Page 60 of Blood Oath
Looking away quickly, I try to unscramble my brain, but at least the other students have taken initiative and are now collecting potion ingredients from the shelves on the wall, whispering amongst themselves as they shiver and get to work on their potions. Some of them are still ogling me in the way I’ve forced myself to grow accustomed to, but mostly class is on a roll, and all I have to do now is not make a fucking fool of myself.
Which proves to be impossible when Maven approaches the desk where I sit.
Today, she’s in a black sweatshirt with sleeves that go well past her hands and dark cargo pants that are far too big for her tucked into steel-toed combat boots. Her rich dark hair hangs loose around her, framing her face as she quirks a brow at me.
“Well?”
Formulating a sentence around her is so damn hard, but I clear my throat and look out the window, hoping like hell that I look indifferent…instead of how I really feel, which is eager to give her anything in the world she wants.
Seriously. As soon as we’re bound together and curses are no longer a factor, I’m going to spoil Maven in every possible way. If she wants designer dresses, limited edition cars, first-edition copies of rare books, a big-ass mansion, a golden yacht—literally anything, I am going to be the one who gives it to her. I’ve always wanted someone to spoil and adore.
I just…can’t. Not yet.
“Well, what?” I manage.
“You’ve had time to think about my proposal.”
Right. Her proposal. Us getting close to make the others jealous.
Internally, I grimace. I don’t want anything with Maven to just be for show. Although if that’s all I can possibly have with her, I still want it because I’ll take anything I can get from her. But even that is dangerous, with my curse hovering like a dark cloud over all my thoughts.
I can’t let myself forget what’s on the line here.
“No,” I say quietly, even though saying that word to her makes my mouth taste like acid. “Go make your potions, Miss Oakley. Preparation is important.”
Instead of obeying me, she rounds the desk to stand right beside me. I can practically feel the burning stares of Baelfire and Silas across the room, but I ignore them as my heart pounds painfully at the way Maven’s eyes trace over my face.
The way she looks at me is different than the way others do.
They look to see a handsome face. Beauty. Another perfectly flawless Frost.
She looks like she wants to step inside my head and dance with all my deepest secrets and darkest fears, everything I’ve been hiding for years. And I would want her to if it didn’t mean setting my curse in motion.
When she lifts a gloved hand to tuck hair behind her ear, it catches my attention as I remember what Baelfire said about her avoiding touch like the plague. A dozen questions are on the tip of my tongue for her, but no way in hell am I asking her about that while we’re in a room full of other people. And from what little I’ve seen of my keeper, I doubt she would even spare my questions the time of day.
Maven leans closer. “Tell me how to bribe you.”
“You—” My voice wavers, and I swallow hard. You will never need to bribe me. Anything you want, it’s yours. “You’re in class,” I manage instead. “We’ll discuss this more later.”
I expect her to move on or roll her eyes or something.
The last thing I could have expected is her looking at my lips while licking her own. She’s blatantly eye fucking me in front of all the legacies and gods and everybody.
Instantly, my cock hardens.
Shit. I absolutely cannot get a boner right now.
At the same time, something akin to shock and embarrassment washes over me when I realize that so many eyes are on us in this room and people are whispering. Knowing that we’re being watched…is making me even harder. My ears burn, and when Maven notices my blush, she arches a dark brow at me.
I open and close my mouth several times before finally tearing my gaze away from her. “Go make potions,” I repeat severely, mentally praying she hasn’t noticed the hard-on I’m desperately trying to hide under the desk.
“If you insist, Professor,” she murmurs, making her way to the back of the class again without so much as a sideways look at the students who are gawking at her.
Silas is immediately focused on Maven, stubbornly offering his potion to her despite the way she glares at him, and Baelfire—damn, he actually winces when she brushes the flowers he brought off her table onto the floor. It brings me a sick sense of triumph in a small way after everything his family has put mine through.
But at the same time, I feel bad for the guy. Whatever happened earlier between him and Maven, he looks miserable. That makes two of us since I know these next few months before graduation will be hell as I try to avoid my curse.
Silas looks increasingly frustrated as she rejects his every attempt to offer her anything.
