Though I didn’t miss the giggles across the room from Susanne and her group, or the way Professor O’Connor held Bane’s gaze, almost as if he wished to say more, but thought better of it.
How odd.
“Thank you. As I was saying, if you all would be so kind to spill your runes on the table, we are going to start today’s lesson in Celtic Lore with an intuitive reading for your partner. You will read them first and record your initial findings before looking up and referencing the Celtic runes on page one fifty-six, in which you will note any differences in your intuition versus the book’s definitions.”
CHAPTER7
Bane
Fuck me.
I wish I could say forgetting Violet and our meeting was easy, but the truth was it was anything but. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, something in me changed that day.
Granted, lust-filled fantasies were a dime a dozen for my kind, there was an intensity to not just my fantasy, but to my physical release that I hadn’t felt with anyone, even Anne.
And I liked it.
I liked it a whole hell of a lot, and I knew I shouldn’t. I knew I should just put Violet McCreanor out of my mind, but I couldn’t. So I did what any obsessed twenty-three year old incubus with a fixation would do.
I did some digging on the pink-haired minx by pulling some strings.
At first, I thought it would just suffice my brain goblins toknowwho she was, where she came from. But as far as documents and literal information, that was barely anything. She wasn’t a legacy, that was for sure, but her arrival before the rest of the first years was telling enough that Blackthorn obviously thought her a student to watch.
Which only intrigued me more.
It didn’t take much for me to ascertain her schedule, nor did it take much for me to bribe my way into Professor O’Connor’s dreadfully boring lore and legends class.
I guess that’s one of the perks of being a demon of lust. Turn on a little charm, and most people—humans and monsters alike—feel inclined to do whatever I ask, if I ask in the right tone, with the right insinuations, that is.
All I’d had to do to bribe Mrs. Caldwell though, was bring her a box of vanilla bean scones from a little bakery outside the realm that she favored, and one click later, Bane Locke was registered for Lost Lore & Legends.
A part of me wondered if I’d made it all up in my head, the day we crashed into each other. If I’d imagined her touch, or the way she looked at me because I’d practically starved myself of touch and desire for so long, perhaps it was makingmecrazy.
But the moment I walked into Professor O’Connor’s class, seeing heraloneacross the room, her uniform skirt sliding up those creamy, golden thighs, hair falling over her shoulder as she peered in her book, I knew there was no turning back.
For starters, my cock twitched at the sight and my wings threatened to erupt through my jacket, and it was all I could do to stifle my inappropriate erection.
Just because I’m a demon of lust, doesn’t mean I don’t have fucking manners.
I’d always been good at talking to people. I learned quite fast that it didn’t matter if I liked people or not, my general disposition and charm drew people in. They saw what they wanted to see with me, and I had two choices—be what they wanted and use it to my advantage, or be the big scary demon of nightmares that fed into negative stereotypes and hurt my kind.
My parents worked tirelessly to build the life they gave me, a life where I could bemorethan just some predatory monster, and I’ll be damned if I let them down.
Though, I guess, in a way I already did...
I took my seat next to Violet, pushing the thoughts threatening to pull me under aside, and honestly, when she turned to look at me, those bright blue eyes like a clear sky staring into my damned soul... I forgot about Anne and all the pain that wouldn’t let me go.
I forgot how to fuckingspeak.
Well, that’s new...
My wings vibrated beneath my skin, and my breath caught in my throat.
“It’s Bane, right?” she asked, her voice sweet and full of innocence.
My lustful magic pulsed beneath the surface as the strong scent of lilies and rain hit me. She smelled like a fresh stroll through the forest on a rainy day, and it was a most attractive smell, but there was something else hiding beneath it.
Something tangy, sweet.
