Page 167 of Damsel in Disguise

Every breath suddenly feels painfully difficult to take.

One corner of his mouth lifts into a slow, knowing smirk.

He’s noticed everything. The way my chest is rising and falling too quickly. The heat flooding my face.

The fact that I can barely look into his eyes unblinking for more than a few seconds.

“Not so vicious now, are we?”

I swallow hard and look away, blushing.

Desperately trying to focus on the music instead of the overwhelming realization that I’m finally standing exactly where I’ve wanted to be ever since I first laid eyes on this man.

“Why were you looking for me, little kitty?”

Heat crawls from my cheeks down my neck. The stupid organ inside my chest thumps rapidly.

“Professor—”

He leans over. “Call me Alastor,” hot breath skims across my ears, delicate enough to send a shiver down my spine.

The deliberate mispronunciation barely registers. Not when his mouth suddenly brushes the curve of my neck, exactly where the pulse is throbbing ridiculously.

His tongue licks over it, sending a sharp shudder throughout my body. Every coherent thought evaporates.

Then I feel the sharp pressure of teeth. Hard.

So hard that I fear he might’ve broken into my skin. I fear he might drain all the blood of my body, and I won’t even try to stop him.

A startled cry escapes me. “Alastor—” I immediately clamp my lips shut.

Thankfully, no one notices. Or maybe they did and simply don’t care.

The club is too loud, too crowded, too consumed by itself to pay attention to us. And I’m glad for that.

Still, nervousness and embarrassment crash through me in a wave. What’s happening?

“Mmm…” the vibration caresses my skin. “I like the sound of it.”

A second later, warmth follows. His tongue sweeps again, lazier this time, over the place he’d just bitten, soothing the sting he created himself.

The contradiction makes my knees go jelly, flooding my core with liquid heat.

If not for the bruising grip on my hips, I’d be on my knees for him right in the middle of the club. The strange part is, I wouldn’t even care if he takes me amidst the crowd for anyone to see, I belong to him.

“Prof—”

He grumbles against the curve of my neck.

“Alastor,” I correct automatically, and feel his smile on my skin.

Somehow, I manage to push him back enough to look into his eyes. “Let’s get you home,” I try to slip from his hold.

His smirk deepens. “Are you worried about me, Miss Keinston?”

“What if I am?” I lift my chin, gathering every scrap of courage I can find. “You were absent today, and now I’m finding you drunk in a club.”

Amusement flickers across his face. “That’s surprisingly attentive of you,” he murmurs. “I had no idea my whereabouts occupied so much of your mind.”