by Marian Tee
“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.
The sound escaped Kassia's human hearing, but to his sisters, it was loud, furious, and beyond frightening. They jumped out of their seats in unison, knowing that escape was their only option now.
"Oh, look at the time," Esme said airily. "I think it's time to watch our, umm, favorite show. Shall we go, girls?"
"Yes, definitely," Estrella said firmly even as she pulled their baby sister with her in a protective fashion. Alessandro was still bristling, his disapproval of them palpable.
As the sisters hurried out and the doors closed behind them, Emilia asked worriedly, “Do you think he’s going to ground me?”
“Not now, but maybe later.” Esme pretended to think. “He might be planning to bite your head off after his guest leaves."
Emilia snorted. "That girl's not going anywhere tonight."
Estrella was confused. "How come you're so sure?"
She shook her head at her older sister's obtuseness. "You really didn't notice? Alessandro was so totally smitten it's almost funny—"
A horrible sound remarkably like fangs grinding in anger reached them from the dining room, and all three girls stumbled.
CRAP. Emilia felt like peeing in terror. She had forgotten that Alessandro could hear her perfectly since he was not human like his guest.
"Kill me before Alessandro does," she begged her older sisters. "Please!”
****
"Umm, Professor?"
"Yes?"
"You’re glaring at the door."
Alessandro hadn't even realized he was doing it until Kassia pointed it out. Telling himself he would have to murder his baby sister later, he looked back at Kassia with a grimace. "I'm sorry, Kassia." He thought of a way to explain Emilia's behavior in a way that would make sense to a human and was unable to conceive of any. Finally, he said, "My sisters usually have better manners."
A pause, and then she asked in a small voice, "Do I really
smell that bad?"
“Of course not.” Sternly suppressing his urge to smile, he said gently, "On the contrary, you smell good enough to eat."
The words thrilled Kassia simply because the professor wasn't the type to dish out compliments so easily. Even so, her doubts weren't completely vanquished, and she said haltingly, "But your sister said—"
"My sister's high on something," he finished. "Ignore her."
As the professor spoke, the other set of doors in the dining room opened and a pair of attendants walked in, one of them pushing a trolley ahead of him.
Kassia was dumbfounded when one of the attendants came to her and, picking up the artfully folded napkin from the table, whipped it out with flourish before laying it on her lap. She waited for the attendants to finish serving them soup. Once they had left the room, she asked, "Do you guys always eat like this?"
"Generally, yes." Alessandro raised a brow. "You don't like the soup?"
"Oh, I like it," she assured him hastily, never mind if she didn't really understand what the attendant had said earlier about the soup. All she could remember was that it was French and it had sounded good.
When the professor reached for his spoon, she did so as well, gingerly taking a sip. It was surprisingly flavorful, in a good way, and Kassia happily dug in.
Alessandro savored the pleasure of watching Kassia eat. She had the most wondrously innate sense of grace, making her every movement appear elegant. He watched her lips part and he wondered how wide her mouth would open. Would his entire cock fit—
The spoon paused mid-air. "You're staring, Professor."
Wanting to see how she would react, he said silkily, "I'm just wondering if you could open your mouth wide enough to take my cock."
Kassia's hold on the spoon loosened, and the tiny amount of soup on the spoon ended up splattered on her face.
Alessandro laughed.
Kassia gasped, the professor's amusement enabling her to quickly add one and one to make an embarrassing two. "You just said that to shock me, didn't you?"
"I did," Alessandro confirmed unashamedly, his lips still curved in an amused grin.
Before she could react, the professor reached for his napkin and began wiping her face dry.
And the shocks kept on coming, Kassia thought dazedly, the professor's unexpected action rendering her immobile in her seat.
"There," the professor said huskily as he laid his napkin on the table. "All clean now, I think." His eyes narrowed. "Or not. I think I must have missed a spot..."
"Y-you did?" she asked faintly.
"Yes," he answered seriously. "Over here..." But instead of pointing, the professor leaned forward and licked the corner of her lip.
Kassia died. She really did. The professor could not have done that. He just couldn’t—
And then she was hearing the professor murmur gravely, “I think I must have missed another spot.”
The professor leaned forward once more, and his tongue licked the same spot.
Kassia died a second time. Not wanting to be resurrected, she said dazedly, “Maybe a third time. Just to be, umm, really sure?”
The professor’s eyes gleamed, but his tone remained concerned as he said, “I understand.” And the professor's tongue touched her skin for the third time, and the heat of that one tiny contact was enough to make her entire body shudder.
The professor was licking her. Licking. LICKING!
Her eyes drifted closed. “Perhaps,” she whispered, “it’s not clean enough.”
And in answer, the professor said very pleasantly, “You wish.”
Her eyes flew open.
The professor had leaned back against his seat, his elegantly handsome face perfectly bland. She might have been tempted to believe that she had imagined the whole thing if not for the wicked amusement gleaming in the professor’s gaze.
She glared.
His laughter rang out. Leaning forward, he traced her lips, murmuring, “Not until you pass, Ms. Summers. Do that, and I’ll lick you all over.”
****
It took almost an entire hour for Kassia and the professor to finish dinner. It was the most delicious meal she had ever had in her life, but it was also the longest, with eight courses served for the two of them. How did rich people ever get something done when they spent so much time just eating?
The question only served to heighten the differences between her and the professor, and in the end, Kassia determinedly shoved all thoughts of their dissimilarities to the back of her mind. If she allowed herself to think about it, the distance between them would only feel more painful.
Ahead of her, the professor was opening the first door from the third floor landing. “We’ll be studying here,” the professor murmured.
Alessandro waited for Kassia to reach his side before explaining briefly, “It’s my private study, but it also comes with its own bed.” He gestured for her to precede him before closing the door.
Kassia found herself intimidated once again. The professor’s private study was about the same size as her grandparents’ home back in Missouri. Elegant touches that screamed money surrounded her, with all the furniture made of exotic Brazilian mahogany while the sofa bed and cushion in the opposite corner were crafted with an innovative mix of steel, leather, and glass.
All in all, an attractively masculine room, and stepping inside it was like having a taste of the professor’s world.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s like being inside you.”
“That’s good, I suppose.” His smile turned wicked. “I can promise you that I’ll be the one inside you once you pass the exams.”
Kassia’s entire body went up in flames while her knees threatened to give out. “Professor!” One moment, he was the perfect gentleman, and then the next moment he was all seduction and innuendo. She just didn’t know what to expect from him, and she had a sneaky feeling it was exactly how the professor wanted it.
Suppressing the urge to smile at the way Kassia was glowering at him, he walked towards the door next to the windows. Opening it, he said, “This is the en-suite bathroom. You can take a shower and change in here. When you’re done, we’ll get to studying.”
Bathroom. Shower. Kassia’s fantasies spun out of control with those two words alone. Wasn’t this like one of her dreams, she wondered faintly. Hadn’t she dreamt of having a bath with the professor…like she could…now?
In front of her, the professor stiffened.
Alessandro was breathing hard. The air in the room had changed, turning tense and hot, tinged by the scent of Kassia’s innocent hunger. What the fuck had he said that would suddenly arouse her like she was now?
Telling himself he would stay in control, Alessandro slowly turned to face Kassia—
Her eyes were wide and cloudy with desire while her lips were parted and seemingly poised to release a moan. Like him, she was breathing hard, causing her succulently abundant breasts to swell over the neckline of her dress.
FUCK.
That was what he wanted to do.
Fuck her. Hard. Until they both passed out.
He heard himself say, “I think I’ve changed my mind.”
She swallowed, stammering, “Y-you did?”
“I’ve thought of a better place to study.”
****
I take it back, Kassia thought. The professor’s home was nothing like the CIA’s headquarters. Rather, it was more like a treasure trove of surprises, and the greatest surprise of it was hidden in its basement.
In front of her was a very authentic-looking onsen, which came with a bamboo walkway, giant rocks that doubled as seats and, finally, an indoor pool patterned after Japan’s famous hot springs, complete with steamy mists rising from its crystal-clear surface.
Shaking her head in mute awe, she whispered, “I can’t believe you have your own hot spring bath, Professor.”
And I can’t believe I still have enough control not to fuck you, Aless
andro thought. Sexual need had him coiled like a spring, his cock fully engorged under the small white towel slung low around his hips.
Beside him, Kassia was similarly attired, a white towel wrapped around her beautifully rounded body. It exposed a delightful hint of her cleavage as well as put the entire length of her shapely legs on display.
Kassia caught sight of the professor staring at her, and she swallowed. “Professor…” The exquisite beauty of her surroundings lost its impact as she found herself slowly drowning in the heat flaring in the professor’s gaze. Was this really happening, she asked herself dizzily. It was like stumbling down Alice’s rabbit hole, but this time Wonderland only offered the most decadent pleasures.
His forest green eyes holding hers captive, he offered her his hand. “Come.”
Sensual yearning swelled inside Kassia at the huskily voiced command. Shakily placing her hand in the professor’s, she allowed him to lead her towards the bath. He descended first to guide her down the wide stone steps in the pool’s shallow end.
Although the water was just the right side of hot, Kassia was unable to stop herself from shivering anew as she and the professor moved together, their sides occasionally brushing. She couldn’t stop thinking of the fact that they were both naked under their towels.
The professor slowed down when they reached the pool’s man-made falls, its water cascading down artfully arranged boulders. He took a seat first, and Kassia realized then that the boulders had been carved in the shape of lounge seats.
“Sit here, Kassia.” The professor patted the space between his legs.
Inhaling nervously, she slowly followed the professor’s order, fitting herself between his legs. The professor immediately pulled her back so she could rest against his chest, and a second later his arm went around her, right below her breasts.