“It’s Bane, right?” I asked, licking my lips as I attempted to smooth things over. The last thing I needed was for us to get off on the wrong foot and for me to be obsessing over my embarrassing self all semester long.
Maybe that’s what I needed. A fresh start on all accounts. I’d come to this school with preconceived notions and clearly nothing was what I’d expected thus far, so maybe I was being too hard on others as well as myself.
“It is,” he said, his dark gaze holding me in place.
“I, uhm... I know you probably don’t remember me, but—”
“How could I forget you,Violet? You nearly put me six feet under.” His voice was dark, but I still detected a hint of sarcasm. Though the velveteen tone sent a shiver down my spine at the sound of my name on his tongue.
It was like a smutty audio book coming to life or something, the way he spoke.
I don’t know why my cheeks decided to flush at that moment, at his words. It wasn’t like he was talking about anything other than my clumsiness, or polite introduction, but I got the impression Bane could read me the phone book and I’d come undone.
I squeezed my legs together if only to compress the heat that burned between them, but it was a moot choice.
Because the compression only exacerbated the moisture that had started to form between my thighs.
Again. For a second time in front of this guy...
Gods, now is not the time!
Get a grip, Vi!
“I, uh...”
Bane smirked as he shook some dark hair out of his vast, galaxy-like eyes.
“I really am sorry about that, but I was hoping maybe we could... start fresh. New school, new beginnings and all that?” I managed to squeak the words out coherently, like an actual human being.
“Yes, well, I suppose we all deserve a fresh slate,” he said as he leaned back in his chair, casually stretching his arm over the back. The motion showcased his well-defined biceps, the fabric of his jacket pulling tight around the swell of the muscle, his long fingers dangling along the back. He crossed his long legs, and the sight of him and his pale exposed skin against the contrast of all the black he was wearing roused the heat again in my blood, making my stomach flip.
Gods, was he beautiful.
I momentarily wondered as I stared like an idiot,whathe was. Because I knew without a doubt, no human wasthatpretty. Not to mention, the energy that ebbed around him felt magnetic, even though I couldn’t see it.
A vampire, perhaps?
No, he didn’t appear to have fangs or anything. But then again, I didn’t know much about vampires except what I read in romance books.
Angel maybe?
No, I doubted that. Most angels, from what I’d heard, didn’t have the dark or mysterious vibe Bane had about him.
I narrowed my gaze, twisting my lips as I tried to figure it out.
Perhaps he is a gancanagh? A demon of lust...
“Are you...all right,Violet?”he asked smoothly, carefully. “You look a little... warm.”
As I let my mind wander and sift through the possibilities, I felt the faint hint of wind, blowing the edges of my pleats on my skirt like leaves, the fabric flying up just enough to make me remember where we were, and that the last thing I wanted to do was flash my classmates and instructor on my first day of classes.
Shoving my daydreams ofgancanaghout of my brain, I curled my fingers around the edges of the fabric and slammed my palms against my exposed thigh, looking Bane in the eye as I did so.
He let out a strange sound, almost like a cross between a grunt and a groan, and the wind died down.
“I’m f—fine,” I stammered, blinking away the weird energy throbbing beneath my skin.
Good job, Vi, now he probably thinks you’re daft.
