Page 64 of Dirty Little Saint

What the fuck? I’m tempted to grab her by the hair and drag her out back so I can return the favor, but I don’t dare move. I’m already in enough trouble as it is.

I lock eyes with Professor Crane instead and wait for the rest of the class to file out.

As he stalks toward me, the click of his heels echoes through the church, bouncing off the stained glass windows and sending my adrenaline into overdrive. This very moment is the reason I tried so hard to get out of this fucking class.

“It seems you don’t want to be here, Miss Blackwell. Wanna tell me why? I thought you enjoyed poetry.” He stands dangerously close to me.

“Villette is my best friend here. You’re her brother. This has nothing to do with poetry, and you know it, Professor Crane.” I cross my arms in an attempt to seem aloof.

He flashes that damn smirk again. “You can call me Felix when we’re alone. And I think what happened the other night at Swallow has just as much to do with poetry as anything else.”

The heat spreads to the backs of my arms and down my legs. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be in this class. It’s… unethical.”

Felix chuckles. “For you or for me?”

As I become more aware of our solitude in this massive iron church, my heart beats faster. The space between us is full of tension and uncertainty. I have no idea what he’s going to do or say next, and it fucking terrifies me.

“For both of us. There’s a laundry list of reasons why I shouldn’t be your student.”

His smirk fades, and his eyes darken. “But there’s so many things I could teach you.” He takes another step toward me, and it forces me to uncross my arms so they don’t touch his chest.

Sweat beads down my back. “Are you still talking about poetry, Professor Crane?”

His bottom lip twitches as he gazes down at me. “I’m talking about how you loved every second of me watching you the other night.”

The memory of Valentin thrusting his cock in my ass as I locked eyes with Felix flashes in my mind. “You don’t know what I love,” I whisper as shame fills me.

Felix cocks his head to the side as his gaze travels down the length of my body.

“O Rose thou art sick.

The invisible worm,

That flies in the night.

In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed.

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy…”

“Stop quoting Poe to me, please. Am I in trouble for being late?”

“It’s The Sick Rose by William Blake. And no you’re not in trouble for being late. Although, I prefer that you don’t do it again. You’re in trouble for trying to avoid me… I’m joking. You’re not really in trouble at all. Unless you want to be.”

This man is going to be the death of me. “How the fuck am I supposed to sit in this class every day with you looking at me like that? After what you watched me do…”

“Because if you drop this class, I’ll have to tell Villette why. I don’t like keeping secrets from her.” The smirk returns to his face.

Fucking fuck. “You’re blackmailing me, now?”

He sighs. “No, I’m warning you that I won’t lie to her if she asks why you’re no longer in my class.” He leans down and whispers in my ear, “Remember, Maur, it’s not about finding the answers; it’s about asking the right questions…”

My belly flips, my heart pounding. “Why did you watch?”

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