Page 19 of Broken Beauty (Beauty 3)
His hand remained on her breast, a soft weight, a link between them as he looked her in the eye. “I love you, Erin. I’m not sure it’s enough. In fact, I know it’s not, but I can’t keep myself away from you. It has nothing to do with the fact that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She swallowed thickly. For someone declaring his love and her beauty, he didn’t seem happy about it. “Is it a problem?”
He smiled slightly. His voice was hoarse. “No. Not right now.”
A chill climbed up her spine. Only then could she see the risk he’d taken, teaching a class where she would be a student. At first he’d resisted because he didn’t want to rejoin society, didn’t want to work again and walk among the living, preferring the sanctuary he had made for himself in this house.
They would make it work with him as her professor, limiting the moral dilemma as best they could. She would do her best, which usually earned her an A or the rare B. Both were commonly the only grades given in the small advanced master’s courses, the idea being that all the C and D students had been weeded out by then anyway. But he would grade her fairly, regardless. He was too honorable to do anything else.
More than the potential for conflict between them, what if they were found out? Would there be some sort of inquisition? Would he be fired with a scandal on his virtual resume? Of course no one would find out. And she wouldn’t let the grade come between them, whatever it ended up being. But there was an awful lot of room for error in this plan. He must have known that, and he’d accepted it without complaint.
For her.
“Let’s keep it that way,” she said, brushing back the hair from his forehead. She pet him, her large, sedated cat, until his eyes stayed shut and his breathing evened out. He slept, but she continued to caress him, needing the contact.
How could she have been so reckless with him—with his career and his life? And how had he let her do that? Though he wasn’t confrontational by nature, preferring diplomacy to a direct conflict, he knew how to stand up to people. It was how he’d isolated himself so completely, how he’d avoided getting sucked back into the world despite repeated calls from the Dean, from his parents. He’d laid down the facts with Melinda, threatening to call the police if she pulled any more stunts here. But she’d simply asked him, here, do this thing, and he’d nodded and done it. A heady sort of power, but one she could misuse by accident if she wasn’t careful.
* * *
This morning had been another great class. The group had loosened up over the weeks, with the other students holding active discussions that sometimes spilled out into the hallway after class. Then Erin had spent the early afternoon in a small café right off campus, where she’d enjoyed a strawberry drink with tapioca pearls while going over her notes.
She packed up her books and headed back to the department offices. She had a standing weekly appointment with her advisor, Dr. Miller, to go over her progress and get feedback. The day was uncommonly warm. Sunlight winked at her from around the spires and cornices of the elaborate old buildings.
Her eyes were narrowed and downcast to avoid the bright light. She pushed through the double doors, blinking at the sudden dimness.
“There you are, Erin,” a voice said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
At first she couldn’t place it, but the sinking feeling was answer enough. Her vision cleared. Melinda was smiling at her. It wasn’t a nice smile.
“Dr. Jenkins,” she said in greeting, hoping the dismay didn’t come through.
“Come into my office and we can talk.”
“Oh. Well, I have a meeting with—”
“Not for a few minutes, right? You’re always early. You can spare a few minutes for me.”
She did have a few minutes until her meeting started, which she normally spent on the bench in the hallway, and Melinda seemed to know that. She didn’t want to talk to her right now, especially blindsided like this. But she wasn’t willing to make the leap to insubordination. And Melinda was technically on the committee. She followed the other woman down the hall and into her office.
When Erin was inside, Melinda shut the door. Erin hid her grimace. She supposed it would be a long talk then. She sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, and Melinda crossed the room to take her seat.
“Now,” Melinda said. “I took the liberty of looking at your transcript. Very impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“Especially for someone with your background. I really respect that.” Melinda’s tone made it clear she meant the exact opposite.
Erin gritted her teeth. How would the woman even know about her background? She’d been doing more digging than just her transcript.
Melinda continued. “I’m concerned about this. About you.”
“What about me?”
“This idea you have about getting your master’s degree. You realize it’s not necessary for many positions.”
No doubt she expected Erin to be a secretary. “I understand, but I want to do this.” Not to mention she was already two years in and inches away from the finish line. “I believe it will help me achieve my long-term goals.”
“Hmm. I’ve also had a look at your financial records. That’s a large amount of debt, the loans that cover what the scholarship didn’t. Is that really something you want to saddle yourself with so early in your career? You’re very young.”
