Roxy’s POV We arrived, Professor McLain’s house and with a little effort we made it to the door. Aaron, as if he was waiting by the door, opened it immediately. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw Sarah draped on my shoulder. My eyes scanned him quickly. He was in a blue Pajama trouser and a white T shirt that cuddled his biceps and some of his hair dropped on his face. “Sarah, what the hell?” He said, a grimace taking his face as his gaze shifted between us. “She’s a bit tipsy,” I explained smoothly. “I offered to drive her home. I am Roxette Bennett by the way….her student, the one you….” “I know who you are.” He cut me off curtly. He knows who you are fool! “Ofcourse.” I chuckle briskly, hijacked by nerves. He looked at me, stoic. “Thank you.” He took Sarah off me. “I’ll get her upstairs. Goodnight Ms. Bennett and thanks again.” He said and immediately slammed the door in my face. Wow, what a man? I was turning to leave and then a little voice in my head creepe
Aaron’s POV Insanity. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but knowing deep down that the result will stay the same. My name is Aaron West and I hate mornings like this—I should be heading out to the office but instead I have to take about 5 minutes out of my tight schedule to scold my wife knowing deep down that it won’t change a damn thing. “I thought we had gone past this, the ugly hangovers.” My words roll out as soon as her head leaves the pillow. She made a disgruntled sound, as her fingers clutched her head. I point to the aspirin and water glass I had laid on the nightstand by her bed side and she quickly throws them into her mouth and gulps down the glass. “You know better than to drink with a student.” I press on, taking in her disheveled blonde hair, with strands that caught the sunlight that pierced through the curtains. She let out an exasperated sigh, burying her face in her palms, before she let it up. “Oh it was nothing, I was jus
Aaron’s POV That stopped me cold. I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over my head. “What?” I said, barely getting the word out. “Let’s get married,” she said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “A real wedding. A dress. A suit. Guests. Vows. Everything.” She grabbed my jacket, pulling me closer, smiling like this was supposed to be a sweet moment. I took a step back, letting out a sharp breath. “You’re unbelievable, Sarah.” “What?” she blinked. “Don’t you want to marry me?” “I did want to marry you. Eight years ago. But you and your father offered me a civil union instead. Don’t you remember?” She winced, but still tried to explain. “You know why he did that. You were just some guy from the slums.” “Some guy from the slums?” I repeated outrageously “Oh come on Aaron, you know what I mean.” “Yeah, the rich girl fancied the poor boy from the slums and he has to be reminded for the rest of his life.” I snapped. “No don’t do that. Don’t twist m
Roxy’s POV The morning after—most likely the morning after you’ve had a one-night stand with a ridiculously hot guy at the club. But in my case? It’s the morning after I dropped my professor, Sarah McLain, home. She was tipsy and laughing too hard, and for a second, she actually looked like someone I could be friends with. But then I remembered—she killed Lucas. She killed him. My boyfriend. My everything. So no, I don’t get to be friends with her. Even if she’s sweet. Even if she looks at me like I’m special. Still, I walked into her office today like I had nothing to hide. “Good morning, Professor,” I said with a smile. A real smile? Fake smile? I don’t even know anymore. She looked up and smiled like she was happy to see me. “Good morning, Roxy. And you really have to stop calling me Professor. At least when we’re not in class.” I laughed a little. “Sure. I just wanted to check in on you before I head to work.” She smiled again—soft and tired. “Thank you, Roxy. I’m o
Roxy’s POV Disappointment— The feeling you get when you get into your father’s old truck for my first day at work and the darn thing won’t start. I had tried it three times already and all I got were stubborn groans. I readjust, the leather seat creaked under me as I reached for the ignition one more time, refusing to accept defeat, a silent prayer on my lips. I closed my eyes briefly, hearing Rosy’s voice in my head. “That old truck’s going to give up on you one day, Roxy. Better get it checked.” I smiled to myself, thinking how much I wanted to prove her wrong. With a twist of the key, the engine sputtered. I tried again, all I got were more stubborn groans. “Come on…” I grunted under my breath, willing it to start. Another try, then another, and it still wouldn’t catch. “You warned me Rosy, you warned me.” I muttered to myself, leaning forward, as my forehead fell against the steering wheel. “Now I’m going to be late on my first day, Just perfect,” I heaved a heavy sigh as
Roxy’s POV “Not to be messed with?” I fake a chuckle but deep down, I want to hear more. “You make them sound like a dangerous Mafia family.” “Yeah. Trust me. Just do your job over there and mind your business.” Nick warned. So the McLain’s are not to be messed with. But they can mess with everybody else right? “Aaron West…. do you know much about him…. I mean I only ask because I’ll be working as his research assistant,” I chuckle out the last words, only because my nerves shoot up whenever I mention his name. Nick simply shrugs. “Well some people say he has no heart, others say he is not even human, and some other people even say that he is more brutal than Thomas McLain but to me they are all cut from the same cloth.” From the look on Nick’s face and his measured tone, I could tell he wanted to say more but he didn’t. “How did you get the job anyway?” he asked, a bit of suspicion tinting his words. “Professor McLain helped,” I said, trying to keep my tone even.
Roxy’s POV“Roxy, I am so sorry for keeping you waiting, I have been so swarmed today.” Rachael, the black doe eyed girl, Aaron’s secretary came bustling inafter over 30 minutes since I had been sitting in her office and waiting for her return.Patience. The art of waiting for an undesired amount of time for a desired amount of result. When you want something, no time is long enough. The vision makes the wait worth it.I flash my well rehearsed smile. “Oh it’s okay, I understand.”“Unfortunately, I will be needing about five minutes more, I just need to log these in really quickly.” She says as she dunks into her seat, eyes focused on her computer screen. As then as if she had seen a bird flying in her screen, her brows furrow with confusion and then widen with surprise. “Wait? What?” She looked up at me. “Did someone touch my computer?” She asked genuinely perplexed.“Yup, I did.” She ducked out her head at me, waiting for more than I had already said. “I was bored waiting for you s
Roxy’s POVI heaved a deep sigh and with one more stride, I make to his office door. He was pacing, speaking furiously into his phone, making his facial movements both frightening and strangely attractive.Damn. He looks so sexy worked up.He finally noticed me through the glass, standing by his door. Not halting his call, he headed straight for the door, and pulled it open with one hand.I stepped inside and the rich scent of musk and cedar, saturated my nostrils, the man smelled strong. Just his scent was enough to have you nursing silly dreams about him.As I watched him criss-cross his office, jabbing words on the phone, I had enough time to admire him closely. His sharp navy blue suit and tie and oh my, the tapered pants. I don’t know why I was looking at his butt cheeks, defined by his pants—longer than I should have.Damn. I had never wanted to see any man’s butt as much as I wanted to see his.I hate this.I should have some sort of control over this—situation. Oh God, what’
Roxy’s POVI was trying so hard to shut down the picture Sarah had planted in my head.Aaron West.Sex.God, why would she say that to me?She’s my professor for crying out loud. I am not supposed to have a picture of her husband in the most indecent way plastered in my brain, yet here it is. All thanks to her.No wonder Rosie thinks she’s creepy. I mean, who does that? Who casually drops something like that into a conversation with a student?“He’s a god in that department,” she said, like it was just some fun little fact.Yikes.Now it was stuck in my head like gum in hair. I had to shake it off before I lost my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about him—his voice, his hands, his everything. Ugh.Focus, Roxy. Focus.I still had another problem to fix, and that problem’s name was Nick Burke.The sun was already low when I got to the football field. The sky looked like a painting—orange, pink, soft purple—and the long shadows stretched across the grass. Nick was on the field, practicing
Roxy’s POVCatherine Bennett—my overbearing mother was always right. Every time she said I would get into trouble, I always did.I remember this one time when I was sixteen.There was this house party. Big one. Everyone was going. I wanted to go so bad. My mom said no, of course.“It’s a bad idea, Roxy,” she warned me. “You’ll end up in trouble. I can feel it.”But I didn’t listen.I waited until she fell asleep, changed out of my pajamas, and snuck out the window like some rebellious movie girl.The party was wild—music, lights, drinks I wasn’t supposed to touch. At first, I felt free. Cool. Like I finally belonged.Then the cops came.Someone called about the noise. People screamed, ran everywhere. I panicked. I tried to run too, but I tripped on the steps and scraped my knees. The cops caught me and called my mom.She showed up with Dad lin her robe and slippers. Silent the whole ride home. That was worse than yelling.When we got inside, she said one thing:“Didn’t I tell you?”Ye
Roxy’s POVRosie’s phone buzzed, biting into our conversation. She glanced down, face scrunching up like she just bit into a lemon.“What?” I asked, already sensing the drama.“Nothing,” she muttered, stuffing her phone in her pocket. “It’s just Tommy canceling on me again... off to suck face with Rad.”Yup. Tommy Island. AKA Bad Tommy. The new guy who turned into a school jock overnight and somehow ended up Rosie’s boyfriend. For now. Hopefully not forever. Honestly, the guy’s only real talent is hurting her.I raised an eyebrow. “If you know he’s sucking face with Rad, why are you still with him?”“Because I like him,” she said, but even she didn’t sound convinced.“And since when does liking someone mean letting them treat you like crap?” I shot back.“We are not talking about me, Roxy,” she deflected fast, leaning forward. “We’re talking about you and your hot daddy crush. So… Aaron West really looks like Chris Hemsworth?”I pointed at her with two fingers. “Look at you, changing
Roxy’s POVPersistent—that's my sister, Rosie. I'm stubborn too, sure, but Rosie? She doesn’t know when to quit. It’s kind of her superpower… and her biggest flaw.We were in Dad’s old garage—the one he turned into a workshop before he passed. It still smelled the same. Oil, dust, and old memories. I was sitting inside his broken Ford Thunderbird, fingers tapping on the worn-out steering wheel like I was actually helping. But honestly? I just wanted to talk about Aaron West.Rosie was under the car, legs sticking out, covered in grease. Her jeans had more oil stains than actual denim. That girl was serious about fixing this thing. I leaned out of the car, looking down at her.“So… when exactly are you giving up on this?” I asked, trying to sound chill, even though I already knew the answer.“Right after it starts,” she shot back from under the car. “Just wait till I see the look on Dad’s face when it does.”I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see it. “Dad’s dead, Rosie.”Her re
Aaron’s POVI felt different tonight. Something inside me was wild, but I didn’t know why. It was like a strong energy was running through me.Like a beast, hungry and wild looking for escape.And for some reason, I kept thinking about her—Roxette Bennette.Could she be the reason I felt like this? No, that didn’t make sense.Sure, she knows a lot about me. But people can find things online these days. It’s not hard. Maybe she just looked me up.I’ll admit it—I liked the way she talked about me. The things she said and the way she said them with that thirsty look in her eyes. It felt nice. But that didn’t mean anything.Still... the way she stared at me. Like she wasn’t scared. Like she knew exactly what she was doing. She walked in like she owned the place. Her face changed so fast—sweet one second, bold the next.Her eyes. The way she moved. The way she ended her boyfriend’s call so fast. She says she doesn’t have one.Lies ofcourse.But damn, she did that on purpose. She wanted to
Roxy’s POV He was looking at me—waiting for me—daring me to respond with those stormy gray eyes. Damn. I swallowed hard. Go on, Roxy. Charm him. Charm him so hard his pants fall off. Charm that serious, lawyer-face wall off his face. Have zero mercy. “I know you finished Harvard Law with a first class. I know you developed a method of cataloging procedures at Harvard, that’s now taught to first year students. I know you have never lost one single case in the courtroom. I know you made your name with your own blood, sweat and sleepless nights—not because of favors or anyone else's name. And I know you're the best damn lawyer in this firm and probably in all of California. Should I go on, Mr. West?” Oh yes, I definitely did my research. For a second, just a split second, something flashed in his eyes—surprise, sure. But there was something else, darker... intense. Something that sparked like a flame and vanished just as fast. “You’ve said enough,” he replied, voice hard a
Roxy’s POV There he was. Sitting at that big, intimidating desk, totally lost in whatever lawyer stuff was flooding his brain. Papers everywhere. Tension in his shoulders. And then—he looked up. And he saw me. Not like a “Hey student, what are you doing here” kind of look. It was quick, but it was there. First, surprise. Then something else. Something slower. Like… interest? Curiosity? Maybe even heat? I don’t know. I couldn’t pin it down exactly, but it made me feel powerful. Like I was actually doing something right. I walked slowly. On purpose. I knew the dress was pushing the envelope. The buttons, the hips, the slight sway—yes, I leaned into it. Maybe too hard, but Aaron West isn’t the type you get by playing it safe. The man is basically an ice sculpture in a suit. Subtle wasn’t going to work on him. So I brought the fire. Then came the mood shift. His face snapped into that usual “I’m-the-boss-here” vibe. “What are you still doing here, Ms. Bennett?” He asked it
Roxy’s POV“Goodnight, Roxy!" Greg from corporate law called out.I waved, flashing a smile. “Night!”Then Emily from paralegal passed, already halfway out the door. “You saved my life today.”“Anytime,” I said, keeping it casual.But inside?I was glowing.I mean, come on—I crushed it. Research? Nailed. People? Impressed. Mood? Roxette Bennett in full queen mode. I could almost hear the invisible crown settling on my head.That’s what I do—slide in, solve the unsolvable, walk out without breaking a sweat.The office was practically empty now, the silence was so loud, I could hear my own heartbeat.I started to pack up... but then I saw him.Through the glass.Aaron West.Still at his desk, sleeves rolled up, deep in work mode. His brows drawn together in that signature frown. One hand gripped a pen, the other raked through his hair like he was searching for answers in the strands somewhere. He was completely locked in.God, he had that kind of focus that felt like magnet. Like he cou
Roxy’s POVI could tell Sarah didn’t want to talk about it.But my vines? Yeah, they had a mind of their own. They weren’t backing off. If anything, they were spreading fast—growing, reaching, pushing. I knew I should stop, but something inside me just... wouldn’t.“I don’t mean to meddle,” I said quickly, giving her my sweetest I-care voice. “It’s just that I saw how it affected you when Rachel mentioned her.”That made Sarah look up. And I mean really look at me.She paused. Debated. Weighed her options like I was a courtroom jury and she wasn’t sure how much to give away. Then finally—she sighed. A long, tired sigh. Her face changed. More serious now.“Amber is a low-grade school teacher who’s suing SPECTRUM, one of California’s finest paint factory,” she said.“She thinks their paint is making their workers sick because her son, who used to work there five years ago, just died from unknown causes. Although there’s no clear report to prove it, she insists he started showing signs w