Page 97 of Under the Bed

“Or would you rather be silent in the privacy of your own home?” Shiloh ignores the commotion to her side, leaning forward in her chair. Her hair drapes over her front. The look she’s pinning me with is feral. I’m going to devour her whole. “Hmm?”

“Miss Talbot, please slow down.” In my periphery, I catch him turning to me. “My apologies, Mr. White. She’s our youngest student. If you’re uncomfortable, we can ask her to step out.”

My silent glower behind the mask is all the answer I give him.

I dare you to kick her out of here. I’d kill you on the spot.

He doesn’t see my expression.

He senses it just fine. His face blanches with apprehension.

“She stays. Of course she stays.” He lifts his hands in a peaceful gesture. Bends to the floor to grab his pen and clears his throat. “You’re the patient; you get to have the first, last, and only say in this.”

My own slow nod feels like I’ve offered him more than he deserves.

“Mr. White?—”

“Jakob,” I bark at him. I’m getting bored with thisMr.shit.

I want to get to the good stuff already.

“Jakob.” There’s a smile in his voice. Shiloh isn’t smiling. She presses her lips together. “Would you like to discuss what’s brought you here? Since Miss Talbot wasn’t privy to our email correspondence.”

Her spine straightens. Eyes growing impossibly wider.

It’s obvious what’s bothering her.

She doesn’t care about her classes or her college professor.

She worries too much. About me.

You can’t be seen in public. They’ll take you back to that place.

I like that. That she’s protective of me.

The tension vibrating from her is addictive. Especially when it comes in the form of fire and brimstone. Of hate and anger.

She’d never been that way during the five months we lived together.

She must’ve never been this mad, ever.

She has no idea how to handle this level of fury. Or me, since she’s only been acquainted with this version of her stepbrother for two days.

And it’s killing her. The constant shifting in her chair. The flaring nostrils.

She’s so consumed by it that she’s forgotten where she is.

Any minute now, she’ll leap out of her chair and choke me.

I cock my head, daring her to do it. It’d be entertaining, and I’d leave here, taking her with me, before they start wondering who I really am.

Seconds tick by.

Her lips twist. A tiny snarl. A flash of her teeth.

Fuck, am I hard for her.

After sleeping the entire night with her soaked thong pressed to my nose, after stalking her from afar, I’m hanging by a thread.

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