Page 35 of Into The Darkness

“Not really?” I responded, trying to keep my gaze from dropping.

“I need to know you are willing to do absolutely anything possible to become successful, especially in the lit world. You must be willing todoanything,” he crooned. I got chills, and not for the right reason. Glancing left and right, then toward the door, I worried someone would burst in the door.

“Uh, I mean . . .” I tried backing away as he leaned in closer to me.

“Are you willing, Ember?” My heart was racing so fast I worried I was having a heart attack.

“I want to be an author.” It was all I could say to him, hating the insinuations he was making. I had never been in a position like this before and knew what a recommendation from Dr. Connolly meant to my future career, so I wanted to tread lightly without offending him.

“Perfect. You will become my sweet new project, Ember,” he drawled.

The door behind us crashed open, and I jerked my head in its direction, silently thanking whoever barged in for coming through.

“Mr. Ash Ortiz.” Professor Connolly jumped off the table right away, and the pressure in my chest subsided. Wait . . .? It hadn’t registered to me that it was Ash, so I looked back.

“Ash?” My savior. The person who always happened to be there to swoop in to help when I needed it the most.

“Hi, Ember,” he said while glaring at Dr. Connolly. As usual with Ash, I could tell there was so much more here than he was letting on.

“Early to class?” Dr. Connolly’s smooth tone filled the room just as the bell rang.

“Better than late,” Ash responded, then grabbed my hand, hoisting me up from the seat and dragging me to the second row, the exact seats we sat last time. I didn’t protest because I was grateful for his interruption.

I got creepy vibes from Dr. Connolly and was so happy when Ash gave me a moment to catch my breath and process what had happened.

He plopped next to me as the other students filed into the room. Instead of pulling out his notebook, he put in his earbuds before looking over at me.

“Why were you early?” I asked, and he looked over at me before trailing his fingers down my arm.

“I told you. I didn’t want to be late.” He shrugged, then dragged his forefinger up to my face where he tucked a rogue strand of hair back.

“You dressed up today.” I swallowed . . . hard. His proximity had me in a chokehold, so I just nodded. “For me?”

His infamous smirk lit up his face, and I laughed and shook my head as Dr. Connolly started the class.

“That’s my cue,” Ash said as he turned on his phone and closed his eyes.

What was a business junior doing in an English class? He clearly didn’t give a fuck, so it had to be to check off a requirement he had to complete for some English course. I shook my head and focused on Dr. Connolly’s lecture onWuthering Heights.

“Don’t forget to hand in papers to the front.” Dr. Connolly finished his lecture, and I handed my paper to the front before looking over at Ash who had woken from his nap.

He shrugged, and I knew he hadn’t done the work. I couldn’t imagine not turning in a paper. I had actual nightmares that one day I would show up to class and there would be a test I forgot to study for.

“You are a terrible student,” I commented.

“Nah, I just hate this fucker.” He nodded in the teacher’s direction, and I narrowed my eyes. This was another puzzle I needed to solve because the person I admired and who helped me get into Isles was now giving me weird vibes.

“Why are you in this class, then?” I asked.

“Have to be.” I threw my bag over my shoulder, started to leave the class, then felt Ash behind me.

“Are you just leaving without saying goodbye?” he asked as I exited the classroom and headed toward the door. I paused and looked back.

“Yeah.” I smiled because it was pissing him off, and, for once, I was the one getting under his skin.

“I will drive you home,” Ash said.

“Sorry, I drove.” I pointed to my car in the parking lot.

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