Page 97 of She’s Worth the Risk

Fuck him.

Zinnia takes her time coming to me, weaving between the stacks, head tilted as if searching for something in particular. With each passing minute, I grow more impatient. Cole has had hours with her in there, laughing and joking around, and I need her for myself. I need her here.

Finally, she appears at the end of the aisle, casually meandering closer. I pretend to examine the books in front of me, but I lose the battle, glancing up to drink her in as she reaches my side. Her dark hair is loose, the tiny stud in her nose glittering. She’s in a red dress with thick shoulder straps, the fabric gathered at the waist to emphasize her curves, with a row of buttons down the front. Buttons I desperately want to undo.

“Professor Sweetman,” she says in a low voice. “What a surprise.”

I grunt. “Figured you might need rescuing from Cole Sandford.”

She snorts a laugh. “God, he’s insufferable.”

“Why are you with him then?”

“I got invited by other people in class and didn’t know he’d be here.” She lifts her gaze skyward. “He tagged along to catch up on a class he missed.”

I grind my jaw murderously. That little shit, using Zinnia to get notes.

Her eyes move over my face, glinting with amusement. “Are you jealous?”

“Fuck yes,” I grate out, resisting the urge to touch her. She’s fucking edible in that dress. “I hate seeing you with him.”

She softens. “You know I have zero interest in Cole, right?”

“Yes, but I still hate it.” I cave, reaching out to stroke her cheek, soft under my thumb. “I hate seeing him talk to you like he knows you. Making you laugh. Being so… so… obvious about it all.”

She lets her bag slide to the floor, and when she looks back at me, there’s fire in her gaze. “He can be as obvious as he likes, but he’ll never get this.” She takes my hand, placing it on her breast, guiding my thumb over her nipple as it pebbles against the fabric.

Christ.

My blood heats, and I glance over her shoulder, along the empty aisle. This entire corner of the library is deserted. I can’t wait. Won’t wait.

Spinning Zinnia around, I press her to the stacks as I mold my front flush to her back. My cock thickens against her soft warmth, and I toss my glasses onto the shelf behind me, dragging my mouth over the hot skin of her neck.

Zinnia’s breathing quickens. “This is very bad behavior, Professor,” she whispers, pressing her ass back into me.

“I’m not the one in there flirting with Cole,” I hiss, fingers tightening on her waist.

She huffs incredulously. “I wasn’t flirting with him,” she retorts, and I know that’s true. She wasn’t. But that doesn’t stop all the frustration and anger from bubbling up inside me. Not with Zinnia. With the situation. With all the ways I’m not supposed to want her.

“He was flirting with you, though,” I say, hands roaming her curves. “Wasn’t he?”

She smirks at me over her shoulder. “Can you blame him?”

I give a low growl in her ear, gripping her hips. I’ve noticed how much she loves when I’m a little rough with her, when I leave my mark on her skin. There’s no denying I love it too, seeing the physical reminder that she’s mine. I’ve never been the possessive type, never cared enough for the few women I’ve crossed paths with, but with Zinnia it’s undeniable. Unstoppable. That need to make sure she knows she’s mine. To make sure everyone knows she’s mine.

And I can’t.

The injustice of it strikes me afresh, and my grip tightens as I grind my erection roughly against her ass.

“Fuck, Nick,” she breathes, leaning into it. “Yes.”

I probably shouldn’t fuck her when I feel like this, angry and bitter. And I definitely shouldn’t fuck her between the stacks in the NYU library, for Christ’s sake. But as Cole’s laugh floats our way again, the beast inside me rears up. The need to claim her right here, only twenty yards away from the guy who wants her. The guy who represents everything I can never be.

“Okay then, Professor,” Zinnia rasps, quivering as I pin her between the shelves and my stiff, aching cock. “What’s my punishment?”

I feel a sick sort of satisfaction as I push Zinnia’s dress up to find her panties soaked. Cole doesn’t get this side of her, and he never will.

“Your punishment is to watch him while I fuck you,” I grate out. “And remember that you’re mine.”