Mr. James: A Forbidden Romance

MR. JAMES

A FORBIDDEN ROMANCE By..

LACEY LEGEND

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Summary

Catalina Marshall could not take her eyes off of her Professor Connor James. To her, Mr James was far too young and way too good-looking to already be a teacher. He was the dream catch of every woman on campus and she would have given anything to have had a piece of him, even if just for one night.

But she knew it was wrong.  He knew it was wrong. Teacher-Student relationships are forbidden and would put his career and her graduation both in great jeopardy.

However, the fact it was forbidden just made it even more hot.

And the truth was that nothing was ever going to stop Catalina and Mr James from eventually giving into their burning desires.

They would both just have to deal with the consequences later...

Copyright Notice

Lacey Legend
Mr James  © 2015,  Lacey Legend
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Contents

Chapter1

Chapter2

Chapter3

Chapter4

Chapter5

Chapter6

Chapter7

Chapter8

Chapter9

Chapter1

    The massive dome of a clear blue sky arced over the college campus; the endless deep blue atmosphere was only shrouded by intermittent wisps of feathery white clouds that drifted overhead, in no hurry to go anywhere. Closer to the earth, rows of trees, fat and full with summer leaves beginning to blush at their tips, shaded the October sunshine, soaking up the golden rays before they could reach the ground.

In the cool shade of one tree sat an old fashioned bench, made of wood and wrought iron, curled into graceful designs, and harking back to a more genteel era. On the bench sat two friends; a young man by the name of Reggie Brown, who had a strong lean build and a good sized frame. He stood at six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His skin was dark, almost the color of light coffee. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. He had a wide set jaw and a rounded nose over full lips. He was considered good looking among his peers and classmates, though he didn’t make any extra effort to be so; he was most comfortable presenting himself in a casual and natural way.

Beside him, leaning back on the bench and gazing up into the hidden depths of the tree towering over them, looking at the gradually changing leaves, was a young woman. Catalina Marshall was tall as well, though she didn’t reach Reggie’s lofty height. She had long, toned legs, her body just as fit from jogging often, though her feminine curves were generous.  She had short, layered ebony hair that almost reached her shoulders and framed her lovely face. Though her mouth was full, it was small. Her nose was straight and narrow, her eyes were wide and framed with thick black lashes. Catalina’s eyes were the most striking aspect of her face; they were almost slate blue, the color of a blue gray stormy sea. Her skin was not as dark as Reggie’s was; she was the color of dark caramel. In her right cheek, there was one dimple that showed itself when she was in a good humor.

There was a sweet and genuine beauty about her; something that could not be bought or added. It was just an inherent trait of hers that was captivating to anyone who took a moment to pay any attention to her, and as a result, she had a good number of friends who loved her dearly, and Reggie was the best of them.

Reggie was talking with her about his engineering classes. She didn’t like engineering much, but anything he did was important to her, so she listened as he explained the goings on in a few of his classes and the projects he was working on at the time.

They met beneath the massive oak every day for lunch, and as they had no classes together, it gave them an opportunity to catch up with one another and spend time together at school. They saw each other outside of school as well, but during their busy weeks, the old oak was the best place for them to catch up and connect with each other.

Reggie was telling Catalina about an internship at an engineering firm that he was hoping to get. He had tried for others but had been unsuccessful, but he felt certain that he was a good candidate for the most recent one that he had applied for and he was certain he would get it. “This is going to be the one, Cat,” he explained, grinning with wide eyes. “It will be the one that jumpstarts my whole life. It’s going to happen this time, I just know it is. Then I can land a good job and start focusing on more serious things in my life.” His voice grew softer and his excited grin became a warm smile as he reached for Catalina’s hand and gazed deeply into her eyes. “There’s so much that I’m hoping for in my future. So much that means everything to me,” he said in a low and earnest voice, holding her hand as his eyes searched hers.

She grinned back at him and gave his hand a little squeeze before pulling hers from his grasp. “I’m sure you’re going to get it. It’s really just a matter of time. You’re a brilliant guy, you’re hard working and dedicated, and there’s nothing that you can’t do. One of these days, one of the firms that you’ve been applying to will see that and bring you on board, and then you’ll be all set. You’ll have everything you want.” Catalina shrugged her shoulders lightly and tipped her head as if it was all already a done deal.

Reggie reached a hand over the back of the bench to touch her shoulder. “Everything I want is almost in reach,” he said, leaning closer to her and lowering his voice. His eyes fell to her lips for a moment and then he raised them back up again and looked into her blue gray eyes.

She hadn’t noticed his glance; she was busy watching a chipmunk as it raced through the fallen colored leaves and darted up the tree. Reggie watched her, rubbing his fingers gently over her shoulder.

“So what’s going on with you? Are still working on that super-secret project that you couldn’t tell me anything about?” he asked her with a smile. She turned to look at him, her stormy eyes bright, and her smile so wide that it showed her dimple.

“Yes! Well, I can finally tell you now, though, so it doesn’t have to be a secret any longer.” She sat up a little straighter on the bench and turned to face him fully. “So Connor and I-”

Reggie frowned and tilted his head. “Connor?”

Catalina laughed a little and rolled her eyes slightly. “I mean Mr. James,” she said coyly.

“You mean Professor James?” Reggie corrected her, his eyes narrowed and his face stern.

Catalina shrugged one shoulder. “Well, he’s letting me call him Connor now, and I like that better. So, Connor and I have been working on getting press passes to cover a political rally in Springfield, and we didn’t know if we were going to be able to get them so we could go photograph the event, but he just texted me a little while ago to let me know that we got them and we’re going! I’m so excited! This is my first really big photojournalism shoot! It’s out of town, it’s a big event, and it’s with Connor there to help me… I can’t wait!” she gushed as she raised her shoulders and looked upward to the blue sky with a huge grin on her face.

Reggie’s brow furrowed. “He has your cell phone number? Why does he have your cell phone number? I think that’s crossing a line! I don’t think he should have your number. He’s a professor, you’re a student… there… that’s…” he shook his head in frustration, “that’s just crossing a professional line!”

Catalina looked at him, the grin fading from her beaming face. “Reggie, he’s my advisor and my professor of photojournalism, which is my major. Of course he has my cell phone number. There’s nothing wrong with that. What are you getting so worked up about? Neither of us is crossing any lines! Gosh. You’re acting like it’s wrong or something. There’s nothing wrong at all with it, especially since we’re going to be traveling out of town together for this project. We have to be in contact. Plenty of students all over the world have their teachers’ cell phone numbers; it’s the age of technology, Reggie.” She rolled her eyes and sighed.

He looked away, turning away from her even more.

“I just don’t like it, that’s all. You’re going out of town with him, and I don’t like that, and you’re traveling with him, which also seems wrong to me, but I can tell right now that it isn’t going to be any use to try to talk you out of it or try to discuss it with you.” He let out a deep breath slowly, then he looked down at his hands as he folded his fingers together.

Catalina tilted her head and gave him a sweet smile, laying her slender hand on his wide shoulder. “Reggie, it’s going to be fine. Seriously. This isn’t anything for anyone to get worked up about. We’re going to go, we’ll be gone for three or four days and we’ll be back. Easy as that.”

He sat up straight and turned sharply to look at her in alarm. “Three or four days? You mean this isn’t a one day thing?”

She lowered her brows and looked at him in irritation. “No, it’s a three day event and we have to drive there, so there’s some travel time involved, which makes it about four days.”

He looked away from her and shook his head. “I don’t like it. Where are you staying?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know; a hotel, I guess. We haven’t talked too much about the details because we were waiting to hear back on the press passes. I’m supposed to go in and see Connor to talk with him about it. We’ll get it all worked out. Please don’t worry about it.”

Reggie faced her and leveled his eyes at her. “You’re going out of town alone with your professor for four days and you don’t want me to worry about it. Right. I just don’t like it.”

She frowned at him and pushed her lips out stubbornly. “It’s not up to you to decide whether you should let me go or not!”

He rolled his eyes and leaned back with a sigh. “Like I could stop you,” he said dejectedly as he stood up and turned to face her. “Hug me.”

She stood up and her irritation dissipated in the face of their friendship. She reached her arms around his chest and hugged him, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back, leaning his head close to her cheek and touching his lips ever so softly to her skin there as he whispered, “You be careful and come back as soon as you can.”

Catalina let him go and looked up at him almost reproachfully. “I’ll be fine, and I’ll come back when it’s done.” She gave him a wink.

He heaved a sigh as big as he was, and shook his head slowly as he turned around and walked away from her. She watched him go and smiled at his dedication to her and to their friendship. She was grateful that her best friend cared so much about her, that he worried about her, and that he was always looking out for her. She knew she was lucky to have someone who cared so much.

Catalina walked through the campus and headed toward Connor’s classroom. She checked her watch and saw that he was still teaching his class. She nudged fallen leaves of red, gold, and brown as she walked, smiling at the perfection of the moment. She loved fall, it was her favorite season, and she loved the school she was attending, about to graduate from after spring semester, and she was thrilled that she and her professor were able to get the press passes they needed to the political rally.

There were three nights of activities, and she would be able to attend all of them as media, and the realization of that sent adrenaline and excitement all the way through her soul. It was the beginning of what she had worked so hard for since high school to make into her lifelong career. The first real story. The first real work. The publishable pieces that would be the foundation of her early portfolio, and it was starting. It felt like she was just at the top of a roller coaster ride that was about to go screaming straight down on its way through a wild and unprecedented ride.

She reached the building where Connor James was teaching his class, and she slipped silently through the doorway of his room, sitting at the last seat in the back row, so as not to disturb the other students in the room.

Connor James was by far one of the most handsome young professors at the college. There was no end of girls or women who seemed to want him, and somehow he never really noticed their considerable numbers or keen interest; his attention was always focused on the present and whatever task he was dedicating himself. There were many hearts crushed as a result of his obliviousness.

Catalina rested her chin in her hand and watched him. While she did not suffer a crush on him, like so many others did, she did not miss the fact that he was a beautiful man to look at, and it made her smile to think that she was lucky enough to be in his company often, for he was as smart and as good humored as he was good looking.

Her eyes followed him as he stood before the class, outlining details of the photo-journalistic approach to photography, which was significantly different than any other approach to the subject.  He was going on about how each photograph must tell a story, but she had taken that class her first year, and she knew it all by heart at that point. She was more focused on him.

His golden sandy hair was combed back away from his face, styled carefully to one side, ending at his collar. His short beard was trimmed and allowed the perfect view of his full lips, and framed his square jaw line. He had jade green eyes that swept over the room and stopped on her when they saw her. He gave the slightest of nods that she was sure was so imperceptible to the other students, that they must all have missed it. She smiled back and he continued with his lesson.

As he spoke, he began to pull his dark brown sport coat off, sliding it over his thick-muscled shoulders and down his arms and hung it neatly on the back of the chair. The solid wall of his chest looked as if it was pulling just a little at the buttons on his shirt, leaving many of the girls in the class wondering what he looked like without the shirt on.

It was tucked into the band of his jeans, which hugged his narrow hips and when he turned around to face the screen behind him, many of the ladies eyes dropped to get a view of his back side. Several of them bit their lower lips and looked at each other, shaking their heads breathlessly.