I nodded curtly, not trusting myself to say anything else. The moment the words had left my mouth, I’d known I was making another mistake. But watching him walk away, seeing that dejected slump to his shoulders, had done something to me. He held a strange power over me that I didn’t want to admit to.
“Go,” I said, turning back to my papers before I could change my mind. “Before I come to my senses.”
I heard his footsteps quicken as he left, the door closing behind him with a soft click that seemed to echo in the suddensilence. I stood there for a long moment, staring down at my notes without really seeing them.
What the hell was I doing? I’d just invited him to come early to our next session, which was essentially an invitation for more trouble. The responsible thing would be to cancel the private lessons altogether, to put as much distance between us as possible until this inconvenient attraction burned itself out.
But the memory of how he’d looked just now, vulnerable and disappointed, made my chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with hunger. And that was perhaps the most dangerous thing of all.
I gathered my things mechanically, trying to ignore the voice in my head that was already counting down the hours until I’d see him again. This was going to end badly for both of us. I was certain of it.
But apparently, I was going to let it happen anyway.
Chapter 16
Archer
Valen told me to be twenty minutes early to my private lesson, but I was there at least a half hour early. I couldn’t sit still. The excitement was filling me to the brim, threatening to boil over. But I was trying to control it. Not just for my sake, but for Valen’s too.
He’d been right to call me out, to illustrate how selfish I was being about the whole situation. Pigeon Forge was one thing. But trying to get him to fuck me at school? That was putting everything he had on the line and then some just so I could give the proverbial middle finger to my parents.
Still, I was thrilled Valen had pretty much agreed to go through with it. Because, if I was being honest, I felt more with him than just sexual attraction. There was something else there, something I didn’t quite know the name of yet. I felt it every time we touched, like a little jolt of electricity that made my heart race. And I think he felt it too. Why else would he agree to this?
I paced the hallway outside his office, checking my analog watch every thirty seconds like some kind of nervous wreck. Students passed by occasionally, shooting me curious glances, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was what might happen when Valen opened that door.
The rational part of my brain kept trying to remind me of all the ways this could go wrong. My father’s threats about the fencing team. The potential scandal if anyone found out. The fact that I was essentially asking a centuries-old vampire to risk his career for a college student he barely knew.
But every time those doubts crept in, I remembered the way he’d looked at me in that classroom. The careful control in his voice when he’d told me to come early. The hunger I’d glimpsed in his amber eyes before he’d turned away. Whatever this was between us, it wasn’t one-sided. I was sure of that.
I heard footsteps approaching from the far end of the hallway and quickly pressed myself against the wall, trying to look casual. A professor I didn’t recognize walked past, nodding politely before disappearing around the corner. My heart was hammering so hard I was surprised the entire building couldn’t hear it.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I heard more footsteps. These were different though, more measured, more graceful. I knew that walk.
Valen appeared at the end of the hallway, moving with that predatory elegance that never failed to make my heart race. He was carrying a leather messenger bag and what looked like a cup of coffee, the picture of a composed professor heading to his office. But when his eyes met mine, I caught a flash of something that looked almost like relief.
“You’re early,” he said when he reached his door, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
“You said twenty minutes,” I replied, trying to keep the breathiness out of my voice. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything important.”
He shot me a look that suggested he knew exactly why I was really here early, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he unlocked his door and gestured for me to follow him inside.
The moment the door closed behind us, the atmosphere shifted. The professional facade we’d been maintaining in the hallway fell away, leaving something much more raw and uncertain in its place. I watched as Valen set down his bag and coffee, his movements careful and deliberate like he was trying to maintain some semblance of control.
“So,” he said, turning to face me but keeping the desk between us. “What exactly are we doing here, Archer?”
The question caught me off guard. I’d been so focused on getting here, on convincing him to see me, that I hadn’t really thought about what came next.
“I thought... I mean, you said...” I fumbled for words, suddenly feeling like the inexperienced college student I actually was.
“I said to come early,” he replied, his voice carefully neutral. “I didn’t say what for.”
Right. Of course he was going to make me spell it out. Make me take responsibility for whatever was about to happen instead of just letting it unfold naturally like it had before.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to meet his gaze directly. “I want you, Valen. Not because of my parents, not because I’m trying to rebel against anything. I mean, that’s part of it, of course, but I want you because when I’m with you, I feel more like myself than I ever have before. I feel… free.”
Something flickered across his features, surprise, maybe, or recognition. He was quiet for a long moment, those amber eyes studying me like he was trying to see into my soul.
“And what happens when the semester ends?” he asked finally. “When you graduate? When your family starts pressuring you to settle down with some nice witch from an appropriate bloodline?”
