Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
IRIS
We were running.
‘We’re going to be so late,’ Adora squeaked, frowning at the torrential rain.
By the time I’d finished explaining – really explaining – we were incredibly late for class.
The rain clouds overhead had turned black, and lightning lashed around the school building in rapid succession.
Adora seemed… fine. She had just nodded along as I spilled my guts to her – as if what I’d told her was something she heard every day.
‘It’s fine,’ I panted. ‘We’ll get there.’ I had to shout to make my voice carry over the rain. We’d completely lost track of time, discussing the ins and outs of my sudden admission.
‘So it isn’t like… visions?’ she asked as we ran back under the stone archway, the rain echoing above us. Once we were under cover, we slowed slightly.
‘No, I mean, it’s more like… flashes? Like white smudges.’
‘Smudges?’
‘Yeah, like sometimes I can hear them, but not see them,’ I said.
‘But sometimes I can see them, but not hear them.’ I was thinking about the white flash that had darted in front of Williams’ car when I was travelling up to the school.
‘And then sometimes…’ I cut myself off, swallowing as I thought about the time I had both seen and heard Isobella…
‘Miss Blackthorne.’
I stopped in my tracks.
‘Who was—’ Adora started but I cut her off, already moving.
‘Go,’ I muttered, nudging her forwards and quickening my pace down the stone hallway.
‘Miss Blackthorne.’ The voice followed, louder this time, echoing off the walls.
Fuck.
‘Who is that?’ Dora glanced over her shoulder, then back at me. ‘Oh. Iris… isn’t that yours and Rory’s professor?’
‘Nope,’ I said quickly, not breaking stride.
‘Um… yes, it is,’ she said, hurrying alongside me. She peeked backwards again. ‘Yeah, it definitely is.’ She pulled me to a slow stop.
Shit.
Before I could beg her to keep walking, she swung round. ‘Hello, Professor.’ She smiled. ‘How are you?’
I winced, then forced myself to turn as well – much more slowly.
I reluctantly dragged my gaze up to meet his… and was surprised.
His expression was full of worry.
I instantly noticed that his silver eyes were darker than usual, the ring of stormy grey almost covered entirely by the black pupils. He addressed Adora, but he was not looking at her at all.
His voice was low and rough as he said, ‘I’m well, thank you, Miss Price.’ I hated myself for noticing when he said another girl’s name, even Adora’s. What was wrong with me?
She leaned into me, her shoulder nudging mine.
‘Damn,’ she whispered. He wasn’t even paying attention to her. ‘I wish I took Moral Philosophy.’
I forced a casual smile. ‘Will you give us a second?’ I asked, begging my voice to sound calm.
‘Oh, yeah of course,’ she said happily, but I didn’t miss the moment her eyes darted between the two of us. She walked away to stand at the window, but still within ear shot.
I turned back, and our eyes met. I hadn’t seen him for four days, but he looked so different.
Tired… Panicked, even.
He looked into my eyes, but quickly averted his gaze. He hadn’t shaved since I’d last seen him, and rough stubble now graced his jaw. It suited him.
‘You—’ he said sharply, but cut himself off, his eyes darting over to Adora, who was making a not-too-subtle attempt to seem distracted. ‘You missed class.’
I just nodded.
‘Are you… okay?’ His words sounded casual – calm – but I couldn’t help but notice the underlying notes of concern.
I noticed the way his eyes roamed my body.
I probably looked like a mess. I could feel my cheeks – much to my annoyance – heat at his stare.
I rubbed a hand over my face and looked down at my shoes.
‘I’m really sorry,’ I murmured… ‘Sir.’
He was quiet for just a moment too long, his eyes still searching mine.
His brows drew together, before he cleared his throat.
‘See me after classes. My office. I’ll go through the work that you missed.
’ My cheeks heated in a completely different way now.
‘Good day, Miss Blackthorne,’ he said sternly, then nodded to Adora.
‘Miss Price,’ he added, turning his head slightly but not breaking eye contact with me.
‘Bye!’ Adora chirped, suddenly materialising out of thin air right next to me. Once Archer was out of earshot she turned to me, grabbed my arm, and started mimicking a swooning motion. ‘Holy shit,’ she said, hand to forehead. ‘The fact it’s too late to switch classes is truly heart shattering.’
‘You poor, poor thing,’ I crooned, forcing myself to laugh and agree with her.
‘I’ve obviously seen him around before, but like… never this close up,’ she said, giggling. ‘He’s pretty harsh though. You only missed a single class.’
‘Hm,’ I nodded. ‘I guess… but he’s a good teacher.’
‘And he has that tortured-soul thing going for him,’ she joked. ‘That would definitely help me attend class… though it would probably do the opposite for helping me pay any attention to what he was saying.’
I smiled at her, trying to calm my racing heart.
I knocked quietly on the door to Professor Locke’s – Archer’s – office that evening.
All day, I’d been replaying the encounter in my mind. He looked so concerned that I’d missed class – almost as if he were worried for me.
‘Come in,’ I heard his voice call from the other side of the door. I instantly grew hot.
How did this man have such control over my body? It was infuriating.
‘Hi,’ I said pathetically when I saw him sitting at his desk. His office was a smaller room, but it looked comfortable. Cosy.
It was rectangular, with a small seating area beside a roaring fire, and then his desk at the far end.
He had large wooden shelves pushed against one wall, overflowing with books of all different shapes and sizes. Some looked like research papers, and others appeared to be novels.
‘Hi,’ he echoed as I entered. He stood from his desk, where it looked like he was sat grading papers.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw that he was wearing glasses. They framed his face in a way that suited him so much. It was like he couldn’t deal with being a regular sexy professor, and instead needed to one-up himself.
It should have come with a health warning.
‘I didn’t know you wore glasses,’ I said stupidly.
‘Uh, yeah,’ he looked almost shy for a moment before the emotion passed, ‘Since I was a teenager.’ He pushed the bridge of the glasses up his nose. ‘Though, I don’t wear them as often as I should,’ he admitted. ‘They’re for reading or,’ he gestures to his desk, ‘marking.’
I nodded and indicated his bookshelf. ‘You read novels?’
He laughed, and the smile lit up his whole face. ‘I don’t just read students’ essays, you know.’ He picked up the paper in front of him and held it up. ‘And if I did, Dylan Redwood’s essays would be the death of me.’
A laugh slipped out from between my lips before I could stop it. I slowly walked over to his desk, feeling the heat of the fire thaw my frozen skin. It felt wonderful.
‘May I?’ I said, indicating the seat opposite him.
He nodded. ‘Please.’ I pulled out the chair and sat, leaning back against the soft leather. ‘So, you weren’t in class today,’ he said slowly.
No fucking around, then.
‘Yeah, I’m so sorry,’ I said instantly. ‘I just… uh…’
He cut me off. ‘Stop.’ My eyes met his. ‘I didn’t call you in here to reprimand you.’
I blinked, ‘Oh.’
‘Honestly…’ His voice trailed off, eyebrows lowering and a slightly worried expression gracing his features.
‘What is it?’ I asked gently.
‘To tell you the truth, you didn’t miss an assignment today.’
I paused while the words settled. ‘But you—’
‘I just wanted to make sure you were okay.’
I froze, trying to understand. ‘I—’
‘After what happened before with that entitled, snobby prick, Theo,’ his voice grew dangerously low and his fist clenched on the desk, ‘and then what happened between us the other day…’ He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
One white strand fell loose, and I had to stop myself from leaning forwards to touch it.
‘When you didn’t turn up to class today…
I just—’ He looked up towards the ceiling as if searching for the words. ‘I was just worried about you.’
I took a deep breath. ‘Worried… about me?’ I asked, surprised.
He nodded.
‘I can’t stop thinking about you,’ he whispered, averting his eyes as if it physically pained him. A muscle ticked in his jaw. It was silent for a moment, neither of us wanting to break it.
Slowly… Archer pushed his chair back and stood. He rounded the desk so he was behind me. I turned towards him in time for him to reach out his hand, palm upturned, towards me.
I took it, feeling his warmth embrace me, finding that it felt almost familiar now, in a way.
My heart beat so quickly in his presence. I just stood there for a moment, waiting for him to make the next move.
Suddenly, he stepped towards me, pushing me backwards and closing the gap between us. I felt the harsh wood of the desk pressing into the backs of my legs, his chest beating against mine. He was so close to me that I couldn’t move.
‘Archer…’ I breathed.
And as if his name on my tongue triggered something deep within him, he moaned quietly into my ear.
‘I can’t stay away from you…’ he said.
Slowly, he pushed one of his knees forwards, between my thighs, forcing them apart. The warmth that was rapidly building within me bloomed into something more as I let out an involuntary gasp. His leg pressed into the desperate ache pooling there.
‘Then don’t,’ I whispered.
His hand moved to cup my cheek, while the other rested on the small of my back. For a while he just held me there, looking into my eyes.
I stared back into his, willing him to give in to what we both wanted and take me.
And then his lips crashed into mine.