Page 28 of Wicked Ends

He tilts his head. “Would you have told me the truth?”

“Probably not.”

He grins, and I want to slap it off his face, but I want to kiss him more.

Instead, I plant my hands on his chest, right on his bare skin where his shirt gapes open. “Professors are not supposed to be this hot,” I grumble. “It’s unprofessional.”

“You’re the one who came to me after hours. If anyone’s unprofessional, it’s you,” he teases.

I shove him, but he barely moves. “You’re such a pain in the ass.

Soren looks down at me, and for a second, the usual banter is gone. “Do you want me, Rose?”

It’s so blunt, I can’t tell if he’s teasing. I don’t answer. I just grab his shirt and pull him down to me, kissing him hard.

He tastes like every bad decision I’ve ever made, a mistake I’m going to enjoy making over and over again. His hands go to my waist, sliding under my hoodie, fingers hot like fire, and I melt into him like I always do. For a minute, there’s nothing but us, mouths hungry, hands everywhere.

Soren breaks away first, breathless. “You know, you could have just told me.”

“I’m telling you now. And I don’t like making things easy for you,” I say, tracing his jaw with my thumb.

He catches my wrist, holding it tight. “You don’t make anything easy.”

I grin, triumphant. “That’s why you like me.”

He pushes me gently back against the desk, crowding in until I’m pinned between his body and the edge. “There are other reasons,” he says, voice rough.

I hook my fingers into his belt, pulling him tighter. “Prove it.”

He does. He kisses me again, harder this time, and the room goes blurry around the edges. I lose track of time, of everything except the feeling of his hands on my skin and the heat building between us. I wouldn’t care if the world was ending, which it might very well be. My world at least.

All I care about is this, with him, right now.

When Soren finally lets me go, I’m dizzy and my lips are swollen. I straighten my hoodie, grab Hank off the desk, and look Soren dead in the eye.

“I’m going to the dining hall now,” I announce, like nothing happened. “You can come if you promise not to be a creep.”

Soren smirks. “I’ll just sit here and think about you, then.”

I head for the door, but he calls after me. “Hey, Rose?”

I glance back, Hank peeking out of my pocket.

Soren’s smile is lazy. “See you tonight.”

I roll my eyes again, but I’m already wet just thinking about it.

I head down the corridor, my mind already on the triple-layer chocolate cake waiting in the dining hall. If I’m destined to be devoured by this world of witches and madness, I might as well savor every sweet moment I can steal for myself.

Fifteen

Rose

The library is dead at this time of the evening, so I have it all to myself. I dump my armload of grimoires onto the nearest table with a thud that startles Hank, who hops awkwardly out of my pocket, just barely managing to make it to the table. “Okay, buddy,” I say, “let’s find something to keep our ghost boy from disappearing forever.”

I’m still riding the sugar high from two slices of triple-layer chocolate cake. The dining hall was mostly empty, with just a few students talking about the trials, and the new headmistress. Nobody wants to be Jasmine’s next exhibition match. I snagged an extra piece of cake when no one was looking because, honestly, if I’m going out, I’m going out with chocolate on my face.

Hank gives a questioning “Ribbit?”