Page 35 of Forbidden Lessons

Strike two.

One more, and there’s a chance he’ll grade me so low that AHC will revoke my grant. All my funding,poof.

Any chance at a new start…gone.

And the fucker to blame for that is probably sitting up there with an arrogant grin on his face, like the cat that got the damn cream on his fucking apple pie.

What he did last night was unforgivable. Unconscionable. And fuck it, downright psychotic. I won’t look at pie the same way…and apple used to be my favorite.

But Kai shoving food down my throat wasn’t what my mind kept on rotation while I fought off sleep.

It was the way his tongue felt against my skin.

The sound of him swallowing.

That tiny murmur of pleasure.

And the way I’d felt his dick grow hard in my hands when I tried to defend myself.

Like he wasenjoyingit.

I shove my drug store sunnies onto my face and huddle deeper into my hoody. My hair is scrunched into a short ponytail at the nape of my neck, my jeans as nondescript as the sneakers I chose for stealth. All I have on me is my cellphone and its charger.

You can do this, Haven.

Be that brave explorer’s equally brave wife you pretended to be when you were five.

Except, this time, the man at your side isn’t protecting you.

He’s trying to annihilate you.

I trot up the steps, pausing just long enough in the doorway for my eyes to adjust to the gloom inside. The manor they converted into the university’s main building is huge, but whoever built it wasn’t massively keen on windows. There’s an enormous chandelier in the reception area, but it’s struggling to keep back the blurred shadows.

No black cats, and no Nora to greet me. The help desk is empty.

Luck is on my side this morning. Now that my curse has possessed Kai and taken physical form, I guess it doesn’t need to mess with me in other ways.

But, of course, nothing’s that easy.

Professor Rooke is coming down the stairs, his satchel slung over one shoulder, his phone in his hand. There’s a deep frown on his face, like he doesn’t like what he’s looking at.

Oh, God. If he spots me, he’s going to chew me out for missing his lesson. I don’t need that. My bravery is already evaporating now that I’m inside these halls.

Run, Haven.

Fucking run.

Chapter 12

Kai

Fuuuuck, my head hurts. I should’ve stayed at the frat house, where there’s an unlimited supply of painkillers, drawn shades, and soft bedding. But Rooke made his standards crystal clear when I applied to be his TA.

He expects a hundred-and-ten percent from his students, but from me demands two-fifty. Which didn’t scare me back when I took the job, but things have changed since then.

I need Rooke as much as he needs me.

Maybe even more.

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