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from his wrist. If his body spoke for his face, it would be impressive too. She touched his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but the class is about to start." When he didn't move, she shoved him, and when that failed to wake him, she pinched him—hard.
    The man jackknifed into a sitting position, his cap falling to the ground, and glared up at her. His eyes immediately widened and his sensuous mouth spread into a familiar grin that made her skin tingle. "I've been awakened by the starry heavens," he said, his voice coating her like syrup.
    Cassie gasped, taking an involuntary step back, and crashed into the chair behind her. The golden eyes didn't leave her face. It seemed that tonight Cassandra would be dealing with a sorcerer after all.

 
     
     
    Chapter 3

     
    Drake stared at her as she spoke, with anticipation, desire, and hunger threatening to consume him, forcing him to fight the urge to take her in his arms. She was so close—a tree branch stretched just out of reach to a drowning man. And he was definitely drowning. His little bowl of sweet butterscotch was now a river of silky cocoa crème, covering him beneath her waves. He closed his eyes for a time, delighting in the fantasy of her completely enfolding him. He opened his eyes and now saw her as a tantalizing vision of the night, seeming to become the starry sky in her blue dress and smooth shoulders that shimmered underneath the lights.
    She moved with a slow allure—a present-day Circe, luring men to her island to practice her witchcraft—and he would be the first ashore. He squirmed in his seat, aware of the tightness that gripped his lower body as thoughts of her naked in his arms altered his focus. He wondered what kind of passion she kept hidden under that sleek dress. He shifted again, promising himself that he'd discover the answer another time. Tonight he had only one goal—to find out if her lips tasted like sweetened raspberries.
    * * *
    She was dying—slowly and painfully—of embarrassment. He was here, Drake the Sorcerer was here, watching her (as she stammered through the introduction), like a cunning rogue waiting patiently for the right moment to pounce and collect his treasure. Whatever that might be. No matter how she tried to ignore him, his eyes were like magnets that kept drawing her to him. Perhaps he didn't recognize her and was just riveted by her performance. There was no other explanation for such an intensely heated stare. She had to remember that she was Cassandra, not the wisecracking Cassie who could be intimidated by a pair of intense amber eyes. No, he didn't recognize her, she concluded, gathering her courage like a talisman against a magician's spell. She was somebody different. Cassandra was a woman of mystery, seduction, and power. He would be at her mercy tonight. Of course, later she would find out why Adriana looked so smug.
    The session was going remarkably well despite her halted beginning, and she was discussing her favorite subject about the importance of first impressions when a deep voice spoke up, cutting through her speech like a low thunder.
    "What about second impressions?" Drake asked.
    Cassie paused, coming out of the cocoon of words that had kept her mind occupied from him. She leaned against the podium and said, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
    "You keep talking about the importance of a good first impression, but what if you made a bad first impression? How can you make a good second one?"
    Cassie licked her lips, trying to give his question the thought it deserved although she couldn't imagine how it would be a problem for him. "I always thought it was best to be honest. Just say you made a bad impression and would like a second chance. Or come up with something clever."
    "Hmm." He nodded, seeming to digest her words. "That sounds complicated. I think I'll need practice."
    To her horror, he rose from his chair and came toward the podium. She swallowed with difficulty as he stopped in front of her. She