Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
The older woman hesitated. "You still could..." She inclined her head towards the professor's office. "You heard what he said. I'm supposed to clear the rest of his day."
Diana gnawed uncertainly on her lip, feeling like she was being asked to walk willingly into the lion's den. Which she supposed she could if, that was, she had the spirit of the prophet Daniel inside of her, granting Diana the strength to tame the beast professor.
If that were the case, then what Mrs. Montez was asking of her wouldn't have been a problem.
But since she was miserably convinced it wasn't so, she had a feeling she'd end up no different from a sacrificial lamb and get slaughtered in seconds.
"The professor isn't the type to bluff," the other woman went on to add seriously. "He has the ability to make the rest of the semester extremely unpleasant for you, Ms. Leventis." Mrs. Montez inclined her head towards the professor's office once more. "So if you are truly set on having him as your adviser..."
And that was how Diana found herself doing what she thought herself incapable of doing. An act of courage, when all her life her own mother had made her feel like a spineless, gutless, good-for-nothing daughter.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the knob, and her knees threatened to give out as she stepped inside the professor's office. The silence overwhelmed her, and she found herself praying for strength as her heart raced in terror.
Saint M, look after me.
Diana let the door fall shut behind her even as she battled against the wave of paranoia threatening to drown her. Why was it so silent? Shouldn't the professor be snarling at her by now. or could he still be unaware of her presence?
Another unbidden memory invaded her mind, reminding her of the countless times her mother had demanded she wear more jewelry and less clothes.
It's the only way you'll get people to notice you. If not for being an heiress, you'd be nothing and always will—-
Diana's fists clenched involuntarily against her side as she shoved the thought away. She rarely thought of Esther Leventis these days, but it sadly made sense that she would suddenly start recalling the worst memories of her childhood. Anger and disappointment were the two only emotions Diana had inspired in her mother, and Professor Matthijs de Graaf kind of...
Oh! Right!
Cheeks turning red when she realized she had actually forgotten where she was and what she had come here for, Diana quickly lifted her head, intending to apologize, but then she saw...
She saw.
Oh, sweet heavens, what was this she was seeing?
The seconds ticked by, neither of them moving, her gaze glued to that one exposed part of his anatomy, his fingers still wrapped around...it.
And oh dear God, the things she were noticing about it.
It was so much thicker than she could have ever imagined, a lot longer than she thought was humanly possible, and it was so...well...angry-looking (just like its owner, Diana couldn't help thinking).
Look away. Stop staring. Leave.
All sensible courses of action, but Diana found it impossible to draw her gaze away, her shaking limbs refusing to move from its spot. He was just so very mesmerizing, and the lazy arrogance of his lounging form in the couch only made him seem larger than life, a living work of art with his blend of refined power and sensual magnetism.
A living work of art, who also happened to be incredibly aroused.
And that was when it struck Diana, an idea so tantalizing that it gave her the willpower to finally look away from his member and have her gaze climb the hard wall of his chest.
She just wanted, needed to see.
Just wanted to know if it could be...
Their gazes finally touched, and her breath caught as leonine eyes once again held her captive. No longer cold or enraged, the professor's gold eyes now glittered with heat.
The kind that craved. Combusted. Consumed.
And it was all for her.
Her mouth parted in an inaudible gasp.
The professor...wanted her.
The realization made her head reel, and the more Diana thought about it, the more her thoughts unraveled. She found herself backing away, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the professor stiffen, a brief look of frustration crossing his gorgeous face, almost as if he was doing his best not to stop her from leaving.
Oh, if only.
Sexual tension pulsated in the air when she was back at the other end of the room, close enough to reach for the door knob from behind.
Close enough to still do the sensible thing.
Close enough to leave.
She saw the professor's lips tighten as she put one hand behind her back, and her heart began to drum.
Oh, Professor.
It's not what you think.
Diana saw the professor jerk upon hearing the telltale sound of the door being locked...by her.