I’m still so disturbed at the thought of all those girls vying for the attention of what’s mine that her question doesn’t even make me blush.
“Shirtless guys with tattoos who like to wear leather are more my thing,” I say with a one-shouldered shrug.
“You could be right,” Charlotte replies. “Imagine shagging a guy as strict as Professor Segul.”
A shiver runs down my spine, threatening to tighten my nipples and make my clit throb. I push it away with a firm shake of my head.
“Stop.”
She giggles. “He’s not that bad.”
He is, but not in the way she’s assuming. Even though what I’m saying out loud is the truth, and we’re talking at cross purposes, I still can’t stand to have anyone misinterpret my reactions as revulsion.
“I’ve been avoiding the mob trying to cancel him,” I murmur. “Do you know what’s happening with them?”
“It all went quiet when he called their bluff.” She takes a long drink of her Baileys latte and sighs.
A loud noise from a speaker makes us both jump, and we turn our attention to the stage. A long-haired guy I recognize from wrestling with Veer presses his foot on a pedalboard as he makes a noise with his guitar.
“Hey babe,” he says to Charlotte.
She flips her blonde hair. “Oh, hi Axel. Are you playing tonight?”
I tune out their flirtation and sweep my gaze across the other booths. Athena Belus flashes her eyes at me from where she sits with the Grace cousins. I stare back with my brows raised as though to ask why she’s looking at me like I pissed in her peppermint tea.
She huffs and glances toward the stage.
My lips tighten. I’ve never crossed paths with Athena and never cared to. She usually just associates with people affiliated with the Olympians. I’m pretty sure she’s either the daughter or step-daughter of their leader, Uranos, while the other girls are related to his lieutenants.
She’s annoyed enough with me for refusing to be her spokesperson in her crusade against the professor. Since I don’t want to start a feud, I take my gaze off her and turn it around the café.
I spot people from Economics classes, Finance, Marketing, and Organizational Psychology. Marina University only teaches business skills, but there are a few student societies where people learn fun things like hunting and archery. I keep sweeping my gaze over the booths until I reach one at the end.
Dr. Xander raises his hand and waves at someone up at the front. I’m guessing it’s the guy onstage messing around with a pedalboard. Next to him sits the Marketing lecturer, Dr. Raring, who wears a red dress with a ridiculously low neckline.
I huff a laugh that she’s making so much of an effort for a date with our economics lecturer until a dark figure arrives with a tray of drinks. He wears black trousers with a matching shirt and belt that accentuate his muscular form. The only pop of color on him comes from his bronze skin and brown watch.
Shit.
Professor Segul canceled our Saturday night fuck-fest for this?
ChapterTwenty-Five
MARIUS
Tonight will be tedious, but it’s a necessary step toward my plan. I can only hope that Tin Soldiers on Pluto is talented enough to warrant a concert outside the university campus.
It takes a minute or so of wandering the hallway to find Dr. Xander’s office. From the way he talked about his friendship with Professor Eckhart, one would have thought them neighbors.
I knock, expecting him to answer straight away. When he doesn’t, I check my watch. My younger self might have barged in like I owned the entire hallway but what an academic does in the privacy of his office is sacred.
And I’m not just saying that because of the amount of times I’ve had Phoenix on her knees. Unfortunately, no. No matter how many times I try, I still can’t erase the image of my first supervisor sitting in his shirtsleeves wrapping twine around his balls while he wanked.
“For goodness sake,” I mutter to myself and knock on the door once more.
Dr. Xander answers it, his cheeks flushed.
I had been right to exercise caution. The man’s eyes sparkle with a suspicious gleam of satisfaction. I move back a step, in case he draws in for a hug, but he just bounces on his feet and grins.