“I don’t want to have the Magna Carta discussion ever again.”
Her students laughed as Pat Johnson attempted to push his point. “Wait, I’m serious. Really.”
“I don’t want to have the King John conversation either, Patrick. Not again. Let it go.”
Patrick was so cute. Like most of her male students, he liked to flirt with her and she let him as long as it didn’t go past a little light banter in the classroom or her office during office hours. Anything beyond that required her to put one student in a headlock he never forgot.
She heard the doors to the huge auditorium open and she readied herself to rip Jason Benson a new one. The little fucker was always late to her class and she was done.
But when she looked up, she stopped breathing as Will Yager walked a few rows down and then plopped that gorgeous and way-‐too-‐big-‐for-‐the-‐chair body in one of the many empty seats. The auditorium was much too large for her small group of students, but she didn’t mind. She simply made them all sit right up front near her.
Now, however, the room seemed way too small.
He stared down at her and smiled and she felt like someone sucker punched her.
Finally, remembering they weren’t alone, she looked back at her class. The girls still stared at Yager, while all the boys stared at her. Pat looked particularly annoyed.
“So…um…”
“Magna Carta,” Pat filled in helpfully.
And just like that, Neecy snapped back. “We were not discussing the Magna Carta, Mr. Johnson.”
He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Oh, yes, I can.” She crossed her legs at her ankles and pushed her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. She felt unexpectedly silly. Yager had never seen her like this. She wore her favorite burgundy plaid skirt, a solid burgundy turtleneck since she still had those damn hickies, black leather knee-‐high boots, and dark thigh-‐high wool stockings because of the cold. Plus she’d used a way geeky headband to keep her long bangs off her face. And she knew for a fact, Yager had never seen her in her glasses. She only wore them when she was reading or teaching since she often had to refer to books for information. When she needed to look at her students, she just dropped her head and looked over the frames. A scary, but effective move.
“What I’m saying is I want something different from this paper.” She slid off the desk and walked over to Cindy Barone. “I don’t want the obvious. I don’t want to read about the Magna Carta. Or Prince John. Or another debate about whether Robin Hood actually existed.”
Neecy rapped her knuckles on Cindy’s desk and the girl’s head snapped around and away from her obvious adoration of Yager.
“I’m sorry. Am I boring you, Ms. Barone?”
“No, Miss…uh…Dr. Lawrence.”
“Good. I really do live my life simply to entertain you.” She spun on her heel and walked back to her desk. “So I want ideas by next Wednesday. And once I’ve approved those, I’ll want outlines the following week. And you better hope I approve them. At least partially. Give me the Magna Carta,” she glanced at Pat, “at your own risk.”
The students chuckled again as she motioned for them to leave with a wave of her hand. “Out. I’ll see you guys on Friday.”
She walked around the desk and began piling her books together to head back to her office. Without looking directly at him, she could see Yager stand. And she could see all her students staring at him as they walked by. The girls looked like they may swoon at any second, while the boys looked truly horrified…and jealous.
Once the last one left, Yager walked down the stairs toward her. “Are you covering Vikings in this class?”
“Nope. I have a separate class for the Vikings. There’s so much there to cover.”
“You know, I might have gone for my doctorate too if any of my teachers looked as good as you.”
Neecy slammed the last book on top of the pile. “Why are you here, Yager?”
“To see you. I tried calling you last night, but it rolled over to voicemail.”
“Yeah. For a reason.” She grabbed hold of the pile of books and lifted them up. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
Before she could take a step, Yager took the books from her.
“Hey!”
“I’ve got ‘em. Just go. I’ll follow.”
Christ, it’s gonna be like shaking my shadow.
He had no idea the woman wore glasses. Nothing fancy. Simple square burgundy frames, perfect for her face.
He wanted to fuck her wearing those glasses. Actually, he wanted to fuck her in that outfit, on her desk. He actually pouted a bit when she removed her glasses to leave the classroom. Damn, maybe some other time then.
Odin had been right. Neecy Lawrence wasn’t anything like she seemed. Who knew this Neecy even existed? He didn’t. He knew she taught, but a PhD? A history professor? And the book on top of the pile he carried…written by her and already a fourth edition.
There was so much about this woman he knew nothing about. So much he was dying to learn.
He watched her walk toward her office and he almost drooled all over her books. What an ass on this woman. The best part, he knew about her “night job.”
He knew Neecy the Predator. The woman who could snap a man’s neck with just a twist of her hands. He knew more than anybody besides the other Crows. And even they didn’t know she liked to have her clit nibbled.
He followed her down a long hallway and into an alcove. Her office was at the very end. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. It was a small room with books in every corner. Her shelves filled several rows deep with big tomes. She had them on the floor, on top of her desk…absolutely everywhere.
“You need another office.”
“Yeah? Well, tell that to the dean.”
She walked to her desk, dropping the keys on top of another stack of books.
Yager kicked her door closed and discreetly turned the lock. He didn’t want any annoying students walking in on them.
“Where do you want these?”
“Drop ‘em on that table.”
He did.
“Why are you here, Yager?”
Yager turned to find her grabbing a bottle of water from the shelf behind her desk. She took a long swig while she waited for him to speak.
Finally, “Like I said, I wanted to see you.”
Grumbling, she stalked past him, handing the re-‐closed bottle to him. He smiled at her unconscious actions as she stood in front of the stack of books he just dumped.
“Look, I’m sure those bubble-‐headed Valkyries think the dominant male thing is cute and all, but it really just pisses me the fuck off.” She angrily proceeded to shove books back in the shelf behind the table.
Yager looked around her office and drank the water while she lit into him. He wondered if she’d actually read all these books. He wondered how she’d made it this far. He found Neecy Lawrence absolutely amazing. Sure, she was hot and an outstanding lay. But come on—from drug dealer to warrior to PhD. Only Skuld seemed to see the potential in all these women. She didn’t waste her time with idiots. Stupid girls need not apply to the Gathering.
“Are you even listening to me?”
Sighing, Yager walked over to her office chair and sat down. He put his feet up on her desk and looked at her.
“Yeah. I’m listening.”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Oh, really? Then what did I just say?”