Shawn turned away, grabbed the girls and pulled them out of the room.
Don’t be ridiculous, he told himself. It had just been sex. Yes, sex with another man—sex with his professor—but just sex. He had no reason to feel flustered. They were adults, they had wanted each other and they’d fucked to scratch the itch. Simple. Nothing complicated about it. It didn’t have to be complicated.
Shawn was still telling himself that while he prepared breakfast for the kids when the doorbell rang.
He went to open the door.
“Good morning!” Mrs. Hawkins said, pushing past him. “Morning, girls.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Hawk,” the twins said in unison.
“Have they already eaten?” Mrs. Hawkins asked Shawn.
“No, I was just going to feed them, but I’m running a bit late and I’d really appreciate if you—”
She waved him off. “Of course, go take a shower. I’ll do—”
Rutledge walked out of Shawn’s bedroom, sliding into his jacket. His hair was still wet after a shower.
Mrs. Hawkins stared. Then her gaze moved to Shawn.
Shawn felt a blush creep up his face. One didn’t have to be a genius to guess what they had been doing last night.
Mrs. Hawkins’s lips pursed into a line. Without a word, she nodded stiffly in Rutledge’s direction, took the girls and ushered them into the kitchen.
Shawn blinked at her back. Just a few weeks ago, Mrs. Hawkins told him to live a little and get a girlfriend, but apparently this was a problem for her. What the hell. His sex life was none of her business.
“Find another babysitter for the children if you don’t want them to grow up narrow-minded.” Rutledge headed to the door. “I have to go. I need to change before work.”
Shawn hesitated before following him to the door. Was it his imagination or was Rutledge really avoiding looking at him?
“Okay,” Shawn said, forcing nonchalance into his voice. “See you around, I guess.”
Rutledge went still before turning his head to him.
A beat passed.
Rutledge reached out, hooked his fingers in the waist of Shawn’s shorts and pulled him close.
He bent his head and pressed his nose against the side of Shawn’s neck before sucking hard on his skin. Shawn gasped from the mix of pain and pleasure.
In a blink of an eye, Rutledge was gone, and Shawn stared at the empty space he had occupied a moment ago.
What was that supposed to mean?
* * *
“Well?” Christian said when Shawn sat down next to him a few hours later.
Slumping in his seat, Shawn looked down at his hands on his stomach. “What?”
“Did you—you know?” The curiosity was clear in his friend’s voice.
Shawn nodded. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I fucked him again.”
“So what now? You get over him?”
Shawn said, “Sure.”
And then Rutledge entered the classroom.
As always, the hush was instant.
Rutledge walked to his desk, clad in a pristine three-piece dark suit that hugged his muscular frame. His strong jaw was clean-shaven—
“Yep, totally over him,” Christian murmured.
Shawn flushed and averted his gaze. “I am.”
“Sure you are. But wipe that drool off your face. Seriously, you’re freaking me out. It’s Rutledge. The guy is a total dick, he has no sense of humor, no heart—and he’s not even handsome to compensate for his personality.”
“He is handsome,” Shawn muttered.
“He’s not. All right, he has a great body and the confidence, but his nose is too big, and his eyes are cruel.” Christian smirked. “Unless you’re into that kind of thing, I guess.”
Shawn rolled his eyes and accidentally caught Rutledge’s gaze. Suddenly, Shawn could acutely feel the hickey hidden by his turtleneck, the bruises on his thighs, the soreness in his ass.
Rutledge looked away and cleared his throat.
* * *
“Look, he’s come to pick Mila up again,” Christian murmured, motioning with his head as they crossed the parking lot after their classes. “See, I’m not the only one who stares at him.”
Shawn followed Christian’s gaze.
Sure enough, there was a man leaning against a white Lexus, and yeah, he was attracting quite a bit of attention. The guy didn’t even seem aware of all the staring students, looking bored and glancing at his watch from time to time.
“Damn, he’s so gorgeous,” Christian said.
Shawn eyed the guy critically. He really was rather startlingly handsome: tall and dark-haired, with strong, classically handsome features, a firm sensual mouth and striking deep-blue eyes. Yeah, Shawn could understand why Christian was attracted to him, though the guy seemed Christian’s complete opposite: all buttoned-up, serious and proper.
“I dunno, man,” Shawn said. “He looks like he has a stick up his ass.”
Christian wiggled his eyebrows. “Trust me, guys like that are usually the best in bed—kinky and intense.” He sighed. “Damn, why are all the hot guys straight? It’s so fucking unfair.”
Shawn snorted and patted him on the shoulder. “At least you’ll get to see him naked this weekend.”
Christian grimaced. “Like a kid looking in the candy store window.”