Page 56 of A Lesson in Deceit
“Let me remind you. No cell phones unless it’s an emergency. Was your conversation an emergency?”
Corrin had her eyes closed as if she was trying to wish us both out of this fucking room. “No, it wasn’t.”
Asher hummed, crossing his arms over his chest. His biceps made the arms of his shirt tighter. “Hmm, are you sure? Because clearly whatever it was had you so engrossed you missed my question entirely. I would hate to know I interrupted something so important that you couldn’t think to pay attention to the class you signed up to take and hopefully pass.”
I wanted to scoff and honestly, tell him to fuck off. He was the one who made me moan out loud, in front of his class. “It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.” I would do everything in my power to never daydream in his class again. I wanted this to be done and over with. I needed him to start talking about different disorders and the new version of the DSM.
“I’m sorry, what?” His tone was a little demanding, but there was a different kind of inflection at the end. It was almost like he wanted to hear me say it because he liked it and not because hewanted some kind of respect as a professor. It could have been both knowing Asher.
I sat up a little straighter, licking my lips. “I’m sorry,sir.” His eyes flashed with this spark of…something. The hand on the clock ticked and Asher finally looked away from me, leaning towards his desk and tapping his phone.
“Alright, put your homework on my desk and get out of here.”
The guy sitting next to me leaned over towards me. “Don’t worry, he fucks with everyone who looks unfocused.” He let out a quick laugh. “Some daydream you were having.” He laughed again, getting up from his seat.
I gaped at him, watching his back as he walked down the stairs. Corrin blew out the longest breath, letting out a shaky laugh. “That was brutally hot.”
“Excuse me?”
She gave me a small shrug. “As much as I hate watching you in a tension filled situation. That was the most intense eye fucking I’ve ever seen. It’s like when I opened my eyes you guys were still going at it.”
“Please stop. Also, I’m dating his brother, so nope.”
Corrin shuffled around me to get into the aisle so we could leave. “And your point is? You have two boyfriends, what’s wrong with a third?”
I walked behind her as we descended the stairs. “I don’t have two?—.”
“Miss Monroe, can I speak to you for a moment?”
His voice caught me off guard seeing as it still sounded stern but a watered-down version. Corrin looked over her shoulder, her eyes floating between the two of us. She wiggled her fingers at me as she walked out, giving me a knowing look. I shook my head at her, watching as the rest of the class filtered out until it was just Asher and I.
“What do you want?” I asked, not in the mood for his snarky attitude that was severely unwarranted. I also really had no interest in talking to him after the stunt he pulled.
He placed some papers in his messenger bag, not looking at me. “You may think I’m being harsh, but I’m owed a little respect as your professor.”
“Respect?! After what you did?!”
He furrowed his brow, the look of faux confusion on his face. “What did I do, hmm?”
I looked over to where I had been sitting and back at him. “You…I…ugh. You know what you did.”
Asher placed his bag around his neck, letting the strap land against his chest. “Perhaps. Hopefully that will teach you to pay attention to my lessons and not mentally gallivant off into less than appropriate territory. I understand my brother has a way with words, especially ones of the provocative variety, but I would think someone that continues to do so well in my class would know how to prioritize her responsibilities.”
“What goes on in my head is my business.” I walked up to him, pressing my finger into his chest. He towered over me, but I didn’t deter my confidence.
“My classroom, my rules.”
“Fine, then I’ll tell someone above your head about what you did.”
He barked out a laugh, looking at me as if I just told the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “Please do and when they ask you about what exactly I did in great detail so they can file the paperwork correctly, make sure to let them know that you were thinking about getting fucked and that I was just helping you along so that you could go back to being a good student who follows my class rules and pays fucking attention.”
My chest was heaving, but I realized that my heart was also racing. His green eyes glanced down at my mouth and then heblinked, clearing his throat. “I won’t stop you, so by all means be my guest.”
“I’m sure your dad would bail you out anyway. Nepotism is in your favor.”
He scoffed. “There is that. I’m not a fan of it, just so you are aware.”
“I don’t care.”
