Page 26 of Forbidden Lessons

“Now you’re getting it,” he says. “Google if you get stuck. That’s how your generation handles the tough stuff, right?”

I blink at him. “Um…I’m picking up on some vibes here.”

“Or maybe you’re just too sensitive.”

What the fuck?

Nothing has changed on his face. He’s looking back at me with the same resting-teach face he wears so often. Polite focus with just a touch of contempt.

But there was nothing polite about what he just said.

“Any further questions, Miss Lee?”

I want to say no, but after my conversation with the librarian yesterday, I’m out of options.

“One more.” I wince. “I’m struggling to hunt down the textbooks I need. The shop in town is sold out, and the library doesn’t have a spare copy. You wouldn’t happen to know?—?”

He tilts his head, leaning back a bit. “Is there a reason you left everything to the last minute like this, or do you think ‘disorganized procrastinator’ would look good on your LinkedIn profile?”

Woof.

Angry Professor is smoking hot, even when he’s dissing me like a boss. Maybe it’s the condescending look in his eyes that makes me want to prove I’m so much better than this.

Like, inanyway he wants me to.

My insides are shaking, and I’m not sure if it’s from residual fear or something else.

I lick my lips, and take turns tugging my cardigan down my wrists. There’s a touch of red on my skin, just beneath the curve at the bottom of my thumb.

I yank the cardigan’s sleeves down far enough that I can grip them in my fist, and when I glance up, Professor Rooke’s gaze is sliding from my throat to my collarbone, to my shoulder where I’ve exposed my skin.

Is the AC on the fritz? It’s fucking hot in here.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “Things have been a bit…rough lately.”

“My classroom isn’t a confession booth, Miss Lee. I won’t forgive you every time you throw a vague apology my way.”

He crosses his arms, drawing my gaze back to him. It feels like staring down a tiger when our eyes meet, but just like that tiger, I don’t dare look away in case he pounces.

“I don’t know what things were like at Ashwood High, but this isn’t community college. Our students are hardworking and dedicated. They give this school everything they have, and in return, we give them what they need to make a success of their lives.”

He pushes away from the desk so suddenly that I don’t have time to get out of the way, putting our bodies less than an inch away from each other. My neck cranes to look up at him as he towers over me.

“Quid pro quo, Miss Lee. Understood?”

“Yes,” I murmur, a flush creeping up my neck at his proximity. But I’m locked in place, because I just caught his scent, and it’s doing infernal things to my body.

Leather, maybe from his car seats, dryer sheets, and an earthy, piney, musky undertone that must be his cologne or body wash.

And here I’m desperately hoping I smell like lemon-scented furniture polish instead of BO.

“Then we have an agreement.” His voice is so low, his lips are barely moving. I find my eyes drawn to them, and I can’t look away, even though I know he’s noticed, even though I know it’s wrong as fuck.

“I’ll turn you into a better human, and you’ll be grateful for the privilege.”

Chapter 9

Haven

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