Page 123 of Twisted Ties

“Stone and Azlan don’t think so.”

“Stone and Azlan, huh?” Winnie waggles her eyebrows. “This next lesson will be fun.”

I groan. The more time that’s passed since my liaison with the man in black and my professor, the less sure and the more embarrassed I’m feeling about the whole thing.

I keep thinking of the way Stone slid his fingers from inside me and I’d made a horny mess all over his hand. I cringe. That really isn’t an image I want in my head when I step into his classroom. I don’t want him believing I’ve been reliving every moment of that encounter. Because I have most definitelynotbeen thinking about how good both their mouths felt on my skin, or what a turn on it was to have Stone watch as Azlan made me fall apart.

The problem is, it’s either that or the new memories unleashed in my head, and I’m not brave enough to explore those again just yet.

Unfortunately, Stone is a full ten minutes later than he usually is, leaving me to stew in my thoughts, overhearing all the whispered words about my attack bubbling around the classroom.

When he finally shows up, he looks surprisingly pulled together. His hair combed, his suit pressed, his beard trimmed, and he smells of some cologne.

“You look very smart today, Professor Stone,” Summer chirps, fluttering her eyelashes at him and making me want to strangle her with my bare hands.

“Thank you,” he says, adjusting his collar and giving her a half-smile. “I have a date tonight.”

“A date, huh?” Summer teases.

He doesn’t look my way. In fact, he seems to be deliberately avoiding my eyes. My stomach drops and my heart strains in my chest.

He frowns, then shakes his head. “Miss Clutton-Brock, my love life is none of your business.”

Summer giggles like he’s being flirtatious, and he asks us to turn to page 321 of our book and read the passage on rune stones and fortune tellings.

Everybody does as he says, except me. I scowl at him as he busies himself at the front of the classroom. Winnie nudges me in the ribs but I’m tired of his silly games. I lift my hand into the air and call out his name.

“Professor Stone?”

Summer peers over her shoulder at me and makes an exaggerated groan.

“What is it, Miss Blackwaters? Are you incapable of finding the right passage? Page number 321 comes after page 320 and before page 322. I’m sure Miss Wence will help you if you’re really struggling.”

Half the classroom sniggers and I scowl at him even harder, even though he’s refusing to look at me.

“Aren’t you meant to be teaching us about fated mates? It’s on the curriculum.”

“She’d be better off learning about werebeasts, seeing as she’s going to be one,” Summer sniffs.

The professor straightens a pile of books at the front of the classroom.

“We’re covering neither of those things, Miss Blackwaters and Miss Clutton-Brock. Today we are covering the ability to read the future.” I huff and he finally lifts his gaze to me. “I think you will find it a lot more useful than either of those other subjects.”

“Not if the school experiences another werebeast attack,” Summer says.

“Principal York has taken steps to ensure that won’t happen. No werebeast will be able to penetrate the campus security again.”

“What if they’re already in our midst?” Summer asks, making an exaggerated show of spinning around in her seat and staring right at me.

“If you’re implying,” Stone says in a deadly voice, “that Miss Blackwaters has contracted the were curse, you should know I treated her after the attack myself, so unless you are questioning my abilities…”

Summer shakes her head.

“I suppose that’s not giving the students in this classroom much comfort, Professor,” I say, “considering it’s known that your word is pretty worthless.”

His eyes narrow and I scowl right back at him. The room falls so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“I am not a liar, Miss Blackwaters, and I take offense at such an insinuation.”