She laughed. “It’s okay. So, what do you want?”

“You!” The word flew out of my mouth so fast, I’m sure I spat on her in my fervor to get it out. “I want you. I absolutely want to be with you. I cannot imagine my life without you in it.”

“Good.”

“You have me, Tessa. You have every part of me. I am yours until you kick me to the curb,” I vowed.

She kissed me, framed my face with her hands and looked right into my very soul. “I love you, Ian. I don’t want you on the curb.”

I blinked. The words stirred up a strange, foreign feeling that started in the pit of my stomach and slowly spiraled up, leaving a trail of warm honey. I felt all gooey inside. I suddenly felt like a girl, but I didn’t care.

“I love you,” I told her a second before I kissed her.

My heart was beating too fast. I wasn’t sure if I was on the verge of a heart attack or if this was what real love felt like.

We held each other for sev

eral long minutes, relishing in that warm bubble of happiness that had encapsulated us with our exchanges of love.

“Now what?” I asked, not wanting to break the mood, but I needed to know what her plan was. I was up for a long-distance relationship if that’s what it took. “I can move to Georgia. I’m sure I can get a job anywhere. Tell me what your plan is, and I’ll be there.”

She looked at me and scared me a little.

“I want to fight. The dean is wrong, and I am not going to crawl away and let her win.”

The conviction in her voice was contagious.

“Okay. I’m ready. I’ll fight. Do you have a platform or an idea on how we fight this?”

She shrugged. “Maria offered Jake’s help. Do you think he will?”

I threw my head back. “Jake will mop the floor of any courtroom or admin office or wherever a trial would be with the hideous head of Dean Scribbs! She doesn’t stand a chance against my little brother.”

“Good. I was hoping that was the case. I did a little research last night, and I’m pretty sure I have a good chance of getting reinstated. I can’t let her win. I have a semester and a half left. I am too close to let that bitch take it away from me,” she said, her fist pumping in the air.

I liked this side of Tessa. She was small but mighty. I knew she was a fighter and was so relieved to know she wanted me by her side when she took on the dean. She would be a force to be reckoned with once she got her bearings.

“I’m happy to help in any way I can. I’m serious, if I need to quit, I will. Truth be told, the job at the college isn’t actually a necessity. I have been doing some freelance consulting the past several years that keeps me afloat along with the life insurance. The dean doesn’t have that kind of power over me. I am not so invested in those students that I will feel guilty for up and quitting in the middle of the semester,” I told her.

“That’s good to know because when the dean finds out you are on my side, she could still fire you. I would never be okay with putting you in the position between keeping your home or being with me. If it gets to that point, you have to promise to tell me.”

I laughed. “Tessa, the house is paid for. I’ll be fine, trust me. Miriam had a life insurance policy. We both did; in case something happened to one of us, we wanted to make sure Ally was taken care of.”

“Oh,” she said. “Thank God. That is a relief. Good. Now we can take that bitch down!”

I laughed, thrilled to be on her side. She squirmed a little on my lap, and it was like a flip switched in my body. I wanted her again.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Tessa

As I laid against him, my ass cradled in his thighs, I felt the moment he went from stressed out to turned on. I adjusted my legs a little to give his growing erection a little room to breathe. The feel of it pressing against my butt was making me want to strip the leggings off and sit down, taking in every hard inch of him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

I looked up at him, kissed his chin. “Don’t be.”

He looked ashamed. “It’s you. I can’t be anywhere near you and not want you. Do you swear you didn’t put some sort of voodoo hex on me or something?”

Tags: Claire Adams Romance
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