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My blood freezes in my veins at the way he watches me. Between cornering Nera in the fencing facility, reprimanding her publicly in class, and fucking her in a lecture hall, I haven’t been as careful as I should be. But no one has seen us, no one even suspects a thing aside from Phoenix, so there’s no way Thornton can know. Right?
Uncharacteristically, my first thought is for her, not myself. Something tells me her father wouldn’t react well to the news she’d slept with her professor.
Twice.
With the third time not far on the horizon if I have anything to do with it.
A secret smirk pulls at my lips but I stifle it before Thornton sees it.
“And you’ve been impressed by my professionalism and continued dedication to my scholarly duties?” I ask him, sardonically.
He gives me a self-important look and I can’t help but pity him. He’s enjoying the modicum of power he has over me, possibly the first time he’s ever had any sort of power over anyone, and it’d be tragic if it wasn’t so fucking annoying.
“My progress reports to your father have been positive,” he confirms. “So far. That could change.”
I laugh and he frowns, thrown off by reaction. He probably expected me to fall in line. “Power tastes good, doesn’t it?”
He stiffens, straightening the flaps of his outdated suit jacket. His voice trembles with anger. “I suggest you keep to the straight and narrow, young man–”
“Let me stop you right there,” I say, grabbing a low ball glass off a passing waiter’s tray and taking a step towards him. “I think your deal with my father has you under the mistaken impression that you have some sort of hold over me, so let me gladly disabuse you of that notion. This is between me and him. I’ll see this year through and move on with my life. Long after I’ve left this place, you’ll still be here. Playing the administrative bitch on your knees for every rich, uninterested parent with deep enough pockets to keep your board happy and you in your role. I suggest you refrain from ever giving into the impulse of trying to intimidate me again. Next time I won’t react so graciously. Copy?”
His eyes flash and his teeth grind together. His gaze pings between the corners of his eyes, furtively checking to see if anyone heard me.
I clap his shoulder once, hard. He jerks, taking a step back to take the hit. “Good. I’m so glad we had this talk, Phil,” I say disingenuously. “Have a good night now.”
I turn on my heel and walk away.
Not my finest moment, all things considered. It’s a stupid, impulsive move to have made an outright enemy of him, I just couldn’t fucking help it. Anyone trying to exert any sort of control over me has the effect of waving a red flag in front of a raging bull. My temper flares and then lashes out.
Plus, in my defense, he’d interrupted me in a particularly vulnerable moment.
I head towards where I saw Nera last, but she’s gone. I mutter a curse under my breath and scan the crowd for her. She’s not in this room, there’s no sign of her dark gaze or her bright dress anywhere.
I should stay here.
I should do my job and chaperone these kids. Maybe bust a couple of them for underage drinking. I should do a lot of things, but instead I head down the dark hallway in search of a beautiful girl with haunting eyes.
The school is a real spiderweb of hallways with endless doors and places she could be. If I have to search the entire building, I should be done just in time for the library’s first year anniversary celebration.
It takes me going through four hallways and coming up empty handed for me to decide to just cut to the chase. I take my phone out and make a call.
“Why are you calling me?” Nera answers, her voice slightly breathless.
“Hello to you too, jailbait,” I say with a smile in my voice as I move to the next corridor. I stand at the entrance, stilling to see if I can hear anything or pick up on any movement, but there’s nothing. I close the door and move on to the next. “Where are you?”
“Who’s asking?” Her tone is sassy and my palm twitches with the need to heat her ass once more for her impertinence.
“Me.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I want to see you.” I move down the next hallway and turn right. Another empty corridor awaits.
“You’re going to have to get in line, I’m very busy–”
“Where are you?” I repeat. My voice purrs, the vibration in every word carrying through the phone to her ear.
She’s silent for a couple beats and I can just imagine her swallowing thickly, her mouth suddenly dry.
