Page 3 of Zodiac Hybrids

He looked mature, maybe mid-thirties, judging by the vague hints of crow’s feet that lightly rested above his high cheekbones. His hair was short, dark brown, and attractively messy, with trim, intentional stubble that was just a bit more than a five-o-clock shadow. The eyes that bore into me were such a vibrant shade of turquoise that they looked almost inhuman. He was dressed professionally, with creased slacks and a white button-up, though the way his dress pants strained against his thick quads, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of physics he was practicing in the gym in between solving advanced equations.

My eyes drifted upwards from his strong legs to the white cotton that couldn’t hide his lean yet muscular chest. A black tie drew the eye up his flat stomach, over his built chest, up his neck and over his sharp jawline, until my gaze finally returned to his face. The place where my eyes should have been all along. Because I was absolutely not checking out a teacher.

I choked on my hormones as I tried to shove all any questionable thoughts back down. I was here to study, not imagine what he looked like naked. Or what he could do to me if I was naked. Which I wasn’t doing. Because he was way too old for me anyway.

I mean, not that his age mattered either. Or his relationship to me. Or anything about him at all, since he was a teacher and that was inappropriate and scandalous, and even if he was my age and not an authority figure, guys like that, with the body of a Greek god and the face of a movie star, definitely had no interest in a girl like me.

“Are you the Physics professor?” I forced myself to speak, trying to get my mind on anything other than the thought of him bending me over that desk. I was a good girl who definitely didn’t have any such fantasies, so I didn’t understand how my imagination ended up so deep in the gutter. None of this made sense.

He answered with little more than the slightest tip of his chin, while he continued to stare directly into my soul. Sweat formed on my brow just from the intensity of that look paired with the heat being generated by the unexplainable speeding of my heartbeat.

When the silence persisted for a few more seconds, I cleared my throat and attempted a proper greeting. “I’m Lila Denton. I just started here, and I wanted to introduce myself, since I’ll be in your Physics class. I’m planning to major in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Aerospace and minor in Astronomy.” My voice was shaky for no reason other than my own social anxiety spiking.

Don’t make it awkward. Be confident.

“Why are you scared of me?” He raised a brow, ignoring everything I said. “Your voice is shaking, and you’re standing over there like a mouse cowering from a snake. I promise you I’m nothing of the sort.” With a soft chuckle, he straightened up, towering even further over me than before. I was five-foot-seven on a good day, while he must have been something like six foot two. I wasn’t a tiny girl by any definition, yet I had never felt more small and dainty than I did in comparison with him. He approached me on quiet steps that felt near predatory in nature. It was swift, silent, careful, and domineering that he entered my personal space.

“I’m not scared. I’m just nervous.” I attempted next, as if that explained or fixed anything.

“Nervous?” He cocked his head slightly to the side with a sort of curiosity in his eyes. “Just from walking into the room? This is Graves Academy, Miss Denton.” He stepped closer, and my whole body tensed under his overbearing presence. It was like he was feeding on my fear or my nerves or my something. Then he whispered, quiet and threatening: “How about I give you more of a reason to feel that way.”

“What?” I took a hesitant step back, and he matched it. One more, and he followed until my back was against the door. “W-what are you doing—”

“Lila, was it?” He placed his forearm on the wall beside my head, and I shrunk against the painted wood. We were so close. Why was he so close to me? What was even happening right now? “Lila Denton? I don’t know that family name...”

We both heard the sound of the doorknob twisting, and my attention jumped to the knob at my side, where the professor had caught it mid-turn and forcefully held it still. It was a small and subtle gesture that had my whole body tensing.

Muffled voices were just barely audible through the door. “I guess no one’s here yet.” One guy said.

“I still have to stop by my locker anyway.” Another guy grumbled, before the footsteps trailed off. We stood in tense silence until the only sound that remained was the absolute pounding of my heart.

I returned my focus to the powerful man who had me engulfed in his body heat, and my lip quivered as he leaned in close. Close enough that I could smell the notes of rosemary and tobacco in his cologne. Until I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. Until that fire was dancing on my ear.

And then…

He sniffed me.

“The fuck?!” I jerked away as much as the door allowed, and the professor pulled back just as suddenly.

He blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance, then he took a step back. I remained against the door, near hyperventilating, taking advantage of every inch of space I could. The expression that swam through the turquoise of his eyes, however, was completely unreadable. I didn’t know if this was some kind of joke, hazing, or something else entirely.

He cleared his throat and composed himself, before taking a few more steps back to increase our distance. “I apologize. I don’t know what came over me.” He muttered before he made eye contact again. “Denton. You come from a family of what exactly?”

Of what? Weird phrasing. “Of accountants?” I stared back at him with a scrunched nose. Why did it matter what my folks did? “I don’t think careers are hereditary, but my math is pretty strong as a result.”

“I see.” His tone was blank and confusing. “Accountants.” He repeated the word like it was somehow the most offensive thing to happen in this room.

So I opted to remind him of what I found to be far more troubling. “Do you always greet your students by sniffing them?”

The question made his brows furrow. He cleared his throat and answered smoothly: “Only the special ones.” His smile was as strained and nervous as I currently felt.

He waved a hand dismissively, before he presented it for a shake.

I feigned civility, though I silently shamed myself for showing this man more respect than he’d shown me. His handshake was firm, bordering on painful, while mine was about as solid as wiggling an overcooked lasagna noodle in a hurricane.

“Welcome to Physics, Lila. My name is Adrian Karras. In addition to teaching Physics, I’m head of the Engineering Department, so I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot of each other for the coming years.”

“P-pleased to meet you.” I dipped my chin and trained my gaze on the floor between us. He was a teacher who would have control over my grades in some of the most important subjects I’d be studying, so it wouldn’t serve me to get on his bad side right off the bat, even if he wasn’t doing much to sway me in his favor.