"Goddamn, princess," he growls before biting my lip. "I've made a mess of your little panties thinking about how good you taste."
"You did?" My head thumps against the wall, a whimper leaving my lips at the thought of him really using them to get himself off. Why is that so sexy to me?
"Yes," he growls, bouncing me hard as if to punish me. It feels more like a reward to me. "So often my dick is raw. It hasn't made me want you even an ounce less. I'm in hell, Caroline. Without you, I'm in hell."
His confession makes me sob his name. My stomach twists, sending both misery and joy soaring through me. I pull him back in for another searing kiss, holding him to me as tightly as I can as I writhe and wiggle, mindlessly chasing the pleasure I know waits for me. I'm right on the edge, seconds from tumbling over.
"I'm so tired of studying," a girl complains.
Her voice hits me like a bucket of ice water poured over me. My impending orgasm disappears, and I freeze. So does Jared. Neither of us breathes as she and her friend walk by, complaining about an upcoming exam. They're so close, all they would have to do is peek around the corner to see me pressed up against the wall, my legs around Jared's waist and his hands on my ass.
Thankfully, their voices fade as quickly as they sounded.
Jared exhales a breath against my lips, slowly loosening his grip on me. His eyes meet mine, but I'm not ready to look at him yet. Even though I know I should tell him to put me down so I can flee, I don't. I bury my face in his throat and cling to him.
"Sweet baby," he breathes, pressing kisses into my hair.
I tell myself I'll let go in a moment, but I don't want to do it. I want to stay right here, even though there are a million reasons we can't do this. My god. We were almost caught dry humping in his office! He doesn't just work at the school. He's a professor here. My baby sister's overly cranky professor. He could be fired. I could be expelled. Not to mention that me being with him would break Kennedy's heart.
Funny how none of that seems to matter as much as it should when his lips ghost across my crown and he whispers my name like a prayer.
"I missed holding you so much," he murmurs.
"Jared."
"I wrote your sister's recommendation three weeks ago," he says, the words spilling from his lips as if he's afraid I won't let him say them if he doesn't do it quickly. "I never intended to be so hard on any of my students, Kennedy included. I just wanted to give them a fair shot in a world that chews up and spits out talented writers every day, but I fucked up. Meeting you made me realize that I have to fix it."
"You really mean that."
"I do."
He says it so simply, so matter-of-factly, that I can't doubt him.
"I know I need to change my methods, learn to be a little less overbearing." He pauses for a moment when I wriggle for him to put me down. He reluctantly sets me on my feet. "I don't want to be the reason talented people like your sister give up. I can't undo the last few years, but I can do better, princess. I'm trying."
"Why start with her?" I try to hide the hint of jealousy in my voice, but I think it bleeds through anyway because he pulls me back into his arms.
"She deserves to win the Braxton Prize," he says. Maybe it's my imagination, but I think he holds me a little tighter. "That's my only motive, I swear. I want only you, princess."
My heart flutters.
"She's afraid you'll change your mind. You've been incredibly hard on her."
He sighs quietly, ruffling strands of my hair. "I told you that you might not feel the same way about me once you knew my reputation. Was I right, princess?"
"It's not your reputation that worries me, Jared." I pull back to look at his handsome face. Regret burns in his eyes, searing me. "It's Kennedy. She's my sister, my best friend. It'll break her heart to find out that I'm with you."
His gaze dances across my face, hope rising like the sun in his eyes. "You want to be with me, sweet baby?"
"We can't," I whisper, full of regret because I do want that. More than anything. "You're a professor here. Even if I'm not your student, I'm a student. And then Kennedy…I don't want her to feel like I picked you over her." She isn't the kind of person to hold grudges or get angry, but I know her better than anyone. This would hurt her, even if she never admitted it to me.
"Shh," he croons, his expression softening. He touches his lips to my forehead. "Don't think about anything but what you want. If it were possible, what would you choose, princess?"
"You," I admit, not even hesitating to give him the truth. Maybe falling for someone so fast is completely crazy, but it doesn't feel crazy or wrong. It feels like breathing.
He sighs and his entire being seems to sigh with him. Tension rushes from him, loosening knots all over his big body. He pulls me even closer and presses a lingering kiss to my forehead. "Then give me a chance, Caroline. Let me prove to you that I can make things right with Kennedy."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going mad without you, princess."
"You don't believe in love."
"I was wrong. God, I've been so wrong about so much in my life, princess. But I'm not wrong about you. Nothing has ever felt as right as you. I know you feel it too, princess. That's why you called me your daddy. You know I'm the man who was born to worship and spoil you."
"Jared…"
"Don't make me beg here, sweet baby," he murmurs, tipping my face back so I'm looking at him again. "I've been a miserable bastard without you and it's only been a day. I shudder to think what level of hell I'll descend to next."
"I've been miserable too."
He smiles, that divot in his cheek appearing again. "You missed me, princess?"
"So much," I whisper.
He brushes strands of hair away from my face, tucking them behind my ears. The glide of his rough fingertips over my cheekbones sends goosebumps rising all up and down my arms. My womb clenches, desire unfurling inside me all over again.
"Give me a chance," he pleads quietly. "Let me prove to you that I can redeem myself with your sister. Let me show you that whatever this is between us is worth a little risk. Let me be the daddy you deserve, princess."
"What if you get fired? Or I get expelled?"
"I would never let them expel you."
I should tell him no. I know I should…but we only just found one another. I don't want to walk away now. As selfish at it makes me, I want to keep him for a little bit longer.
"Okay," I whisper, putting my trust in this man for the second time.