Crescent Love

Chapter Five

Hi!

Thanks to everyone for reading, commenting and voting on this story - it's so fun to write, and the support is great. I hope you like this next chapter, and leave me a comment letting me know if you liked it or not! =)

Thanks for reading!

Jessie x

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Perched on Mr. Galloway's sofa, my pulse hammered in my ears.

            When he had said we needed to talk in private, I had presumed we would be going to his office, or somewhere within the school at the very least. His home, well, it was a shock, and an extremely tidy one at that.  Everywhere was immaculately clean; the wooden floors pristine and waxed; his belongings neatly presented on the mantle and two bookshelves. His aftershave filled the air, pleasantly overrunning my senses, curbing my nerves, and I silently waited for him.

            The urge to get up and snoop around was like no other, but considering he was already annoyed with me, I didn't want to worsen my already potentially volatile situation. I was in his apartment with no witnesses, with a man I had seen knock men unconscious with his bare fists twice... This was why mothers told their children never to get in a car with a stranger. I was doomed, bluntly put.

            'I'm glad to see that temper of yours has calmed down,' Mr. Galloway said, abruptly stirring me from my thoughts.

            Holding a steaming mug of tea out to me, I hesitantly took it from him and gave it a cautionary sniff. 'You're not trying to poison me, are you?'

            Chuckling, he took a seat next to me on the sofa. 'Having saved you twice now, don't you think I deserve a little more credit than that?'

            All things considered, I had no idea.

            Licking my lips, I took a sip and yelped, sloshing tea all down the front of my shirt. My free hand jumped up to delicately touch my scolded lips, and I cursed under my breath as I glanced down at my blue top now soiled.

            'Let me,' he said, barely holding back his amused smirk. Taking the tea from me, he placed it down on the table and shook his head. 'You're even a danger to yourself.'

            'I'm fine,' I grumbled, tugging my wet top away from my skin. 'Damn it.'

            'I'll get you another top.'

            Before I could argue with him, he was already up out of his seat and disappearing through another door. I groaned in the back of my throat, feeling tears pool in my eyes. Frustration, anger, fear, and worse, attraction, had been growing in me throughout the entire day, and now, covered in hot tea, I was emotionally exhausted. I just wanted to go home, away from him. Couldn't he understand why bringing me to his home was inappropriate, least of all because he was my teacher?

            'Put this on,' he said, closing what I could only presume to be his bedroom door behind him. Holding a black T-Shirt towards me, he narrowed his eyes at me. 'I'm not taking no for an answer, Genevieve. The bathroom is through that door there,' he told me, motioning his head towards the door to my left. 'Go and change so that I can put your top in the dryer.'

            'You are bossy, aren't you?' I muttered. Releasing an exasperated sigh, I reluctantly took it from him and headed to the bathroom. Locking it behind me, I turned to look at myself in the mirror and bit my lip. Even his T-Shirt held his intoxicatingly appealing cologne; there was literally no escaping him now.