Bad Professor (An Alpha Male Bad Boy Romance) (85 page)

"Dad? Where are you? Shit. I need
access to a cl-" Finn stopped in his tracks as I looked over my shoulder
at him.

"Nope. You don't. All client files
are confidential." I stood and laughed as the two men around me did, as
well.

"She's right boy, and she gave you up
on calling in. You're lucky I like her." Clark pressed his hands to the
desk and looked up at me. "Have fun. Be good to my boy."

"Yes, Sir." I smiled and moved
toward Finn, taking the hand he offered me.

I didn't know what happened between our
dads, but maybe Finn did. One thing was for sure, I was determined to find out.

Chapter
14

Finn

Finding Chloe in my father's office almost
caused my heart to stop, and yet something was so right about her being there.
I watched the way my old man interacted with her and my heart melted. Never in
my life had I been in love. To think I was with Chloe was ridiculous, and yet I
wanted her to stay in Aspen. She would fit into my life and I into hers. I
needed to get to know her better before really coming to that conclusion, but
something deep inside of me told me that it was already a given.

I winked at my dad and walked out with the
pretty blonde, my hand tightly wrapped around hers. I shook my head at her when
she tried to tug out of my grasp.

"Heck, no. You trip on nothingness.
There are tools and wires everywhere in here. You should come with your own
warning sign." I smiled and ducked as her other hand swung at my chest.

"Hey. Maybe I meant to trip to see if
any hot guys would step in and save me," she said as her cheeks colored. I
opened the door to the truck on her side. We could get her SUV later. I wanted
to spend as much time in her presence as she would allow.

"Nobody accidentally trips as much as
you." I smiled and helped her into the car. "You want to get a cup of
coffee at the shop by the slopes?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to ski today.
Kills my legs and I promised my little brother I would take him out tomorrow.
He's going to teach me to snowboard."

I narrowed my eyes playfully and shut the door
on her side before jogging over to my side and getting in.

"What was the look for?" She
turned on the heater after I started the truck.

"I want to teach you to
snowboard." I tugged off my hat and breathed warm air against my hands.

"Come with us. He's supposedly good
at it, but I know he's looking to get better."

"I have to work tomorrow, but if you
guys can wait until I get off, I'm all for it." I pulled out of the
parking lot and glanced back to see my father and Milly standing in the open
door, his arm around her shoulders as they watched us leave.

I prayed something would become of them.
The old man needed a woman as bad as I did.

"We'll wait for you." She leaned
in and pressed her hands to the heaters. "My brother is going to a
sleepover tomorrow night and my father's going out of town. You want to maybe
snowboard with us and then come over? I'll make dinner and we can watch a movie
or something."

Damn, things were changing fast.

I glanced over at her as my heart swelled
in my chest. She was a vision of beauty and so much more than I deserved to be
around, even as just a friend.

"I'd love to, but that sure sounds
like a date. Friends don't date." I chuckled at the look she gave me.

"I said snowboarding, dinner, and a
movie, not skinny dipping and an all-night fuck-fest."

I growled low in my chest as my body woke
up and lust rolled through me. "Watch it."

"What?" She gave me an innocent
look and I thought to threaten her with a spanking, but kept it to myself. Just
the vision of spanking her caused my mind to wander down one dark alley after
another. By the time we arrived at the coffee shop, I was having trouble
breathing.

"You okay?" Chloe reached over
and touched my arm.

"Yeah. Just getting a cold, I think.
Ignore me." I got out of the truck and pulled my scarf off. It was
freezing outside, but I was burning up.

She walked around the truck and lifted her
hand to press the back of her fingers against my head. "You're sweating,
Finn. I think you have a fever for real. We don't have to hang out today.
Seriously."

Telling her that I thought I was having
withdrawals from sex would sound insanely creepy, so that wasn't happening. I
pulled her hand down and intertwined mine with hers.

"It's nothing. Just hot for
you."

She chuckled. "Friends don't get hot
for each other."

"Tell that to my fever." I
walked to the coffee shop and held the door open for her.

She moved past me, and I breathed in
subtly, wanting to smell the scent that was uniquely hers. Remaining friends
was going to be an exercise in restraint. As long as we weren't alone, snuggled
up, and watching a movie – like she wanted to do tomorrow night – we'd be fine.

I rolled my eyes and moved up to the
counter, letting out a long breath and glancing up at the menu.

"Finn Warner. How are you?" A
cute blonde moved up beside me and wrapped her arm around my back, giving me an
awkward hug from the side.

"Good, girl. How about you?" I
smiled at her and tugged from her hold. The last time an ex-lover approached,
Chloe was long gone by the time I could get free.

"I'm great. You were supposed to call
me. " She giggled and pawed at my chest.

I tugged Chloe up beside me and wrapped an
arm around her shoulders. "I'm so rude. This is my fiancée, Chloe. She's
from California."

She stiffened in my hold, but extended her
hand and introduced herself. I chuckled as the other girl rolled her eyes and
walked out of the coffee shop.

"Does this happen a lot to you?"
Chloe looked up at me and I realized she was still tucked under my arm. I wanted
to kiss her so bad it hurt.

"More than I care to discuss." I
released her and looked up at the menu. "Black coffee for me and whatever
my girl's having."

I moved to the pickup counter, letting her
order as I fingered through the chocolate bars, trying to decide if something
sweet was in order for so early in the morning.

She moved up beside me and bumped her
shoulder against mine. "I'm not your girl, Finn. Stop telling people
that."

"Why? You on the market?" I
lifted an eyebrow and pushed back against her shoulder.

"No. I'm just looking for a friend,
remember?"

"Right, and a good friend would let
all these other hungry fools think that you belong to him so that they leave
you alone." I moved back and took my coffee as the barista put it in front
of me. "Please don't lie and tell me that no other guys have hit on you
while you've been here."

"A few, I guess." She took her
coffee and nodded in agreement. "I see your point. I'm good with you
calling me yours to spare me more attention and to help you cover the trail for
the hookers after your body."

"They are, aren't they?" I
smirked.

"They are, what? Hookers?"

"No, baby. After this sexy body.
Jeez." I chuckled as she pretended to gag. "You know you want
it."

"So bad." She fanned herself and
rolled her eyes while walking to a small table near the window.

If only she were telling the truth. I
could see her underneath me, lost to passion in a way that only I could give to
her. I wanted that moment so bad, and yet I needed to leave it alone. It would
consume me if I wasn't careful.

"How long do I get you today and
what's on the agenda?" I sat down and leaned over to blow at the top of my
coffee.

"As long as you want, but I have to
do some research. My father's funding my clothing line in January, as I
mentioned."

"You did. I assume your degree is in
design?"

"Yes, from UCLA."

"Right, so why the research?
Something to do with your old man?"

"Yeah. He wants me to come up with a
new windbreaker by Thursday that's not only functionally better than most that
are already available, but is modern, fashionable. On point."

"On point?" I lifted my eyebrow
and smirked.

"Never mind." She grinned and
played with the top of her drink. "Let's go to a few clothing stores and
we'll try on windbreakers together. I need to figure out a few things about
both men's and women's. You're going to be my Guinea pig. That okay?"

"Sure, but I'll need your help later,
too." I took a drink of my coffee and tried to keep my expression
straight.

"Absolutely. Doing what?" Her
green eyes searched my face, and I tucked my hand under my leg to keep from
reaching out and touching the side of her face.

"Research for the fastest way to
bring a woman to orgasm." I glanced down and chuckled as she slapped my
arm and yelped.

"Jesus, Finn. For real?"

I looked up and couldn't stop laughing.
"No, baby. I'm kidding...unless."

"No. Absolutely not. You're so
fucking corrupt."

"But you like it." I tugged my
hand free and reached for her before I could stop myself. I tilted my head to
the side and slid my fingers along her cheek, loving the beautiful innocence
that sat on her. "Tell me you like it."

She stared at me for a moment and I wished
I knew what she was thinking. At least, she hadn’t shoved my hand away.

“Even if I do, it doesn’t matter. I don’t
want to start anything and then leave. But hey, I think you’re a good guy.”

She cupped her hand around mine, sealing
the memory in my mind for when she would leave me.

* * * *

I walked towards her in a red jacket as
she put on a thin white one.

"Now what?" I reached out and
helped button the front of hers, not thinking twice about helping her, though
she seemed a little stiff by my nearness. It felt too natural to me not to give
into it.

"We need to go outside, but I'm not
sure they'll let us." She pushed at me. "I can get it. Find another
way to get your hands all over me. Jeez."

"Is that an invitation? Because I
have a million excuses that will seem reasonable." I laughed and turned to
find the nearest sales associate, motioning for him to join us.

"Yes, Sir. How can I help you?"
He smiled and me as he turned his attention to Chloe, a smile slid across his
face. I knew how he felt.

"We need to see how these feel
outside. You got a place we can test them against the wind and cold?"

"Of course. That balcony right over
there is open for you to use. It doesn't have another exit, except through the
store, so feel free." He spoke to me, but kept his eyes on Chloe.

I coughed and got his attention before
shaking my head. "Don't."

He adverted his eyes and walked away,
clearing his throat and blushing.

"What was that?" Chloe laughed softly
and nudged my arm.

The arm nudge was one step closer to the
end game. Now, if we could just move to small kisses, just a friendly peck when
the moment called for it. I wanted to taste her lips so damn bad, but I knew
I'd have to wait for her to make that move. Patience wasn't anywhere near my
strong suit.

"It was man-speak for 'stop looking
at my girl or I'll bend your ass over.'" I winked and opened the door for
her.

"But I'm not your girl." She
lifted her eyebrows.

"You are for pretend, right? You're
killing me over here. Are we together or are we not? I'm losing my shit, and
you just don't understand me. You never have." I pulled at my hair and she
laughed, slapping me before forcing a serious smile on her face.

"Be serious for a minute. I need to
test these jackets out. My dad is a hard sell, and I really want to impress
him." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before peaking back at
me. "Close your eyes. You need to feel the jacket."

I rolled my eyes and snorted. "Oh,
shit. Is this one of those California yoga things we're about to do?"

She laughed and hit my chest. "No,
but you have to concentrate."

"I am, but I'm not closing my eyes.
Ask your questions and let’s get into the next jacket." I leaned against
the railing and watched her closely. There was a light inside of her that
burned brighter when she was talking designs and colors. She was going to be
great at what she did, and I realized that I wanted to support her in any way
she would let me. I'd try on coats all damn day if that's what she needed.

"Why won't you close your eyes?
Afraid of the dark?" She smirked and brushed her hands down her jacket as
if trying to get a feel for it.

"Naw. I don't want to miss a minute
of this."

"Of what?" She looked up as her
smile faded.

"Of my time with you." I winked
and moved toward her as tears filled her eyes again. "Well, damn. I didn't
mean to upset you. I was just trying to explain why I didn't want to close my
eyes."

She reached up and pressed her hands to my
chest as I pulled her into a hug. "It's not that, I just..."

"Just what? Tell me what I'm doing
and I'll stop. There's no crying on shopping day. Jeez, girl. You didn't read
the damn rules?" I leaned down and brushed my nose past hers, trying to
get her to look into my eyes and see the good times I was trying to present.

She closed her eyes and moved up, pressing
her lips to mine. That was it.

A floodgate broke loose inside of me. I
moved one of my hands up to let my fingers slide into her long, silky hair as I
tilted my head and pressed my tongue against her lips. I wanted in.