Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(9)

I fell asleep thinking of Professor James Hunter kissing me under his umbrella.





Chapter 7


Monday

My alarm started beeping, disrupting the images of Professor Hunter that were swirling around in my head. I almost hit the snooze button, but then I remembered it was Monday. This morning I'd get to see the man himself. I turned off the alarm and slid out of bed.

Once I was done washing up in the bathroom I came back to my room and undid the rollers in my hair. The volume looked great. I pumped some mousse into my hands and tousled my hair slightly. Then I put on my makeup, which included some mascara and even a bit of eye shadow. After one glance in the mirror, I quickly wiped some away. I wanted to look sophisticated, not trashy. The look was surprisingly hard to accomplish. I pulled on a skirt that was short, but not inappropriate, and tucked my tank top into it. I grabbed a long necklace so that it would dangle between my breasts. Turning back to the mirror, I scrutinized my reflection. It was too much. I pulled on a jean jacket to make myself not look so provocative.

A quick glance at the time and I was out the door. I was relieved to see that it wasn't raining today. As I made my way to my seat, I noticed that Tyler was already sitting at the desk next to mine.

"Wow, you look great," he said as I sat down next to him.

I smiled and crossed my legs away from him. "How was your weekend?"

"Horrible."

I turned to him. "I'm sorry, Tyler, did something bad happen?"

"Oh, no. It was just horrible because you weren't a part of it." He shrugged.

He was trying hard. Too hard. I looked over at the door, but it was just a student that walked in. "What did you really do this weekend, Tyler?" I asked.

"Just hung out at the house. Actually your text was the highlight. Did it take you a while to find my number?"

"I was definitely confused at first," I laughed. "Apologetic Tyler is right where you belonged though."

I turned away from Tyler as Professor Hunter walked into the room. He had ditched his glasses, and his hair was smooth again. He was wearing a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and there were a few buttons undone at the top. His shirt was tucked into his khaki pants and he had a brown belt. I found myself wishing I could unhinge his belt.

"Today I thought it might be fun to talk about a recent dream we've had," Professor Hunter said as he put his satchel on the desk. He smiled to himself. "And I'll kick us off." He rubbed his hands together and bit his lower lip as he concentrated. "Ah, I remember one." He put his hands in his pockets. "Last night I dreamt that it was pouring outside. And I just had this feeling that I was waiting for something to happen. Something exciting." He leaned against his desk and looked down for a second, as if in retrospect. He slowly lifted his head and made eye contact with me.

I swallowed. When I did, my throat made a weird squeaking noise. It suddenly felt hot in the room. His eyes were smoldering. He turned his attention back to the rest of the class. No one seemed to notice that he had looked at me. Does he look at everyone that way and I just don't notice? I didn't think so. He was referring to the night we had spent together in the rain. He was referencing the note he had left me. It didn't seem like he had any intention of being a responsible adult. There was no denying that Professor Hunter was flirting with me now. I swallowed hard again.

My heart began racing, like it always did when I had to speak in class. He was already going through the names. A few people had funny dreams and I watched him laugh. His smile was intoxicating. I took a deep breath. I knew what I was going to say.

When he finally called my name, I quickly stood up. "I've actually been having the same dream now for several nights." I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "It's always raining, but there's a man there holding an umbrella above the two of us so that we don't get soaked." I stared into Professor Hunter's eyes. "And he kisses me." He lowered his eyebrows slightly as if what I said bothered him. Or was he giving me that hungry look again? Today I couldn't read him at all.

I heard someone in the room snicker.

I quickly sat back down.

Tyler leaned over and whispered in my ear: "You just can't stop dreaming about me, huh?"

I laughed quietly. Did I take it too far? My heart was racing. I didn't want Professor Hunter to think I was forward, because I wasn't. I was giving him the wrong idea. In my mind it was a game, but he wouldn't see it that way. I could feel my face turning scarlet. I did take it too far.

When Professor Hunter was done listening to the other students' dreams, he stood up and walked over to the board. He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the word "emotion."

"The best advice I can give you is to make your speech personal. You want to draw emotion from your audience. You want to hook them." He made a fist when he said the last line.

He had me hooked. I listened intently to every word that escaped from his lips.

"That's why this first speech is easy. You're all speaking about someone you admire, someone who has helped shape who you've become. It's personal. Make your classmates aware of that. Don't ever be afraid to show emotion."

He looked out at all of us. "Many psychologists will tell you that there are hidden meanings in your dreams, but I've never seen it that way. They're quite black and white. The first thing that comes to your mind when you think of your dream is what it truly means. And it's emotional. Fear," he looked at a boy on the other side of class. "Anger," he looked at the girl that had snickered at me. "Desire," he glanced briefly at me. "So when you think of who you're going to talk about, figure out the emotion that they make you feel." He glanced at the clock. "And I will see you all on Wednesday." He walked away from the board.