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She sat up straighter. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, you fucking can.” The familiar voice filled her with dread. She jerked to her feet and grabbed her cell, prepared to call for help if Ashwood threatened her. “I need a grade for this class, and you’re giving it to me. I did all the work. I at least get a passing grade.”
She lifted her chin. She wouldn’t be bullied into giving undeserved grades. “You were expelled from my class, Ashwood. That means you don’t receive a grade. Now please leave before I call for security again.”
He strode into the room, right up to her desk. He towered over her, but he wasn’t as big as Ford. The difference was she knew Ford would never hurt her, but Ashwood’s menacing tone and body language made her stomach drop.
“Do you know what this will cost me? A promotion that I’ve deserved for a year. I keep getting passed over, though, in favor of men who have this degree. Now you’re goddamn not going to stop me from getting it!”
She swiped her phone with her thumb and poised it to dial for help. Before she could, he swung his arm, knocking the phone from her hand.
Quickly, she circled the desk, putting several feet of oak between them, but she knew these men at Fort Bragg. They were trained to do whatever it took to take down their enemies, and right now, she was his enemy.
She ran.
She didn’t make it five steps before another figure appeared in the doorway, and this time itwasFord.
She cried out in sheer relief, adrenaline flooding her body and making her head spin.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Ashwood?” Ford caught her against his chest and shoved her behind him.
She wrapped her arms around herself and watched the two men go nose-to-nose. Ashwood glared at Ford. They held the same rank—but if Ashwood got that promotion...
He wouldn’t. She’d go to his superiors and let them know what he’d been doing. Apparently he hadn’t been too affected by his last encounter. Had he even been punished after being carted out of here?
Ford’s jaw worked and he clenched his fists. “Get the hell out of here, Ashwood, before I put you in a body bag.”
Ashwood laughed, looking beyond him at Angelina. “Protecting your woman, I see. Wouldn’t the university be interested to hear she’s fucking a student?”
Her stomach dropped, but she raised her jaw a notch and stepped around Ford. She couldn’t let him protect her or it would look as if Ashwood was speaking the truth. “Wouldn’t the Army like to know their corporal is in here threatening a professor, demanding he get a grade he doesn’t deserve because he’s no longer enrolled here? Now leave for your own.” She swiped a hand toward the door, pointing his way.
Ashwood’s glare flicked over her, his lip curled. Men took desperate measures to get what they needed at times, and this soldier felt he needed that grade to get his promotion.
She knew Ford, though. He’d report this, and if anything, Ashwood would be demoted.
“I’m going, but don’t think for a minute that people won’t hear what you two are doing here. Enjoy your position while you have it,Professor Dawn.”On his way past Ford, he shoved his shoulder into Ford’s.
But Ford stood his ground and didn’t react to the taunt. They both turned to watch the asshole strut back out of her classroom.
“Fuck, Angelina, are you okay?” He hovered over her, catching her hand in his big, solid one. He grounded her in a way she hadn’t believed she needed until a few days before.
She looked up into his eyes. “Yes. Thank you—again.”
“I came by early to talk to you and I thought I’d blow an artery when I saw that motherfucker chasing you.” His eyes glittered with carefully banked rage.
“I...I’m okay.” She pulled her hand away though all she wanted was to let him reel her close and hold her until the shaking subsided.
She used the desk to her advantage again, putting space between her and the man she wanted to spread her out and take her on it.
He gazed at her for a long minute. “I came to ask if you’d come with me this weekend. I have a few days’ leave for my sister’s engagement party.”
Lips falling open, she tried to make sense of this. They’d fucked—no more.
“Look, baby, I’ve been tied up in trainings day and night. I haven’t had time to come and talk to you since we...” He trailed off, searching her gaze. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t finished with you. I’m here now, asking you to come with me.”
“When?” she heard herself ask. She must have been struck on the head at some point and was dazed. This was so unlike her.
A spark lit in his eyes. “Right after class. We can swing by your place and get your things. I’ve got my gear in my bike’s saddlebag, and there’s room for your things.”
