by Tee, Marian
He let the penny drop. “But only if you pass.”
She froze.
His smile turned into a smirk, and his voice was silky when he asked, “Surely you have not forgotten about our bargain, Ms. Summers?”
She only blinked at him.
His gaze narrowed. There was something about that look in her eyes…
“Kassia…”
“Umm…”
“Don’t you fucking tell me you’re really in danger of failing those two subjects?”
She stepped back from him. “Well…”
Alessandro was exasperated. “Do you want me to fuck you or not?” And was he seriously asking that question?
Kassia was nodding vehemently. “I do, Professor. I still want to fuck you.”
The earnest response made him want to groan. Goddammit, how could this girl be so innocent and seductive at the same time? Looking back at her, he saw the way she was tugging the tips of her strawberry blonde locks and knew the worst was far from over. “Spill it,” he said grimly.
She tried to prevaricate, asking, “Spill what?”
“Kassia…”
His warning tone made her gulp. “Well, the thing is, I really tried to study last night, but all I could think about was…umm, never mind about what I was thinking.”
But her blushes spoke for her, and he knew exactly what she had been thinking.
“Anyway, I was thinking, the only way I can pass now is if…” She took a deep breath. “Could I drop by your place, Professor, and have you tutor me privately?”
****
Hours later, Kassia was sliding into the passenger seat of the professor’s sports car. He closed the door after her, and when he joined her inside she said nervously, “You have a beautiful car, Professor.” It was such a lame thing to say, especially since she didn’t actually know what kind of car the professor’s was. But she said it anyway, just to give her something else to hear besides the loud erratic sound of her heartbeat.
As the professor started the car and drove out of the school’s parking lot, Kassia found herself babbling even more.
“Thank you for agreeing to tutor me.”
Crickets.
“I hope I won’t be a bother to anyone. I mean, if you’re living with anyone in your place.”
Still crickets.
“And, umm, you don’t have to worry about where I should sleep or anything. I’m not picky, and I’m used to roughing it since my grandparents and I love to go camping every spring break.”
More crickets.
“I think I should sing a song,” Kassia blurted out. Anything was better than this too-awkward silence, she told herself. Anything. And so she opened her mouth and started to sing. A country song, of course, because she was proud of her roots.
Alessandro almost gaped at his passenger as the most god-awful sound on earth filled his car. What. The. Fuck? Who would ever have thought that someone as angelic-looking as Kassia would have a voice like, well, a squealing pig?
It literally hurt to listen to her, and if he weren’t so bent on keeping his distance from Kassia, he would have told her so. But since he was, Alessandro simply gritted his teeth and told himself to bear it. He mustn’t talk to her, mustn’t let her get too comfortable under his skin.
Even now, he wasn’t quite sure how Kassia had ended up having her way. All he knew was that allowing Kassia to spend the night in his place was madness, but it was a folly he hadn’t been able to resist.
Beside him, Kassia was still singing, and it had only gotten worse in the past ten seconds. He waited for the urge to throw her out of the car to come, but it didn’t. Instead, he found himself wanting to shut her up…with a kiss.
The thought had Alessandro gritting his teeth some more, his fingers gripping the wheel more tightly. What. The. Fuck. Was. Wrong. With. Him?
A sly voice inside his mind taunted him about déjà vu. Perhaps this was how it started with his older brother and his wife?
Alessandro rejected the thought as soon as it occurred to him. Fuck no. He was taking Kassia home with him because he was in lust with her.
But then, the sly voice continued, why is Kassia the only girl you’ve taken to your home? Why nobody else?
Because…because it was all part of the plan, the answer to the challenge his older brother had thrown at Alessandro. Kassia was the woman he needed but hadn’t bothered to look for, the one to make Domenico Moretti stop acting like a lovesick fool and return to being the alpha of their clan.
That was it. Just that.
She was nothing more than a means to an end, never mind if she also got him talking to himself.
Kassia started in her seat when she heard the professor mutter an expletive under his breath. It was uncommon for the professor, and she paled at the sound. Knowing that there could only be one reason for it, she forced herself to adopt a lighthearted tone as she asked, “Do you want to turn the car around?”
The professor stiffened. “Have you forgotten something at school?”
“No.” She lifted her chin. “But I think you’re being too quiet, and I d-don’t like the idea that I’m forcing myself on you.”
The professor gazed at her broodingly.
Kassia started to panic. Oh, no, no. Hell no. She averted her gaze, warning him shakily, “Don’t think that’s going to work on me.” And it wasn’t, she told herself firmly, even if she was still trying to catch her breath right now.
Alessandro patiently waited for the lights to turn red before asking, “What are you talking about?”
Ha! Did he really think he could fool her that easily? I’m on to you, Professor, Kassia thought. She wasn’t going to let herself be swayed by that mysteriously brooding air about him, wasn’t going to give in an inch even if he had the whole James Dean thing down pat.
Alessandro watched Kassia sneak a glance at him before quickly averting her gaze again.
“Sneaky, Professor, very sneaky,” Kassia muttered.
Alessandro didn’t even know how to answer that. “Will you please explain what you’re talking—”
Kassia cut him off with a snort. “Stop pretending, Professor. It’s not going to work.”
This time, he didn’t bother hiding his exasperation. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“That. All that.” She gestured to the professor, head to bottom, without looking at him. “I’m on to you, Professor. Even though your brooding good looks are making me feel like I have asthma, I’m not going to let it work.”
Her words were starting to make sense. In a crazy way, but at least he was finally seeing things from her point of view, and once he did, Alessandro’s lips started to twitch. “Are you saying,” he said slowly, “that my, err, brooding looks can make you do anything?”
“Hmph.”
He waited patiently, driving in silence until they reached the gates of the Moretti compound. Knowing he had a few minutes while personnel worked on verifying his identity and scanning his vehicle for any possible threat, Alessandro turned to Kassia and decided to put his theory to the test.
Kassia jumped in her seat when she felt the professor’s hands settle on her shoulders. What the—
But she was already being spun around to face him.
Alessandro looked into his student’s eyes…and brooded.
Aaaaaaah!
The full force of the professor’s brooding looks was too much.
Kassia quickly covered her eyes, crying out, “Unfair!”
He burst into laughter. “God, Kassia…” He cupped her face and, ignoring her half-hearted struggles, he pulled her to his lap and kissed her. He kissed her open-mouthed to let her know how much she turned him on, kissed her hard so she would know he considered her his property, kissed her hungrily so that she would also know he was a slave as much as she was to the passion burning between them.
The kiss swept all common sense away, leaving Kassia with nothing to do but surrender to the professor’s touch. She kissed him bac
k, shyly but with the same amount of hunger, and she didn’t notice at all that the professor had started driving until she heard the gates outside the car swing open and she felt the car start to move.
She immediately tried to get off his lap, but the professor only said, “Stay.” His voice was a quiet command, and she acquiesced, mostly because she loved the feeling of being commanded. She couldn’t explain why, she only knew that it was how she truly felt.
Another set of gates were ahead of them, and unlike the previous ones, there was nothing opulently beautiful about it. No family surname carved on the top, no scrollwork, no anything except fortified metal that seemed more like it belonged to a military fort than a mansion belonging to one of the Fortune 500 families.
“The gates seem bulletproof,” she murmured.
“It is,” the professor confirmed in a casual voice.
She gulped but told herself that there was nothing wrong about it. Maybe rich people were just quietly paranoid like that.
As the professor’s sports car sped further down a winding driveway, Kassia’s curiosity knew no bounds when she saw men marching, dressed in what seemed like private combat uniforms. “Are they soldiers?”
“Bodyguards.”
Oh. Well, that told her then. The rich were indeed a paranoid bunch. She didn’t ask much after that, finding herself intimidated by everything about the professor’s…place. The entire property was just too vast to be called a home.
With Kassia so close to him, Alessandro could not only hear her heartbeat, he could practically feel it, too, the way her heart slammed against her chest with each beat. She was nervous, and it was…cute of her. Before he knew what he was doing, he was already asking – hell, he was teasing her – with a barely suppressed smile, “Are you nervous?”
“Nope.”
He smirked at her high-pitched tone. “You asked for this, remember?” But his smirk disappeared right away when his words made Kassia twist around to face him, causing her to wriggle on his lap and waking his cock.
Alessandro bit back a groan.
Kassia was making a face at him. “I wouldn’t have asked if I had known you lived in Fort Knox.”
Unable to stop himself from responding to the genuine worry darkening her eyes, Alessandro slowed the car to a stop before pressing a kiss to her nose. “Everything will be fine.”
The quiet assurance in the professor’s voice relaxed her, but then the door on the driver’s side suddenly opened, and she found herself face to face with a composed-looking man in uniform.
“Mr. Moretti, mademoiselle,” the man murmured, his face remaining stoic even at the sight of Kassia on the professor’s lap.
“Ronnie,” the professor returned the greeting calmly. He tightened his hold on Kassia when she tried to get off his lap again. “Let me help you down.” No sooner had he said it than he was already stepping out of the car, Kassia still in his arms. He lifted her up, princess-style, stepping aside to let his retainer close the door to the car before slowly allowing Kassia to slide to her feet.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she didn’t waste any time, trying to put a little more distance between them, but again the professor didn’t let her. His hand captured hers, and firmly pulling her to his side, he held her to him while he made the two of them face Ronnie.
“I’ll take care of this, sir,” Ronnie said, accepting the keys from Alessandro.
“Ms. Summers also has her belongings inside. Make sure it’s delivered to my study, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
The entire exchange was conducted in such a business-like manner it was almost like listening to a general rap out commands to his soldiers. It was very…surreal, and even that felt like an understatement. Looking around her didn’t help since everything seemed more surreal up close. The professor’s home was a three-story complex with a stark white façade. Like the rest of the “place,” the building looked more like it belonged to a CIA agent than one of the world’s most eligible bachelors.
“No wonder I’ve never seen your house featured on GQ,” she mumbled when the professor faced her.
Alessandro’s lips twitched but he didn’t say anything, knowing that Kassia was still taking everything in.
Biting her lip, she asked one of the most pressing worries in her mind, whispering, “You’re not worried that they’ll find out I’m your student and tell others about it?”
“No.” There was also the fact that most everyone in the Moretti compound was Lyccan, which meant even her softest whisper would have been heard by anyone within a few miles.
Kassia frowned up at him. “I don’t get it. You were like this in school, too, and I’m just…” She started tugging at the tips of her hair. “Why aren’t you more worried?”
It was a legitimate question, and guilt nipped Alessandro as he realized that she had always been genuinely worried over people finding out about them.
The straight answer to her question was that he was Lyccan and for that reason, no human would be able to catch him unawares. Unfortunately, the truth was the one thing he couldn’t say to her.
"I am worried," he said finally. "I'm just not the type to show it." Releasing her hand, he cupped her chin and told her quietly, "I promise you, though. Nothing we do will ever harm you. Trust me on this, little chick.”
Slowly, Kassia nodded. She might not have known the professor for long, but she knew she could trust him. She might not be a terribly sophisticated person, but she trusted her instincts when it came to seeing people for who they were and not what they projected themselves to be.
And the professor, despite being a wolf in sheep’s clothing, was a good man.
“Kassia…”
The professor using her name still gave her a thrill, making her stammer as she answered, “Y-yes, Professor?”
“Are you ready?”
She blinked in bemusement. “Ready for what?” The professor’s gaze turned towards the main doors of his home, and she could have sworn she heard him curse again.
Looking back at her, the professor said finally, “Ready to meet my family.”
****
There were three girls inside the professor’s dining room, all of them bearing strong resemblances to each other, but they weren’t identical. Even if she hadn’t seen any of their photos on the Internet, she would have easily guessed their identities, considering how they looked like softer and prettier versions of Alessandro Moretti.
“You don’t have to talk to them,” he told her under his breath, even knowing that his sisters could hear him.
“But I want to,” Kassia whispered back as they walked towards the table. “They could be my future sisters-in-law, you know.”
The words caused Alessandro to trip on his own feet. Ahead of him, he heard his sisters doing their best to suppress their laughter.
Beside him, Kassia mumbled in a small voice, “Sorry.”
Telling himself he would just have to punish his little chick later and teach her about not saying things that could give even someone like him a heart attack, Alessandro had to be satisfied by scowling at Kassia before turning to his sisters. “Kassia, these are my sisters.” He sent the three girls a warning glance as he spoke. Unlike Alessandro and his brothers, the trio had led a fairly sheltered life apart from humans. He hoped to God they remembered enough about their lessons not to say anything strange.
Trying to her best to overcome her shyness, she said with a tentative smile, “Hi.”
"Hi there," Girl #1 said perkily. "I'm Esmeralda, the middle sister."
"Emilia," said the youngest-looking of the three with a smile of her own.
"And I'm Estrella," the last girl said, her tone just as shy as Kassia's.
"Kassia is a student in my class," Alessandro inserted. Introductions over, he asked his sisters flatly, "Now, tell me. What are you girls doing here?" While waiting for the girls to answer, he pulled out a chair for Kassia, placing her next to Estrella. She was the eldest and
most quiet of the bunch, and hopefully that would save his little chick from too many questions.
Esme rolled her eyes at his question. "Duh. What do you think?"
Emilia said eagerly, "We came here as soon as we caught her scent—" Then she realized what she had just blurted out and her lips formed an 'O' of silent dismay.
Kassia turned red at the words. Didn’t that mean Emilia thought she stank? And that they wanted to protect their brother from...her odor? She didn’t think she smelled that bad, but maybe rich people had a better sense of smell. That, or they thought anyone who didn’t wear thousand-dollar perfumes smelled gross.
Either way, Kassia just wanted to sink into a heap of embarrassment on the floor. All this made one thing clear: Alessandro Moretti's sisters hated her. It was the only reason the girl would say what she did.
Sensing her brother’s killer glare, Emilia gulped and stammered, “I mean, I mean…” She looked at her older sisters for help, unable to think of an excuse.
Esme came to their baby sister’s rescue, trying to change the subject by telling Kassia with a beaming smile, “Do you know you’re the first girl our brother’s ever brought to our home?”
“Oh yes,” Estrella jumped in. “You must be super special to Alessandro.”
This time, all three girls felt their brother’s terrifying glower land on them, something that all three also resolutely did their best to ignore.
Kassia immediately forgot all about her awkwardness. "Am I?" Maybe she was wrong, she thought hopefully. Maybe she had just misunderstood the professor’s sister’s words. Maybe rich people just had a weird way of talking or something like that.
Emilia was nodding fervently in agreement. Wanting to paint her brother in the best light possible, she said earnestly, "He's not into women much..." And then she paused, realizing belatedly that she had, once again, said the wrong thing.
Kassia's head snapped towards Alessandro, shocked. Was the professor…gay?
But…how could that be? How could he be gay when they had done…things?
Alessandro's teeth gnashed.
