38. Viviana
Viviana
T he week after exams the grades go live on the online portal.
I’m excited to see my results again so I go to check as soon as I wake up, but I end up staring at the screen as I feel my heart drop all the way down to my toes.
This cannot be happening right now. The twenty-eight percent typed next to the entry for my Criminology exam stares back at me.
How could Cain do this to me? I know that I actually got a ninety-one from the paper he handed me.
While it wasn’t my best work, I was proud to still get an “A” while dealing with so much.
Cain and I have been getting along so well and I can’t see why he would purposefully give me a wrong grade.
It just doesn’t make any sense in my head.
Cain is so stuck up his own ass he can’t even admit there’s something going on between us half the time because I’m a student. We got really casual after the summer though, and I thought we were moving forward.
I take a moment to think about it and realize that there’s no way Cain would ever do this.
He’s a great professor, and even if we did have problems between us he would never take that out on my grade.
The only possibility I can think of is that someone else did this, but who would have the motive and the access?
My phone is up to my ear before I can even properly think about it. Cain answers on the second ring. “Hello?” His voice is rough and groggy.
“Are you home right now?” I ask, my voice not showing a hint of emotion.
There’s a pause. “Yeah. I was asleep. What’s up?”
I don’t answer his question because at the moment what isn’t wrong is a better one. “I need you to come up here and bring your laptop.”
There’s a rustling sound and Cain curses as there’s a crash in the background. “I’ll be right up.”
The line disconnects and I can’t stay still, so I get up and walk to the door that connects my apartment with the rest of the house. It’s wide open, just like it usually is, and I pace back and forth in front of the opening. After a while, I head the creaking of the old steps.
Cain rushes up the stairs holding his laptop.
He’s not wearing a shirt and I freeze when I see all the skin he has on display.
It’s not common for Cain to be anything less than fully covered in the presence of others, but I try to ignore that as I back away from the door and let him in.
“What’s wrong?” he asks through heavy breaths.
He looks around the room, his eyes set with determination like he’s ready for someone to jump out and attack at any moment. I shake my head, wanting to let him know there’s no danger but not knowing what to say to ease his anxiety.
I just turn away from him and walk back into my bedroom. “Why did I need my computer? If you need help with something with computers you’re better off asking Nox. I’m not great with the tech.” Cain goes on as he follows me.
When we get to my room, I stare at my desk with my laptop still sitting on it and open to the online grade book.
I look at Cain and I’m not sure what he sees in my eyes but his widen as he takes the last few steps to me, pulling me into his chest. His hand cups the back of my neck.
“What is it, princess? Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it. ”
I pull my arm out of his embrace and point to my laptop. He looks from me to it and slowly lets go of me. He steps up to the desk and leans down to take a look at my worst nightmare. How in the world could this happen? Who would be cruel enough to do this?
Cain grunts, shaking his head at the screen. “I didn’t do this.” His eyes widen as he turns to me, holding my shoulders tightly in both hands.
I clear my throat and force myself to speak through the lump there, “I know. You wouldn’t do this.”
He pulls me in for another hug and I sag against him as he begins to ramble, “Nobody got a grade this low, so it’s not like it was a clerical error on my side.
This has to have been sabotage. The only people who have access to my grade book are me…
and the department chair,” he says the last words slowly.
A gasping laugh escapes me. “The man I blackmailed? Great. Just great.”
Cain’s palms hold the sides of my face and force me to look up at him.
His brows lower over his eyes. “You did blackmail him. Why would he do something this petty? You’ve got serious dirt on him and you have concrete proof that this isn’t actually your grade.
Kieth and I both know what you really got. We’ll take care of this.”
My mind runs over what he’s saying and I frown. “You’re right, Baldwin is a murderer. He would come after me physically, not emotionally. Do you think that Carol could have done this somehow?”
Cain looks at the open laptop and frowns.
“I don’t know what she’s capable of. But I can say I leave my laptop in my office all day.
If someone was able to access it they could have accessed my grade book.
” His jaw clenches. “Nox has been on my ass for years about setting a password, but I never saw the point. I don’t have anything criminal on my computer. It’s just for work.”
I stare at him like he’s an idiot because in this moment, he is. “So, what your saying is that you’ve made yourself an impossibly easy target?”
His glare is fleeting because he can’t really deny that he has. He shakes his head though, dismissing my question. “It’s going to be okay.”
His hold on me is firm as he sits down in my desk chair, pulling me onto his lap.
I go willingly because I never really get to cuddle with Cain, and I don’t fight him as he positions me on his lap.
My legs dangle over his thighs and he presses my head against his chest as he leans his chin against the top of my head. He reaches over and picks my phone up.
I’m not telling him my password. I would die before admitting that it’s his birthday after what I just said to him. But he holds it out to me. “Unlock it. I left mine downstairs.”
I hold the phone close to my chest and lean over so he doesn’t see me type the numbers.
zero-nine-two-eight.
The screen opens and I hand the phone over to him. He doesn’t say anything about me being secretive, so I don’t mention it either. There’s no way I will ever admit that his birthday is the code for my phone. He presses something and the phone starts to ring through the speaker.
“Why the hell did you leave me on the couch cuddling with Sloane?” Nox says as he answers after a few rings.
I can hear Sloane scoff in the background. “At least you’re not the one who woke up with some guy’s head in your lap.”
Nox’s voice is muffled when he responds to him. “I will be scarred for life after using your morning wood as a fucking pillow. And you’re the one who was playing with my fucking hair.”
“I thought you were Viv! She likes it when I play with her hair,” Sloane counters.
“Enough!” Cain shouts, ending their argument.
I look up at him as the line goes completely silent for a moment. “Why are you calling from Viv’s phone?” Nox asks.
“Who?” Sloane asks.
There’s a scuffling sound. “It’s Cain. Is something wrong with Viv?” Nox’s voice takes on a harsher tone.
Cain’s fingers start to run through my hair, and I relax into his chest. “She’s fine. I’ve got her with me right now. I need you to do something though.”
“What? What’s going on?” The pitch in Nox’s voice goes slightly higher than usual, though I’m sure if I didn’t spend so much time with him I wouldn’t be able to tell.
Cain explains that my grade for his class has been falsified and that it’s not possible for it to be an error he made. “Can you look through the security footage around my office? We’re thinking this might be Carol taking revenge for the whole Chlamydia thing.”
“I’m on it,” Nox says, and I can hear the clicking of keys in the background. “I’ll let you know when I find something. Don’t worry, Viv. I’ll figure this out.” The line disconnects and I don’t move.
I don’t feel stressed anymore. With Cain’s fingers still threading through my hair and Nox working on figuring things out, I don’t feel the need to worry.
They have my back. I never really thought I would have that outside of Enzo.
It’s different with the guys though. Enzo is family.
These men have no reason to help me or be loyal to me other than the fact that they want to.
I move before Cain has a chance to even prepare for a change in position.
One moment I’m draped across his lap like the princess he’s dubbed me as, then I’m straddling his lap with my knees planted on the seat on either side of his hips.
My arms loop around his neck and I look into his eyes as the tip of my nose brushes against his. “Sir, please kiss me.”
His eyes shutter before they open and latch onto mine.
His hands land on my hips before they slowly slide up along my back, one hand making its way to the back on my neck.
His nose trails along my cheek until his breath brushes against my ear with every exhale.
“Close your eyes. Don’t move.” I go lax in his arms and close my eyes immediately.
He pulls away, and I’m left wondering what he’ll do next.
His breath fans across my lips before a kiss lands on the corner of my mouth, and I struggle not to move.
Not to turn into the kiss. He’s a stubborn shit, and won’t give me what I want until he wants to.
His lips trail slowly from my chin across my jaw before moving lower.
A shiver goes through me as his mouth meets my jugular, his lips following the vein down to my collarbone where he gently nips at the sensitive skin.
The hand not holding the back of my neck slips into the hem of my sleep shirt, his fingers trailing up my ribs until he holds my breast in his hand. I jump in surprise when he pinches my nipple between two fingers, and he freezes until I force myself to be still again.