The Not Gate (Tom and Alice #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

her small frame in gentle waves. He was a grown man, an experienced teacher, yet he felt nervous.
    ‘Right, Alice would you like to explain to me why you were about twenty minutes late for my lesson yesterday, eating in class today and no homework to hand in?’ he smiled slightly, trying to soften his words. Because looking at her pained expression and the fact she wouldn’t look at him – she appeared much more nervous than he felt.
    She’s beautiful…
    Pervert.
    ‘Um,’ she fidgeted, ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘What do you mean you don’t know?’ he smiled again trying to coax it out of her. If she had been anyone else, by now he would have lost it, but for the life of him he couldn’t raise his voice to this little creature.
    ‘I just, I…’ she wrung her hands together, ‘I just felt like you didn’t want me in your class, that I had done something to annoy you. You never speak to me?’ she said, lifting her chin and meeting his eyes directly, close up and desperately intimate for only the second time in more than a month .
    Fuck.
    Thatwas his first thought. He was actually… fuck, he was actually crazy and the sudden rush of blood had his penis trying to tell him something he didn’t ever want to hear.
    Her eyes were so amazing, but not just her eyes, her whole face. Her crystal clear skin, little pixie nose and her full wide mouth. She looked so close to tears, but there was steel in her expression. He had to look away again as he was on the verge of obvious and instant arousal. Thank god the desk was between them.
    ‘Alice, why do you think I don’t want you in my class?’ he asked, willing his voice not to give him away.
    She looked at him again, forcing him to meet her gaze and shrugged.
    ‘Well, you never talk to me and I always feel like you avoid me. I’m sorry about that first day in registration, I wasn’t deliberately trying to disobey you. I was just wat…’ the words fell from her like she had opened a flood gate, then stopped suddenly.
    ‘Of course I don’t avoid you, Alice.’
    ‘I love English, sir. I chose to do it for A-level because it’s important to me. I feel a bit like what’s the point in…’
    Tom lifted his index finger up towards her lips mid-sentence to stop her from saying more. It was a totally instinctive thing to do as he watched her lips move with the words that so clearly had upset her. His hand froze an inch from the soft cushions and a split second later the reality of what he had nearly done hit him.
    He pulled his hand back too fast and thought he let out a low groan. The surprise on Alice’s face was instant.
    Oh my god what the fuck have I done?
    ‘I’m so sorry Alice, you were just getting upset and…’ he could feel his face getting redder as he carried on. So afraid she would run from the room screaming. Cover it, he had to cover it quickly.
    ‘Of course I like you. You’re such a good student, always great in class. I’m sorry if I gave that impression, but really it couldn’t be further from the truth.’
    Tom didn’t know what had angered him the most? Alice’s belief he hated her or the fact that he had nearly touched a student in a way that could be deemed wholly inappropriate.
    He looked at her now, needing to gauge how she felt about what had just happened. Jesus, he was sweating.
    She looked at him directly again and smiled.
    She wasn’t afraid.
    ‘I’m sorry sir,’ she breathed lightly. He felt like she was looking into his soul, reading all the things he was trying to hide from her.
    ‘You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s my stupid fault not paying enough attention to a student’s needs… new school and all that? But it’s no excuse,’ he looked at her solemnly trying to remove any hint of emotion from his voice.
    ‘I did write the essay and I’ll hand it in tomorrow. I’m sorry for being childish,’ she blushed and he wanted to grab her. He wanted to grab her and make her blush all over that little body.
    Why