Paige didn’t see Jack until she reached the lecture room later that morning. She paused on the platform, taking him in. He was wearing a white button-down shirt, the collar open, his throat tan, the cuffs rolled back on his muscular forearms. He was reading something on his phone, and he had a pair of glasses on, making him look like a very sexy professor.
He glanced up as she set her things on the front table. Warmth glimmered in his eyes. “And there is my favorite mathematician.”
Her lips quivered, smiled. Her insides felt like fizzy candy and heat washed through her, making her nape, her face, her breasts sensitive. She hunched her shoulders at the jolt of adrenaline racing through her. “How many mathematicians have you dated?” she asked.
“You’d be the first.” He stood close and his collar fell open, giving her a tantalizing glimpse of his broad chest.
More bronzed skin.
More firm muscles.
She could smell a hint of his aftershave and she inhaled deeply, thinking he smelled delicious, thinking she’d like to see him with his shirt off, thinking she’d very much like to touch his skin. Paige felt an ache low in her belly, an ache she could feel between her legs. Jack was turning her on, just standing there.
So weird to realize she wasn’t dead, that a few hormones still flitted around, making her feel breathless and giddy.
She remembered the kiss Saturday night, as well as the conversation. He made her feel young again, as if she was a girl. It wasn’t necessarily a bad way to feel. Just disconcerting.
“And you?” he asked, stepping away to arrange his lecture notes.
“No mathematicians for me, and no scientists except for you.”
He glanced at her, a teasing light in his eye, and was just about to answer, when a student approached, mentioning some difficulty she’d had over the weekend, and she hadn’t been able to do the reading for today’s lecture.
The student went to find a seat, and Paige went to take her chair just off to the side. Jack placed his laptop and notes on the podium then crossed to her.
“Did you have a good time with Nichole?” he asked.
“Yes.” She couldn’t hide her happiness. “It was a shock seeing her. But I loved the spontaneity. We only had the day together, but we made the most of it.”
“I’m glad.”
“I still want to do the Crystal Cove hike with you, though. Maybe this weekend?”
“I’m hoping to see Oliver this weekend, but don’t know his schedule yet. Once I do, I’ll get back to you.”
“Sounds good.”
“I do have a proposition for you. I know you have office hours after class, but I wanted to fill you in, get your thoughts.”
Jack’s deep voice, coupled with the words, I have a proposition for you, made her think dirty thoughts. But then, she’d been thinking delightfully dirty things ever since Saturday night.
Jack taught the first half of the period, and Paige sat off to the side listening to the lecture. Or more accurately, listening to his voice, but not focusing too much on the actual words. Instead, she replayed Saturday night, the party, the drive home, and then the kiss.
She remembered how good it had felt to be pressed up against her front door, Jack’s body leaning into hers, his broad chest against her breasts, his hips hard on hers. It had been intense and exciting, and she’d loved every moment of it.
It had been so long since she’d felt anything like that, so long since she’d been touched, and made to feel good.
Pleasure. It was a novelty concept at this point in her life, and yet just that small taste Saturday night made her want more.
Sleeping with Jack would be good. He’d kissed her as if he had all the time in the world. She suspected he made love that way, too. He’d be patient with her, and he’d make her come, if she let him.
She hadn’t let him in Paris. She hadn’t been able to relax, and she couldn’t let go of control.
Control remained an issue for her, but at least she wasn’t that inexperienced girl who didn’t know her way around a man’s body. She did now.
She looked at Jack standing at the podium, clicking through a PowerPoint on the regulation of single-species populations, long-sleeve shirt rolled back on muscular, tan forearms, buttons undone at the collar, hinting at the strong, broad planes of his chest. His legs were long, his hips narrow, his shoulders broad. He had an athlete’s body. Fit. Sinewy. Appealing.
She wondered what he’d look like without clothes. Wondered where his tan lines were, and if he slept in pajamas, or naked. Probably naked, she guessed, biting back a smile.
Jack glanced at her, his warm gold-brown eyes meeting hers briefly before returning to the students. “Is anyone here getting excited about our field work?” he asked. “I know Dr. Newsome is.” He looked at her once more. “And with that, I hand the class over to you.”
She gathered her satchel with the books and notes and turned to whisper to Jack, “You play dirty, Dr. King.”
He grinned, utterly unrepentant. “I play to win. You should, too.”
Paige shook her head, but she was smiling, and as she opened her notes, she faced the class. “Good afternoon, everyone. It’s nice to see you again.”
Her hour flew by and then class was over, and students streamed out. A student approached Jack as she packed her books and notes up, but then the student was gone, and she and Jack climbed the stairs of the lecture hall together. “You’re good at what you do,” he said.
“Thank you. I really like what I do, and this school is a great fit. I enjoyed Duke, but I’m a California girl at heart. I love all the sunshine.”
“Heard you went to a party Saturday night,” he said.
She glanced up at him, feeling mischievous. “I did, and then this nice guy drove me home.”
“Nice guy, was he?”
“Mmm. A scientist. From Australia.”
“Sounds boring.”
She laughed. “He’s a little bit nerdy, but that’s part of his charm.”