SOPHIA

My fingers shook as I gripped the edges of my laptop, the blinking cursor on my half-finished thesis mocking me. The lecture hall had emptied out, but I stayed glued to my seat in the front row, my short black skirt riding high on my thighs. My heart hammered against my ribs. I knew what was coming. I always knew.

The side door to his private office opened with a soft click.

“Sophia.” Cain’s voice slid over me like velvet and steel. “My office. Now.”

Heat flooded between my legs even as dread coiled tight in my stomach. *This is wrong. He’s my stepbrother. My professor. My future.* But...