Page 169 of Forbidden Lessons

“They’re not for sale,” I say, clearing my throat.

“Pity.”

Shivers chase up my leg every time his fingers brush my ankle as he undoes the dainty clasp keeping these torture contraptions strapped to my feet.

“Up.” He taps the side of my leg, and I completely fail to balance on the other foot.

Thankfully, I have his nice, meaty shoulder to hold on to. But now I can feel every muscle move beneath his skin as he goes onto the other foot.

You’d think I haven’t seen action in months with how my body’s responding to this man. It’s not just the sight of him kneeling on one knee. Or how careful he is not to touch me. Or how I feel him tense every time he accidentally does.

It’s the way the shop assistant is looking over at us.

When I grabbed Bastian’s shoulder, I glanced up and saw her staring.

She looks scandalized. Flushed.

And for some fucked up reason, that makes me hold on a little tighter.

“Could we get some satin pumps?” Bastian calls out.

The clerk flinches and then hurries off to the storeroom to fetch my size. When I look down at him, he’s staring up at me with a wicked light in his eyes.

“Think she’s calling the police, or fetching your shoes?”

“I’m almost twenty,” I whisper, and from the way he smiles, it’s like he’s wondering who I’m trying to convince.

“I know,” he says as he slowly stands. “But they don’t.”

I used the restroom while Bastian was paying for everything. It was better than standing trying to talk him out of it again. Because that went so well the first hundred times.

When I come out, he’s already packing everything into the trunk. A gust of warm wind slams into me, sending my hair flying into my face. I tip my head back, staring up at the mass of gray clouds.

“Looks like rain, doesn’t it?” I ask as I head for the passenger door. This time Bastian gets to it before I can, holding it open for me.

“Better bring an umbrella. Wouldn’t want you getting wet tonight.” He slams the door, and I watch him through the windshield as he heads for the driver’s side.

I really have to keep my imagination in check. I’m reading into every single word he says, and in the filthiest way. If I had any guts, I’d joke with him, but instead I just sit there and try not to melt from embarrassment.

Maybe it’s the way I relax as we enter Agony Hollow again, but something prompts Bastian to say, “You ever get bored with small town life?”

“No. Not really.”

“Not even as a kid? I mean, this place doesn’t even have a movie theater.”

“I played outside a lot.” As in, always.

“So you enjoy nature.” I roll my head, catching him nod. “Know any good hiking trails around here?”

“Pfft. I’m not that kind of outdoorsy.”

“Okay, then illuminate me.”

“I had…a friend. We used to play in the woods a lot.” I sigh. “Like all the time.”

“When was this?”

“I was five when we met.”

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