I paused, trying to keep my pulse steady despite the stimulant racing through my veins. Reeves watched me with those penetrating ruby eyes, waiting for my answer. For my demonstration.
My life had become an absolute circus of complications. I had Mera and Cheon waiting at home, Aurora playing hot and cold, Noel threatening me one minute and kissing me the next, and now this—a professor whose hands were currently raising my skin temperature to what felt like a low-grade fever.
And she wanted me to show her how my drain worked.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, catching her wrist as her fingers traced down my neck.
"Why not?" Her voice had dropped into a register I hadn't heard before—lower, with a hint of that Scottish accent breaking through. "Because I'm your professor?"
"That's definitely on the list."
"What else is on this list?"
I could feel her pulse beneath my fingers, steady and strong. The glowing red lines on her arms pulsed in sync with it.
