“Hey, handsome,” she said.

Jeremy looked over his shoulder then swung his eyes back to her, confusion sweeping across his face. “Me?”

“Yes, you. You look really nice today.” She had to work on her flirting. That was pathetic.

Jeremy pushed the back of his hand against her forehead. “Feeling all right, Bree?”

Embry saw Luke from the corner of her eye, tension in his every move. She knew he hated Jeremy’s hand on her, and she smiled brightly at her friend. “I’m great. Why?”

Jeremy dropped his hand. “Just checking. You’re being a little weird.”

His discomfort made it even more fun. Two birds. One stone. She could torture Luke a bit and give Jeremy a taste of his own flirty medicine. “What?” she asked, her voice filled with sweet innocence. “I’m just being friendly.” She drew her finger up his forearm.

The sound of a textbook slamming onto the podium made them jump. Got him.

“Miss Jacobs, Mr. Price,” Luke said, his voice extra gravelly. “Since both of you seem to understand the concept of punitive damages so well that you don’t have to pay attention to the review, why don’t you tell us about it?”

Jeremy let out a long sigh and shook his head.

Embry stepped up, determined to keep Luke’s wrath from landing on her friend. “Punitive damages are only available for breach of contract if there is fraud, malice, gross negligence, or oppression.”

“Good answer, Embry. How about you, Jeremy?” Her correct answer seemed to have only provoked Luke further. “Want to tell us about stipulated damages?”

Luke proceeded to torture Jeremy, making him look completely inept, and Embry could do nothing but sit by and watch. Her anger at Luke grew until she was sure the entire class felt the fury rolling off of her. Her stupid, stubborn man was taking out his anger on her friend, when it should have been directed at her.

Luke slipped out at the end of the review session while Embry was still packing up. Jeremy pushed past her without even saying good-bye. She shoved the rest of her things in her bag and ran after him.

“Jer,” she called.

He turned, glaring at her. “Just leave me alone, Bree.” He looked around before continuing in a harsh whisper. “I don’t know what that was, but whatever it is, I want no part of it.”

“What?” she asked, dumbfounded. Shit, he knows.

“Just … Nothing.” He shook his head. “I’ll talk to you later.” He walked away without giving her a chance to respond.

Reeling from Jeremy’s words and seething with anger at Luke, Embry couldn’t move fast enough through the back hallway and into the faculty wing. She schooled her face into a mask of impassivity as she passed several students and other faculty members.

She reached Luke’s office door, knocked once, and stormed in without waiting for an answer. “I can’t believe you just—”

Luke shot up from behind his desk and forced her against the closed door before she could finish her sentence. “Believe it,” he growled. He reached behind her, flipped the lock, and slammed his mouth down on hers.

Her head swam as she desperately tried to hold onto her anger. She wanted to pound on Luke’s chest, yell at him for being so stupid and jealous that he tipped off Jeremy. But she couldn’t be angry with him when he claimed her like that—his warm, wet mouth on hers, every inch of his solid body pressing into her.

“Hold on, beautiful,” he said, as he grabbed her ass and lifted her up against the door.

She did as she was told, wrapping her arms around his neck and locking her legs around his waist. She mentally high-fived herself for her wardrobe choice that morning; her flowy dress gave him easy access. She felt his hardness through his pants, putting delicious pressure against her core. She whimpered, but his finger found her lips, signaling the need for her to be quiet. She couldn’t help herself. Her tongue darted out to tease his finger, licking and sucking. He dragged it down her lips and between her breasts before reaching under her dress and ripping her panties aside. He slid his finger through her wetness, and she shuddered, wanting more but knowing she couldn’t make a noise to ask for it.

He got the message though. He slipped two fingers inside her, curling them into that delicious spot that shot her through the roof. She rode his hand until she spiraled into an intense orgasm, clenching around his fingers. Then his hand was gone, and she heard the clink of his belt buckle. The thick head of his cock rubbed against her sensitive flesh, and he muffled a low groan in the crook of her neck as he pushed into her inch-by-inch.

It was slow torture of the best kind. Her head fell back against the door with a thud, and she bit her lip, doing her best to stifle her cries as he moved inside of her. He gave her a warning look before pulling her from the door. Gripping her thighs, he held her against him as he walked them to his desk. He pushed his paperwork aside, and she watched it fall to the floor as he laid her on her back and pushed back inside of her.

He kept up a punishing rhythm, his fingers digging into her hips as he slammed into her. Each stroke sent a wave of pleasure through Embry as the sensations built inside of her. She was lost in Luke. Her anger and frustration drained away with every hard thrust.

“Baby, I’m gonna come,” he said softly.

His words took her over the edge. Another release rocketed through her, and she bit her lip, struggling to stay quiet. Her muscles seized and clenched around Luke as he pulsed inside of her. He slipped his hands underneath her and lifted her into his arms. He settled her on his lap in his desk chair, holding her as they both came down. He buried his face in her neck once more, and she felt his arms tighten around her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

All of the pent-up tension left her body at those two simple words.

He brought his eyes to hers. “For everything, I’m sorry. I want you to spend Christmas with my family.”

Embry nodded and brushed her lips against his. “Thank you.”

“One thing, though,” he said, his voice gruff. He narrowed his eyes, grabbed her hands, and brought them to his mouth, placing a kiss on each palm. “Keep these to yourself unless they’re on me.”

Embry’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t argue. He was the only one she wanted her hands on.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Embry anxiously twirled her pen between her fingers and banged it against the desk. The girl next to her pegged her with an annoyed glare. Embry stopped the tapping, but her knee continued to bounce beneath the desk. She was one huge ball of anxiety. She had just finished her last final exam and was ready to break out of the classroom. The rules allowed students who finished early to leave unless they finished within the last thirty minutes of the test. So she had to sit quietly until the exam was over. In other words … torture.

She went over the exam in her head again, wondering if she should have taken more time. She had double and triple-checked her answers. It was out of her hands. She had handed in her final memo already, and once she walked out of the test room, she was officially finished her first semester of law school. Apprehension crept up her spine as she worried about her grades. She had already heard whispers of some students not completing all of their exams because they were so sure they had failed. She hadn’t had any major breakdowns, but waiting until after New Year’s for her grades would be agonizing.

Embry chewed the end of her pen. She figured that would keep her from tapping it against the desk or throwing it at the head of the proctor who wouldn’t let her leave. Anxious wasn’t even the right word to describe her feelings. She was impatient, eager, downright twitchy. Not only was she itching to get out of the classroom and celebrate a few weeks of freedom, but she also hadn’t spent any alone time with Luke since they’d creatively worked out their differences on his desk. That had been over a week ago, and their plans for the evening were sure to test their self-control.