Page 54 of Bad Professor

She smiles, eyes shining, and takes a bite. “Good,” she says through the mouthful. “Hot. The mayo adds a nice touch.”

“I know, right?” I hold her gaze as I chew. It sounds cheesy, staring at someone when you’re eating, but I don’t want to look away. I let my gaze roam her face, taking in the sprinkle of freckles on her nose, the fine lines creasing around her eyes, the purple shadows under them.

What makes her so tired-looking? Why isn’t she sleeping well?

I’ve never cared about these things before.

Even with Elena, she would tell me why she couldn’t sleep. She would tell me everything that was bothering her. I never had to wonder.

There were times she told me things, and I didn’t really care about them.

There’s so much I don’t know about Tilly and I want to. I do want to know it all.

“Do you do this a lot?” Tilly asks, dabbing the corner of her sandwich into a puddle of ketchup.

“Do what, exactly? Eat grilled cheese with ketchup? All the time.”

“This.” She waves between us. “Make strange women a snack in the middle of the night.”

“You must be old if you think eight-thirty is the middle of the night,” I tease. “And no. I don’t date much.”

Maybe I can understand Tilly’s reluctance to talk about her divorce because I have no interest in talking about my past. Maybe someday, but not tonight.

I jerk my chin at the book on the table. “What’s your favourite book?”

Tilly’s face brightens and I wonder if there’s a limit to what she wants to tell me, just like I have. Books seem like a safe topic. “You can’t ask me that.”

“I just did.”

She shakes her head. “It’s impossible to pick. I loved the Oz books when I was a girl, but they can’t be my favourite because I’ve read so many more. Same with Harry Potter. I like Gaiman. I love the Earthsea series. I like a lot of history, low fantasy, and I’m reading a lot of romantic fantasy these days. Outlander is amazing.”

“Do you really think the romantasy can be grouped in with high fantasy classics?” I’ve never had the opportunity to discuss fantasy books with a woman and it’s… it’s amazing. Having someone with such similar interests is new for me.

“Have you read Sarah J. Maas? It’s high fantasy with romance. Excellent world-building. And very dirty bits.”

I drop my voice. “And do you like the dirty bits?” Tilly catches her breath, slowly chewing. “Do they turn you on? Do you touch yourself like I know you can do?”

I have no idea how this discussion just became about sex. It’s like I can handle only so much PG conversation with Tilly and then I have to get back to the good stuff.

Every single thing about her turns me on. Watching those soft lips move as she chews, wondering how they would feel around my cock. Her hands, tiny but strong, with the crescents of her nails just barely over the tips of her fingers, but enough to make marks on my back.

Thinking about those nails biting into my back makes me so hard.

“I like them,” she finally confesses. “The dirty bits.”

“Do you think we’ll ever be able to have a conversation without me thinking about having sex with you in the middle of it?” She smiles, laughs. “Does that bother you?”

“It surprises me,” she says carefully.

“Why? You’re a beautiful woman and sexy as hell. Plus, you’re really good at sex. It’s a huge turn-on.”

“You think… you think I’m good at it?”

“I know you’re good. Did someone suggest differently?”

Tilly won’t meet my gaze. “I always thought that he left because I wasn’t,” she says in a pensive voice.

I don’t know what makes me angrier—the thought of her husband or the way it seems like he slowly eroded her self-esteem over the years. Or maybe he did it all at once. I can see the core in Tilly, hidden by uncertainty and hesitancy, but she’s a strong woman, and no one should have tried to persuade her otherwise.

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