Chapter One
"Dinner?"
Cassandra Franklin glanced at her computer screen then back to her work. Not tonight. No time. She stared down at the grant proposal she was editing. It was due next week in D.C. and there was something not quite right about the purpose of need section.
Dammit.
She had to get this right. Her department depended on the funding this grant would provide. This cycle the competition was stiff and it made her extremely nervous. As the new head of the English department at Compton University, she was responsible. And vulnerable. This was her year to prove herself.
She'd be damned if she'd let anything get in her way.
The white instant messenger box popped up on her screen again.
"I know you are there. Working late. You need a life, sweetheart."
Except, maybe, that.
Ignore him. He had no clue whether she was at work or not. Besides, he wasn't even a real person. He was just a name behind a little white box.
She clicked the X to make the messenger go away. Instead of looking back to her proposal, however, she stared out the window. Icy flakes of snow pelted the glass. Perhaps they would have a white Christmas, after all. Unusual for this southern college town. The night behind them was black as pitch. She was here way too late but what could she do?
Bing. This time the box came with sound. She jerked back.
"C'mon, professor. Get a life. Come out to play."
Shit. She didn't even really know the man and he knew her better than most of her friends. She did need a life.
"It's Christmas," he added. "Have some fun. Be festive. Ho-ho-ho."
Bah humbug.
Sighing, Cassie maximized the box on the screen, then placed her hands on the keyboard and clicked beside her screen name, SexyProf. "I'm not at work." She typed the lie and hit send.
Pause.
A second later the space at the bottom of the box read: kittylicker is typing.
Kittylicker. What a screen name. She waited for his response.
"Sure you are. Your office light is on."
Something panged inside her. He knew where her office was? She sat up straighter and typed furiously. "You're a liar."
"LOL," he replied. "Touché."
Cassie sighed and relaxed, sitting back in her chair. Last thing she needed was for kittylicker to actually know who she was.
"Let me take you to dinner."
She shook her head. They had been down this road before. "No. We've already discussed this. No face-to-face."
":-(" Then he started typing again. "Tell me what you want."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know. Tell me."
"I don't want anything."
"Now you are a liar."
Cassie huffed out a breath.
"I know what you like, sexyprof."
Again, she heaved a sigh. She'd been working all day on this proposal and was bone weary. Last thing she needed was to stare at this computer screen any longer. But this was different, wasn't it?
"Shit," she said softly. "I'm so addicted..."
Rising, she stepped to her office door and locked it, extinguished the overhead light, then went to the window and adjusted the blinds so they were fully closed. Only the desk lamp and the computer screen lit the room now.
)
Cassie Franklin has to prove herself. After all, she's the first female head of the English department at her university. But that doesn't mean she has to prove herself sexually to Eric Marsh, a fellow professor in the English department, does it? Then there is Ryan. Strong and sexy, with hands that can ease away the tension of most any job, he almost makes her forget her risky escapades with Eric. Until Cassie realizes that Ryan and Eric have a closer connection than she ever could have imagined, and they have very specific plans for her...[WARNING: This title features explicit sexual situations that may be offensive to some readers, including but not limited to: ménage (m/f/m), anal play, and graphic sexual language.]
