Nocticadia

by Keri Lake

I plucked a piece of lint from my black slacks and offered a small but insincere smile.

RHYS BABY??? Is that YOU!!?

“What separates monsters from good men is only a matter of perspective. In your eyes, I’m a sick fuck for what I’ve done to you. But I, on the other hand, see you as a parasite.”

Copper colored eyes, set beneath long, black lashes and a naturally stern brow, stared back at me. The shift of his jaw dragged my attention toward the perfection of his profile, sharp and angular and shadowed in a light stubble. A shivering warmth scattered beneath my skin and fluttered in my chest, as he gave an aloof blink of his bedroom eyes before turning back toward the voice.

Oh yeah he hot

In his black, button-down shirt, black slacks, and black, finger-raked hair, he looked like an ominous shadow moving through the lecture hall with the kind of lethal grace that had undoubtedly obliterated a few hearts.

Rhyyyys

“Do not question my decisions as they relate to my class. Miss Vespertine is there because I allowed it, and because I think she’ll excel.” “Really?” Realizing I’d spoken aloud, I slapped a hand over my face, the panic shooting through my muscles like jolts of electricity. Peering through the gap showed no indication that either had heard me, though. They didn’t offer so much as a glance in my direction, thank God.

Girl you almost got GOT

“That is the tragedy of women, isn’t it? We deny ourselves beauty for the sake of misleading men.”

Truuuue

“The wealthy possess an insatiable appetite for the rare and priceless. They stare because you’re the only thing worth staring at.”

I’d never wanted anything so badly in my life. Calling her beautiful was like calling the sun lukewarm. She’d blazed like the hottest part of a flame in that dress. And fuck me, I’d felt the heat.

“Under different circumstances …” The pause in his words carried a laborious heartbeat that smothered my own, as I watched the slightest smile play on his lips. A beat of hesitation. “I might’ve pursued you.”

Ooh

“There was … the briefest moment … when I was running toward that room. Your screams had silenced. And I thought—“ Lips pressed to a hard line, he flashed me a sullen scowl that tore at my heart. He shook his head, refusing to say it. “That was the first time I truly felt that something could hurt me. That I could be brought to my knees. I don’t ever want to feel that again, Lilia.”