Chapter 54

Joseph’s POV

It wasn’t a secret that Tessa was uncomfortable since this afternoon when Emily Thorton barged into my office. She doesn’t have a good poker face and I knew there might have been a little jealousy involved.

Tessa was quiet for most of the class, but usually, she jumps at the opportunity to answer my questions and provide her unasked-for input. But in this case, she kept her eyes on her desk and did her assignments quietly without a single peep from her pretty little mouth.

I jumped at the opportunity to tease her once we were alone.

I wanted her to admit that she was a little jealous. I kept my body pressed against hers and her eyes were fixated on mine.

Her breathing had become harsh and the area around her nose and cheeks were completely red.

It was cute, I will admit.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s been going on with you today?” I asked her again, my eyes drifting down to her lips that she was chewing on violently.

“Professor, this is highly inappropriate,” she managed to croak, shimmering herself away from me.

I didn’t fight her, and I allowed her to get away. But I wasn’t going to allow her to leave the room. I stepped in front of the door, blocking her from leaving.

She narrowed her eyes at me and folded her arms across her chest.

“Do you make it a habit to keep your students, prisoner, in your classroom?”

She had jokes.

“Only when I’m influenced by the scent of their blood.”

Her face reddened even more.

“Does that happen often?” She asked, raising only one brow.

“No,” I answered.

“And Emily Thorton… are you attracted to her blood?”

I couldn’t help the smile that twitched at the corner of my lips. I was getting closer to getting the truth from her and I knew exactly what she was itching for.

She wanted to know if I was attracted to Emily.

I’ll admit that she’s a pretty girl. She was also a brilliant writer and had a lot of good ideas and opinions when it came to fantasy. We spent a better part of the afternoon discussing various fantasy-related topics.

But I’m not so much attracted to her as I am inspired by her.

I don’t find many humans attractive, especially during this current life of mine.

In fact, the first human I ever found truly attractive since my marriage, was standing right in front of me.

“No,” I answered after a pause.

She let out a short breath and turned.

“Okay then,” she breathed. “We should go.”

I was about to say something more but decided it was probably better if I didn’t. I watched from a short distance as she opened the office door and to both of our surprise, Emily stood outside, staring at both of us surprised.

“Sorry, I was just about to knock. You weren’t in your office, so I figured you were here,” she said, giving me a light laugh.

I might not have been attracted to her, but it was obvious that she was attracted to me. Maybe that was what Tessa was sensing and that’s what caused her discomfort.

I noticed she was holding a book against her chest.

“Hello, Tessa,” she said fondly.

“Hello,” Tessa said in return, trying to also be polite as she stepped around Emily.

Without another word, she started down the hallway.

Not sure where she was planning on going, I was her ride after all.

“I’m sorry to keep bothering you. But I have this book I thought you’d like to read. I figured you can read some and we can discuss it?”

I looked at the book title and nodded. I wasn’t going to tell her that I had already read this book before. I took it and smiled at her.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to read this.”

She beamed at my words and turned away.

Once she was gone, I went to catch up with Tessa.

…

Tessa’s POV

As Ruby had said, I couldn’t let someone as pretty as Emily Thorton destroy my self-esteem. I was still the one living in Joseph’s house and I was still the one he was trying hard to protect.

I decided to wake up early the next morning so I could make Joseph some lunch for the afternoon. He didn’t have class tonight, but he would be at the school anyways and he was going to need something to eat in between his napping.

Joseph was in his study when I went into the kitchen and started to make him lunch. I wasn’t exactly sure what he would typically eat for lunch, but I decided to make something he wouldn’t need to use a microwave for considering the microwave was in the break room and he typically tried to avoid the break room at all costs.

I cut some lettuce and veggies to form a salad and added a little dressing on the side. Then I added a bowl of fresh fruit for dessert along with a water bottle.

I grabbed a fresh loaf of bread and started to make half a turkey sandwich, using the leftover lettuce and tomatoes from the salad.

Once I was done making the lunch, I put everything in one of the many lunchboxes that he kept in a cabinet.

Why he had so many, I had no idea.

I put an icepack in the lunchbox and then put the whole thing into my backpack.

It was a surprise for later.

I was going to go to his office during lunchtime with it.

It wasn’t much of anything, but hopefully, it would show him my appreciation.

Like every morning, I drove Joseph’s car with Joseph hiding in the backseat, shielding himself from the sun. Once we got to the school, we parted ways instantly.

“Did you two talk at all about his relationship with Emily?” Ruby asked as we made our way to our locker after our third class of the day.

“There’s nothing to talk about. There is no relationship,” I said in return.

“I went to her classroom earlier so I could ask her a question. She told me I could stop by at any time if I ever thought of anything more, I wanted to ask. She was on the phone though when I entered, and I heard her talking about this cute professor that teaches in the classroom next to hers. I’m assuming she was talking about Joseph.”

Her words caused me to pause, and that unsettled feeling returned to my stomach.

Maybe I should have told Joseph the truth about how I was feeling when it came to their friendship. But it’s not like I could tell Joseph who he can and can’t be friends with.

“It’s almost lunchtime. Are you going to his office for lunch again?” She asked once it was clear I wasn’t going to say anything regarding her last statement.

That reminded me that I packed lunch for him.

“I’m going to see him. But I’m not going to stay and have lunch with him. I was only there yesterday because he wanted to discuss an assignment.”

Ruby chuckled.

“Sure,” she said, but she didn’t sound convinced.

“I’m serious, Ruby.”

She laughed again but didn’t argue.

“Then, I’ll see you in the lunchroom.”

She disappeared down the hallway shortly after.

I went to my locker and grabbed the lunchbox with the lunch I made for Joseph. I just hoped that he liked it.

I was about to go upstairs to the faculty offices, but I paused when I saw Emily walking into Joseph’s classroom.