I move without rushing, my steps silent as I close the distance between us. By the time I'm standing in front of him, he hasn't fully noticed, his focus still on the call, his free hand resting absently against the desk. I let my fingers trail lightly over his hip, just enough to make him glance down, then our eyes meet, and something dark and hungry flickers in his gaze before he can hide it.
I don't give him time to react. My hands go to his belt, then the button of his trousers, the zipper easing down with a soft metallic whisper. His breath hitches, his words faltering as he looks down at me.
"No, I...yes, I'm still here," he forces out, his voice already tighter. "Just going over some...some notes."
I sink to my knees in front of him and his entire body tenses, his grip on the phone white-knuckled.
I take him into my mouth, slowly at first, letting my lips drag along his length before my tongue swirls around the tip. His breath shudders out, his free hand slamming against the desk so hard the wood groans.
"Mmhmm. Yes, I understand," he manages, but his voice is thick, his words clipped. The person on the other end keeps talking. Something about deadlines and meetings, but Julian's responses grow more fragmented. "I'll....yes, I'll have that to you by...by..." His hips jerk forward slightly as I take him deeper, my tongue pressing flat against the underside of him. A strangled sound catches in his throat and he clears it quickly, his fingers now moved from the desk to twisting into my hair.
"I'm sorry, could you...could you repeat that?" His voice is thin, strained. "No, no, it's fine. Just a...just a distraction. Yes."
I hollow my cheeks, pulling back before taking him fully again, and his breath stutters. His body is rigid, his muscles coiled tight, like he's fighting to keep still.
"I'll need to, yes, I'll call you back," he says abruptly, his voice breaking. "Something's come up. Yes. Thank you." The phone hits the receiver with a sharp thud, his hand trembling as he slams it down.
I don't stop. My mouth works him in long, slow strokes, my tongue teasing the sensitive ridge beneath the head before swirling around it again. His hips rock forward involuntarily, his breath coming in ragged bursts.
"Nova..." My name is a warning. "If you don't stop, I'll come in your mouth."
I ignore it, taking him deeper until his thighs tense and his fingers tighten in my hair. His body jerks as he comes, a low, guttural groan tearing from his throat, his release spilling over my tongue.
"Fuck," he breathes, his chest heaving as he looks down at me. I pull back slowly, swallowing before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. His gaze is fixed on me, dark and dazed, as though he's trying to memorize every second.
I rise to my feet, smoothing my skirt as if nothing happened. He reaches for me, his voice rough. "Nova, wait..."
I flash him a smile, light and knowing. "See you in the morning, Professor Harmon." Then I slip out the door, leaving him standing there. Breathless, undone, and aching for more.
I'm rounding the corner from his office wing when I see Chase Valemont walking toward the headmaster's section. Our eyes meet across the hallway.
He gives me a weird satisfied smile, like he knows something I don't. Like he's figured out a puzzle I didn't realize he was solving.
My high from Julian's office is replaced with a huge sense of dread.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The dread doesn't leave.
I walk back to my dorm with Chase's satisfied smile burned into my mind, replaying the moment our eyes met in the hallway. He knows something. Something bad. And whatever it is, he's already moving pieces into place like this is all just a game to him.
I should go straight to my room and sleep, but sleep feels impossible with this weight pressing on my chest and my mind spinning. Instead I find myself taking the long way back, needing air and space to think, to walk off this nervous energy before I can even consider lying down.
The campus is quiet at this hour. Most students are in their dorms or at the library cramming for tomorrow's exams, and the few I pass keep their heads down and don't make eye contact, though I catch them glancing at the claiming bite on my shoulder before quickly looking away. Let them stare. I'm past caring what anyone thinks.
I'm cutting through the edge of campus near the forest line when I hear footsteps behind me.
Fast. Too fast.
I start to turn but don't make it halfway before a hand clamps over my mouth and an arm wraps around my waist, jerking me backward with brutal force. My scream dies against his palm as he drags me toward the tree line, my feet kicking uselessly as I try to find purchase on the ground.
"Stop fighting," Chase Valemont hisses in my ear, his grip tightening until I can barely breathe. "This will go easier if you cooperate. I saw you with that professor, by the way. Harmon. He'll be dealt with separately once I have you secured."
I thrash harder, clawing at his arm with my nails and trying to bite the hand covering my mouth. He responds by slamming me against a tree trunk hard enough that stars explode across my vision and my legs nearly give out beneath me.
"I said stop." His voice is ice and his hand moves from my mouth to my throat, squeezing just enough to make his point. "I followed you from the faculty building. Watched you walk right past three different routes back to your dorm just so you could take the scenic path. Almost like you wanted to make this easy for me."
I can't speak with his hand on my throat, can barely breathe, so I just glare at him with all the hatred I can muster.
