Romance: Rockstar Romance: Rock My World (A Bad Boy Rock Star and a College Girl Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Second Chance Romance) (73 page)

“Woman.
Singular.”
He corrected her firmly, his hands curling
into her behind
to pull her flush against him before his expression sobered. “You are the
only
one, Alice. You have been for a
while...
and for all my
pretty
words, I couldn’t find a way to tell you.”

“Then don’t use
words,
” She replied gently, cupping his face as she reached down with her free hand to find him already half-hard again. “
Show
me
.
”

Her professor groaned lowly, rolling
over,
so he ended up
atop
her, his mouth finding hers.  “Pretty, pretty words.
My
Alice
…let
me
hear them.”

*****

THE END

Mr Giovanni The Teacher

“I’ll have an American Espresso without sugar, please.” Sofia placed her order for the much needed caffeine that she required to get through the first week of her college at University of California, Berkeley. So far nothing had gone like she had planned. UC had been her ultimate dream, pursuing a degree in English Literature and then joining the prestigious Wall Street Journal. This was her goal, and for this she had left everything else behind that once meant world to her; her family, friends and her boyfriend –
Michael.

She ceased her thoughts right there and took a large gulp of burning liquid to distract her mind from running into direction that only brought pain back and made her realize that how lost and lonely she was in present.

“You are Sofia, right?” a male voice called from behind and she turned to find a Caucasian, tall guy with blond silky hair. She couldn’t remember seeing him around before. “I’m sorry, you have me at disadvantage.” She didn’t want to sound that cold but that was all that came out of her mouth. “I’m Luke Willis. We are together in American History.” He raised his brow, as if he wasn’t happy about knowing that she hadn’t noticed him earlier.

“Oh yeah, right. I’m Sofia Hawthorn. Pleasure meeting you, Luke.” She gave him a brief smile and moved ahead. Much to her surprise, Luke followed. “You are a history major, I presume?” He had a very New York accent. Maybe he was from there. She wondered. “English, actually,” she answered. “Yeah? That means we’ll be seeing around each other quite much.” He grinned down at her.

If she still wasn’t so hung up over Michael, she might have found the good-looking Luke a person to take interest in. But she couldn’t give up her love for Michael yet. Despite the way things had ended, she couldn’t let go. The breakup was all too fresh even after weeks. A desolation took over and her heart weighed like a huge rock. She took another sip from her steaming coffee, a poor excuse to draw her track of thoughts away. Luke kept talking beside her and soon it came to her knowledge that he was originally from Napa Valley. He was a Business major with English Literature and Political Science as minors.

“You don’t talk much about yourself, do you?” They walked into the hallway towards the lecture hall where their first session of semester for English was due in five minutes. “There is nothing much to talk about.” What could she tell him? That she came here against the wishes of her family, or that her high school sweetheart, whom she had given her heart and soul, disappointed her and asked her to choose between her love and her dreams instead of supporting her decision? No, she couldn’t tell it to anyone. Berkeley was meant to be a fresh start for her and that’s what she was counting on. Though the first couple of days hadn’t been so
welcoming,
but she was looking forward to the coming time with what little optimism and hope she was left with.

She settled on the corner seat of third row, away from center, shielded from spotlight. Luke was already interacting with the other girls and guys around. Sofia could tell he was a social bee; unlike her. She pulled out the small sketchbook from her bag and began to doodle an abstract. All of sudden the chattering and noises vanished and it was pin drop silence around her.

She looked up from her sketchbook to search the reason and found a tall figure standing. His back was towards the class and his hands were moving swiftly as he wrote something on the white board. Sofia noticed he had a good height of over six feet. His broad shoulders flexed under dark navy jacket he was wearing. She couldn’t make out the shade of his hair from afar. They were a mix of multiple shades of brown. She bent down to take out her notebook when she first heard his voice.

“My name is Raphael Giovanni and you’ll be with me for English Prose. In the coming class, I want your views on the mentioned books which I expect you have already read, considering the reason you all are here sitting in my class.”

His voice was deep and commanding with a pitch that wasn’t loud but still could be heard until the end of the room with equal intensity. Sofia when raised her eyes, she stilled at the sight before her. She felt as if all air had been pulled out of her young lungs. Professor Giovanni was handsome to the height that it should be illegal. His face was perfectly cut with strong jaw and well-proportioned nose. His eyes were a shade of emerald and onyx mix together. The flawless white skin on his forehead was slightly squeezed and a couple of strands from his brown hair had managed to escape down from his rest of the brushed back hairstyle. His lips were aligned into a straight line, giving no hint of what was going inside his head. That only complemented to his looks. His tailor-made suit gave away his well-built physique. Raphael Giovanni was trimmed to perfection.

What spiced up his overall gentleman look was a small piercing in his left ear. Sofia gasped. She felt her own ears turning red as she took her professor in. The blood inside her veins began to pump excitedly. A fire ignited inside her. “Ms. Hawthorn?” His voice rang like a bass note into her ears. She stared at him dumbfounded. Why was he calling her? “Ms. Hawthorn?” he repeated and that’s when she realized that he was marking the attendance. “Yes,” a croaked whisper came out. She cleared her throat and answered again, “Yes, that’s me.” He looked up at her, his eyes collided with hers. “Glad you woke up.” She blushed at his comment. A few snickers rose from back but died down quickly when Raphael threw a sharp look.
Holy wet panties,
was the man intense? For the first time since leaving her home, Sofia felt things were finally starting to change. She was having hots for her Professor – a very devilishly handsome Professor.

*****

Raphael handed over the course outline to the students as they passed through his desk after the class. “Thank you, Professor Giovanni.” A tall blonde whose name he remembered as Jane Bennett, took the handout from his hand and brushed herself along his bicep. He stiffened at the movement and glared at her. She giggled and walked away. Moments later he could hear her talking to other girls. “Damn, he is so hot.” This wasn’t news to Raphael.

He was well aware of his looks and for years he’d used this knowledge to his fullest for a lot of things. But now, at age of thirty four, he was done with the women who just wanted him for his face. He longed for something deeper now, something that was real. Just like his brother, Nathaniel had with Jessica. Having thought of them, he had to do something about the engagement party coming couple of weeks later. He had to find himself a decent convincing date for the event who’ll make his relentless mother think that he wasn’t playing around anymore.

He brushed the self-pitying thoughts away and focused back on the work at hand. The hall was now almost empty except for a few students standing at the door. He looked up just in time to see Sofia Hawthorn tripping on the last step of stairs. He advanced towards her in one quick leap and caught her before she could hit the podium and crack her head open. Her stuff flew in all directions as she gripped him by shoulders. Her almond shaped eyes widened as their gaze met and his own heart skipped a beat.

Raphael took a moment to study her. She had a heart shaped face with arched brows and a slightly pointed nose. Her light blue eyes were like a mystery with her rich brown skin tone, surrounded by the mass of thick dark hairs. Her lips were just the right size and slightly open. There wasn’t a hint of makeup on her face, yet she looked beautiful, in her own way.

The noises from the corridor brought him back to senses and he immediately straightened her and stepped back. “I am so sorry, Mr. Giovanni … uh, and thanks as well, for saving me. I don’t know where I was walking. I am such a klutz,” Sofia was mumbling. He saw the color rising on her cheek and something stirred inside him. A reaction that was first of its kind to spark inside him. He didn’t comment, just gave her a nod and turned to his desk to get a handout for her.

“The course outline.” He extended the handout towards her direction without looking at her. “Thank you, Mr. Giovanni.” Her fingers brushed slightly with his and a jolt of current ran in his veins.
God, what was wrong with him?
Sofia made her way towards the door, only then he turned to look at her and immediately regretted. The way her narrow hips were swaying in those skin fitted jeans, made his manhood jerk into attention more than it already was. She had a good height and her legs went forever. Her dressing was nothing outrageous, a purple checked shirt with blue jeans and converse. Yet her appearance had managed to throw him off the guard.
She is a student!
He reminded himself.

All reminders were flushed out of his mind when he saw her again in his next class. She intrigued him. She wasn’t like every other girl around her. She was quiet, aloof and unaware of the attention that she held around her. Probably she didn’t even know what looks she was receiving by the guys standing next to her. She was oblivious to everything and that was what captured his interest. And a few parts of his anatomy were more interested than others. Her piercing blue eyes twisted something inside him and he longed to get her back into his arms, make her grip him again and bring her to the heights of ecstasy.
Cool down, Giovanni. Look where you are heading.
He dismissed the thoughts and ended the class early.

The buzz of phone distracted him. He pulled out to see incoming call from Logan Malfoy, his best friend and New York Times bestselling author. “I see, you are alive, Malfoy.” Smile tugged onto his lips immediately. “Yeah, yeah, I know some friends I am. But will this be justification enough that I have a book launch this weekend?” Logan’s revelation filled Raphael’s chest with pride. “Seriously, man?” “As serious as heart attack.” “About time, Malfoy.”

“I called to invite you at the festival. I have launch the same day. Will you be able to make it?” Los Angles this weekend? He thought for a second. Maybe that was the best way to get his perspectives straight about the fraternizing thoughts he was sporting earlier. He attended the festival almost every year anyway and given that it was Logan’s book launch which he was looking forward for such a long time, then why not? “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

*****

Sofia tried to concentrate on Mr. Gatsby’s mysterious personality and all she could think of was Mr. Giovanni’s dapper looks. She was unable to take him out of her mind. The feel of his arms around her, his intense eyes boring into hers and the way he had looked at her, she just couldn’t shrug that image away. It was like he had seen through every barrier that she had placed before her. That scared the shit out of her, but excited her at an entirely new level too. She had to remind herself again and again that he was her professor and she was forbidden to even think about him.

She shook her head and put her concentration back into book that she’d read countless times before already. “Sofia!” Luke’s voice hit her ears and she turned back to look at him. He was with two other girls she remembered from World Politics, another course that she shared with Luke. “We are leaving for movies and then club. Are you coming?” Movie she could do, but clubbing? She wasn’t so sure about it. She didn’t go well with alcohol. Though she did have her fake ID, but being around new people and getting wasted, thought didn’t settle well. So she politely declined Luke. He whined about her being a spoilsport. The other two girls, they appeared like they didn’t give a rat’s ass about her joining them.

She walked back to her dorm and sprawled on the bunker. Her roommates were already gone for whatever plans they had for the first weekend of their first semester. She was in no warm terms with them that they’d ask her to join them. In fact she wasn’t at talking terms with anyone in the campus, except for Luke. All the things that happened back at home, it made her uncertain about every relation.

Michael had made her doubt herself that she was unable to keep a relationship. He had made her think that she was selfish and always thought about herself first. His words still echoed in her ears.
I can’t imagine I wasted such a long time with you, Sofia. When I was thinking about us, you were making your own plans and dreaming about just yourself. What was your intention all the way? You just wanted to pass your time with me and then move on. You wanted to give everybody an impression that how easily you can pick me up, use me and then leave me behind. You know what, Sofia? I won’t give you that satisfaction. I won’t let you have your way. I dump you, right now. Go wherever you want to go. I am done.