He said nothing as he looked at me, gazed at my body from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. This low sound of approval left him, and I felt my body instantly come alive, arousal moving over every inch of me.
“Gorgeous,” he said in that deep, masculine voice that made me feel so feminine. “I love your hair down.” He reached out and took some of my hair, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger before leaning in close and bringing the locks to his nose. He inhaled deeply as he held his gaze with mine, and I felt the air being sucked right from my lungs. He straightened and let go of my hair almost reluctantly.
It wasn’t like I was overly dressed, but I was wearing a black pencil skirt, some peep-toe heels Sherry had loaned me, and a baby blue cashmere cardigan set that my mother had given me when I graduated high school.
This was as fancy as it got when it came to me.
He held his hand out, and I didn’t hesitate as I slipped mine into his. I stepped outside, closed and locked the door behind me, and told myself to be calm.
I faced him and smiled, wanting nothing more than to kiss him.
He looked torn in that moment as he leaned in close and gently brushed his lips against mine. “The spell you’ve put on me has me mesmerized, Grace,” he whispered against my mouth.
When he pulled back, I looked around, worried that someone might have seen. I didn’t want him to get in trouble.
“Let them stare. I don’t care if they do.” He took my hand in his. “In fact, I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
My heart did a little flip in my chest. There was definitely no going back now. I’d jumped in feet first and anticipated what was next.
16
Professor Goode
I’d contemplated where to take Grace tonight, even thought about just preparing her dinner at my place. We would have been alone … I would have had her all to myself.
But I wanted us to have a private experience, to have people serve us so I could completely focus on her.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be seen with her—my student—but I wanted this to be personal, intimate. And so I’d decided to go to Vincenzo’s, the small Italian restaurant owned by a personal friend, one who would close the place down for me so it could just be Grace and me.
I pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. It was deserted aside from three cars parked in the very back. I knew one of them was Vincenzo’s sleek Lexus. The other I had to assume was the waitstaff and chef.
I climbed out of the driver’s seat and made my way around the front of the car to the passenger-side door. I wanted this to be perfect, wanted this to be memorable for her. Hell, I wanted to show her that even though I was completely fucking obsessed and possessive of her, I could be a gentleman.
I could be gentle.
I opened the passenger-side door and held my hand out. I instantly felt aroused when she slipped her smaller palm against mine, curled her fingers into me, and allowed me to help her out. My gaze was trained on her body as she unfurled from the interior of the car.
Long legs, a tucked-in waist, and perfectly sized breasts that were pressed against her cardigan. God, she was fucking gorgeous.
When she was standing, I shut the car door, wanting nothing more than to pull her close to my body, cup the side of her face, and kiss her soundly. But we had plenty of time for that, so much fucking time. I didn’t want her thinking all I wanted was her body.
I wanted all of her.
Instead I led her toward the restaurant. A sign on the front window showed that the restaurant was closed for a private affair.
My private affair with Grace.
I pulled the door open for her and let her walk in before me. The soft sound of music playing in the background set the ambience with the low lighting and the scent of freshly baked bread.
Vincenzo’s was known for its incredible and authentic Italian cuisine. Featured in many papers and magazines since it opened, with reviews all positive, the restaurant always had a long wait list.
Vincenzo and I went way back to when we were both trying to stay out of trouble so we didn’t disgrace our families.
But that was a whole other story, one I knew I’d have to tell Grace at some point. This wasn’t a one-time thing for me where she was concerned, and because of that I wanted her to know all of me, not just the professor she saw at the front of that classroom.