Semua Bab My Professor’s Obsession: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Sera POVSeven days.I’d spent one hundred and sixty-eight hours trying to scrub the phantom sensation of those calloused hands off my skin. Every time I closed my eyes in the shower, I felt the bite of the cold stone against my back and the way that man had filled me until I couldn't breathe. I’d walked through the halls of Aethelgard like a ghost, looking at every tall, broad-shouldered man and wondering if he was the one who had claimed me in the dark."Sera? Are you even listening?"I blinked, the sterile lights of the campus café snapping me back to reality. Dominic was staring at me, his "Golden Boy" smile not quite reaching his eyes. He looked perfect—pressed khakis, a cashmere sweater, and hair that cost more to maintain than my monthly grocery bill."Sorry," I muttered, stirring my black coffee. "Just stressed about the thesis.""You worry too much," Dominic said, reaching across the table to pat my hand. His touch felt cold compared to the memory of the stranger. "You’re a S

Sera POVThe drive to the clifftop was a descent into a beautiful, jagged purgatory. The road twisted through the Maine pines until the trees gave way to a monolithic structure of gray concrete and floor-to-ceiling glass. "The Glass Cage" hung over the Atlantic like a dare, the waves below smashing against the rocks with a violence that matched the thrumming in my chest.I stepped out of my beat-up sedan, the salt spray stinging my cheeks. I felt like a lamb walking into a den designed by a god who hated mercy.The front door operated on a silent hydraulic hiss. I stepped inside. The interior was minimalist—all cold stone floors, sharp angles, and the smell of expensive turpentine and ozone. Caspian was standing at a massive drafting table in the center of the room, lit by a single, harsh spotlight. He didn't look up. He was wearing a black t-shirt that stretched over his shoulders, the sleeves pushed up to reveal forearms corded with muscle and stained with charcoal."You’re three mi

The bruises on my soul were starting to match the ones on my skin.The drive to the Glass Cage the next night felt like a descent into a beautiful, high-tech tomb. The image of those sketches—me at nineteen, me at twenty, me in a mask I hadn't even bought yet—burned behind my eyelids like a brand. Caspian hadn’t just chanced upon my ruin; he had curated it. He had watched my family crumble and my brother spiral, waiting for the exact moment I became desperate enough to sell myself to the only man who could "save" me.The hydraulic doors hissed open, and the cold, salt-tinged air of the studio hit me. Caspian was already there, standing by a massive slab of black granite that served as a secondary posing table. He didn't look up from the charcoal he was sharpening with a surgical blade."Five minutes early," he noted, his voice a low, clinical vibration. "Knowledge seems to have made you punctual, Seraphina. Or perhaps just more afraid.""Why did you do it?" I whispered, my voice tremb

"You’re shaking again," Caspian said.We were in the back of his black town car, the leather seats smelling of expensive wood and cold power. The Maine night was a wall of black glass outside. I was wearing a gown of midnight blue silk—high-necked, long-sleeved, and suffocatingly elegant. Underneath the stiff collar of the dress, the iron-and-silk weight of his brand was hidden, a secret anchor against my skin."It's a gala, Professor. Half the Board wants to kick me out, and the other half wants to pretend my family never existed. Why am I here?""You're here because an architect needs to show off his most prized acquisition," he said, not looking at me. He was staring at the passing lights, his profile sharp enough to cut stone. "And because Dominic Calloway needs to see exactly how much you don't belong to him anymore.""He's going to make a scene. You know how he is. He’s like a dog with a bone."Caspian turned his head then, his arctic eyes pinning me to the seat. "Let him bark.

The hidden room felt like it was shrinking as Caspian lowered himself onto me. I looked up at that photo on the ceiling—the one of us in the garden—and then I looked at his eyes. They weren't cold anymore. They were full of a dark, hungry fire."You really kept everything," I whispered, my voice caught in my throat."I told you," Caspian said, his hands pinning my wrists above my head. "I don't let go of what I want."He didn't wait. He kissed me, and it felt like he was trying to swallow my soul. His tongue was rough against mine, tasting like smoke and expensive gin. He moved his hand down, ripping the lace of my panties to the side just like he did the first night. When his fingers touched me, I felt a jolt of heat so sharp I almost cried out. I was already wet, my body betraying me before he even really started."You’re shaking, Sera," he murmured against my neck. "Is it fear? Or do you want this as much as I do?""Shut up," I gasped, arching my back as his thumb found that one sp