"Are you serious? It was just a note, I..." Liam begins but is unable to finish the thought.
"Two hours," Daniel interrupts. "One more word, and I'll suspend you from school, and you'll have to retake your classes during summer holidays."
Liam gets quiet while Daniel continues his lecture as if nothing happened, placing my note into his pocket without even looking at me.
I pretend I do not exist and try to hide under the laptop until the lecture is over.
When the bell rings again, and all the students are rushing to the door, Daniel says, "Ms. Jones, I need to talk to you."
Someone behind me starts gossiping, saying that Mr. Vanderbilt asked me to stay after class for the second time, and I am in trouble.
Luckily, it doesn’t occur to them that he might be asking me to stay for any other reasons. They have no idea that a geek like me could sleep with the hottest professor in the school.
I know many girls have already tried to seduce him; I’ve heard the rumors. I also know he was adamant about their flirting because Ashley, the main cheerleader, started telling everyone he must be gay if he ignores her.
She has no idea how wrong she is.
When the last person walks out of class, and the door closes behind him, I come closer to Daniel's desk to hear what he wants to say.
"Are you seriously going to date him again?" he asks sternly, taking a step toward me and looking down at me.
My jaw literally drops in surprise.
"Are you talking about my relationship with Liam?" I ask incredulously.
This man ignored me for the whole week—he didn't even look in my direction—and now he's trying to tell me who I can date?
"Do you have a relationship with him?" Daniel's gaze becomes darker, his teeth clench, and his lips press into a thin line out of anger.
He's jealous.
"I don't." I swallow, shuddering out of that gaze, hoping he didn't see it. I cross my hands on my chest to hide my fear.
"But are you considering forgiving him?" he insists, coming closer and standing feet away from me.
I swallow and then inhale deeply. "Why do you care?"
I try to raise one eyebrow, showing him my irritation, but I could never do that, so I just grimace.
"You know why." He takes one more step, and now his chest is pressed to my crossed arms.
"I have no idea," I lie, trying to sound at ease.
And then he kisses me, right in the middle of the classroom. Daniel Vanderbilt is kissing me, taking my face in his palms. And it's not another gentle kiss, as if to say goodbye. It's a rough, demanding kiss as if he has been starving for it for ages.
My knees are becoming weak, and my arms drop to my sides when his tongue penetrates mine.
Daniel places one of his hands on my back to make me stand still, while his other hand is cupping my neck, tilting my head for a better angle, deepening the kiss.
I moan and dig my fingers into his shirt.
And that's when I remember that someone might come in and see us at any minute. But Daniel does not pull away. He continues devouring me, pressing me harder to him.
"I wanted to do this each time I saw you," he whispers, breaking the kiss but not letting me go, "and even when I didn't see you, I was picturing you, this..."
He leans to kiss me again, but I stop him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because we agreed it was going to be a one-time offer."