The class went louder than acceptable. Thankful that their desks and chairs were bolted to the floor or else it’d have been a real, chaotic riot in here, I tapped the surface of my desk twice hard enough to make enough noise to gain their attention. That, along with the guard striding toward me, raising his voice at them in warning, releasing his baton, brought the class under control again.
“All right. From now on, no word sparring in class, please,” I said, feeling comfortable to walk around again. “If you feel the urge to swear, nonetheless, don’t say it but write it down in your notebook. One single sentence to sum it all up, and to make it challenging enough, no F word allowed. Now back to your assignment. You have exactly four more minutes to finish up.”
I went over to Laniakea to let him finally ask his question. Then, on the way back to my desk, I couldn’t resist taking a peek at what Laius was writing now in his notebook since he was already done with the assignment.
“Thou art a boil, a plague sore, an embossed carbuncle in my corrupted blood,” I read quietly, my skin tingling with every word.
“It’s not meant for you,Miss Meneceo.”
His voice, low and so very masculine, vibrated through my core. The Italian accent he played with my name had my whole body buzzing. And with every warm breath he let fall on my wrist, an inexplicable throb of my heart hummed over my thoughts. I stood there, in his space, in the heat radiating from his body that was hotter than July’s air, speechless for a moment or two, even immobile.
“Art thou well,Miss Meneceo?” He let out a chuckle.
My head whipped up as I swallowed. The way he kept saying my name, in that accent, in that…voice… He might be speaking lightly or innocently, but by the smirk I caught on his plump lips, and the darkness of his gaze that was meant to keep everybody else away but, again, trapped me in, it felt intentional. He knew what he was doing, and I should have understood there wasn’t an ounce inFurorethat was innocent.
I cleared my throat, dragging my eyes and myself away. “You read King Lear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he suddenly drawled in a Southern accent.
I’d read in his file he was from Texas. Damn, he really didn’t have a single shred of innocence in his two-hundred pounds of tattoo-covered muscles. Christ, how many tattoos did he have? There were skulls and roses all over his sun-kissed arms, the visible part of his skin the chambray shirt allowed and even on his neck…back and front.
“Good for you.” Despite everything, I was genuinely impressed. To read one book was something. To read Shakespeare and understand it was something else. To quote from it and use it in proper context was extraordinary in such environment. “However, I feel you’re too advanced for my class. I still wonder why you elected to join us.” I’d made all the students write a passage or two about why they joined this class and what they hoped to gain from it on the first day, but Laius hadn’t been there yet, and I’d never gotten access to his intentions or goals.
Would he give me some bullshit about reformation and joining college, like most of the students had said, even though he was in his forties? Would he be honest like the very few that blatantly had said it was to help with their parole?
His stare drifted to the bars in the upper side of the wall. The only part of the room that allowed the sunlight in. The orange late afternoon speckles danced on his pupils and gave his dark blond hair the perfect shimmer. God, he was gorgeous. Strangely, I found myself wondering about his safety in a violent place such as prison.
Focus, Jo. He almost killed a man, and he’s the president of a notorious motorcycle club. He can take care of himself. Worry about your own safety, girl, because you obviously need it.
“I have my reasons,” he finally said.
Ambiguous much? “I’m very much interested in knowing what they are.”
His eyes returned to hold me in place. “I prefer not to share,Miss Meneceo.”
Son of a…I folded my arms over my chest, cocking a brow to deflect from the annoying throbbing in my heart and between my legs. “Well, you have to. Everybody else did when they first joined. You’re no exception.”
“And if I respectfully decline?”
I narrowed my gaze at him, even if he couldn’t see it. “You will not pass this class.”
CHAPTER 2
Furore
When she folded her arms over her chest, I could finally see a hint of the shape of her tits under that ugly suit she chose to wear whenever she came to class. Same style, different bleak colors. As if she’d gone to the most prudish store in San Francisco and bought the same suit in all available colors especially for San Quentin.
Today, the suit was gray. It hid everything her figure was supposed to show. She must have thought this place was full of dangerous monsters that didn’t have any pussy in a while, and a fucking suit was shapeless and wouldn’t flaunt her curves. At least, that was her logic because who the fuck wore a suit in July?
But in reality, even in that old school principal outfit, the brunette hiding behind those lame ass shades had curves she couldn’t hide even if she was wearing a potato sac. I bet every motherfucker in this room had been taking measures in their heads and beating their stinky little meat to them, even the fucking guard. I knew I had.
“You will not pass this class.” Her mouth was pressed into a hard line, daring me to defy her. And when she raised a brow, thinking she could play a power game with me, even threatening me, all I could think of was tossing those goddamn shades on the floor, looking her deep in the eyes—which by the way had a bet going what color they were—while my fingers fluttered inside her, and watching what fucking power she would have left to even stand straight and not fall to her knees.
I let my gaze travel lazily down her body and then back up until it crashed with her blushing cheeks. Even though she stood firm, not moving an inch, her skin was too fair to hide how flustered I’d made her feel.
My cock twitched against the denim to that attitude…and that fucking blush. Damn.
As if I’d just undressed her for real and not just with my eyes, she fixed her jacket. “I expect you have that assignment ready by next class.” She lifted her chin and sauntered back to her desk, blessing me with the sight of the sexiest curve to an ass I’d ever seen.