Page 12 of Let Us Prey

Once I watched her celebrate with my two most dedicated and erratic students, I ceased to give a shit. Sure, she makes my dick hard and my cat pace like it wants to pounce. She may have seen Fitz topping me in a way no one else ever has. I might have even backed her into a corner to inhale her honeysuckle scent like an addict. None of that makes a damn bit of difference if I get to see her smile like this almost every day.

I’m officially a complete tool.

“Is this all you need me to do to sign off on my change of major, Professor?”

Whirling around, I look at the blue-eyed minx holding a paper from the admin office out to me. I don’t know how long I zoned out for because the last time I remember seeing her; she was on stage with Rufus and Cori doing some kind of victory booty dance. I knew better than to watchthatwith other professors in the room, and apparently, while I distracted myself, everything changed. “Uh…”

Delores looks up through her lashes at me, her expression tinged with shyness. It’s a huge contrast to the hard exterior shell she’s created with her clothing and makeup since the night of the pukey prom, but I like it. The opposition of sweetness and strength makes my inner muse want to write sonnets or paint something in striking color. I can’t guarantee it would be good, of course, but I know how it would make me feel and that’s where the genuine joy lives.

“Chess? Is something wrong? Do you… not want me to study here? Because of Fitz?” She whispers the last part as if her two friends aren’t predators with excellent hearing, who are no doubt hanging on every word.

Shaking my head, I take the paper. “No, no. Of course not, an… Delores. I’m happy to see you pursuing your dream rather than something you were told you should do.”

I had to curb my instinct to use the pet name I gave her when we were alone in my studio. My cat didn’t like it and it felt weird as hell to do it, but Rufus and Cori are still here. There’s no life-altering laws about students and teachers dating here, but the rumor mill is brutal. If Delores has issues with her classmates already, gossips finding out about her dating a professor—or in this case, several—will make her life infinitely tougher. She has enough bullshit to deal with as it is; I don’t want to add to it.

Once I’ve signed the form, she gives me a tiny grin that says she knows what I almost said. The playfulness of her expression makes the cheetah flash behind my eyes, and she gasps softly. “Thank you for the support, Professor. I’m really excited to be working under you.”

Holy shit.

She chose her words purposefully and my cat almost demands to be let free. I’ve never felt it so keenly in my entire life, even when we were still living on Bloodstone. Felix and Fitz were often involved in dangerous and bloody fights, so my instinct to protect the only family I’ve ever known was high. Still, I could control my shift, as they taught us all on that godforsaken rock. But right now, hearing her tease me with a twinkle in her eye, I’m going to lose it like a young cub.

“Yes, well… very good to see you again.” I look at my meddling students, gesturing to the backdrop I’d been working on. “Can you two finish this? I have other plans to go over for classes. I’ll be in my studio if you need me.”

I barely wait for them to nod before I take off down the backstage hallway. Even when I’m not shifted, I move quickly because of my animal’s genetics. It’s not like I’m The Flash or anything, but I’m fast and I appreciate it more at the moment than I have in the past. Taking the stairs two at a time, I heave a sigh of relief when I see the door to my sanctuary. Yanking it open and scurrying inside, I dump my shit on the desk and lean on my hands as I take deep, calming breaths.

“Hey, baby. Miss me?”

My eyes pop open and I look at Fitz as he smirks from where he’s sitting on the counter. He’s sculpting something obscene with my clay and I roll my eyes as he makes rude gestures with it. “Always, but what are you doing here?”

“I don’t know, honestly. I had this super weird feeling that you needed me and so I told my first years to fuck off. I wanted to send them to the library to piss old Smoky off, but it’s only the first day. Besides, with my baby girl in residence, I don’t want him tearing their fucking bat belfry down with tantrums. But regardless, I came as soon as I could get loose.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I mumble. Most of the time, I forget how Felix and Fitz were raised because it’s not relevant to our life here. But when Fitz does shit like this, it hits me like a brick in the face. He can be a selfish, idiotic twatwaffle with the emotional depth of a jizz puddle.

That’s sure as hell how the Khans wanted the enforcer of the ambush to behave, so no one would have batted a lash if he treated me like shit. Even Felix wouldn’t have been surprised if his twin treated me like a temporary hook-up, while keeping me from anyone else. Consorts aren’t given rights like mates, so he’d be within his rights to act like a total fuck boy and I’d have to take it. But luckily for me, Fitzgerald Khan is a psycho with a soft spot for the people he cares about. He doesn’t give a single fuck that he pissed off his students or who might be mad that he’s missing now—he only cares that I needed him. This is why I fell in love with him and why I wouldneverhave abandoned the twins when Felix was exiled.

Like Tolkein said, ‘Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens’.

I don’t care how dark it gets, I’ll never leave Fitz and if my cheetah has anything to say about it, we may add the beautiful Ms. Drew to that statement.

Fitz tilts his head, studying me until his face lights up with a knowing grin. “Ah-ha! She came to visit, didn’t she? I’d know that awestruck look anywhere, dude. Totally same.”

“Yes,” I sigh as he walks over and wraps his arms around me. “She’s transferring to the arts department, for fuck’s sake!”

Fitz arches a brow as he looks down at me. “How is that possibly bad? You’ll get to see herall the time.”

“That’s the problem, Fitz!” I give him a frustrated look as I pull back. “Don’t you think having the two of us linked to her is going to make her problem with the other students worse? Especially since… you know.”

“Since we’re bi?”

Rolling my eyes so far back I feel like I can see the inside of my skull, I growl softly. “No, dummy. Because we’re Khans. Because we’re teachers. Because we’re older. Because she’s obviously fucking prey and she shouldn’t evenbehere!”

He blinks, looking at me with deadly serious eyes. “Don’t say that so loud, man.”

I frown. “Why the hell not? No one with a working nose at the stupid place will be unaware within the first thirty seconds they meet the girl. She can’t hide it, Fitz.”

“Yeah, but the walls have ears here. She’s had one class and Felix said she sat far downwind and away from the rest of them like she was avoiding something. Her stupid friends tried to make trouble, but he quashed it. If she can keep it quiet for a couple days, we can get her living situation settled before more preds come for her.”

I wiggle out of his grasp, walking over to pick up my bag and stuff a few things into it to work on at home. “I don’t see why she can’t stay exactly where she is. Those stubborn fuckers use liketwo floorsout of eight. As long as she doesn’t go walkabout in their haven,there’s no reason to move her at all. And she’smuchsafer than we could ever make her dorm.”

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