Chapter 91

Joseph’s POV

Tessa remained in my mind for the rest of the day. I was having trouble concentrating on my work, which was exactly what I didn’t want.

The painful expression on her face, when Emily walked into my office, was engraved in my mind. I wanted to explain to Tessa that nothing was going on between Emily and me. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and comfort her more than anything. Her scent lingered in my office, relaxing my entire body.

I wanted to feel her, to touch her, and to kiss her. I wanted to bend her over my desk and have my way with her. But I had to restrain myself. Especially while we were at school.

I struggled to brush that thought out of my head, but eventually, I did and was able to finish my work before class time.

Emily stood outside her classroom as she often did so she could greet her students as they walked in. She too had a night class, claiming that it was easier for her because she didn’t like waking up early. She didn’t meet my eyes or greet me as she often does. Instead, she kept her eyes fixated on the ground as I approached.

“Have a nice class today,” I said to her, stopping beside her before entering my room.

A pained smile appeared on her hollow expression.

“You too,” she said without looking at me.

It was probably better this way. I vowed to myself long ago that I wouldn’t have any more human friends. A human life is fragile and temporary. I had gone through too many losses in my lifetimes, and I didn’t want to go through any more of it.

I broke that rule when I decided to befriend Tessa. But there’s something in me that’s telling me there’s something different about her. She’s special.

Tessa was already in the classroom when I arrived. She sat in her usual spot in the back of the class with her best friend Ruby. The girls were whispering to one another, trying to be discreet, but I could hear them as if they were right next to me.

“Maybe it’s a misunderstanding,” Ruby whispered. “You don’t know if they planned on having lunch together. You left before you could find out.”

Ruby was very smart. I liked her. She made a good friend to Tessa.

“She just seemed really comfortable bringing him lunch. It’s also not the first time she’s done it,” Tessa murmured in response.

“But didn’t he invite you for lunch?”

Tessa was quiet for a moment, but then she nodded.

“Emily would be really good for him,” she said sadly. “She’s beautiful, older, intelligent.”

“You are also beautiful and intelligent,” Ruby said folding her arms across her chest. “Don’t think you aren’t.”

Tessa wanted to respond, but her eyes traveled to me, and they widened. From the look on her face, she knew I was listening.

Her lips pressed in a firm line, and I saw her cheeks growing pink. I had to stifle a smile as I turned to the rest of the class to begin today’s lesson.

I often used my old persona, Christopher Moore, as an example in my class. My students related to his writing the most and enjoyed talking about him. I also enjoyed talking about him. He was my first identity and for a long time, the only identity that I knew. I was told by the man who turned me, that after a long time, I’d have to change my name and story. He told me to not share many pictures of me so people wouldn’t grow suspicious as to how I’m still alive.

Anything and everything about my old personal life has been removed from the internet. Which was easy considering the internet wasn’t a thing back then. So, I didn’t have many pictures of me online.

For today’s class, I brought one of Christopher Moore’s best-selling books. I read a couple of chapters and asked for their takeaway.

Per usual, Tessa was the first to answer and her answer never fell short of amazing.

As class came to an end, I gave them their assignments to work on before our next class and then dismissed them. Tessa met my eyes just as she was packing up her things and I could tell there were things she wanted to say before she left for the evening.

I kept her eye contact and sat at my desk, indicating that I wasn’t going anywhere and that if she’d like to stay to talk, she could.

She turned to Ruby who had asked if she wanted a ride home.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” she said, giving Ruby a faint and yet nervous smile.

Ruby glanced in my direction before looking back at Tessa.

“Just be careful,” she whispered in return, giving Tessa a quick hug before she left the room.

Soon, it was just the two of us.

“Hey…” she said as she approached my desk. “That was a really good class today.”

“Glad you enjoyed it,” I said in return, leaning back in my seat and staring up at her.

Her nearness was intoxicating. I wanted to reach out and grab her arm, pulling her in my arms. I wanted to nuzzle my nose against the nape of her neck and run my fingers through her long silky hair. I wanted her to moan my name as I bent her over this desk and…

“How was your lunch with Emily?” She asked, cutting into my dirty thoughts.

I arched an eyebrow at her question, assessing her distressed face.

“I didn’t have lunch with Emily,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

She looked surprised at my answer.

“Oh, I just assumed—”

“I’m aware of what you assumed. I invite you to lunch so we can talk. But I hardly got to say anything before you ran off,” I said, eyeing her carefully.

Her face fell.

“I’m sorry…” she breathed. “I guess I just thought that you had plans with Emily and forgot.”

“I don’t forget about plans.”

“I see…”

“I’d still like to have that conversation,” I said, staring around her face as she lifted her gaze to meet mine. “Can I drive you home?”

She gave me a small smile and then nodded.

I packed up my briefcase before standing to my feet, motioning for her to follow me. She did so eagerly. She followed closely behind me as we left the classroom. The halls were now vacant, and the parking lot was practically empty except for a few random cars sitting in the spaces.

My car was across the parking lot. Once we got to the car, she threw her things in the backseat and made herself comfortable in the passenger seat as if she’d done this a million times.

Technically she has.

It made me smile seeing how comfortable she was.

I was going to wait until we returned to her place to speak, but after a minute of silence, her small voice sounded from beside me.

“Do you regret it?”

I glanced over at her before fixing my eyes back on the road.

“Regret what?”

She was quiet for a moment longer before she said, “Having sex with me the other night…”

Now it was my turn to stay silent for a moment as I thought about the answer to her question. Did I regret it? I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. The feeling of having her so close to me, tasting her, being inside of her and hearing her moan my name.

A warmth spread through me at the very thought.

“No,” I finally answered. “I don’t regret it.”

A smile tugged at her lips.

I parked the car in the lot in front of her apartment building and looked over at her.

“By getting involved with me, you realize you put yourself in danger, right?”

“You are worth that risk,” she shrugged. “I’d conquer a million new vampires for you.”

I smiled at her boldness. I always admired her non-filtered mouth. She didn’t hold back when it came to her feelings.

“The mountains where I live aren’t a place for a human to live. As much as I trust my tribe, it could be dangerous.”

She was quiet. She stared down at her hands, tugging her fingers nervously.

“I’ll be returning after this semester because my job here is done for right now,” I continued. “I’ll also be returning there in a couple of weeks for spring break.”

She nodded, understanding. But I could see the utter pain on her face. This was exactly what I didn’t want. This is why I didn’t want to get involved with a human. They are fragile.

“But if you really want to try…” I began, knowing damn well I was going to regret this decision. “Then come with me for spring break.”