Alex's POV::
As I make my way through the bustling campus, thoughts of giving up plague my mind. The overwhelming desire to simply collapse on the sidewalk and regress to a tantrum-throwing five year old consumes me. But then, in the midst of my turmoil, I spot the elusive building I have been searching for all morning. In my haste to arrive early for my first college class, I had overlooked it just ten minutes ago. But now, as I relinquish my hopes of punctuality, I am able to navigate the school map with a newfound clarity and composure. And there it stands before me. The creative writing department building, four stories tall and unassuming, with its stark white and black facade. A path that many great writers have traveled, and one that I aspire to tread myself. I glance down at my phone to check the time, and in a desperate attempt to make it to class on time, I practically sprint towards the entrance. I am incredibly late. This is the moment I have been anxiously awaiting - my first encounter with the renowned Zane Orion. A figure of literary mastery, and my class supervisor. Although I am more than familiar with his work, today marks our first official introduction. And unfortunately, I have already managed to make a terrible first impression. In my hastened state, I stub my toe on the elevated platform and stifle a silent cry of pain. Could this day possibly get any worse? I remember the first time I read Zane Orion's nonfiction book on the romanticism of poetry, at the tender age of fifteen. It was a pivotal moment that ignited my passion for writing. His exquisite use of language, his subtle hints of humor even in the most serious of subjects, and his sheer brilliance in captivating a room full of high school students with the beauty of poetry - albeit briefly for most, but not for me. I was captivated, entranced by the words of a stranger from across the country. A stranger who seemed out of reach, beyond my reach of imagination. Zane Orion is just as popular for his looks as his work. He is hot as hell and most of his personal life is shrouded in mystery, so no one really knows him outside of what he chooses to show, which is very little. This fuels his legend, and I am helpless when it comes to hot middle-aged men with an appreciation for privacy. I wouldn't deny that my teenage, overactive imaginative mind hadn't conjured incriminating erotic scenarios involving him over the years, neither would I admit it to my befuddled mother as the reason why I chose NYU instead of Emerson College back home in Boston, like she wanted. I saw online that Zane accepted a teaching role in the creative writing department, and that was all I needed to know before choosing NYU when applying for college. I take a deep breath as I read the guide map pasted on the front desk that shows where each level has its classes. The different lecture halls and offices. First years get the ground floor, and as you go higher, you get the top floors. Since I'm a freshman, the multipurpose lecture hall down the hallway on my left is where I am supposed to be headed. Where Zane Orion is. I reach the solid oak door too quickly. I dab at the sweat on my forehead, trying in vain to part my wet bangs into something presentable. I pat my face, pull at my cheekbones, and tap my cheeks lightly. I don't know why, but I suddenly am overwhelmed with the need to look my best. It is a futile battle. My short stint around campus has rattled me. I straighten my black shirt over my blue baggy jeans, regretting my choice of clothing. Not only am I late, but I am also going to look insane. Maybe I should just head back to my dorm. My hurting toe is a sign that the day is cursed. I bite down that impulse with all my willpower and take a deep breath instead. Hopefully, it would be a big packed class, and I can just slip in unnoticed. With my heart in my throat, a quick prayer on my lips, I push the door open. The door opens with a loud creak that makes my stomach drop to the floor. Every single head in the class turns around to look at me, the intruder, and I stand there, dumbfounded. All my confidence slips out of me in a cold sweat. And there, at the podium, is Zane Orion. I promptly forget that the whole class is staring at me; I see only him for a second, and the dark intensity behind his mesmerizing hazel eyes takes my breath away. He is even more stunning in reality. Christ. Those lashes. I try to swallow, but my mouth has gone dry. Zane Orion has slightly Arabic features that are prominent in his midnight-black hair, his straight nose, and his full, smooth lips. It further fuels the mystery that shrouds his personality. His jaw is so square, it looks like he was carved by a master sculptor, and his hazel eyes with their striking gold, green, and brown colors have a piercing quality to them that I think he highlights by dressing in all black almost every time. I don't think there is a picture of him online where he is dressed in color. The man is dark and mysterious, like midnight, and it only pulls people to him. Pulls me to him. I will let that man ruin my life and thank him for it. God, where did that hellish thought come from? "Oh, the ultimate latecomer," Zane looks down at his watch with an annoyed look passing over his features, it doesn't hit me that he is addressing me, so I just stand there, completely enthralled by this burning furnace of a man, "Would you find a seat and join us if you are part of this class, so you can stop disrupting my class, Miss?" His deep baritone resonates across the huge hall, slashing into me with all the annoyance in his tone. Fuck.Zane's POV::"Uhh, shit. Sorry. Sorry," the girl says under her breath as she makes her way down the aisle, looking for a free seat.I don't know what it is about her that arrests my attention; she is not the first student to walk in late today, and frankly, I don't really care. It is the first class of college for most of these kids, so they get lost around campus.But something about this girl and her wet hair sticking to her sweetly beautiful oval face strikes me differently. The closer she gets, the more I am able to appreciate her figure. She is curvy with slim, shapely legs encased in her jeans. An unchecked fantasy of having those legs wrapped around my waist zips through my mind, and I shake my head, more worried about my slipping self-control than aroused."There is a free seat here," I call to her, keeping my tone slightly annoyed so as to mask the confusing riot of emotions running through me as she walks closer."Thank you, Sir," she says, holding my eyes for what feels l
I have to remind myself that he is my professor who is currently very pissed off at me, judging by how dark his hazel eyes have gotten, narrowed at me."What do you think?" He says, leaning further down but somehow managing to keep our bodies an air apart. My body tingles with senseless anticipation."Uhh..." Fuck, I can't say that anymore. It is what started all these in the first place. I bite down on my lower lip. His eyes burn down on the spot I bite and my body ignites with delicious lust because of the unmistakable heat in those dark brown depths of his eyes."Very fucking brave. Interrupting my class and then mouthing off at me like that in front of the class. Quite the nerve." Zane's voice is like liquid fire running down my spine. It doesn't help that he is not moving away. We are standing too close. Is this okay?"Well, you made the whole class laugh at me. I am probably going to be the girl Professor Orion snapped at on the first day of college forever." My cheeks burn at t
Zane Orion 's POV::Alex is seated right in front of me today again. She came early, too. And she has make-up on. It highlights her green eyes in a way that makes it terribly hard for me to look away from her for longer than ten minutes.Since Monday, I have tortured myself relentlessly about my lapse in judgment with the way I coaxed the apology out of her. Crushing her against me like that wasn't something I even planned. I acted without thinking, and that was new and scary for me. I never act without thinking. In all aspects of my life. I know I seemed cocky sure that day, but in reality, I was scrambling for some sanity.I still feel the velvet softness of her skin against mine from two days ago. She smelled like a blend of lavender and coconut. It was intoxicating, holding her against me like that for those few seconds. Everything seemed possible. I was reckless for once in my life, and it felt exhilarating. I felt light. I have done a lot of dangerous reckless things in all thi
Alex's POV::My heart pounds wildly in my chest as I walk down the hallway of the fourth floor where Professor Zane Orion's office is located. I took the stairs here so I can have more time to relax my nerves but here I am, at his door and I feel nauseous with how tightly knot my stomach has gotten.I didn't expect him to pick me as the class assistant. I hoped what happened on Monday was a one time thing but I can't deny that I felt secretly happy that he chose me. He picked me. It felt good.I knock on the door, with my breath hitched in my throat."Come in, Alex." His smooth voice calls to me. How does he know it is me?I know I am playing a dangerous game here but I feel like I am in too deep already to pull out. I have always been attracted to him from afar, before I got accepted to NYU. The fact that he even gives me a bit of his attention makes me dizzy with euphoria. Fifteen year old Alex wouldn't believe it. I can't believe I get to be in the same room as my long time crush a
My heart skips a beat as Zane's lips crash against mine with enough passionate force to drive the breath out of my lungs. Immediately. I cling to him because my knees go out under me.I feel his huge palms covering my face, snaking behind my face to cup my neck. He angles me back for better access to my mouth, and I whimper into his hot mouth. Fiery heat explodes in my core as his teeth nibbles at my lower lip. Soft and hard, I feel my core rumbling with need. I cling tighter to the rippling muscles of his upper arms."Open your mouth, Alex. Open up for me." Zane whispers into my mouth. The gesture is too hot, I feel moisture at my entrance as I clench my thighs tighter to quell the fire, threatening to overwhelm me at the taste of mint of his mouth.I oblige because I don't really have any objections, I am just stunned, and my brain is reeling from all the intense assault on my emotions and feelings with his smooth lips outlining mine this intimately. Zane's tongue slides into my mou
Zane Orion POV::Alex's head is lolling over my shoulder, and her body is flush against mine. I don't know if she is asleep or still just weak from her explosive orgasm. It's been a few minutes since, and I can still hear her sharp moans as she quaked in my arms, clenching around my fingers.My cock is so hard and I feel like I could burst with just one touch from her. But I feel a wicked mix of pride and pleasure at the fact that I could make her scream my name in total surrender with just my fingers.I pull her slim thighs up and around my waist as I lift her, her ass grazes against my erect cock and I grunt, closing my eyes and trying to pull all my self control as I walk to the couch, I lay her down gently. It takes all my restraints to not just lie in between her legs and push into her, bury my aching cock deep inside her till I bust.She is asleep, her sweet rosy lips open a little. They are slightly swollen and red from my kisses. And yet I want to kiss her more. She is so fuck
Alex's POV::"Okay, pout your lips like this. Let me see the color on you. It is your best feature, so we want to highlight it." My roommate, Penny, is demonstrating with her lips which are mere inches from my face as she is applying makeup on me. She is currently dabbing a shade of lipstick on my lips that if my mother saw me right now, she would get a heart attack. It is blood red and sinful, and I love it.It is Friday night, and the faculty is hosting a fresher's party. I didn't want to go, but Penny convinced me.As I look into the mirror, catching sight of my bold makeup, all I can think about is Zane Orion and what happened in his office two days ago. A chill still runs down my spine at the memory of his fingers flexing inside me like that. The fire he started in my soul with his expert deep kisses. God, he was so hot pining me against his desk like that. It was too much. And yet I wanted more. Arching into him the way I did. Absolutely mindless with lust."I am done. What d
Zane Orion POV::"Professor Orion." Alex is in front of me and all the air in my lungs whooshes out of me as I take in the stunning woman in front of me, the dim lights highlighting the high cheekbones of her oval face. She doesn't look anything like a kid tonight, and it is disorienting. The things I want to do to this woman."Sir?" Her voice is low, and I don't miss the teasing undertone as her eyes hold mine. Darkness surrounds us, and it makes me feel like we are the only ones in the hall with the soft music playing in the background.My eyes lower to take in her body and my mouth goes dry. Fuck, that dress is short. And it drapes over her body like it was tailored specifically for her. Her body is an hourglass figure with those shapely thighs stretching out like a dream. Smooth soft skin taunting me.Fuck, I almost didn't want to come to this party."Alex. Fancy meeting you here." I say, dragging my eyes up reluctantly to meet hers. God, those lips. They are blood red and I ache
He gives his charming smile and nods, "Hello to you too, Madeleine." He says good-naturedly. The audience is still cheering and clapping. Someone uses the teleprompter to ask for silence, and it still takes a few seconds for the studio to go quiet so Madeleine can continue. They love him. My heart fills with pride. And love, too. I am so grateful that we are past that dark phase in his life two years ago where it felt like he was losing everything, and it was my fault. "Let's get right into this book!" Madeleine says, and the audience erupts with cheering and applause again. But it is quickly controlled. "First off, I want to talk about the process. It is very rare to see projects like this. I know of authors coming together to write biographies or translating books. But actually writing together? That is new and different. Alex, I want to know what the writing process was like for you. Orion is already quite established and experienced, but this was your debut!" Madeleine asks me.
"I have no idea." I say, truthfully. I really don't. I have still not come to terms with the thought that I am not going to return to the college for the new session. Since Zane is not going back, it makes no sense for me to. That is how it works now. That is how it will be from now on. "Okay. We can put a pin on that for now, then. Back to my offer, what do you think, Alex?" Zane squeezes my knee with one hand, his eyes stay on the traffic ahead, as he navigates the car. I recognise this highway and where it leads. He is driving us to the cabin. His cabin. Our cabin. My heart is so full, I can barely breath. "You want me to co-write a book with you?" I ask him again, just to be sure I am not in a dream. Just to be sure that this is real. The sound of his laughter reassures me. It is real. I am going to be an author! "Yes, Alex. I want to work with you on a book that is going to be more successful than all the books I have ever released." He says as he pulls into the countryside, i
Alex POV::"Oh my God! What do you mean?" My voice comes out as a really loud scream that is very uncharacteristic of me, Zane just smiles, he takes my hand and leads the way out of the hallway, I follow him still confused but feeling a swirl of excitement ramp up in the pit of my stomach at the mere thought. I can't even begin to fathom it! "Come, let's go before you summon the whole department." He says and I laugh but the laughter bleeds off my face as soon as we step out of the department and there are a lot of people around and they all stop to stare at us as if we were stars in a movie and the director yelled for everyone to stare at us. I blush under the scrutiny. I didn't expect this much people to be out and about but I guess most people are already resuming. I think it is only my class that is resuming a week later, the rest of the department are resuming this week. I try to pull my hand from Zane's grip, he doesn't let go, he looks down at me with a questioning look in hi
Zane Orion POV::"We were just trying to determine how this scandal started. If you get what I mean." Mrs. Tyrell tells me, she sounds like she would rather be anywhere else, but Mrs. Manson looks exactly the opposite, I understand she wants to be rid of me and sent that announcement of my job termination to the press. I understand that as vice president of the college, she can't afford the fallout from the scandal, so she must do what is in the best interests of the college, but this is going too far. They are still trying to pin everything on Alex. They want a different story. "I thought the panel was referencing the interview. You should already have your answers to that." I say, holding Mrs. Manson's narrowed gaze. Alex squeezes my hand under the desk, I interpret it as her being nervous. I have missed her so God damned much, it is unreal. Sitting beside her, I keep taking full lungful of her scent. She smells just as I remember, the nostalgia of us together at my cabin, naked
"These feelings, you didn't consider them inappropriate seeing as he was your Professor and a respected member of this faculty?" Mrs. Tyrell asks when the rest of the room remains silent. "No, I didn't." I say, deciding to be truthful and straight to the point."Did you act on these feelings first?" They are trying to determine if I should be the one to place most of the blame on. So it becomes a case of a student seducing her lecturer and they can get Zane back since he is obviously more valuable than I am in terms of who contributes more to the college. I didn't come here to be crucified so I wouldn't give them that satisfaction. It is becoming clearer to me that I definitely wouldn't be allowed to finish my degree here. I nursed a pipe dream, hoping that I could do anything about this case that has now spiralled into something more than me. "I can't answer that as I can't say. I don't know who acted first. It was mutual and consensual from the beginning." I tell them, the confid
Do I even want to continue schooling here? I don't know. I have not been able to really think about the impact of this situation and what it meant for my interests. I came to this school because of Zane, if he is not going to be here, do I want to stay? I mean, I have to think about myself and what would work best for me, but I can't help thinking about him too, I can't help it. He was summoned too and he promised me he would show up after they were done with me, I can't wait to see him. Though it would feel weird meeting again in this department after everything that has happened, but I look forward to it regardless. I missed him so much. "You said you chose this college solely because professor Orion taught here?" Mrs. Tyrell asks, she is obviously going to be the one doing all the questioning while the others sit in, I can feel their sharp gazes trained on me, I can't bring myself to look at any of them, I keep my eyes set on a spot above their heads. "Yes, I did. It was the tru
"I told you to be careful because you are young, Alex. He is almost twice your age. I told you that he had more life experiences you can only dream of. This relationship, it isn't fair on you. You probably can't see it now but you are getting the short end of the stick. I can't watch you spend your youth like this, Alex. This is the time of your life to be young and free and unburdened, you can't spend it dating a man with a kid and a mad ex wife." It is one thing we have come to agree on. That Daisy is insane. She didn't hesitate to believe me after I told her about how Daisy was stalking me and being weird. "Mom, I am young, but I am not naive. I matured almost ten years above my age after we lost dad. I am not a kid. I am not going to spend my 'youth' being free and unburdened as you put it because it would never happen for me. I am already burdened, Mom. I understand your worries and I am sorry that I have disappointed you or that I am not going to listen to you, but it is someth
"How did you know where she is? Did her family home location get leaked online?" My heart is racing so hard, I can barely breath. I can't follow all else that Madeleine said, I can't get past the part about her getting an interview with Alex. The last time we talked, we didn't agree on talking with the press. My dumb strategy was waiting out the outrage. I know that it would eventually fizzle out. I didn't mind being the worst hit. As long as Alex was safe and shielded."Is that the only thing you heard me say?" Madeleine leans forward, intense eyes narrowed in interest. "No, her location wasn't leaked, Orion. I found her because I was interested, it takes little to find someone these days." She says, leaning back, arms crossed over her chest. "Why were you interested?" I will get back to the interview bit but there was something about Madeleine's presence in this cabin that felt different. We are friends but we hardly get involved with eachother's lives. She has made it clear that
"You look like shit." Madeleine pushes past me and the half open door to make her way inside the dark living room. "What are you doing here?" I ask, reluctantly turning on the lights, knowing I look exactly like shit as she said. Madeleine is more than an acquaintance, I would say we have a friendship of sorts. We have kept in touch over the years since my debut, she invited me to her wedding three years ago. She is a wildly interesting woman with a diverse group of friends. Artists and writers and everyone in between. She is also three years older than me. There might be some kind of maternal undertone to our relationship, but it isn't weird. I like her. We work really well together, she is always the first person my books are sent to for a review. And it is a mutually beneficial relationship that has held grounds for years now. All this doesn't explain to me why she is here. She is not the kind of journalist to chase after scandalous stories like the one I am currently involved w