Seduction After Class

Reverie

✤ Sera ✤

The apartment was quiet except for the hum of the ceiling fan and the faint sound of waves somewhere beyond the open window. Lina was out, probably at the café again with her psychology group, and the silence pressed softly around me. I was on my bed, one leg bent, my hair spread over the pillow like a messy halo. The afternoon sunlight shone through the window, and I closed my eyes and delighted in the warmth. I should have been reading. My copy of ‘The Alpha’s Bondage’ lay open beside me, face down and forgotten, the corner of a page bent like a sigh. But my mind was far from the book. My mind was on one person.

Professor Adrian Thorne.

Even thinking his name sent a quiet pulse through my chest. I told myself it was only curiosity. Interest. Admiration for a man who spoke about words as if they were alive. But I wasn’t sure I believed it anymore. During class, I had taken a chance just to see his reaction. I had said those words: forbidden romance. And the room had gone silent. I could still see his face. The way he had paused. The awkward way he had tried to stay composed. It wasn’t that I wanted to humiliate him. All I wanted was to see his reaction. To see him. I turned onto my side and stared out the window. My pulse was slow, deliberate, but my body felt aware of itself in a way that made it hard to stay still. It wasn’t the first time he had occupied my mind like this. It had started weeks ago. My mind drifted to the first time I had truly noticed him. The first time I had seen him as someone more than just a Professor. He had offered to help me with a paragraph from a book I had been struggling with, and, in fear of failing his class, I knew I had to take him up on his offer. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I rolled onto my stomach and pressed my cheek against the pillow. The cotton was still warm from the sun, and somewhere outside, a gull called once, then silence. But my mind was still on that day I had gone to his office. I remembered the way he had leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. The way his tone had been calm and steady. The sound of his voice, smooth and rich.

“Ugh,” I muttered as I forced the image away. Professor Thorne had been helpful, or at least he had tried. It wasn’t his fault that I had suddenly become obsessed with how his arms looked. Or how sexy his smile was. And it wasn’t even his fault that his words had stuck with me long after I had left his office that day. It wasn’t even as if he was trying to impress me either. He was just kind and thoughtful. But it was where it all started. It was such a small shift. A quiet pull.

The way my heartbeat had changed when he said my name, Miss D’Amour, as if the syllables were worth care.

And then, of course, I had seen him at the grocery store near the university. Lina and I had gone to do a grocery run, and there he was. I groaned as I saw him in my mind. The way he had helped an elderly lady cross the busy street to her car. At first, I had thought maybe she was someone to him. Maybe his mother or grandmother or something. But I knew better now. Because of course, I did. I had slowly become obsessed with him. I already knew so much about him, but it was all just facts. Nothing personal. Not really. I knew he was married to the artist, Marina. I knew he lived in a two-story house in the Old Quarter. I knew that they didn’t have kids. And I knew that Professor Thorne enjoyed his coffee black and bitter. A small part of me felt guilty that I was low-key stalking my Professor, but he would never know how that moment looked from where I stood. Seeing him outside of the university. How I had enjoyed the way the sunlight hit his shoulders, how I felt a rush of warmth that had nothing to do with admiration. It wasn’t about intellect anymore. It was something quieter. Deeper. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to understand him until that day. Not the professor. The man.

“Ha!” I exclaimed as I sat up. Today, I had pushed the edge of the boundary Professor Thorne guarded so carefully. I knew that today he had felt the spark, too. The shift. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. I had been bold and reckless. But it had been worth it. I could still feel his eyes on me. The way he kept trying to avoid me, but couldn’t. I was in his mind now, and that was real. I hadn’t imagined that. Somewhere between thought and memory, between guilt and desire, something in me crossed a line I couldn’t uncross. And as I lay back down, I knew that I wouldn’t ever stop thinking about him. It felt wrong, maybe even reckless, but I didn’t care. He was off-limits, and maybe that was part of it. But there was more. Something deeper. A part of me felt proud, powerful even. Another part of me ached with the curiosity it awakened. What would it take for a man like him to lose control? My breath came a little too fast, and the room suddenly felt too warm. I pressed my thighs together, not to do anything, only to stop the ache that had settled there. Not that it helped much. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing at that moment. If he was still thinking about class. About me. The thought sent a quiet thrill down my spine.

“Sera!” a voice called out, and I sighed. Lina was back. I was somewhat thankful for the distraction. “I brought coffee and cinnamon rolls,”

“Coming!” I hurriedly got to my feet and checked the room before I opened the door. Lina stood in the kitchen, unpacking the small brown bag. “You are a lifesaver,” I said as I kissed her cheek.

“Don’t tell me you were daydreaming about that Professor again,” she teased. Lina was my only friend, and it was because we were so close that she knew about my little obsession.

“Maybe,” I said as I grabbed one of the cinnamon rolls. I took a big bite and moaned in delight. It was still warm and gooey. Just the way I liked it. Lina talked about her classes, but my mind had already drifted back to the Professor. In truth, it had started as curiosity. But desire had taken its place, and the spark was impossible to ignore.

✤ ✤ ✤