“Okay,” I acquiesced softly, “but you can’t distract me.”
“You might want to write all that stuff down then,” Thallor responded, nodding to where Caldwell had already covered most of the hall's blackboard in scribbled notes.
He had moved on to talking about cave paintings. He had noted some of the world’s most famous examples, including Lascaux and Altamira. He also barked something abouthim being the lecturerwhen asked about a few lesser-known cave paintings by a guy sat at the front.
I snuck another glance at Thallor a little while later, allowing my gaze to settle on his side profile. If it had been sharper, I probably would have cut myself as I stared at the curve of his jaw and the messy perfection of his hair. If only the final year exam would be on studying every mark, every curve, and every feature of his face.
“Am I distracting you, Sterling?” Thallor said quietly, turning to me.No. Yes.
I turned my attention away from him, averting my gaze before Thallor nodded to a taller male sat between two girls several rows ahead of us. “That guy won’t stop staring at us.”
“That’s Jude.” I wanted to spit the words and never utter them again. Thallor’s eyes darkened as Jude turned to look at us for the third time. I’d been on the receiving end of Thallor’s glare, so when Jude’s eyes widened and he whipped his head back around, I knew why.
“You never said he looked like that,” Thallor snarled, his jaw ticking and fist clenching.
“Like what?”
“Likethat.”
“I mean, yeah, he is objectively attractive. That’s why Esme and I call himClark Kent.Because he looks like Superman,” I responded, but instantly regretted my choice of words as Thallor turned to me slowly, settling me with the same death stare he’d afforded Jude only moments ago.
“He has a disgusting personality, though,” I added for good measure, although it was clear the damage had already been done. Thallor continued to stare down the back of Jude’s head as if he could kill him in some ironic laser-eye-related death.Christ, I’m pretty sure he could.
“Do. Not. Call. Him. That,” Thallor growled between gritted teeth.
“What? Superman?”
“I saiddon’t,Sterling.” When he looked at me, his eyes were cold and distant, devoid of any amusement that had been there when he’d walked into the room.Why do I always have to say the wrong thing?
“Sorry…” I whispered.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Thallor’s tone was serious and resolute in what he was saying. “But I never want you to speak of him again.Ever.The idea that he thought hecould touch you. Lay a finger on you. Even fucking look at you. The idea thatanyman thinks they are worthy of you…”
I latched onto my pen as if it was the only thing to ease my hammering pulse and the lump caught in my throat.
“We are both lucky that the first man who tried that was already on the verge of death when I found him. He was…met with a mercy…inthislife at least.”
Propelled by his own jealousy and vulnerability, Thallor stood up, not offering any explanation. I hated the idea of him not wanting to be near me, as though the idea of being this close caused him physical pain. Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist, a spark of electricity careening down my arm the moment our skin touched. By the way his breath hitched the moment my hand met his arm, he likely felt it too. Softly. Gently. And with a smile on my face, I tugged at him to sit back down, pulling him toward me.
“Please, don’t leave,” I said quietly.
“I’m not sure it’s safe for me to be in his presence. If he so much as looks at you again, I’ll rip off his fucking head.”
I looked at him not really knowing what to say. I gripped onto the lining ofhisjumper trying to focus on anything to stop the trembling in my hands.
“Thallor—” I started.
“Sterling, I’m not sure I can do this anymore. I can accept that you do not feel the same way I do or need time to come to terms with it. But I can’t be near him. The idea of him talking to you…being near you…”
“Would you just sit down?” I demanded, tugging him harder until he let his body drop. Nerves bubbled up inside me as I shuffled slightly closer to Thallor, letting my breath tickle just below his jaw. For a moment, I thought he might pull away, refuse to have me in his space, but instead, he moved his arm to clutch my shoulder and pulled me close. “He was waitingoutside for me this morning. I told him I had met someone else and never wanted him to speak to me again. It’s probably why he's leering at you. Must think it’sbring your boyfriend to schoolday.”
I know he fought it, the grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth. Thallor turned his gaze back to the front of the class, trying to hide what I saw, so plainly written across his face. He didn’t utter a single word to me for the rest of the lecture, opting to sit quietly in my company as I worked. But I could see the smile he continued to fight, likely harder than he’d probably fought for anything in his life. That and the lingering remnants of blush staining his cheeks betrayed his feelings far more easily than his words could.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“So, this is where all the cool kids come to fuck,” Thallor mused. It had been three weeks since Thallor had shown up to my lecture–which meant three weeks of him following me around wherever I went. I rolled my eyes as I trudged ahead of him, leading him up to the fifth floor of my campus library. I’d always sat in the same small alcove, a still, quiet space in Darling away from gossiping students and terrifying lecturers.
As we stepped into the small offset space, I overexaggerated the endless array of books to help me make my point. “No, this is thelibrary.” I pushed any lingering thoughts I had of Thallor to the back of my mind, making a mental note to avoid going up to the sixth floor with Thallor entirely.
