"Are you calling my flat 'home'?"
"It's where you currently live, isn't it? That's the definition of a home." She taps my chest with one finger. "Are you purposely ignoring the fact I just propositioned you?"
"No. But I'm still recovering from the shock."
Siobhan laughs softly. "Oh yeah, I'm sure women never, ever proposition you."
"Maybe they do, on occasion, but I don't have one-night stands."
"You don't?"
"No, I do not. I love women, but using and discarding them isn't the sort of man I want to be."
She clasps my hand. "Oh Nick, you know I've never thought you were that kind of man. I meant that you're gorgeous and sexy, not to mention smart and sweet, so women must flock to you."
"When we first met, you assumed I was a chancer."
"I have no idea what that word means."
"You thought I was the sort who will do anything to get what I want."
She shakes her head, spreading a hand over my cheek. "No, I never thought that. You are the biggest flirt I've ever met, though."
"But you don't think I'm…a gigolo."
"Of course not. I may have read about your scandal online, but I don't believe everything that's on the internet. It's the digital equivalent of neighborhood gossip, only worse because it's widespread."
I slump against the back of the bench and sigh. "I'll need to go home and deal with the consequences sooner or later. But at least you don't think I'm a prostitute or a brothel-keeper."
"Things will settle down. Rumors rarely have long half-lives."
"I'm more concerned with the whole life of this one. Besides, it's been two months, and there's no sign of the rumor dying out."
She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek. "Let's forget about that for tonight. Take me home and make love to me, Nick."
I can't help smirking. "By 'make love' you mean 'shag like a maniac,' right?"
"Uh-huh. Can you handle that, Mr. Hunter?"
"Oh yes, I can handle you, Dr. Griffin." I push a hand into her hair, pulling her in for a kiss. "And for the record, when I'm with you, I'm always up for it."
Maybe after we've spent more time together, she'll want more than sex that qualifies as an Olympic sport. I want to do more than fuck her. I want to make love to her in the truest sense of the phrase.
I let her take the wheel for the ride home because she wants to drive my hired car almost as desperately as she wants to shag me. How can I resist a lustful, exciting woman? I can't. Whatever Siobhan wants, I'll give it to her.
Unless she wants to throw me over.
I don't like the idea of that at all.
Chapter Fourteen
Siobhan
A few days ago, the thought of seeing Nick Hunter four days a week made me uneasy. Now, I look forward to it. He's not at all the way I assumed he was when we first met. Sure, he's a big-time flirt. And yes, he has a wicked sense of humor. But I love those things about him, more than I ever could've imagined I might. I love spending time with him.
We can't be seen together in public, not in this town. I usually dread the end of a semester because it means I'll have nothing to do for a while. This summer, I'm looking forward to the semester ending so Nick and I can go wherever we want and not worry about someone seeing us.
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Nick shows up ten minutes before class starts. He sits at his favorite desk, the one that's six feet from my desk, and he does the most shocking thing.