Page 31 of Forbidden Hearts

I drink my beer and turn to the window again. The security guards are changing shifts. Like they do every night, the men start to talk for a few minutes.

I keep track of the time on my watch. Nine minutes and thirty-two seconds later, they bid each other goodbye, and the night shift guard takes over.

Nine minutes. That’s my window. Nine minutes to break into the prosecutor’s office and search for the documents that list Jacob’s rat, the reaper who betrayed Jacob and will surely die.

Adrenaline floods my body at the thought of breaking into the building. I haven’t done something like this since before my retirement. It’s gonna be fun.

A scoff breaks me out of my daydream. The brunette exhales loudly before standing from the table. I forgot she was still here. She stares at me one last time before storming off and joining a group of women at the end of the crowded bar.

Oh well.

Chapter 15

Alonzo

I stand by my office window, looking down at the students walking on the university quad. My office is on the third floor of the arts center, giving me a full view of the quad. I often come to my window to see if anything interesting is happening outside. One time, I spotted a standoff between a preacher and a group of students. I couldn’t hear what they were shouting, but their exchange looked intense.

Thursdays will be slow this semester. I only teach one class in the morning and dedicate the rest of the day to office hours. I have to sit at my desk and pretend I’m being useful because, in reality, when I’m not messing around with thestudent body, nobody ever stops by.

I return to my desk and page through the stack of drawings from the first day of my figure drawing class. Alex’s drawing is at the top. I chuckle every time I look at the drawing. It’s so bad it’s kind of cute.

I want to have her so fucking badly, more than I’ve wanted to have any of my other conquests. But is that all she is? Another conquest? Something about her feels different from the rest. Shestill looks at me differently, like she’s trying to see the real me. It gives me chills to think that somebody can see past the professor facade.

A knock at the door pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Professor Alvarez?” a voice asks.

“The door’s open.”

A short guy wearing a gray cardigan pokes his head into my office. “Professor Alvarez, a student is here to see you.”

“Alex?” I ask.

I’ve been expecting her all day, but I wasn’t sure she would show up after last night. She seemed a little rattled before we left the restaurant, no doubt thrown off by the sudden change in mood after I almost shot that guy. But that couldn’t be helped…

“Yes, professor. It’s Alex,” he says.

“Please send her in, Josh,” I say.

He nods and leaves. Josh is a graduate student in the art department. He works part-time as the shared secretary to art professors, some of whom have office hours at the same time as me in adjacent rooms.

A moment later, Alex steps into my office. She’s wearing shorts that hug her legs tightly, and although I can’t see her backside, I bet it’s showing off her tight ass.

“Should I close the door?” she asks.

I wave her in, and she closes it. Timidly, she stands by the door, looking into my eyes. When she can’t hold eye contact any longer, she looks down at my desk.

“Shit,” she says. “You were looking at the drawings.”

“I was,” I smile.

“I haven’t drawn since I was a kid,” she says, averting her eyes.

“You just need a little practice,” I say, stepping around the desk and stopping before her.

She flirted with me on the first day of class and was her normal self last night at the restaurant. But now she seems shy. Did something change? Is she getting cold feet now that we’re finally alone?

“I guess I do need the practice,” she says.

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