Tutor Me by Hope Stillwater Page B

don’t care if I do well or not, so what’s in it for me?” He yawned and stretched, a sight that made me salivate. “Why should I bother to do the extra work?”
    I wracked my brain. I knew this was a make-or-break moment because if I didn’t convince him it was worth it to do well in the class, he simply would not.
    “I… can’t pay you to do well but how about I do something in return like, clean your car or make lasagna?” Yeh, I know, I sounded a little desperate.
    He burst out laughing. “First of all, no one cleans my car but me, and second, my grandma makes the best lasagna in the world, so thanks but no thanks.”
    At my downcast face he continued more seriously. “But I like the way you’re thinking, and it gives me an idea. Are you a gambling woman?”
    Hell yes I was a gambling woman. I’d inherited my mother’s competitiveness and my father’s love of games of chance. In my house we flipped coins to settle everything from who would fold the laundry to where we should get pizza. I was raised to never back down from a dare and to never welch on a bet. Tina and Seb knew this about me but most people outside of my family didn’t, because it didn’t come up that often.
    I nodded slowly. “Yes, you could say that.”
    “Excellent. So what if we make a wager on my performance in Calc? If I do well on the quiz, I win, and if I do poorly, you win. It’s kind of a win-win for you.”
    “OK,” I said, watching him guardedly. “What would we be playing for then?”
    “Money is boring. Services.” He was smiling, watching me as he spoke. Annoyingly, I felt myself redden as I thought about what ‘services’ could mean. A look of amusement told me he’d seen that blush. How embarrassing. He certainly didn’t mean those kind of services. I pulled myself together.
    “Are you good with cars?” I asked, to get my mind out of where it had gone.
    “I could handle yours.” Everything out of his mouth right now was sexy. I was back to blushing, but kept it cool.
    “How about an oil change then?”
    “Sure, no problem.” He leaned back, waiting for my inevitable question.
    “And you? What do you want, if not my lasagna?” I tried to regulate my breathing.
    “I would like something more… personal from you.” The words came out slowly, deliberately. His eyes had turned predatory and it was so fucking hot.
    I swallowed and looked down to avoid those molten eyes. “What?” My voice came out in a squeak.
    “Don’t look so freaked out. I was just going to suggest a kiss.” I could feel him watching me closely as he said it.
    I swallowed again. Jesus how pathetic I was . No way was this guy intimidating me. I straightened in my seat and tossed my hair back. “I’m not freaked out.”
    He was still watching me, and had shifted in his seat, waiting.
    I continued. “So, let me get this straight. The wager is: if you get an A on the quiz on Friday, you kiss me, and if you get less than an A, you change the oil in my car.”
    “Actually what I have in mind is that you would kiss me . And an A? Let’s ease into this. Let’s say an A-.”
    I looked at him for a moment, weighing the offer. “OK deal.”  I held out my hand and we shook on it. Holy tutoring hotness!
    It was at that moment that Callum grabbed my wrist as if to check my pulse. I glanced at him, startled. He nodded, as if satisfied. If he had really been checking my pulse he’d have noticed it racing. He then moved his hands to clasp mine, nodding again. Did he notice how clammy they were? And what the hell was he up to? He released them.
    “You’re on your knees.” Huh? I flushed.
    He saw that and tisked. “Get your mind out of the gutter, naughty girl. These are clues.” He looked at me expectantly.
    “You’re a scientist, doing research…” he prompted. What the hell game was he playing? Wait a sec- game. My game! My mind spun through my song database while Callum waited, watching my face.
    Then it came to me: “Looking