CHAPTER THREE

MARCUS

The cocktail party is in full swing by the time I arrive. Tugging on my collar, I run a hand through my hair again, feeling haphazardly put together after the mindblowing orgasm in my office earlier.

I'm still reeling from having Nicole’s mouth on me. It was inappropriate, despite her not being my student for years, and now I have to pretend like everything is normal in a room full of people.

Scanning the room, my eyes drift over familiar past students and colleagues before landing on Nicole, who's speaking with her brother and his partner. I never had Liam in my classes, but the other professors spoke of how quiet he was.

How he never talked much.

Figures he would end up with the sweet but shy Mae.

Nicole sees me and quickly excuses herself from the couple, weaving through the crowd of alumni to stand in front of me in all her curvy glory decked out in a rust-colored dress. An appropriate outfit change compared to her earlier attire.

“Hey, stranger,” she teases with a wink before licking her lips suggestively.

Immediately, my gaze drops to the motion, and my cock rallies for another round as I imagine the wet heat of her tongue lapping at the mushroom head again.

“We need to talk.” I try to keep my voice neutral, professional.

“Sounds serious, Professor.” The coy smile she shoots my way raises my blood, and I can't help but reciprocate her flirtatious manner.

“Oh, it is Miss Kennedy. Very serious. You see, it was highly inappropriate for you to come to my office after business hours.”

“Was it?” She takes a step closer, her hand gently trailing down my arm.

“It's homecoming weekend, and perhaps you and your friends thought it might be fun to tease your old professor. Or perhaps you pity me after hearing what happened with Cora.” Her name rolls around in my mouth like gravel. It's still difficult to believe that my ex-wife threw away decades of marriage for a fling with our school's men’s basketball coach.

I thought he was a nice guy.

My wife did, too, which is why I found them bent over his desk last year.

Turnabout's fair play?

A picture of Nicole bent over my desk flashes in my mind.

The flirtatious smile disappears as Nicole sobers. “I’m sorry about your divorce, but I don’t pity you. What happened earlier wasn’t a random, one-time thing, at least I hope not.”

She toys with the necklace hanging low between her breasts, and for the first time, a shadow of uncertainty palls her shine of confidence.

“You want a weekend fling?” I ask. To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of casual sex—the interlude in my office notwithstanding. I enjoy getting to know someone on a deeper level first. Committing to each other in some capacity before jumping into bed.

“No…” Nicole bites her plump bottom lip. “I have a confession to make—”

“Marcus.” Cora interrupts our conversation as she approaches with Morley, and it’s impossible to ignore the bump of her stomach.

A wave of regret threatens to drown me at the sight. Not because the baby's not mine—I've known since the early years of our marriage that I wouldn't be able to conceive—but for her to so easily get pregnant by Morley. Apparently, it was the impetus for her affair with him after she’d changed her mind about adoption without discussing it with me. She wanted to carry a child herself, so Cora had found another man to help her.

“What kind of childish game are you playing? Wasn’t this girl a student of yours?” Her eyes narrow as they hone in on Nicole at my side.

“Yes, I was,” Nicole chirps, wrapping an arm around mine and cuddling into my side. “But I'm no longer a student, am I?” She shoots a saucy little wink toward my ex-wife before smiling up at me, and I can't help the chuckle of amusement that rumbles from my chest.

Point to my sassy little seductress.