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I wasn’t one who forgot a face or name, so it was likely she looked like someone I had met. But I wouldn’t deny she was gorgeous. Her face was striking. Her hair was cut short to just below her chin and barely-there freckles dusting her nose. Her hair was blonde with a tinge of red highlights in the wide curls. But her eyes, a startling green that reminded me of pale polished jade, drew me in. That was what niggled at my brain and pushed me to remember. Perhaps a meeting I had shoved far away from my conscious memories for so long.
I turned away, unable to continue looking her in the eyes, “Hello, I’m Dr. Aldric Haile. You are?”
I knew my tone was grumpy, but I didn’t have the chance to be gentle with fragile feelings, nor the time for small talk.
We were going to be busy; I was going to keep her busy. And if she couldn’t keep up with my speed and ended up hurt by a bit of bluntness, she wouldn’t make it with me.
There was a long pause, long enough that I wasn’t certain she had heard me, so I glanced back. I cocked a brow, surprised because she was looking right at me, shifting her jaw as if she had a bone to pick with me.
“Got a problem already?” I asked as I dropped my briefcase on the other side of my desk.
“No, sir,” she finally said. “My name is Roseline Cowl; pleased to meet you.”
A chilly formality came with her greeting, but I didn’t acknowledge it. I grunted that I had heard her. Instead, I glanced over a few papers and began collecting the ones I would need or the ones she would.
“Did you look at the past lesson plans?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said, but I could detect a snarl in her voice. It was well disguised, but I had dealt enough with social gatherings and emotional cues to pick up almost the tiniest hint.
I looked over my shoulder at her again, studying her face, but there were no outward signs of aggression. Shehadbeen irritated, though. I bit the inside of my lip thoughtfully, wondering how long it would be before I ran this one into the ground with the others. She seemed touchy.
“Good, I don’t need to explain as much today, then,” I said. “You will observe for the first week.”
There was no room for argument; I made sure she knew. I could feel how she bristled, not at the statement but how it was said, like a command. My lips twitched as I forced the desire to smirk down. The desire to push her buttons more rose within me. Merely her confidence and willingness to press right back pulled out something I thought I’d lost several years ago. However, I ignored my more impulsive side. Now was not the time for an odd brand of flirting. The first class of the day would start in an hour. And I needed to get shit together to get her caught up as well as myself. I rubbed the space between my eyes with a sigh.
“All right let’s get this done,” I said with a groan as I motioned for her to sit at her desk in front of me, and she frowned. “We are running out of time to catch up. The first day is always hell.”
We spent the next thirty minutes in silence before I brought up the conditions, “I haven’t accepted you yet. You will be fulfilling the role of a T.A. on probation until I am certain you can be the Teaching Assistant I need.”
She looked at me through squinted eyes but merely nodded. And there was a part of me that made me stand taller at her compliance. I assumed she wasn’t usually like this in her day-to-day life.
Chapter 6
Roseline
Wasthisthesameman who had enchanted me four years before?
Except for the crow’s feet at his eyes, which softened his stare, and the slight grey that thinly lined some of his black hair, he looked the same. He was still as stunning as ever.
He stood in front of the class, lecturing the students on what he expected of them for the rest of the semester. I scribbled notes like a good teacher’s assistant until he decided my probation period was up. My stomach churned in protest at the prospect of remaining under this man’s control for the rest of the semester or longer.
He was answering questions as the class came to an end. It was amusing; he acted far more aggravated in front of the students than when we were alone. Maybe this was the side I’d seen. He was mysterious, fascinating, brilliant, and amusing.
And, to be honest, I could see myself falling for this side of him, even if only for one night.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and students began packing their belongings. I distributed sheets outlining what they would need for the course. As I did so, I relived my first encounter with Aldric in my head, unable to believe my luck in being assigned to him.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to process the fact that he didn’t recognize me. Which was understandable because I had cut my hair short, and my red hair was now a lighter shade. Plus, I had gained curves from carrying Ciro; however, was that enough to erase me from his memory?
Or maybe he had one-night stands all the time, and I’m just another notch on his bedpost. It’s too bad the condom broke; the universe must have been determined to complicate my life. I didn’t want to jeopardize the little stability Ciro and I had established, so I decided to keep Aldric in the dark.
So, I remained silent on any aspect of the past I shared with this man. Once class was over, we had a lull in time until the next one would start. So we headed back to his office to get prepared.
“Good work,” he said.
I raised my brow; I wasn’t sure if he was jerking me around or not. What had I done that warranted ‘good work’?
“Thanks?” I replied, and I hadn’t meant to put the sarcastic inflection on it, but it spilled from my lips anyway.
