Page 59 of Lessons in Cruelty

Then she looks out her window again, her head bobbing as I switch the Tesla into drive and head out of the lot. As my eyes go back to the road, her lips move like she’s repeating my name quietly to herself.

Lies are cheap. Lies are easy.

I grew bored with them early in life.

I much prefer toying with the truth. Twisting it, bending it, pulling it until it snaps.

Logically, I would never risk my reputation with an unwilling student. But the urge to toy with Haven is forcing me to change the narrative. And it wouldn’t be the first time.

It’s called a compulsion for a reason.

Now that she finally thinks she’s safe with me, it’s time to blur the line between safety and danger, hope and fear.

And fuck, I can’t wait to see her pretty blue eyes darken when she realizes her savior is a wolf that’s merely wrapped itself in lamb’s wool…still bloody from its last kill.

Chapter 16

Haven

Why did I get in Professor Rooke’s car?

I heard the alarm bells clanging in my head like the building was on fire, but I ignored them and climbed in. Yes, I’ve just done something wildly idiotic. And as much as I’d love to wallow in my stupidity, I’d have to stop crushing on my professor first.

Bastian drives like an expert. Every move he makes is graceful and immaculate and scarily precise. Eyes lock on the road until we stop at an intersection.

We’re as silent as his electric car as it speeds down the college’s tree-lined driveway. I’m taking turns watching the trees blur, staring at the car’s gorgeous minimalist interior, and peeking glances at Bastian’s arm muscles as he steers.

He took off his jacket midway through class today. Coincidentally, around the time I began zoning out.

As if reading my mind, Bastian says, “How did you find today’s lecture? Was there enough context, even without reading the assigned chapters?”

The intersection at the end of the college’s drive is a four-way stop, one of them a blind rise. Bastian stops his car to check for oncoming traffic, making eye contact that I break with a nervous chuckle.

“Uh, yeah, it was good. Actually made me keen to read the book.” I hear what I just said and cringe as he turns onto the road. “I mean, not that I wasn’t keen already, just⁠—“

“Fuck!”

Bastian slams on the brakes and swerves to the side. The Tesla isn’t going fast, but some kind of automatic braking system kicks in because we stop so suddenly my head jerks forward.

A truck blasts its horn at us as it whooshes past inches from my door.

My hand is on my heart, blood draining from my face.

“God,” I whisper. “It almost fucking hit us.”

“You okay?” Bastian leans over to me, craning to look at my face. “Haven.”

“Yeah, sorry. Just, just got a fright. Look.” I hold out my hand so he can see how I’m shaking.

“Jesus, he could have killed you.” His hand engulfs mine, thumb pressing into my palm where my pulse hammers. For a moment, his grip tightens, possessive and almost angry, before he releases me like I’ve burned him.

“Shit like that makes my fucking blood boil.” His voice drops to something dangerous. “The thought of you getting hurt…”

He doesn’t finish, but the way his knuckles whiten on the steering wheel tells me everything.

A hot flush spreads through me. I’ve never seen someone react that way before. Not toward me, anyway. Except Kai, but this feels much different.

Bastian shakes his head as he carefully guides his Tesla back on the road and gives me a tight smile when our eyes meet.