Page 33 of Virgin Sacrifice

Chapter fifteen

Locke

I tried to glance casually at the clock in the back of the classroom for the hundredth time since I had kicked Luz out of the class. It felt like it was late on Christmas Eve, and I already knew that Santa had come and laid out my presents. I could barely contain myself at the thought of rushing over to rip them all open.

What would I find when I tore Luz Torres wide open? Pulled apart her mind piece-by-piece?

The thought was so fucking alluring to me that if I didn’t get a grip on my thoughts, I was going to be caught with a hard-on.

When the class finally came to an end, I barely made it two steps from the podium before the Cantwell girl was getting in my way. I’d rather fuck my hand any day over an insufferable twat like her, but it was my second nature to keep the society bitches charmed and complacent.

Everest was dangerous because you could spot his crazy from a mile away, but I was the one they never saw coming. People gravitated toward me. They invited me into their homes, their trust, their confidence, and then, finally, their hearts. I used that to destroy them.

“Locke,” the Cantwell girl whined, making my left eye twitch. Unlike Everest, I could control myself when it came to killing, although wretched things like her tested my restraint.

“I meant, Dr. Blackwell, sir,” she simpered before biting her lip and ducking her head in a transparent attempt to appear submissive while taking another step forward into my personal space.

“Yes, Ms. Cantwell?” I gritted out.

“I was wondering if you might have any office hours available for one-on-one tutoring with students,” she said, once again fluttering those inane eyelash extensions of hers.

“I’m struggling terribly with the material, and I was hoping you might be able to—‍”

I cut her off sharply before she could continue, all my customary kindness gone. I was bored with this charade and had neither the need nor desire for Isabella Cantwell’s attention.

“I’m sorry Ms. Cantwell, but you’ll have to see your TA for that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a student who requires discipline.”

The girl’s face turned vermillion at my dismissal, and I spun around, uninterested in seeing any more of her response.

Taking out some of the tension roiling within me on Isabella served more than one purpose.

It was doubtless that every single student in ECON200 knew who Luz Torres was, or at the very least knew her to be on the receiving end of my wrath. Isabella would know that Luz was the student I was on my way to discipline, and there was a chance that she would decide to rain hell down on her for it. No one loved putting a scholarship girl in her place more than a rich bitch with something to prove.

I made my way over to my office quickly, all too eager to finally begin breaking Luz Torres in earnest.

Before I turned the corner, I took a moment to adjust my cuff links, check my suit over for lint, and run my hand through my hair. Part of maintaining control of others was maintaining control over oneself, and I would slit my throat before letting a common creature like her see me disheveled.

Satisfied that I looked every bit the man I was, I strode around the corner, practically salivating at the chance to begin sparring with her.

And there she was, in all her fierce glory.

Anyone else might pass by the diminutive woman seated on the leather bench in front of my office and dismiss her as a timid, unassuming thing. She certainly played the role perfectly.

Her long hair was down, falling in shiny, dark waves with a few loose tendrils artfully framing her heart-shaped face. She wore a simple black wool jumper dress with a white button-down shirt beneath it, the top couple of buttons undone to highlight the gold crucifix she always wore and show off the slightest hint of her curves. Underneath she wore sheer black tights that failed to conceal the shapeliness of her legs paired with neatly folded white ankle socks and lug-soled oxfords.

With her backpack gripped tightly in her lap and blazing amber eyes wide with concern, most people would see an innocent creature in distress.

But unlike everyone else, I saw the rage and entitlement roiling away beneath the pretty facade that the girl wore. Like called to like.

“Inside my office now,” I barked at her after unlocking the door and stepping inside.

She followed behind me silently, her mask of innocence remaining firmly in place as she took her seat.

I briefly considered locking the door behind me, interested in seeing what kind of reaction I could provoke from her. Would she continue to play the guileless student, or would she unleash that sharp tongue of hers again?

Still, there was plenty of time for that later. For the last month, I had mulled over my plans for her. My initial inclination had been to lull her into a false sense of security by ignoring her until the course drop date passed, and then forcing her removal from the course.

But when the twins informed me about the heart that had been nailed to her door, it caused me to change my plans. At first, I was livid. I wanted her gone from Hollow Oak, yes, but by my hand, not the reckless efforts of some common sociopath.

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