My Werewolf Professor (19 page)

Her eyebrows shot up.

Taking her notebook from her desk, he handed it to Kassia, and at her wide-eyed look of confusion, he said silkily, “A kiss…for every correct answer.” His voice turned down a notch. “And if you get
everything
right, I’ll kiss you…”

Before she could even blink, the professor’s hand was suddenly cupping her sex, and the sudden, powerful heat of his touch made her brain go haywire.

Oh. God. So. Hot.

Her sex throbbed hard.

“Right here, Ms. Summers.” The professor gripped her pussy hard as he spoke, and Kassia started seeing stars again. “Get every answer correct, and I’ll kiss you here, my head between your legs, my tongue inside your pussy, and I’m going to make you come so hard…”

He stopped.

Her pussy on fire, she didn’t hesitate, whimpering, “Let’s start studying now, Professor.” He laughed, but she didn’t mind. She wanted that reward.
 

****

It was four in the morning, Kassia in his arms, having succumbed to a deep, exhausted sleep after coming three times in succession, when Alessandro’s phone played a tune that warned him of imminent danger. It was his security team’s ringtone, and only an emergency would have them calling him at this time of the day.

Careful not to wake her, Alessandro disentangled himself from Kassia before reaching for his phone on the desk. Answering the call, he asked abruptly, “Tell me the worst of it.”

His security head obliged with a concise report, and Alessandro mentally swore. It was another planned ambush against Domenico, and if he wanted to prevent it, he would have to leave now.

Perhaps he could tell Alejandro about it and let his twin fight the bastards. But then, Alejandro had his own troubles to deal with, especially if the rumors about the panther princess his twin was currently serving were true.

Maybe he should let it be
, he thought broodingly. It wasn’t his fight anyway. But even as the thought occurred to him, Alessandro knew his honor wouldn’t allow him to simply do nothing.
 

If he turned his back on this, Alessandro was certain his brother would only allow himself to get beaten up. The thought was galling, even more so when he imagined weak, pretentious bullies of his race being able to truthfully claim that they had trashed the great Domenico Moretti to within an inch of his life.

No goddamn way.

Domenico might not give a damn about his pride or that of his pack, but Alessandro did.

In less than a minute, he was out of Kassia’s room, once again using her window to leave, and on his way to where the ambush was set to take place, an intersection far from the city, with only darkness and shadows as witnesses for what could be a bloody exchange.
 

Alessandro arrived just in time, his Lyccan senses allowing him to see everything even from afar. There were a dozen of them, and they smelled of cowardice and intoxication, a combination that Alessandro had always found repulsive. Even so, he didn’t let himself underestimate the threat they posed, having also smelled the weapons they had armed themselves with. Every one of them had guns, and each was loaded with silver-coated bullets.

Alessandro watched the group of Lyccans force Domenico’s limousine to a stop as they landed in front of the vehicle. The limousine’s wheels screeched as Domenico’s driver slammed on the brakes.

A second later, Domenico stepped out of the limousine alone. It was expected, and Alessandro knew his brother had ordered his chauffeur to stand down, a command that no Moretti soldier would be able to disobey without risking exile from the pack.

“What is your purpose for blocking our way?”

The other Lyccans laughed jeeringly at his brother’s polite tone, and one of them even mockingly imitated his tone. “Our purpose, Your Highness, is to rid the world of dogs like you.”

Domenico’s expression didn’t change, and neither did his tone. “I see.”
 

It angered the other Lyccan, who had obviously been hoping to see Domenico cower. He spat at Domenico. “Fucking dog.” When Domenico didn’t react, his fury turned into triumph, and Alessandro knew it was because the other Lyccan had realized all the rumors were true.

Domenico wasn’t going to fight.

The other Lyccan laughed. “Fucking wimp.” He spat at Domenico again.

Alessandro saw red.

Domenico might not be willing to fight, but he was.

The other Lyccan turned towards his companions. “Let’s teach this dog a lesson, boys.” None of them moved, fear flickering in their eyes, and he scowled. “What the hell? Didn’t you see? He’s nothing to be afraid of!”

He turned to face Domenico again, and that was when he saw Alessandro standing behind him.

Alessandro bared his teeth in a smile. “Perhaps this will make you feel fear.” He drove his fist into the bastard’s face, and at the sound of his cry of pain, pandemonium erupted, and the other Lyccans began firing at Alessandro and Domenico.
 

Either of them would be down for the count if any of the silver bullets hit them, but panic and fear made their opponents sloppy. In silent, mutual agreement, Alessandro and his brother worked in tandem, shifting into Lyccan form for added strength and speed. Twisting and leaping to avoid the rain of bullets, they loped towards the other Lyccans. They took the bastards down one by one, landing powerful kicks direct at the head to knock them unconscious with one blow.

When it was over, Domenico and Alessandro returned to human form and changed back into their clothes.
 

“You will ride with me.” Domenico’s words were more a statement than a question. Normally Alessandro would have bristled at it, but now he realized a combination of tiredness and anger had made him almost numb. He only nodded and listened quietly as Domenico followed protocol to ensure that the unconscious Lyccans they were leaving behind them wouldn’t wake up in a human hospital and their blood samples revealing their non-human lineage.

When Domenico finished his call, he looked at his younger brother, saying quietly, “Thank you.”

The words only made Alessandro bitter. “I’ve tried, you know.” He shook his head grimly. “I’ve fucking tried to understand where you’re coming from, but I just don’t see the goddamn point of making yourself look pathetic and weak even when you’re not.”

Regret darkened his brother’s gaze, but instead of answering him, Domenico asked in the same quiet tone, “Is this about Esmeralda?”

Alessandro wondered why he was even surprised that Domenico already knew about their sister’s trouble. “So you know she was suspended because of you?”

“Yes.”

Again, there was no apology, and Alessandro found himself exploding. “Why won’t you fucking fight?
Why?
Do you love Misty so much that you no longer love your own family? Your pack? Does your own honor no longer matter?”

“It does, Alessandro. It is for my honor that I’m doing this. It is because I love my pack, you and the rest of our family, and yes, it is because I love Misty that I am doing this. I know you believe I was…
emotionally
stronger before, but I wasn’t. My arrogance, my need for vengeance – all of it made me weak, and it was only when my wife disappeared that I realized the truth. And that is why I’m doing all of this. It may not seem so, but the penance I’ve subjected myself to is also meant to make me stronger.” Domenico’s voice turned steely. “I’m doing this to be strong for everyone depending on me—”

Alessandro cut his brother off, snapping, “Letting someone spit on your face will make you stronger?”

“
Yes.
”

“Bullshit.”

His brother didn’t flinch, and the patient expression on his face didn’t change. It was like talking to Buddha, Domenico powerful and resilient in his peace, and Alessandro’s fists clenched in vicious frustration.

Without looking at his brother, he told the chauffeur to stop driving, and only when he was out of the limousine did Alessandro force himself to relax. If Domenico had prevented him from leaving, Alessandro had a feeling the two of them would end up coming to blows, something he was determined to avoid as long as he could help it.

It was only six in the morning when he made it back to Kassia’s dorm room, using his Lyccan speed to escape detection. The room, however, was empty, making Alessandro frown.

“Kassia?” He still opened the door to the bathroom, even though his sense of smell told him that she wasn’t in it. He paused by the doorway as he caught the faintest scent of something terribly familiar. He stepped into the bathroom, and the scent grew stronger. He scanned the room with intense concentration, and his gaze eventually fell on the tank top lying discarded atop the sink.

He picked it up, and that was when he realized what the scent was.

It was the smell of her tears.

Alessandro gazed down at Kassia’s top, and his agile mind fit the puzzle pieces together until it painted a picture that made his face whiten.

Kassia waking up, thinking he would be with her, but again finding him gone—

Kassia calling his phone, but again finding her calls ignored—

Kassia crying—

Fuck.

The thought of Kassia hurting made Alessandro’s fingers close over the fabric, his grip painfully hard as he struggled to stay in control.

He would find her, would do everything to convince her that he wasn’t playing with her.
And she would believe him
, he told himself. She had to.

****

She sensed the professor even without seeing him. It was as if every cell of her body was programmed to sense his presence, with the way her skin suddenly tingled and her incredibly naïve heart started thumping erratically against her chest.

 
Kassia stumbled, and beside her Jacob swiftly pulled her back before she could fall. His grip on her hand was firm and gentle, protective and possessive at the same time. “You okay?”
 

Looking up into his eyes, she found herself nodding, and before she could think of what she was doing, she was already twining her fingers with his.

It was the first time Kassia had done something like it, and Jacob sucked in his breath as he struggled not to lose his cool. He had always had a crush on Kassia, and the thought that something might finally happen between them made blood rush to his groin.

“Shall we go?” His voice was thick with ill-suppressed desire.

Panic threatened to make her lose consciousness, but she fought to stay calm even as her body rebelled against having another man other than the professor hold her hand. She was going to get used to this soon enough.
It was just a matter of time
, she told herself as she forced a smile on her lips for Jacob’s sake.

They started walking again, but they had only taken a few steps when Jacob remarked in surprise that Professor Moretti appeared to be heading their way.

“R-really?” She desperately kept her gaze trained on Jacob’s face.

Jacob nodded. “Yup. I didn’t realize he was also assigned to go with us for the day trip.” Around them, the buzz that usually surrounded the professor had started. The whispers, the sighs, and oh, dozens of phones clicking as the other female students took photos of the him.

Jacob suddenly stopped walking, forcing her to halt next to him. “What is it?” She tried to keep herself from sounding uneasy.

“I really think the professor’s about to talk to you. Are you in danger of flunking his class?” Jacob frowned. “You know you’re not allowed to attend today’s trip if you have a class where your current average’s 1.5 or below, right?”

Kassia bit her lip.
Crap.
Actually, she hadn’t known about that at all, and the worst thing was, her current average in the professor’s class might just be 1.5. Taking a deep breath, she mentally steeled herself before slowly raising her gaze to the professor.

Even so, the impact of his green eyes clashing with hers was like being struck by lightning, and her body trembled. She watched the professor’s gaze travel down until it rested on the hand that Jacob was still holding.

She saw his lips tighten.

Tears stung her eyes.
He was just playing around
, she told herself fiercely.
He’s been playing with you from the start, and it’s time to accept it.

****