“My name isProfessorCarrington,” I snapped. “And close the door.”
“We need privacy? I like the sound of that.” Jace closed the door and then leaned against it and crossed his arms. “Are you going to give me some extra credit? I’m good at following directions. I’ll do anything you ask.”
His smile insinuated what kind of directions he was hoping to receive.
A sexy tingle ran up my spine. Unlike yesterday, when he looked rough, today he was far more put-together. Golden-brown hair parted down the side and combed to perfection. He had full lips and a strong jawline, his face looking like it had been carved from stone. His arms were muscular, with a few tattoos peeking out from the sleeve of his tight black T-shirt.
He looked like a Marine straight out of boot camp.
He’s your student, I had to remind myself. I gestured at the chair in front of my desk and said, “This had better be related to your academics.”
Jace dropped into the chair. “It is. Sort of. I’m trying to switch to Professor Fairbanks’ Criminology 101 class, but it’s full. I need you to sign this letter of recommendation. It’s the only way they’ll let me in.”
He slid a piece of paper across the desk. It had a blank spot for my signature at the bottom.
“I don’t understand.”
“I figured out what we should do,” Jace explained as if it were simple. “If I switch out of your class, then we can date. It’s a loophole in the code of conduct.” He started reading off something on his phone. “The University strictly prohibits romantic, sexual, or intimate relationships between faculty members and students over whom they exercise academic, supervisory, evaluative, or advisory authority.”
“I know what it says,” I replied. I’d just read it yesterday, after all.
“Then you see that this is an easy solution. If I’m not one of your students, then you won’t have academic, supervisory, or evaluative authority over me. Which means we can go out.” He punctuated that with a suggestive smile.
“No,” I replied firmly. “And speaking of which, did you tell anyone about our Tinder exchange? Specifically a student named Camden Keene?”
“Cam? Oh, yeah. He heard me talking about it at lunch.”
I had to resist the urge to throw my coffee mug at him. “This is why I can’t date you, Jace. You’re already blabbing to everyone you know.”
“If that’s the only reason we can’t date…”
“It’s one reason out of several. This isn’t a negotiation, Jace.”
“Everything’s a negotiation. Professor.”
Somehow, he made my title sound even sexier than my first name.
“We have chemistry.” He leaned forward in the chair, the eye-contact intense and personal. “I know you feel it. Because I feel it, too. You don’t need to be a Criminology professor to know that it would becriminalnot to see where this goes.”
“You came here just to make that pun, didn’t you?”
“Sort of, yeah.” He flashed a smile. “But seriously. Sign the paper and move me to Professor Fairbanks’ class, and there’s nothing standing in our way.”
For a moment, I let myself consider it. It was tempting, if for no other reason than to get Jace out of my classroom. His presence would be a huge distraction, whether we dated or not. Things would be cleaner if he was elsewhere.
But part of me knew, deep down, that if we removed that barrier to us dating… it would be harder to resist seeing where this went.
“What would I tell Professor Fairbanks? His office is right down the hall.” I pointed. “He’ll ask why I should make an exception to let you into a full class.”
“Say whatever you need to. Make something up. I could be taking you outtonight. Imagine it. The two of us, at dinner, smiling. We have a few drinks, maybe go back to my place and see what happens…”
Another suggestive smile that said he had something very specific in mind.
“No. That’s not going to happen.”
“It’s not against the code of conduct to date a student,” he insisted. “You just can’t date a student in one of your classes, or one you’re advising, or—”
“No,” I said more forcefully. It was time to remind him who was in charge here. “I’m not datinganystudent.”
