Volkswagen?” His eyebrow lifted, and he scanned the quiet room, no one saying a word. Mr. Miller nodded, took out his laptop, and opened the lid, the projector activating with a slide that read: Criminal Justice I, Ursin Miller, JD. “Okay, I see what kind of class this is going to be.”
Oh, God. It had to have been me. Because getting the parking spot right outside the building shouldn’t have been so easy. And yes, I did have a white Volkswagen. Oh, no. Waves of anxiety rushed through my body. I was more convinced than ever. It was me. I parked in Mr. Miller’s parking spot.
“It wasn’t me, sir.” A blonde student and others also shouted their innocence.
Mr. Miller nodded, and his gaze slid along the students, then stopped on me again. Flames of heat lashed my skin, and my heart rattled wild in my chest.
“No worries.” His jaw clenched. “I will find out. I have no doubt about that.”
Of course, he would find out. He was the DA, for God’s sake, which meant one thing. I was screwed.
Chapter Two
Ursin Miller
After the two-hour class of me basically scaring the shit out of one hundred and fifty co-eds, I packed up and began the trek back to the farthest faculty parking lot from the building. Man, I was still annoyed about someone parking in my spot. I should have had it towed, but I didn’t have the time to get into it. If he or she decided to park there again tomorrow, I’d show no mercy. None.
But it was always something, every summer I taught Criminal Justice at the university. Never once in the three summers I taught this course did everything go smoothly. I hoped this summer would be different. No fucking luck.
The auditorium had emptied, now refilling with students from a different class. British Literature. Or some shit. I had nothing against literature, but there were criminals on the streets who needed to be incarcerated, not read a sonnet. I scoffed at my joke and walked to the entry of the building, where the light from outside came through the large windows. Damn. My eyes watered for a moment. I should have slipped on sunglasses before I left the podium.
“Mr. Miller…” The mousy voice came from the left.
I had to turn my whole body because I was going right. And when I set my gaze on the granola brunette with wide, dark eyes and not a stitch of makeup on her face, my breath stalled. She commanded my immediate attention, and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because her cheeks were bright pink when she looked at me.
“Yeah?” I should have been nicer, but the sun was in my eyes, and my schedule was being held up.
She bit her raspberry-pink lip, and my eyes zeroed in on the act. A flash of pink tongue moved between white teeth, and I wanted to stare harder. But I couldn’t because she was my student, and she better spit out whatever she had on her mind.
“Can you speak?” I clenched my jaw.
Her gaze dropped, and in a flash, she wasn’t so mousy anymore. She was insulted, nostrils flaring. But for just a moment. Then her dark eyes were on me, unwavering and so brave.
“It was me.”
“It was you, what?” I narrowed my gaze.
She pursed her full lips and blew out a defiant breath. “I parked in your spot. I’m sorry.”
You’ve got to be fucking with me. This girl looked like she never broke a rule in her life.
“Oh, did you?” I had to grunt because she was the last of my suspects.
And the defiance was gone, replaced with remorse and shame. Jesus, this girl was too good for the world I lived in. And I couldn’t help but soften to her. Sort of. Being soft was uncomfortable for me.
