The music's bass beat resonated throughout my entire body as Jayce led me into the Kappa Alpha house. The party was already in full rager, with bodies swarming makeshift dance floors, red solo cups littering the floor and the pungent smell of booze intermingling with expensive cologne and perfume.
"You look sexy as hell," Jayce mumbled in my ear, hand possessive on my waist.
I'd worn the red dress he'd requested—tight, short, showing just enough skin to be dangerous. But I hadn't worn it for him. I'd worn it because some reckless part of me wondered if Daniel might be here. Professors sometimes chaperoned major campus events, right?
God, I was pathetic.
"Let's get drinks," Jayce said, pulling me toward the kitchen.
That's when I saw her.
Scarlett was leaning against the keg, wearing a skintight black dress that had to be worth more than my tuition. Her auburn hair was styled into perfect waves and several guys around her, hoping to score some attention. She gave me a poisonous sort of smile when she looked at me.
"Brooklyn!" she called out with a sickeningly sweet female voice. "And Jayce. How... cozy."
Jayce's hand tightened on my waist. It was the first time they'd seen each other since I caught them together. The tension was suffocating.
"Scarlett," he said stiffly. "I thought you were a State fan."
"Transferred. Couldn't stay away from my family." Her eyes burned into mine; challenge blazed from them. "After all, there is so much more that Westfield has. Better classes. Better opportunities. Better... everything."
Addison arrived by Scarlett's side like some sort of guard dog and with her was another girl I'd seen before: Chloe, Scarlett's other minion. They were a wall of hostility, false smiles and pointed looks.
"This is the best party," Addison purred, but she was watching somebody behind me. "And it just got sweeter."
I turned around and my heart sank.
Professor Anderson had me melted against the doorframe where I made the mistake of stopping ,more devastatingly handsome in those dark jeans and tight black henley. His gaze swept the room and landed on me with such fervor that my skin burned.
What was he doing here?
"OMG, is that the new psych professor?" a girl nearby squealed. "He's so hot!"
"I heard he's only twenty-eight," her friend said back, soft enough that his question might disguise it. "Fresh out of his doctorate."
Twenty-eight. He was just nine years older than me. Somehow that made everything seem even more dangerous.
Daniel's eyes slid down the length of me to Jayce's hand on my waist, something black slipping over his features for a moment, but he wiped it away and schooled his face before looking toward the faculty corner where some other young profs had congregated.
"I need air," I told Jayce suddenly.
"What? We just got here—"
"Just five minutes. Please." I didn't give him a chance to argue, I grabbed my things and bulldozed through the gathering, heading for the back door.
The backyard was quieter, string lights and tiki torches providing illumination. There were a couple of couples making out on lawn furniture but, aside from them, it was fairly empty. I stood with my back against the house, striving to get my breath.
"Running away?"
I spun around. Daniel was a couple of feet away with his hands in his pockets watching me with those eyes that just kill you when they're blue.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded.
"Faculty attendance is necessary at big campus functions. And making sure that no one does anything too stupid." Nearing, I smelled his cologne. "What are you doing all alone out here?"
"I needed some air. It's too crowded inside."
"Hmm." He was so near now, our skins could touch. "Or perhaps you had to leave your boyfriend's grubby hands holding on a little too tight?"
"That's none of your business."
"You're right. It's not." But his eyes were another matter jealous, torn. "You should go back inside. Back to him. It's safer."
"Safer for who?"
"Both of us." His hand lifted, the tips of his fingers barely brushing my cheek as though I could have dreamed it. Out here, alone, I'm remembering things I shouldn't. The way you tasted. The sounds you made. The way you felt—"
"Professor Anderson!"
We both jumped apart as Addison stumbled out onto the porch, apparent drunk, Scarlett right behind her. They seemed surprised to see us there together.
"Oh, sorry," Addison slurred, though her smile suggested she wasn't sorry at all. "Are we interrupting something?"
"Miss Miller was under the weather, Missy," Daniel said silkily, with his professorial mask falling back over his face. "I was just making sure she was O.K."
"How sweet," Scarlett chirped sweetly, her voice thick with mock innocence. "Brooklyn has a way of getting sick when things turn gnarly. Don't you, sis?"
Before I could reply, Jayce was there in the doorway and his face hardened at the sight of Daniel standing next to me.
"Brook? Is everything okay out here?"
"Fine," I said quickly. "I just needed some air."
Jayce's eyes narrowed at Daniel. "And you are?"
"Professor Anderson. Psychology department." Daniel offered his hand, professional courtesy and all that. "Just wanted to make sure your girlfriend was okay. She seemed distressed."
They shook hands, but in Jayce's jaw I could see the tension, how his handshake must have been too tight. Male posturing at its finest.
My girlfriend is something I can handle," Jayce said, gripping me to his side.
"Of course." Daniel looked me once more with an impassioned gaze that spoke volumes before nodding and turning away to go back inside.
"What was that about?" Scepticism sharpened Jayce's demand for the answer.
"Nothing. I was feeling lightheaded and he was just seeing if I was OK."
Scarlett cackled, sounding as though glass had broken. "How noble. A professor who cares about a student's welfare. Tale as old as time."
"Shut up, Scarlett," I snapped.
Her smile widened. "Touchy, touchy. Hit a nerve?"
"Let's get inside," Jayce added, obviously eager to flee this poison field. "We have to get some guys from the team introduced to you."
The next hour was torture. Jayce showed me off like a trophy as I smiled and nodded at his jock buddies. I could sense its glare from across the room penetrating into my skin. Each time that I glanced up, he was watching; his face inscrutable but intent.
Scarlett and her gang huddled in the corners, giving me the stink eye. Something was brewing. I could feel it.
"I have to pee," I told Jayce, stepping away from the craziness.
Upstairs was more sedate, the bathrooms a long line. It was my turn, and I mindlessly scrolled through my phone until a hand grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into an empty bedroom.
The door slammed shut.
Daniel was in front of it, breathing hard, his eyes wild with something between fury and need.
"What are you—"
"Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" he demanded, stalking toward me. "Watching him put his hands on you, kiss you and strut around like he owns you?"
"Daniel—"
"I'm well aware that I shouldn't be jealous. You're not mine. You can't be mine." He pinned me against the wall, his arms trapping me. "But to see his hands on you, and know he gets to touch you while I can do nothing but watch—"
"Then don't look," I mumbled, heart pounding a little.
"I can't help it. I keep thinking about your annoying ass. About that night. "How wrong this is and how much I don't care —"
The door burst open.
Scarlett was standing there with her phone up, camera aimed right at us, flash popping with a snap.
"Well, well, well," she said, triumphantly and cruelly smiling. "This is interesting. A professor and a student in an especially awkward position. I will be curious what the dean has to say about that?"
Daniel withdrew at once, but too late.
"Take that out," he said, his tone firm. I will be curious what the dean has to say about that?" aimed right at us, flash popping with a snap.
"I don't think I will." Scarlett's eyes gleamed with malice. "This is the sort of insurance I need."
"Insurance for what?" I demanded, my voice shaking.
She stared at me like I was some idiot. "To keep you away from Jayce, obviously. One step wrong, sister, and this picture goes wide. Professor Anderson loses his job, you get expelled for having relations with faculty, and everyone knows just how much of a slutty little who-"
"You're insane," I breathed.
"Maybe. "But I'm also very, very good at being a bitch and getting what I want. She blew us a kiss. "Have a good evening. Oh, and Brooklyn? Jayce is looking for you. Hurry back to your boyfriend before he gets curious."
She departed, her laughter rippling along the hallway.
Daniel and I stood motionless, the fugue of what had just unfolded descending upon us.
"This is bad," I whispered.
"This is a disaster," he said, raking his hands through his hair. "She has leverage now. Real leverage."
My phone buzzed.
Scarlett: Tick tock, sis. The clock is running. One wrong move, and your whole world goes up in flames.
I brought the message to Daniel, and his jaw tightened.
"What do we do?" I asked.
He turned to me, conflict battling in his gaze. "We keep away from each other. Completely. No office hours, no private conversations, nothing my daughter can use against us."
"And if she sends the photo anyway?"
"Then we both lose everything."