Page 93 of The Villain We Tempt

“Youliterallyjust asked.”

“Not the details!” Her eyes narrow. “My point was that it doesn’t feel good to be put under a microscope.”

I sigh. “You do understand that the entire point of this project is to look past the Persona at the Shadow underneath, yes?”

“Well, myPersonahas nothing to do with when I lost my virginity. Jesus,” she snaps.

Well,that’spatently false. I’m willing to bet her entire Persona hinges on the fact that shehasn'thad sex yet. Putting on masks and sexy outfits and creating thirsty content involving smut books and sex toys is her way of owning her sexuality despite the fact she's never explored it with another person.

I mean, I should be charging her a fortune for this level of psychoanalysis.

“Fine,” I sigh. “We’ll switch to another question.”

“Thank you,” she says primly, smiling smugly to herself.

“What sort of pornography do you favor, and how often do you self-gratify?”

Galina’s jaw almost hits the desk between us as I struggle with every fiber of my being not to grin.

“This iscompletelyinappropriate!” she huffs indignantly, her face throbbing with heat.

“This is Psychology of Deception and Performance at one of the most prestigious colleges on Earth, Galina,” I say flatly. “The entire purpose here is?—”

“Toteach us,” she snaps back. “Not to humiliate me by asking how often I self…” She trails off and makes a face.

“Gratify,” I finish for her helpfully. “But honestly, it's fine if you’re more comfortable sayingmasturbate. Rubbing one out could add a nice levity to the subject?—”

“Yeah, fuck this.”

Her chair scrapes back as she abruptly stands. Most of the class is engrossed in their one-on-ones, but I notice Bella glance up with a curious frown.

Galina stuffs her notebook into her bag and hefts it onto her shoulder. I make a mental note to stick a Smart-Tag tracker intothisbag the next time I break into her room.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Literally anywhere but here,” Galina says sharply. “This so-called project is bullshit. Not to mention completely inappropriate.”

My brow furrows. “Class is still?—”

“So flunk me, asshole.”

What's that saying?I hate to see you leave, but I love to watch you walk away?

It suddenly makes perfect sense to me as my eyes glue to Galina’s swaying ass in her blue and gray plaid uniform skirt as she marches out of the classroom.

Okay, it’s pretty obvious that this was a bad idea. But what can I say? The more I watch Galina, the more I don’t want to look away. I like being near her. In fact, I’m becoming fixated, and I pretty sure evenIcan say I’ve been watching her on camera way too much.

Do I feel like a creepy pervert for watching Galina change, shower, and furiously masturbate last night? Not really.

Should I? Probably.

But I don’t.

I end up dismissing the class early. When the entire reason I’m teaching it in the first place storms off, there’s no real point in sticking around, is there?

It’sdark and I’m drenched in sweat by the time I get back from my run. This one was a grueling one: all the way to the top of Griswold Hill from Knightsblood, then down into Hawthorne Hollow, then all the way back up to campus.

I'm a sucker for physical endurance punishment when I need to clear my head. And having now fallen down the rabbit hole of obsessing over Galina?