Page 40 of Wicked Ends (Hellions of Hade Harbor #4)

She grabbed her tray and stood. I followed suit quickly, shoving the bitten apple to the corner of my tray. Sally raised an eyebrow at it.

“I think it’s bad,” I explained, cringing at how lame an excuse that was.

She nodded and turned from the table. Grateful she wasn’t asking more questions, I followed.

“I’ll walk you back to class.” Wade got up and went with us.

“You don’t have to do that,” I protested.

“It’s my pleasure,” he said and smiled at me. “Besides, those folders look heavy.”

I had no idea how to refuse his offer without sounding rude, so just nodded.

He grabbed the armful of folders I’d been planning on working on in the faculty lounge.

We walked along the hall and turned the corner.

Students milled around, and at the end of the corridor, I spied Marcus again.

He had his huge practice bag slung over one shoulder and his hockey stick clutched in one hand.

He leaned against a wall, talking to another hockey player.

His gaze landed on me as soon as we approached, and I felt his warm perusal, his attention running over me like water.

“Don’t loiter, boys,” Wade barked. He sounded self-important and was no doubt trying to get Marcus back for his little age jibe earlier.

“Course not, Professor.” Marcus moved to the side and passed far too close to Wade. It almost seemed like a threat, but the easy smile on Marcus’ face suggested otherwise.

Wade looked a little flustered, his brain probably warring with his gut.

“Let’s go, Anna.” He took a step toward me. Then suddenly, he was gone.

I looked down and saw Wade on his knees on the ground. The end of Marcus’ goalie stick was jutting out, angled just right so it was between Wade’s legs.

“Damn it, Professor, you’ve got to take it easy on those knees. They say the older you are, the more dangerous a knee injury is. You could become immobile if you continue to be reckless.” Marcus’ tone might have sounded concerned to everyone else.

But not to me. I could hear the mocking, and the warning.

He helped Wade up by the hand, holding it in a firm grip. Wade winced. Marcus held it a second too long, until Wade ripped his hand out of his grip.

“I’ve got it, Bailey, no need to break my hand,” he spat, clearly embarrassed by his fall.

“Isn’t there?” Marcus murmured when Wade bent down to collect my scattered files.

“What?”

“Are you okay?” Marcus said instead.

“Yes, perfectly fine. I’d advise you to watch your stick, you can do real damage with that thing.”

Marcus nodded, his face the picture of innocence. “Yes, I forget that not everyone can handle a stick this size… Apologies.”

Wade narrowed his eyes, clearly picking up on the teasing in Marcus’ tone, but not able to retort since he technically hadn’t said anything rude.

“Well, you do that. Come on, Anna, I need to get you to class.”

“If it works for you, Professor, I’ll walk you… since I’m going that way. I have class now, as you remember,” Marcus said smoothly, somehow managing to take my files from Wade before he could protest.

“I… well, I was going to?—”

“The English department is all the way on the other side of campus; if I were you, I’d hurry. You wouldn’t want to disappoint the ladies of Intro to Hardy by being late. I hear your recitation of The Mayor of Casterbridge is a real panty-dropper.”

“Mr. Bailey!” I exclaimed.

“Sorry, I meant showstopper,” Marcus said and patted Wade heavily on the shoulder. “Now off you go, sir, and don’t worry about Professor Moore. I’ll take care of her. Rest assured, she’s in good hands.”

With that slight grip, he somehow managed to manoeuvre Wade’s shoulder into spinning, sending him walking in the other direction. He turned back, but Marcus had already started walking down the hall, carrying my files.

“You coming?”

I hurried to catch up with him.

“You’re going to get us in trouble,” I muttered as soon as we were out of everyone’s earshot.

“Did you enjoy the apple?” Marcus asked.

“Case in point… you can’t be doing things like that,” I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. “But you can let the number one HHU professor player walk you to class, when he works in the other direction?”

“He was being helpful.”

“Bullshit, he wants to fuck you, and the sooner it’s made clear that that’s not happening, the better.”

“And what did that cheerleader at lunch want, besides to sit nearly in your lap?” I heard myself say before I could help it.

Marcus grinned like I’d made his day. “I’d never let her touch me, beautiful. And to be clear, I let her sit, because I was already getting up. It doesn’t matter what she wants, only what I want. And I want you, in case that’s still unclear.”

“Well, likewise. I mean, I don’t want Wade, so you have nothing to be worried about.”

Marcus considered my words and tutted. “You don’t want to make me jealous, Ari… I confess, I’ve never felt that particular emotion before, but I guarantee… you won’t like it.”

“Don’t threaten me.”

“I’m not threatening you, baby, I’m threatening any fucker who dares trespass on what is mine.

Given how compassionate you are, you should really invest in a chastity belt until the semester is over, or wear a ring on your finger and tell people you’re married, to prevent any of your coworkers from having any untimely accidents. ”

“You’re meant to be staying away,” I reminded him.

“I have class now, Professor, unless you want me to skip?”

I flushed. “No, of course not.”

Marcus nodded and waited while I unlocked my classroom door. He came in behind me, and I was extra aware of how quiet it was and how close Marcus was at my back. I went down the stairs to my desk and pointed to a small side table.

“You can leave those there,” I said, pointedly moving myself so the desk was between us.

He set down the files and turned, folding his thick, muscular arms over his chest and eyeing my defensive position with amusement.

“You do know that if I decided to touch you right now, birthday girl, that table wouldn’t save you.”

“Marcus. Behave,” I said as sternly as I could.

He closed his eyes and grinned like he was being tortured but liked it somehow. “Fuck, Ari… if you knew what that tone does to me, you wouldn’t dare use it here, right before a roomful of students come in…”

“Very funny. Stop now, please,” I dropped my voice.

He studied me and then sighed. “Okay, but only because you begged so sweetly. I’ll stop, but first, give me something to get through class.”

“Give you what?” I panicked.

He leaned farther back, planting his legs wide so his dick was clearly outlined in his shorts. He ran his gaze up and down me.

“A flash. Lady’s choice on the body part.”

“Marcus,” I warned, heat sparking in my blood. Why was this guy so infuriatingly distracting? And fun . I ignored that little voice. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Better hurry up then, baby.” He jerked his chin at me, daring me to comply.

Before I knew it, I had my hands on the hem of my skirt.

I pulled it up on one side, baring my thigh.

In the past, I might have hesitated at the thought of showing off my most hated body part.

My thighs and I had a long and checkered history.

Sometimes they felt like an enemy, but lately, that had faded away.

“Higher, I need to see lace,” he demanded.

Swallowing a thick knot of lust, I obliged.

He closed his eyes, his head tipping back like he was savoring something particularly delicious, before nodding.

A bang sounded at the top of the room, and the first students came in. They chattered loudly, going to their seats. I smoothed my skirt and turned away to hide my hot cheeks.

When I spun back, the class was nearly all settled, and Marcus was sitting, center, right in front of my desk, his dark eyes dancing with amusement. I cleared my throat and attempted to get the class’s attention.

The conversation barely dipped as the class chattered on.

A loud whistle cut through the noise and silenced the room.

Marcus took his fingers out of his mouth and nodded to me.

“We’re all yours, Professor,” he smirked wickedly.

It was going to be a long few months till the end of the term.

“So, what’s so important about tonight’s game? It’s not a decisive game,” I asked as I got out of Kenna’s car in the parking lot outside the ice rink.

It was busy already, but there were still a few staff spaces, and Kenna had no problem shoving her school parking pass on the dashboard and snagging one.

The Hellions’ stadium was all lit up, glowing in the evening darkness. A line of cars waited, the drivers trying their luck at finding a space, and crowds of fans drifted in the direction of the entrance.

We crossed the road, and a horn honked at us. I glanced over my shoulder. The driver of the visiting team’s bus waited impatiently for us to reach the pavement.

Kenna tossed a dismissive hand gesture at the bus and rolled her eyes.

“That’s what’s so important. The Raptors. There’s plenty of bad blood between the two teams, and there’s a rumor going around that the top two players, Brody and Callahan Sinclair, are considering transferring to HHU. Their father is a big-shot investor who’s obsessed with hockey.”

“They’re playing tonight?”

Sally nodded. “Yep, and whenever they play, they are a big freaking deal. The only players who can match their swagger in the entire league are our Ice Gods.”

“So, they’re good?”

“Like I said… only the Ice Gods can keep up.”

The line moved very slowly up the stairs toward the glass doors at the top.

Sally huffed and craned her neck to see over it.

“Screw this. Follow me, I know another way in,” she said and grabbed my hand. “You wearing the jersey I gave you under that jacket?”

I nodded. She’d brought me a random Hellions jersey to wear for the game.

“Good, with all these students and staff from New York, we need to represent… and I hooked up with the assistant coach last year, and he totally ghosted me when he found out that I worked here, so you know… we have to win.”