The rules for professors are simple. Keep your hands off the students.

She's no longer a student, but I'm stuck with her as my summer intern.

There's only so much a man can take. And I never cared for rules anyway.

I'm the toughest veterinarian professor at Tatum College. And I want to keep it that way. But a stunning, tough-as-nails city girl, who treats sick cows like a puppy with a cold, has me losing my mind.

I'm pushing 40 and don't need to be tempted by a goddamn 20-something in skin-tight jeans with a smart mouth.

A mouth I want to do the dirtiest things to.

When she leaves a phone number on her final exam, I pounce. And finding out she's days away from a job in Kentucky, I'm thrilled. I don't do relationships and she's got plans that don't include me.

Perfect.

But it all blows up in my face when her plans fall through, and she's forbidden all over again.

Can I break the rules just this once?

She gets under my skin and doesn't give up when I push her away, even when I say: "Don't tempt a cowboy if you're not prepared to go for a ride, darlin'."

To her, it's all fun and games, because she's not staying here in Wild Heart.

But I'm starting to think I won't survive when she's gone.