Page 20 of A Knight’s Revenge: The Complete Series
Picking up on my vibe, he relaxed, bringing his hands down to grip the edge of the desk on either side of where his annoyingly pert ass rested.
He’d ditched the suit jacket today, and instead wore a navy vest that matched his slacks over his white dress shirt and pink tie.
His blond hair was a little messy, as though he’d run his hand through it a few times over the last hour, but it did nothing to take away from the hot-professor vibe he was currently rocking.
“How are you doing?” he asked. “Fully recovered from everything that happened at the fall party?”
“Good as new,” I replied, eyeing him with suspicion. “Is that really why you asked me to stay after class?”
His smile only grew at my hostility, like he found me amusing. “You really don’t believe I could actually care about your well-being?”
“Why would I?” I replied. “Look, I do appreciate the fact that the three of you stuck that piece of shit in a hospital and concocted a cover story, but let’s not act like that was for my benefit instead of the Academy and the Families.”
He was unruffled. “Will you at least accept this as a peace offering?” He pulled a brand-new silver Knight smartphone from his pocket. “We did see enough of the video stream to know that your phone was destroyed.”
I quirked an eyebrow in surprise. Dom had already set me up with a new phone, so I didn’t exactly need this suspiciously kind gesture.
“Are there any strings attached to this little gift?” I asked dubiously. “Perhaps some untraceable spyware installed on it?”
“Why?” Noah asked, still grinning. “Are you planning to use your phone in ways that we’d need to be concerned about?”
I coughed. He was joking, but still .
I held out my hand, and he placed the phone in my waiting palm.
While I had certainly been tempted to tell him to take his peace offering and shove it up Bennett’s tight ass, I recognized that was my secret privilege talking.
I’d give this phone to Max, who actually would sweep it for spyware, and then we’d give it to one of Dom’s gym kids who couldn’t afford a phone this nice.
Noah beamed at me like he was proud of me for being a good girl and accepting his gift without too much backtalk.
“Great. And I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but we certainly don’t condone what happened at The Revelry.
We do have a policy of non-interference in these things, but that was over the line.
What the girls did was uncalled for, and what Donavan tried to do was disgusting. ”
I had to roll my eyes. “Could’ve fooled me. I can tell you have a bit of a caring heart, Noah, but the other two assholes couldn’t have given a single shit about what happened in that room other than the fact that you guys had to clean it up. And I’m sure you have people for that, anyway.”
Noah’s smile vanished and his blue eyes went hard behind his glasses, and I knew I’d triggered his pissy mode by insulting his best buddies.
“Don’t presume you know anything about me or the other Heirs.
We do what we have to do. And you can’t say that you weren’t warned—personally and repeatedly, by both me and Bennett—that something like this was going to happen if you remained at the Academy and continued to act as you have. ”
I stood up, realizing that this was what this little friendly meeting was really about, so I was finished listening.
“I’m not leaving school, Noah,” I said, weary. I was very tired of repeating myself to them. “So, you can just save the rest of your lecture.” I turned to leave.
“Joanna,” he rumbled in warning, stopping me in my tracks. I couldn’t believe that demanding, dominant sound that had just come from my sweet Noah.
Ugh, he’s not my anything. Jesus, Jolie.
I huffed out a resigned sigh as I looked back at him over my shoulder.
“Believe it or not,” he said, his deep blue eyes boring into me, “I do not enjoy seeing you hurt. Bennett tells me you’re one of the better rowers on the women’s team.
You can do that literally anywhere in the country.
Please, just….” He let out a long-suffering sigh.
“Just go have a normal college experience somewhere that isn’t here. This place isn’t for you.”
As if on cue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, ignoring the fact that Noah would now know I took the phone he offered when I already had a new one, and I read the urgent message that had just popped into my school email.
I let out a wry chuckle, turning to flash the screen at Noah. “Looks like you may get your wish after all. The dean wants to see me in her office. Immediately. ”
I wasn’t getting any sympathy from him. “That tends to happen when you break another student’s nose in the middle of Holywell Hall.”
“No,” I snapped. “That’s what happens when you break Lisa Aviano’s nose in the middle of Holywell Hall. When you break a crystal bowl on Joanna Miller’s head at an Academy event, you get the Heirs of the Four Families cleaning up after you.”
He just shrugged, giving me his adorable disarming smile before he stood up from his perch on his desk, and in two quick strides of his long legs he was in front of me.
We were almost nose-to-nose when he reached a hand behind me to dig into the back pocket of my jeans, removing the new phone he’d given me from where I’d stashed it.
“Good luck with your meeting,” he whispered.
We just stared at each other for a few long, heated seconds before I finally recovered and stalked out of the classroom, off to introduce myself to the dean of Holywell Academy.