Page 5 of Forbidden Lessons

Rage seethes from him like an aura.

“Slut.” He spits, hitting me on the cheek. I wipe my cheek, mouth gaping in shock, disgust.

His phone rings in his hand, and we both flinch, eye contact snapping away. He looks at his phone. I throw my head to the side, looking for help. Because of all the fucked up things I imagined would happen today, this was no where on the list.

There’s a girl walking in our direction, but she’s so fixated on her phone screen, a unicorn could have trotted past her and she wouldn’t have looked up.

But I guess he sees her too, because suddenly I can breathe again. And then I’m being dragged, the classroom door opening, and I’m half-falling, half-stumbling inside as he shoves a hand in my back.

I swear as the door closes, I hear him say, “Enjoy it while you can. You’re not staying.”

Green-eyed Kai, my best and only friend for all my life, gives me another shove.

It feels like it goes straight through my heart.

Chapter 3

Haven

I’ve never been inside a lecture hall before. It’s not huge, but it still feels intimidating as hell to be shoved into. And I wish I could have made a quiet entrance, but the door crashes closed behind me.

Guess its hydraulic hinge is keeping it together as well as I am right now.

The teacher’s chalk screeches over the board as he turns to look at me.

My body goes into autopilot.

Screw the whole fight, flight, or freeze thing…I go straight to fawn.

“Hi,” I mumble at a volume way too low to stand a chance of reaching the man in front of the enormous chalkboard.

The teacher lifts his chin like I’m a baby animal that just wandered obliviously into his den. There’s a soft chuckle somewhere in the crowd of students, then a giggle. Probably because I look like a loser.

I tug the two halves of my cardigan closed and hurry to the closest seat, my cheeks already burning from the millions of eyes on me.

“More interruptions?” There’s a softtap-tap-tapon the chalkboard. “See how easy it is to summon the devil?”

An outright laugh, some giggles, and another few chuckles break out, which I’m sincerely hoping aren’t aimed in my direction.

I plop down on the seat as the teacher drags his chalk under the word written on the board.

LUCIFER

Um…what? Did I fall down a rabbit hole? Hit my head and get amnesia? Because I swore this was supposed to be a social studies lesson.

Oh shit.

The help desk lady said the second door on the right, right?

What if I’ve just joined some random theology lesson?

If so, I should add it to my electives

Are all college professors so devastatingly handsomeandmouth-dryingly earnest? He’s tall, like six-foot-something tall, with a runner’s build, a dark crew cut, and a touch of silver at his temples, more sprinkled through his thick eyebrows.

I never thought I’d ever think this way about someone in a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows, but…damn. Why wasn’t I born ten years ago when even the thought of dating someone like him wouldn’t have been wildly inappropriate?

He studies me for a beat before turning to add another word to the board.

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