“ ’Course not. When you came back from your doughnut run I figured you weren’t going to work and left.” He slid one hand into his front jean pocket and rocked on his heels, the sound of gravel crunching beneath the soles of his shoes scratching the air.

She couldn’t help but notice that the hand in his pocket pulled his jeans tighter against a certain part of his anatomy. Desire shot through her, as shocking as yesterday in its unfamiliarity, rushing over her and heating the skin of her face and neck to an unbearable degree. Why did her eyes automatically have to look there?

Swallowing, she forced her gaze to his face. “This is harassment.” She jabbed the air in front of her with her index finger. “Leave me alone.”

God, she needed a latte. Fast. The display of goodies at her local coffeehouse flashed in her mind. And a brownie. A big, fat chocolate brownie. Her stomach growled in agreement.

“Still in denial?” He shook his head. “You’re only delaying—”

“Look,” she broke in. “I didn’t want to do this, but if you don’t leave me alone—” She paused, inhaling deeply through her nostrils, the smell of the Dumpster at the far end of the parking lot assaulting her senses. “I’m gonna call the cops.”

She waited for his reaction, fully expecting to see him beat a hasty retreat.

Any minute now.

“I’ll call the cops,” she repeated her threat, using a louder voice this time.

“You could do that.” He shrugged one shoulder. “But the police force is full of hunters. Call them and you’re as good as dead. They wouldn’t waste their time trying to save one infected schoolteacher.”

She gaped. Was there no end to his paranoid fantasies? She was going to have to decide how to best deal with Gideon March. He wasn’t a student misbehaving in the back of the room that she could pretend not to notice. Staring into his intense gaze, she knew he wasn’t going to go away.

“You’re out of your mind,” she muttered, rubbing her wrist beneath her silver bracelet where it had started to itch.

He propped his elbow on the roof of her car and ruffled his longish hair as if battling frustration. “You keep saying that.” He leaned close. Too close. It had been a long time since she had stood this close to a man. Her senses reeled, the musk of him filling her nostrils, making her heart thump against her chest, against breasts that were suddenly heavy and achy.

“I guess it’s easier to pretend I’m crazy,” he murmured. His eyes gleamed in the dawn air, flitting over her face, as if he was committing her features to memory. “What happens when you realize I’m telling the truth?”