Shuttered Affections (Cornerstone #1) (3 page)

“The last thing I needed was a teacher blowing sunshine
up my skirt so he could get into my pants.”

I felt each nerve-ending split as I watched my fellow
classmates leave the room.

He didn’t attempt to get up or move as he explained to the
class what he expected of them come Wednesday.

Maddy gave me a tight smile, knowing I had to stay behind,
and quickly confirmed our scheduled weekly shoot for tomorrow before saying goodbye
and leaving me in the dust.

My second class was a one-on-one Digital Photography session
with Mr. Barnes. Only now, Mr. Barnes was not here to rescue me.

My handsome parking-spot thief just sat there, looking at
me, probably still expecting me to answer his loaded question.

In all honesty, the question wasn’t what threw me for a
loop. It was the sound of his voice, so silky and seductive, with a hint of
humor, and my full name falling from his lips, like he’d known me for years. It
was the look in his eye as he waited—gray eyes filled with hidden
promises and a slight warning all rolled into one smoldering gaze. It was the
fact that now, once the classroom cleared out completely, his body was even
closer than before.

He repositioned himself so he was fully facing my left side,
his long legs spread so they almost encompassed my stool. His left knee
slightly brushed against my left leg while his right leg was positioned behind
me.

Too close. Way too
close.

“Do you have a class to get to, Juliana?” His question was
almost a whisper and it made a shiver roll up my spine—not because I was
cold, but because his breath on my face made a thousand sparks flicker through my
skin, like sparklers on a hot summer night.

Didn’t he know
I was
his next class? He had to have known. He was probably just toying with me
because I’m sure he could tell how I was reacting to him—how he made me
feel. But then I remembered, my digital independent study class was really just
a favor from Mr. Barnes and wasn’t actually a scheduled class. Damn. I really
wanted to keep my schedule. I had to forcefully compose myself and explain.

“Um… actually, my next class used to be a personal session
with Mr. Barnes. The Digital Photography class didn’t fill up, so they
cancelled it. Mr. Barnes kept me on—sort of as his protégé. But it
doesn’t count toward my credits, nor do I pay for it, so…”

So, what? What was I saying? I didn’t want to give up my
Digital Photography lessons. I was learning so much about how to work the
digital SLR camera and Mr. Barnes was impeccably schooled when it came to
touching up and manipulating in Photoshop.

But, was Mr. parking-spot-thief capable of continuing my
lessons? I had no idea what his level of expertise was, so I just let my
sentence trail off.

“I would be more than delighted to continue your one-on-one
lessons, Julia. Mr. Barnes did not inform me of such an arrangement, but since
I don’t have a class during this time slot anyway, you might as well continue to
use me while I’m available.” An adorable smile worked its way onto his perfect
face.

He wants me to
use
him?

I had to shake my head at the thoughts that crept into my
mind.
 
I was supposed to be mad at
this man and here I was lusting over his every word—his every breath—his
every touch.

“Thank you for your consideration.” I tried to sound polite
as I stared into his gray eyes. In an attempt to sound confident, my words
mistakenly came out harsh and cold instead.

Something shifted in his demeanor—like he was worried.
Or maybe my tone made him realize just how inappropriate this chemistry between
us was.

He backed away a little and it felt like he took all my air
with him.

I couldn’t explain the feelings that were bombarding me. All
I knew was, he was way too close before. Yet, when he backed away, I craved to
pull him closer. My body begged for him while my mind scolded me for even
feeling such a primal need for his touch.

He still sat next to me, but his knee no longer brushed
against my thigh. One of his elbows was propped up on the black tabletop, while
his other hand ran through his rugged, sandy hair.

“I probably should catch you up on what you missed due to
your tardiness, Ms. Petersen.” His words were clipped, like he was irritated with
something—or someone. He was probably irritated with me.

Switching to my last name told me he was trying to stay formal.
But I noticed some sort of internal battle in his expression. Pain and confusion
etched his face. I wanted to do something, say something, to make him feel
better—to ease his pain—to wipe away any confusion and tell him it would
all be okay.

Instead, I took the defensive route, knowing full well any
comfort I offered would open doors I was certain would get me in trouble.

“I was only late because you stole the parking spot I was
waiting for.” I pointed downwards toward him while my other arm curled
protectively around my abdomen. My words blurted out harsher than I had
planned, but nonetheless, they were true.

Humor entered his eyes as the sides of his mouth quirked up
a bit. “Ahh. That was you? I’m terribly sorry, Julia. I honestly didn’t see
anyone waiting for the space. I was in too much of a hurry because I did not
want to be late for my first day as a new teacher. The administrators haven’t
assigned a space for me yet and I only found out this morning. Will you forgive
me?”

Oh my, he switched moods so quickly it almost gave me
whiplash. And he looked so adorable in that moment. The puppy dog look
definitely melted my insides. There was no way I could stay mad at him if he
looked at me with such a vulnerable stare.

As much as I wanted to act kind, I knew I had to keep my
distance. I had to stay strong.

“You really didn’t remember it was me you screwed just an
hour ago? I was all but jumping out of my goddamn window when I yelled at you,”
I said. I actually meant for my words to be harsh this time, however, they now
came out as more of a whine—pleading for him to remember me.

Grinning even wider now, he continued with his apology and
said, “How could I forget that beautiful face of yours? Yes. Yes, I remember it
was you. However, I was really being honest about not seeing anyone waiting for
the parking spot. I was so ticked off at the idiots from administration, I
completely lost my cool with the fact I had to battle for a spot in the student
lot. I do wish you could forgive me for my actions.”

Damn. Why’d he have to be so charming and sweet? It was
infuriating. Attempting to make him feel bad, I decided to pretend mercy.

“Forgiven. Although in my haste to get to class as soon as I
could, I managed to dump most of my spring project all over the asphalt. I’m
praying my negatives aren’t ruined.” I looked down at the messy pile of
negatives and prints sitting in front of me.

He slid closer—this time, much closer. His legs spread
wide to straddle my stool again. His knee now pressed firmly against the side
of my thigh and his other leg brushed my backside behind the stool.

My breathing hitched and my hands began to shake. Closing my
eyes, I tried to steady my breath. I placed my hands in my lap to hide my
weakness as he reached over to assess the damaged rubble that was once the
beginning of a damn good project.

“It doesn’t look like anything is damaged, although the
negatives did get a bit of dirt on them.” He paused for an assessing moment
before continuing. “Julia, these prints are astonishing. I can’t wait to see
how you arrange them. You truly do have a passion for black and white infrared
and your interpretation of the subject matter is amazing to say the least. Do
you still need to print more from these negatives for your project?”

His compliments took me off guard. He sounded so truthful,
so passionate, so enamored by my photos. It made me happy to hear someone speak
so highly of something that touched me on a very vulnerable level. God knows I
never received that kind of praise from home.

I looked at him—first at his distractingly luscious
lips, and then into his eyes. I wanted, no, needed to see if he was being
sincere. The last thing I needed was a teacher blowing sunshine up my skirt so
he could get into my pants.

I tried to compose myself and answer his simple question.
“There were a few more shots I wanted to play around with before making my
final decisions on which prints will be displayed and which ones I will set
aside.”

Standing quickly, he walked to the double doors leading out
of the classroom and closed them with a gentle click. The noise made a lump
form in my throat as I tried to suppress my nerves. Now we were officially
alone. I knew this because those doors were always locked unless propped open.

Stalking back over to me, he picked up my negatives and offered
me his hand. My stomach did back flips as I reached up and slipped my fingers
into his. Tiny little flickers shot up my arm when my fingers slid across his
palm.

He led me over to the large light table to lay out all my negatives
neatly and with quick precision. I watched each movement of his fingers, each
brush of his palm, as he took great care with my work.

He was probably the type of man that took great care with
his lovers too. Using those long, strong fingers to caress and entice a woman…

I had to get control of myself.

He carefully began brushing the negatives with a fine-haired
dust brush. Once he was finished, he slid the handle of the brush in his back
pocket, bringing my attention to his ass.

Not noticing I was staring at his finely sculpted butt, he
grabbed the small loupe magnifier and bent over the light table to look at my
work—all while successfully giving me a better view of him from behind.

I smiled and then realized I should talk about my plans for
these negatives.

I tried to steady my shaking hands and instill poise to my
voice so I could explain where I was at with my project.

“These are the prints I’ve already completed,” I explained
as I gestured to several different rows of negatives and pointed out the few I
printed from those rows. “And these are the three I think I want to play with a
bit more. The infrared glow of the plants is so vibrant, I worry I may lose
some detail, but I can’t pass up the challenge to try and bring these shots to
life.”

“Oh, so you do like a challenge, don’t you, Juliana.” It was
more of an accusation than a question. His tone took on that seductive quality
again and it made my stomach turn up in knots.

This man could make me melt with just his words. Surprised
that I was still able to stand, I began to feel lightheaded at his seductive
tone.

He looked up at me while still bent over my negatives and dazzled
me with a smile that had my mind hanging in mid-air. He rose and made the few
short steps it took to be right in front of me.

Tracing my jaw with his finger, he whispered, “Breathe, Juliana.”

I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath. The sound of
my full name from his lips sent a thrill of shivers down to my core. This man
had an effect on me more than words could express—and definitely more
than I wanted to admit.

I closed my eyes and began to breathe. With each breath, I
could smell his scent—feel his warmth. When I opened them, he was smiling
again.

“Green, clear, and beautiful, like sparkling peridot…” he whispered
as his finger still lingered on my cheek, his words stopping as if he thought
better of touching me so intimately.

It took me a moment of gawking before I realized he was
talking about my eyes.

He stepped away and bent back over the light table to look
at the few shots I pointed out to him.

God, what I wouldn’t give to sink my fingernails into that ass while…

His voice brought me out of my personal daydream and I bit
my lip in an attempt to hide my embarrassing lust-filled thoughts.

“These are really great shots. You should definitely try to
play around with these. I could almost see these three being a series all on
their own. So vibrant and full of life…” His praise trailed off as he continued
to examine all the negatives in that series.

I never received this kind of approval and support from my
parents and I never realized how important it was to me until now.

I had no idea a single person’s appreciation could mean so
much to my pride. Just listening to him talk about my work made me giddy
inside. I couldn’t help the small smile that splayed across my face as the
glare from the light table became blurry with my emotion.

“What thoughts are putting that beautiful smile on your
face, Angel?” His words sucked me right back to the real world and made me
blush profusely.

What did he just call me? How well did this man know me? It
was like he knew so many of my private things. He seemed to know more about me
than I could’ve ever anticipated and he was playing me like a well-tuned
violin.

I backed away and turned my face, not sure what to say and
wanting to run from this intense, enigmatic man.

“Oh, Julia. Please don’t hide your face from me. I didn’t
mean to embarrass you. You had such joy written on your face, I just wanted to
know what thoughts made you so happy.” He was being so sweet, yet I kept asking
myself just how close I should really get to him. Also, seeing my parents’
faces and wishing they were doting over my accomplishments like this stranger
was so eager to do, assaulted my mind.

“Julia? Look at me.” He lifted my chin with his finger and
made me look into his eyes. “Tell me what makes you happy, Angel.”

Oh God! There’s that
nickname again. Maybe it is just a coincidence. He is seriously a sweet-talking,
sweet-smelling, sweet-looking man. I wonder what his lips taste like. Oh, no. I
can’t start thinking like that in front of him.